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I’ve been trying to put it off, but I can’t do it any more. Hunting season is just a few weeks away, and thoughts of pulling the trigger on a few doves is starting to pretty much starting to take over my mind.

Doves are one of the funnest birds to hunt, probably because there is so much action. In a good field, it is not uncommon to shoot a few boxes of shells in a few hours. I know that you must be thinking that there is no way to shoot that many shells and not shoot over my limit. Well, I will be the first to say that I am not a very great shot at times, and with doves, there are days where I am downright terrible.

Last year I had several great days of dove hunting and one of the best days was using decoys in an old dead tree near a small pool of water in creek bed. The doves just loved it. However, decoying doves is not as simple as putting a few decoys in a tree and having flocks of doves flying over.

Like any other bird that decoys, the hunter has to be in an area that holds birds. If there aren’t many birds, the hunting is going to be slow. Find areas where there are already good concentrations of birds. In order to find birds, do some scouting. The best scouting is going to be a few days before a hunt as doves will hit an area for a while and change feeding patterns as time passes. Rain, crops being cut, and lack of water are all factors that may cause the birds to change their patterns. Getting out and looking for birds before a hunt always pays off. Often it is the biggest key in bringing something home other than an empty gun home.

Once the birds are patterned, it’s time to set the decoys and hunt. Probably the best decoying I have done is in old trees that have little or not leaves on them. The best are totally dead with good spindly branches. These are ideal roosts for doves and they make shooting easy because the birds are easier to see as they are flying toward the hunter. In trees with leaves, the doves may land before there is a chance to shoot, and then fly off just as quick.

The hardest part of placing decoys is getting them up in the tree. Especially when placing decoys in dead trees, it’s not the greatest idea to climb them. Though this would give the decoys greater visiblility, it doesn’t do any good if the hunter falls and gets hurt. I try to get the decoys as high as I can. I also place them in branches that have the greatest visibility. This usually means that they are as far from the trunk as possible.

Once the decoys are placed it’s time to sit and get ready. It won’t take long, and the doves will be there. On my last dove hunt last year, the doves were scarce. Most of the Mourning doves were gone, but there were a few Eurasians around. I found a field where they were feeding and set the decoys in a tree near the edge of the field. I was excited because in Colorado, there is no limit on Eurasians. The decoys brought in a new group of doves every few minutes. Over the course of a few hours I shot all 3 boxes of shells I had with me and bagged around 40 doves. Only two of them were Mourning doves. I don’t think I would have had near hunt without the decoys.

Lizzy with a good mess of doves.

Recenty, I was reading the Base Camp Legends blog and came across a post by Benji talking about a great evening on the river fishing streamers even when the caddis were hatching like crazy. He was, of course, fishing for the big guys who were looking for more of a meal than a small caddis fly.

I couldn’t agree more. There are times when it is fun to chase the fish with dries, but when there are big fish around, the best bet is something that looks like a meal, not a snack. Fish are just like most people; they like to gorge on food, not simply nibble. A minnow is going to have more protein than a fly, so if readily available, they are probably going to bite it. The only time I have seen this not work well is in very heavily fished waters. There the fish have been hooked on bigger flies enough to become very selective in what they eat. However, in most waters, especially those that don’t see much pressure, the bigger the fly the better.

I grew up fishing a small river near my home in Wyoming, and one of the best ways to get the bigger browns is to use a black woolly bugger and put a split shot or two a few inches up the line. I have even used three or four before when the water is running fast.

A woolly bugger rigged with split shot.

This rig works great in the evenings when the bigger fish come out to feed. I especially like to fish them in riffles where the water is moving fast. That’s the reason for the split shot. The fly has to stay in the water.

Now this is not a dead drift fish at all. I will often cast across the river and maybe just a little up stream. The fly will drift for a few seconds, but then the line will drag it quickly downstream. When the fly nears the end of the drag, be ready for a strike. They will hit hard at this point often. If a fish doesn’t hit, strip the line quickly up through the riffle. Many times, the fish will hit and miss. A lot of the time the fish can even be seen chasing the fly like a shark through the water. It is important to not get too excited and set the hook prematurely. Actually, the fly is usually moving fast enought to do the hooking. Setting the hook too hard may even snap off the fly. I know. I have done it more times than I care to remember.

You might be wondering why I use split shot instead of coneheads or beadheads; I just figure that the cone or bead does not make that big of a difference especially in the fast water. I usually fish this rig when the sun is lower in the sky, so there is not much reflection either. The sinkers seem to work fine, and if I want to take them off, I can. This makes the fly that much more versatile.

It won’t be long and the browns will be starting their fall spawn. This is sure-fire way to catch a few of them hogs.

A few days ago, the family loaded up for a trip to Denver to get all the school shopping done. We also decided to make a stop at the Butterfly Pavillion. Now, I don’t mind going to the zoo if the family is going, but I would much rather be seeing the animals out in the hills. However, going to the Butterfly Pavillion was different. It was one of those places that I wouldn’t mind going to again.

Basically, the Butterfly Pavilion is made up a few small rooms with bugs in aquariums. Some of them are pretty neat. The kids got to hold a tarantula, and there are some pretty big bugs from around the world. These are neat, but most zoos have exhibits like this. What was really neat and unique was the Tropical Conservatory. It is an indoor living rainforest with all sorts of flowers, plants, and trees. It is also where all the butterflies live.

Inside the conservatory, the butterflies are everywhere, and there are so many different kinds, I don’t know if a person could see them all in one visit. They say that there are approximately 1500 butterflies at any one time in the Pavilion. I had a great time trying to take pictures of them. There was one big green butterfly with irridescent wing that I never did get a picture of. Everytime I would get ready to take the picture, it would fly. Brooklynn and I chased that thing all over the place.

If you ever find yourself in Denver and you have a few extra hours, take the family to the Butterfly Pavillion. It is well worth the money.

I have vivid memories of taking backpacking trips as a youth into the Windrivers. On one particular trip in August, I can remember sitting up for hours and watching meteors streak across the sky leaving long phosphorescent tails that sometimes glowed for a few seconds before fading. There was one meteor that left a trail clear across the sky.

Looking at the stars has been a hobby of mine since I was young, and one of my favorite times to watch the skies is during a good meteor shower. Tonight is the peak of the Perseid shower, and from what the science guys are saying, it should be a good one. Anywhere from 60-90 meteors per hour could be seen tonight. We are going to pull out the mattresses and sleep on the deck tonight. My kids have been out watching the past few nights and have seen a few. I went out at about 4:00 this morning and saw several nice ones.

The deck ready for the Perseid meteor shower.

There are a few things to remember in order to see a bunch of meteors. One is patience. They don’t fall at regular intervals. Sometimes it rains, and sometimes it pours. It is also important to get away from the lights a bit. According to Stardate Online, if you can see the stars in the Little Dipper, then you should have optimum skies for viewing the meteors. If you don’t know where the Little Dipper is, then click on the link and find out where it sits in the sky. To see the best of the Perseids, you will also need to know where the consetellation Perseid is.

If anything, watching a meteor shower is a good way to get out with the kids and observe one of natures great wonders.

Here are a few good links for the Perseid Shower:

Space.com, Meteor Showers Online, NASA