After 26 years I retired from the USAF this spring and my wife was adament that I find another job this fall after spending the summer fishing between North Pole and East cape Baja. I finally found the job I was looking for. I will be spending the winter trapping in the Wrangle Mtns. I will be the caretaker of a lodge and divide my time between feeding the horses and dogs (which are kept to keep bears away), sitting in the sauna, and trapping wolves, wolverine, coyote, fox, marten and lynx. I'll be flying in about 10 days from now and come out in the spring sometime. I don't think this was exactly what my moveable ballast (wife) had in mind but she is used to me being gone for long periods, I think my dog will miss me though.
I'm Semi-Unretired For The Winter
- Thread starter Bearbait
- Start date
patrick and linda
New member
brad paisley sings a song about his wife giving him an ultimatum, stop fishing or she's going to leave.
his words are: well i love her, but i love to fish. i spend all day out on this lake and hell is all i catch.
gonna miss her when i get home but right now i'm on this lakeshore and i'm sitting in the sun, yeah i'm going to miss her, oh looky there, i've got another bite.
well, congratulations on your service to this country and your retirement. looks like you've found one exciting replacement job!
good luck and don't forget to post pictures of your adventure.
pat
ps: if you happen to see big foot, tell that sob, i expect to be reimbursed for the beer he stoled from me several years ago when i was out camping!
his words are: well i love her, but i love to fish. i spend all day out on this lake and hell is all i catch.
gonna miss her when i get home but right now i'm on this lakeshore and i'm sitting in the sun, yeah i'm going to miss her, oh looky there, i've got another bite.
well, congratulations on your service to this country and your retirement. looks like you've found one exciting replacement job!
good luck and don't forget to post pictures of your adventure.
pat
ps: if you happen to see big foot, tell that sob, i expect to be reimbursed for the beer he stoled from me several years ago when i was out camping!
starcrafttom
Active member
take lots of pictures of the tramping for me. Sounds like lot of fun. Will you have any phone or internet hook up?
Well I'm here. Everyone else flew out yesterday. I flew over the country for an hour yesterday and in a nearby lake the lake trout were spawning. There were thousands of fish schooled up along a 3-400 yard long beach. It looked like salmon pilling up ready to go up a crick. Most of the fish were 3-4# but the big fish (real big) were off by themselves in smaller segregated schools. I guess big ones only want to spawn with big ones. Hopefully I'll get up there tomorrow and see how they taste!
What a GREAT adventure.... We all are sitting on the edge of our chairs waiting for your posts.... please keep us up on everything yer doing....and pictures would be great....
Would love to be there with you... I just could not do it alone...
That mental image of all those trout is truly amazing... stuff to dream about.....
Joel
SEA3PO
Would love to be there with you... I just could not do it alone...
That mental image of all those trout is truly amazing... stuff to dream about.....
Joel
SEA3PO
Jeff Brigner
New member
Wow....now two great adventures. This site is too cool. Now in addition to the Adventures of Wild Blue we also have The Wrangle Mountains Winter with Bearbait. My wife is going to love this. She will have full control over the remote and gets the TV to herself. :beer :beer
For the most part I'll be by myself but the boss will fly in a few times and may have a few other visitors. I've been so busy getting ready for winter I haven't taken many pics yet. Yes, I'll be toting a gun, the country is open enough that should get a number of wolves and coyotes with a rifle, and I've got a moose hanging alongside the shop, meat won't be a problem. My main mandate from the boss is to hit the wolves and coyotes hard. He got with all the other outfitters in the area and they all agreed to spend lots of time on predator control this winter. The wolves bears and coyotes have game populations severely depressed. It will only work if everyone around does their part. I didn't get to go fishing, it has been snowing and blowing the last 2 days and today I pulled the boat out of the lake because it may freeze tonight.
Things are going great here. -25 this morning, good weather for making ice. Wolf trapping is starting, everything else starts shortly. I've had some ducks around but with the temps last night I think they headed south. I've got 6" of snow so I can travel except for some open water.
