Changes Abound

Here is a quick look at some of the changes we have just announced.  This is a copy of the letter that Cordie sent out to our group leaders this week.  We are looking forward to the challenges and excitement that 2013 will bring.

Like one old guy said to the other, "looks like we are going to make  green grass".   With that in mind we better start doing some of this, or it will be time to go to work and we will not have it done. 

      As most of you already  know,  the business of agriculture has been changing  faster in recent past, than ever before.    Land prices in Lyman Co.  have doubled in the last five years and tripled in the last twenty.   Cash rent has went from $30 per acre to $75 and every day we hear about a new high.    So what does this have to do with us, and why am I telling you about it.   The hunting business has to compete  with these prices in order to continue to have good hunting.    What I am trying to tell you is the price of hunting is going up.    I would like to think we have been very competitive in our prices for what we offered,  so hopefully we have a little room to move.    The new rates are posted on our web page but  when it is all said and done it will cost you another fifty bucks a day to hunt here.   We are changing the deposit from $75 per gun per day to $100, so you need to inform your group that the deposit for a three day hunt will now be $300 per gun and the total cost will go from $900 to $1050.

     So what else is new,  it is all good.     Everybody here seems to be in good health, knock on wood.   I am sure every one of you knows someone with an illness that has run up a million dollars worth of Doctor bills.  Our winter has been good, no really bad storms.   We are a couple of inches ahead of last year in the moisture department, hopefully that trend will continue through  the year.    I took out my first load of corn last Thurs.  They were  forecasting   a snow storm for the weekend and  we wanted the birds to have a little cushion.

      With Jimmy Stockton's story in mind about grandchildren, I will tell you briefly;   Kellen has been kicking butt in wrestling.     He seems to be extremely competitive and hates to lose.  I have no idea where he gets that from, I keep telling him it doesn't matter who wins,  "just have fun".  The other three seem to be out of the same mold and I can't wait to see them all "just have fun"

   One other happening  that will affect all of you.  We have leased another hunting operation:  2500 acres, two houses,  some farming equipment, and a lot of really good deer hunting.  The only way you might notice is hunting that property at some point or going to the preserve that we are going to have on that property.  Last year we had more interest in"two a days" and preserve hunts than we could handle on a dry year.    They killed more wild birds on this property last year per acre than we did on ours.   A lot of it is on the creek and they had water on most of it.    Your hunting will be better!!

      Casey is getting geared up to become a farmer,  he is going to farm all of our ground, lease a couple hundred acre's , and plant all of our food plots.  You have all heard the story about not being able to get the smile off the guys face, that is  Casey.   I  am not sure if it is because he gets to be a farmer or that he no longer has to pour concrete with his father-in-law.   Now we have another reason for it to rain.

A little catch-up

I know it's been a long time, and there is plenty to talk about, but before we get back in to the swing of things I'd like to reflect on the past year with a little help from some of our hunters.  I've included an email and a link to another blog to provide some insight from someone else who has hunted here many years, and one that has been only a few.  I hope you enjoy, and at some point we'll get caught up on what's been going on at the Snake Den, along with the things that may affect us and our industry in the future with all this talk about gun control and another large issue-conservation and the farm bill.

Below is an email that I received from Alan Harn, who has been coming to the Snake Den for years.  I've been guiding Harn and his partner, Stuart Struever for about five years, and they've been coming to South Dakota to hunt pheasants at the Snake Den "before I was born".  That's what they would say if you ask them, although they have been here since its inception in the early 1990's, and have been hunting together since the 1960's.  They're a great couple of guys to hunt with, and enjoy hunting until dark, even if I show them that I know what I'm doing and they shoot their limit of pheasants (Phasianus colchicus) before mid-afternoon.  There is always time for sharp-tailed grouse (Tympanuchus phasianellus) and greater prairie chickens (Tympanuchus phasianellus).

