Heading North Again

I do most of my predator hunting here in Southern Indiana but I've been lucky enough to make some trips up north this winter to run some around. The territory up there is much more managable for a predator caller... the big open spaces make it much easier. The animals are just as smart, same animal all together, but the lack of cover and predictability of their travel often makes them easier to kill.

The last time I made it up there was Christmas weekend, when we had the massive snows in the south and frigid temperatures across the state. Now this weekend they are calling for similar weather, snow south and cold up north, and I'm heading there again! The weather should be more managable this time around, last time we started out at negative 12° and maxed out the day with a high of 7° so it HAS to be warmer than that.

Here are some photos of my last trip up there, I looked like a tourist taking pictures of the wide open scenery... you have to climb a water tower to see that far around here!

Sunrise;


Trying a few hounds;


Spotted a couple coyotes out on this frozen river;



I'll get some more this weekend.... hopefully I'll have some pictures of kills as well. The scouting reports sound pretty good for the area I am huntin, 4 different coyotes spotted this week alone! :bouncy:

 

weather

What is it with you Northern people and your weather stations?!?! Geeze, I watch the news and catch the weather up there this weekend and they talk about "Mostly Cloudy and Very Cold" weather... well that would've been GREAT but what we had was "Mostly Cloudy, Very Cold and REALLY FRIGGIN WINDY!!!"

What is wrong with these people? Don't they think we might care that there will be 45 MPH winds howling across that pancake country up there?!?! That makes all the difference when you are trying to call coyotes. Cold is fine, snow is GREAT and clouds are acceptable but WIND is not!!! Wind is a predator hunters nightmare and we were stuck with it all day Saturday.

We did manage to call up one dog Saturday night late, 9° with 30MPH Gust from the north. Had three guys in a triangle, I was calling facing south (Watching the downwind side) We expected the dogs to circle from a wood lot to our north and try to approach from downwind. I started off with a few locator howls and a bark or two then hit a distress call for 15 seconds. The other guys kept their lights on the whole time but I didn't turn mine on until after the first calling series. As soon as I dropped my light I saw a coyote coming straight into the wind at me across a cornfield. He was about 150 yards out in the moonlight snow cover, I rested the gun across a fence post and found him in it. I tried to adjust my light to bring in his eyes after he turned and ran broadside. He quartered away for about 200 yards and stopped in the edge of the woods at about 250 yards. I could pick up his eyes then but no outline of his body. Since it was early in the calling sequence I didn't take the shot... I had high hopes of calling up another coyote or two on that stand but it didn't pan out that way.

Sunday was much better, cold and clear with calm winds. I'll post some pictures of that adventures tomorrow but better than half my trip was wasted because those northern Indiana weathermen don't know what SEVERE WINDS will do to a man's hunting plans. :biggrin: :bash: