A few short days had passed since my retirement party, and since I had that whole work issue out of the way, the fall air was calling. My gear was loaded, food packed, broadheads sharp and the boat was ready to go. So, last Friday I pulled out of my drive to again meet the challenge of hunting The Island. I pulled away from the dock just after sunrise, motored across a light chop and easy morning breeze, arriving at my destination without incident. The 4 mile run in the early morning light was invigorating.
I quickly unloaded my small boat of its burden, and got busy setting up my camp.
While setting up my tent, I met a couple guys who came out of the woods behind the tent, both with brand new crossbows slung across their backs. One of them had shot a doe about 75 yds behind my camp, and they werent the most friendly fellas, asking me all sorts of questions about how long I was going to be there, did I hunt here much, and told me several times how long they have etc etc, all the while looking down their noses at my longbow leaning against the tree. they soon enough left, and fortunately I didnt have to deal with them again.
I returned to the task of making my camp ready for a week of hunting.....
The Island is among several as part of a state game area more popular for duck hunting, although they do hold a fair amount of deer. It is public land, but access to it to hunt is tricky as the island is surrounded by shallow and rocky waters, just itching to trash your motor. Along with that, there are the usual dealings with other bowhunters, and in this particular trip showed that trad hunters are distinctly different that some of our wheel-bow shooting counterparts.
Sunday started out quiet as well, so after lunch I scouted a new area, a slight ridge littered with acorns and a few scrapes here and there. Further snooping around led me to a grassy pocket of cover, surrounded by a line of thorn apples, and more oaks raining acorns. I also found an old stick blind, which I decided to hunt that evening after hanging my treestand in another spot.
About 2:30 I headed back to the blind, only to hear another "bowhunter" whistle at me as I neared his setup. He had come in just prior to me, and set up on the ridge, about 100 yds from the blind. I cut a ide circle around him, being as quiet as possible and slipped into my blind.
He proceeds to stand up and start yelling and cursing at me, then pulled his treestand and walked over to me and started screaming and yelling about me hunting HIS area, then left, walking a 100 yd radius around me yelling stomping and making an embarrassing spectacle of himself.
I told him I had cleared out the blind that morning with plans to hunt there, and if he had just sat quietly , we wouldnt be any bother to each other, but he wouldnt hear any of it. Yeah, we were fairly close to each other, but he was on the ridge, and I was below it. I had not other close option for the evening, and when I cleared the blind and trimmed a few shooting lanes, he was no where to be seen. How wasI to know he was gonna set up there later? Oh the joys of hunting public land.
Topic: Return to The Island. (Read 931 times)