Dear Colleagues

I just received word from Jeff Lampe, former outdoor writer for the Peoria Journal Star who now publishes his own magazine, Heartland Outdoors.  Lampe went with us to South Dakota last week to conduct research for a series of articles on techniques involved in the collection of Phasianus colchicus and other wildlife specimens.

Examples of Phasianus spp. were relatively sparse due to the drought but, while decimating the alfalfa and similar crops, the drought probably increased the grasslands twenty fold.  This in turn provided optimum habitat for Tympanuchus cupido  and Tympanuchus phasianellus (previously: Tetrao phasianellus), and they were present in greater numbers than even the oldest "old timers" can remember.  In a normal year we might observe 0-10 of these two species; this year we recorded hundreds.  We did manage to collect a sizable number of Phasianus and obtained 11 Tympanuchus c. and Tympanuchus p. specimens as well. Daniel hadn't been involved in any type of programmed collecting for some eleven years, but he hasn't lost his touch.  He didn't miss many catching opportunities and caught many more than I did, even though he only took his great uncle's 1940s 16 gauge Browning collecting mechanism along.

The pursuit of true science is often complex and sometimes laced with hours of abject tedium, but the attached image of researchers examining the wealth of collected data succinctly demonstrates the satisfaction we ultimately attain at the culmination of the program through our steadfast dedication and commitment to the pursuit of scientific inquiry. Among the research team, you will find my middle son Daniel flanked on either side by aging data collectors Struever and Harn.

In addition to Harn's account of their trip, outdoor writer, Jeff Lampe puts another spin on it, along with some great photos, in a couple posts on his blog, Scattershooting.  I appreciate the nice comments that Jeff had about me and the Snake Den, and I enjoyed hunting with him and his dog, Hawk.  Harn and Struever are the mainstays, along with TG (on the left in the above picture).  Beyond that you never know who they will bring, but with six shooters this past year, that's probably as many as we will ever see with them.  It's a great group to spend some time with, and it allows me a change of pace after a busy first week in the regular pheasant season.  Enjoy. 

Shooting Shirts Finally Available

 

 

The above shooting shirts will be available for the 2012 Hunting season.  If you would like one please email me (casey@snakedenlodge.com) or cordie (schlomer@kennebectelephone.com) the size, color, and quantity of shirts that you would like.  They are available in Brown, Khaki, or Olive.  They are made by Tri-Mountain, and are a lightweight, vented shirt.  They are $60.00.  Thanks.  We will be placing an order early next week for arrival by the Season Opener.

Green may be an overstatement

Everybody needs a little motivation now and then, and yesterday I received a reminder that I had most likely made a promise to put some pictures up of the landscape and fields around here when they were nice and green.  Well, I missed the boat this year by about two months, but here's a few snippets of some sunflowers as they leave their prime and head toward drying out and soon, harvest.  Precipitation has been nearly non-existent since the middle of June, but things have survived fairly well considering the conditions.

Temperatures throughout the spring and summer have been above normal, and precipitation has been severely below normal.  With many days in the 100s and the majority of the remainder in the 90s, it's been a scorcher to say the least.  I think the pheasants survived fairly well, since they seemed to be ahead of schedule with the hatch.  The birds were in good shape with the mild winter, and favorable spring conditions through the nesting season.  The brood counts will be released sometime in the next couple of weeks.  Those counts are the basis for nearly every prediction made on how the season will be.  I have a feeling though that the counts will not accurately reflect the actual numbers this year.  We have noticed that it has been hard to get a consistent count on birds on any given morning, and conditions for a good road count have been hard to come by.  Only time will tell and in a couple weeks we'll be stomping through the cover on the Preserve and should have a better handle on how the season will shape up.

Several other factors will shape the season, as more CRP (Conservation Reserve Program-grass) acres are hayed, and an early harvest will remove any standing row crop well before the regular season opener.  The fall crops are also marginal at best, and some may not even see the combine, but will be plowed back into the ground.  Food may be scarce come winter, along with good heavy cover.  It should make for an interesting season, but we look forward to it and hope you all do as well.

Our own March Madness



Kellen places third at Regions to advance to State.



