Rog's Rod & Nimrod

When Brian Maas of Parkston first let me know about the Sinkebeil wolf a few weeks ago, he sent me some photos that were not used with my column or in the stories that followed in newspapers, on television, and Facebook, etc. Pictured on one of those photos was the wolf lying next to a coyote and a fox. Jim Sinkebeil and Jim More bagged more than the wolf that morning.

If you think about it, there is no easier hunt than grabbing your varmint rifle and climbing into the pickup an hour before sunup on any given morning. Special dress, equipment, and a place to hunt are not an issue. I must caution that popping a coyote that is two hundred yards out in a stubble field and then retrieving it is trespassing. Granted, most farmers, for the sake of calves and pheasants, want to see coyotes/foxes controlled, but it is still important to know the mindset of the property owners.

My last early morning road hunting adventure was years ago. Against the snow, I spotted a fox along a fence line that was a quarter mile out. I was shooting a Winchester Model 70 in .264 Magnum as I didn’t own a more suitable rifle at the time. I aimed a few inches high and knocked him over. That big rifle did too much pelt damage, and the .223 I shoot today would have been vastly superior. As far as what’s best, the .243 Winchester is a better varmint caliber than any .22 caliber ever made. With our new governor going back to a bounty system, what I’m talking about today will become increasingly popular.

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I can’t resist relating the following story. The home of LuAnn, our youngest daughter, and her husband, Mark, lies along the shore of Madison, Wisconsin’s Lake Mendota. There is a fireplace in the east facing living room that looks out over the lake. Next to the fireplace is a basket filled with furry little doggie toys that their two lapdog pets like to toss around. On the top of the toy pile was what appeared to be a furry white doggie toy.

On the west side of the house at ground level is a little doggie door just large enough for the dogs to crawl through when they need to go outside. The two dogs love to sit on the window ledge and watch for squirrels. When a squirrel is spotted, the race is on as the dogs speed across the living room floor and head or their doggie door.

Yesterday, as LuAnn and Mark enjoyed their fireplace when it was sixteen degrees below zero F. outside, that furry white “doggie toy” scurried out of the toy basket and led the dogs on a merry chase through the house. That white “doggie toy” was a weasel, one of the fiercest little animals known to man. So far as they know, the dogs didn’t catch the weasel (fortunately for them), and the weasel did not exit through the doggie door.

When I sleep, my arm often hangs over the bedside, allowing my fingertips to touch the floor. If I knew there was a weasel in my house, I think my arm would be tucked in beside me. I related this story to Dave, the Wagner exterminator last night, and he said that the weasel can be trapped. Good luck, LuAnn.

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SD Game, Fish, & Parks recently released the deer season dates for 2019. While the Black Hills season opens on the traditional November 1st, West River opens November 16th while East River opens November 23rd. This is a week later than usual, and I believe it will affect the harvest.

Why? Deer are more vulnerable during the rut. Typically, at least in my estimation, The West River season catches the rut, and the rut is winding down come East River hunting. With the season a week later, East River hunters might be pursuing bucks that are far more wary. Let me know your thoughts.

Walleye action through the ice is the ticket at Pickstown right now. Successful anglers have been using minnows on Rapala jiggin’ Raps.

See you next week…..hopefully with a firsthand ice fishing report.