First time I've noticed this thread. Ole Bearbait has my attention. Sure hope he post some more on how he and the winter are progressing. Also wish he was carrying one of those spot gadgets, so we could follow his wanderings too. I get enough of the cold here in Wyoming and really don't envy his winter time excursions, but I would sure like to hear about them.
Jay
Jay
yup, that's quite an adventure that merits some updates.
Boy howdy on the cold, I worked one winter in Evanston during the Overthrust belt boom, nuff cold for me.
HD, have you ever seen the Dick Proenneke video "Alone in the Wilderness" helluva tale
http://www.dickproenneke.com/DickProenneke.html
Boy howdy on the cold, I worked one winter in Evanston during the Overthrust belt boom, nuff cold for me.
HD, have you ever seen the Dick Proenneke video "Alone in the Wilderness" helluva tale
http://www.dickproenneke.com/DickProenneke.html
No Ken, I haven't seen it. Thanks for the link. Hardly watch any TV, but think that video will be added to this winters viewing.
Watched a horse pack expedition video from Trutch Mountain, BC to Telegraph Creek, BC. Trutch Mt is just off the Alaska Highway south of FT Nelson and Telegraph Creek is off the Cassiar Highway many hundred miles west. Went from early spring to early winter in the most remote area in British Columbia crossing the continental divide and major rivers and was one of the most amazing wilderness videos I've ever seen. Got to see how the old timers got themselves and horses across wide, fast moving deep rivers with steep banks where it really was do or die. Tried to get hold of Jim McCrea the leader of that expedition to buy a copy of the video with so far no success.
Hope Bearbait tunes us back in and post some photos and accounts of his time. He's accomplishing something really rare in this present age.
Jay
Watched a horse pack expedition video from Trutch Mountain, BC to Telegraph Creek, BC. Trutch Mt is just off the Alaska Highway south of FT Nelson and Telegraph Creek is off the Cassiar Highway many hundred miles west. Went from early spring to early winter in the most remote area in British Columbia crossing the continental divide and major rivers and was one of the most amazing wilderness videos I've ever seen. Got to see how the old timers got themselves and horses across wide, fast moving deep rivers with steep banks where it really was do or die. Tried to get hold of Jim McCrea the leader of that expedition to buy a copy of the video with so far no success.
Hope Bearbait tunes us back in and post some photos and accounts of his time. He's accomplishing something really rare in this present age.
Jay
I'm betting Bearbait is in the dark, literally!
The long Arctic Night should go until next February, at least.
I don't think he actually at the geographic North Pole, only a community somewhere in Northern Alaska. Pretty damn cold, either way!
On the Brat Map, there's a boat listed at the "North Pole" right next to Fairbanks, but it's a 16, not a 22.
Cheers!
Joe. :teeth :thup
Brrrrrrr...........!!!
The long Arctic Night should go until next February, at least.
I don't think he actually at the geographic North Pole, only a community somewhere in Northern Alaska. Pretty damn cold, either way!
On the Brat Map, there's a boat listed at the "North Pole" right next to Fairbanks, but it's a 16, not a 22.
Cheers!
Joe. :teeth :thup
Brrrrrrr...........!!!Captains Cat
New member
Sea Wolf":2l2x74u9 said:On the Brat Map, there's a boat listed at the "North Pole" right next to Fairbanks, but it's a 16, not a 22.
Cheers!
Joe. :teeth :thup
Actually, there's a 22 in "North Pole" AK too, O'BJOYFUL but it's owner lives there while the boat travels around the country with him on it! :lol: Where are you Jack??
Charlie
Think he still has some daylight in the Wrangle Mountains, which are not much further north than Anchorage. The little town of North Pole, where he normally lives is located very close to Fairbanks. Staying by himself isolated with no way in or out other then plane in the winter is what I admire.
Best book I've read on the relationship between wolves and man is "Of wolves and Man", by Barry Lopez.
Jay
Best book I've read on the relationship between wolves and man is "Of wolves and Man", by Barry Lopez.
Jay