It's been a crazy month as we attempt to cram as much fun and family activities into the time we have remaining before things get busy again.  The weather is telling us that it is time to go back to work again, but we're trying to hold out for just a bit longer.  With temperatures near 90 degrees though, things are starting to dry up and green up, and not just from St. Patrick's Day. 

Kellen managed to place third at his regional tournament a couple of weeks ago, so we will travel to Aberdeen this weekend to wrestle in the State tournament.  We're proud of what he has accomplished this year, and look forward to many more years of him and hopefully his cousins wrestling.  This weekend will be good experience, if nothing else, for him and his mom and dad.

Jamie and I just returned from Atlanta, after catching "The Boss" on his opening night of his "Wrecking Ball" Tour.  It was a great trip and we made the best of an extended weekend.  Cordie and Marlys are preparing a golf outing to Mississippi to battle his brother, Delvin for the family cup.  It should be a great end of the month and prepare us for the work ahead.

We're waiting ever so patiently for things to dry up just a little more before we drop that plow in the ground and begin to disc food plots.  It looks as though we will be able to get that done before we head out to start our concrete work for the summer.  There's plenty of that lined up also, so things should move along quite quickly as we progress to another fall.  I can't wait already.

Here we go again...

On somewhat of a whim I provided myself with another project for the winter and upcoming year.  I gave my wife short notice when I told her that I had talked with a breeder and had a chance to pick up a male chocolate lab pup.  I told her I had not made up my mind yet, but I think she knew different, and felt that her thoughts would have no bearing on the pup I was about to obtain in the matter of a few short days. 

I had talked to Thad Lambert of Round Lake Kennels on Friday and told him I was interested in getting a pup, but was not completely sure of all the details.  Thad made me a deal on the only remaining male left in the litter and told me I had the weekend to think it over.  Sunday came and I decided to go for it, and on Wednesday met Thad in Sioux Falls to pick up "Tug".  Kellen came up with the name, and Jamie and I hadn't come up with anything, so "Tug" it would be, or as Claire likes to say "Rugga-Tug" .  The paperwork will most likely read "Snake Den's Rugged Tug", which Claire shortened.

So far Tug has made it to Show-n-Tell and the Daycare, but it his time afield has been limited.  Not because of the horrible weather though.  The winter has been pretty non-existent for the most part, and I'm sure the birds are enjoying the heck out of it, as have we.  Although it has cut our mountain lion hunt to none, and less coyote calling than was planned, but we have been getting a few remodel projects done.  We should have the larger one of the two completed next week.

There is still plenty of time for winter, and getting Tug to the field.  We've also been spending most of our nights and weekends enjoying some wrestling.  Kellen has been doing well, and the high school season is nearing its end with the State tournament at the end of the month.  I may try to get some pictures of Kellen up soon if it works out.

Great endings to a great year

So maybe the family hunt wasn't as spectacular as it has been in the past, but we still managed to have plenty of opportunity and have a great time.  Over the course of three days we averaged 16 guns and nearly killed a limit each day with Friday being the best.  We claimed our limit that day with a few birds left in the end of the food plot for next year.  A good time was had by all with some great shots, some great misses, and plenty of "razzing" for everybody.

After a great pheasant hunt on  Friday a few of us slipped out to try calling coyotes.  John Wayne got  a new call for Christmas (thanks Santa), and couldn't wait to try it out.  We had time for two calls, and after coming up empty on the first call, we connected on a double as the sun set.  Dalton caught a glimpse of the pair as they disappeared about 200 hundred yards out.  We had time to resituate just before they reappeared at one hundred yards.  We decided to try for both, so on the count of three we squeezed.  I may have anticipated a little too much, but we both scored as you can see in the picture above.  That conclued another great day at the Snake Den.  One big male accompanied by a female, with several 'yotes howling in the background. 

The New Years party was a little quieter than normal, but with more kids and the rest of us getting older that should be expected.  It was a great way to end the year, and we're left with plenty to look forward to in 2012.