I know it's been a while since we have posted, life may have taken us away from the blog for a while, but certainly not away from the great out-of-doors! This year was a very exciting year for our family, with Mrs. Valentine bagging her first deer, first buck and first heart shot with a straight arrow! He's a funny-looking dude, but a nice catch for a first mount. And she was extremely proud to be able to feed her family and very grateful that is was a clean and ethical kill.
More to come on the hunt! You'll be hearing from us soon!
The Valentines
One Shot 1941
It runs in our blood. This is our great-grandma, her first time out with a shotgun. She took this buck and this doe with one slug. She never went hunting again, didn't want to push her luck we suppose!
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Gobble Till You Wobble!
It's Turkey Time! Spring turkey season has officially begun! And how can we tell?
WE DON'T SEE TURKEY'S ANYWHERE!
Isn't it strange how you can go from seeing field after field filled with huge flocks of hens or toms one week, to the next week, those same fields being completely blank? It's like animals have a sense when their season is about to start. They see orange in their dreams and hear shots before one is even taken!
BUT, turkey season is one of our favorites for this reason. It means we have to be extremely sneaky and put a great stalk out on a big bird. Stalking is why we love turkey hunting so much! It's such a different routine from our sitting in a tree stand in the fall. It's a way for us to spot some great birds and really become a part of nature.
Patterning a flocks activity a few weeks before can also help you with your stalk, getting use to their alarm and tracking which fields they decorate most often. Put in the work and your outcome will be a long beard and a nice Easter dinner!
Happy Hunting!
The Valentines
WE DON'T SEE TURKEY'S ANYWHERE!
Isn't it strange how you can go from seeing field after field filled with huge flocks of hens or toms one week, to the next week, those same fields being completely blank? It's like animals have a sense when their season is about to start. They see orange in their dreams and hear shots before one is even taken!
BUT, turkey season is one of our favorites for this reason. It means we have to be extremely sneaky and put a great stalk out on a big bird. Stalking is why we love turkey hunting so much! It's such a different routine from our sitting in a tree stand in the fall. It's a way for us to spot some great birds and really become a part of nature.
Patterning a flocks activity a few weeks before can also help you with your stalk, getting use to their alarm and tracking which fields they decorate most often. Put in the work and your outcome will be a long beard and a nice Easter dinner!
Happy Hunting!
The Valentines
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Minor Adjustments...Major Benefits!
Making slight modifications to your equipment can really enhance your hunting or fishing adventure. There are several things that we do to modify our equipment to save us time, energy and in some cases, money. When is comes to wind direction, instead of buying an expensive electronic device to give you a simple wind direction reading, or purchasing a small bottle filled with powder that you have to fumble with in your pocket risking being detected by the animal, we opt to tape a small length of sewing thread to the lower limb of our bows. It requires less time and movement to simply glance over at our bow while hanging on its hanger than it does to fumble in our pocket like you would with a more expensive alternative.
Recently, horizontal ice fishing jigs have gained enormous popularity. One of the major downfalls to horizontal jigs is that you have to constantly make sure your jig is hanging horizontally. After catching several fish or jigging aggressively your jig tends to hang diagonally or even nearly vertical to your line, thus, rendering its horizontal benefits useless. One minor adjustment that we make to our horizontal jigs that make a major difference in our fishing success is to add a small length of clear rubber tubing, roughly 1/16 of an inch long, to our line prior to tying on our jig. Once we have our jig tied onto our line, we simply slide the clear rubber tubing over the eyelet and the knot. This helps to keep our jigs horizontal for much longer which saves us a lot of time, especially when our holes are filled with fish and it's imperative that we get our jigs back down the hole as soon as possible.
Now that we've given you a couple modifications that we like to use to better our hunting and fishing experience, lets hear what adjustments you like to make to your equipment to enhance your hunting and fishing adventures.
The Valentines
Recently, horizontal ice fishing jigs have gained enormous popularity. One of the major downfalls to horizontal jigs is that you have to constantly make sure your jig is hanging horizontally. After catching several fish or jigging aggressively your jig tends to hang diagonally or even nearly vertical to your line, thus, rendering its horizontal benefits useless. One minor adjustment that we make to our horizontal jigs that make a major difference in our fishing success is to add a small length of clear rubber tubing, roughly 1/16 of an inch long, to our line prior to tying on our jig. Once we have our jig tied onto our line, we simply slide the clear rubber tubing over the eyelet and the knot. This helps to keep our jigs horizontal for much longer which saves us a lot of time, especially when our holes are filled with fish and it's imperative that we get our jigs back down the hole as soon as possible.
Now that we've given you a couple modifications that we like to use to better our hunting and fishing experience, lets hear what adjustments you like to make to your equipment to enhance your hunting and fishing adventures.
The Valentines
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Tis The Season
It's time for a season of awards. For people to get dressed up in their best and celebrate their achievements. No, I'm not talking about award season, I am talking about ice fishing tournament season! Around Michigan, this is the time for fisherman to bundle up in their best gear and head out to the rivers and lakes to try and catch that prized crappie, perch, wall-eye, whatever it may be and enter it in their local fishing tournament. Around here, it's the Tip-Up Festival and headed a little more north, it's Shiver On The River. Whatever the name may be, it's time to put your best pole forward. These festivals offer a whole range of activities, prizes and yummy dinners. It's a great time to bond with other fishermen and women and share your most outrageous fish-stories. It's always great to head to the location, usually the local conservation club, and see everyone standing around admiring the trophies. So, this post is to wish us all luck and a shot at that big boy this tournament season!
The Valentines
The Valentines
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