KS Buck Returns Home to WY

Feb 11 2010

The Kansas muzzleloader buck has finally returned home to Wyoming for good after being remounted up in Libby, Montana. It’s good to have the buck back in the office for us to all enjoy. Mel did a fantastic job on the taxidermy and base. The cape is unreal, double throat patch and all.

Now I just need to cook up a “do not touch” sign for the old boy.

A huge thank you goes out to Mel and Kevin over at Wildlife Recapture Taxidermy in Libby, MT for all their hard work on the buck. It turned out awesome fellas’. (www.wildliferecapture.com)

Wolves on the Winter Range in WY

Feb 10 2010

The following is a caption and photo sent to me just today from a friend and fellow backcountry snowmobiler in Jackson Hole, WY. Wow, twenty wolves in one bunch!!! More of our precious wildlife resource up in smoke. Thanks again USFWS.

“Great news, the Wyoming Game & Fish Department won’t have to feed elk this year, probably can’t even find an elk in the Gros Ventre, they will be scattered everywhere alive and dead. I wonder how many elk and moose a week it takes to keep this bunch going?
22 wolves in one pack about 2 miles from the Cabin and Alkali feedgrounds in the Gros Ventre. Late January, 2010.”

WORTH EVERY DAMN DIME!!!!

Jun 18 2009

YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR IN LIFE, and taxidermy!!!!!!!!

I just got my 2004 Wyoming buck back from the taxidermist after being re-mounted. Can I just say, dang WHAT AN IMPROVEMENT!!!! Mel Siefke at Wildlife Recapture Taxidermy (www.wildliferecapture.com) in Libby, MT did a fantastic job re-mounting this buck. Notice the muscle detail and modeling as well as how the eyes are set properly, the nose is squared off and the ears are positioned in a natural orientation and not “droopy”, all signs of quality-first class taxidermy work. Mel promises a turn-around time of less than 12 months and in most cased can even get a job done in less than six months, another sign of a good taxidermist/businessman. The second biggest factor in a bang up taxidermy job, behind a good taxidermist is the quality of the cape. I have been saving the cape we used on this buck in my freezer since last fall. Notice the coloring is very silver, and the facial coloring is very distinct, with the nose, forehead and throat patch all contrasting nicely. The lights are “light” and the darks are “dark.” I also look at the quality of the hair. This hair is all very fine and all the same length. Bucks earlier in the season (September) can have very “ratty” and patchy capes that are not worth keeping when the summer hair mixes with the winter hair. The cape from this buck was killed in the same area of Wyoming as the original buck came from during the first week of October.

Plain and simple, “life is too short for crappy taxidermy.” I had to have this buck mounted twice which cost me way too much money. The moral of the story is, like most things, DO IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME!!! It’s cheaper in the long run.

Let me know if you have any taxidermy or trophy care questions or comments. I would love to hear them, as I begin working on an article for the next issue of Eastmans’ Hunting Journal on the subject of taxidermy and trophy care in the field and beyond.

Good luck on your next hunting endeavor.

Guy

Summer Time on the River

Jun 10 2009

Good morning fellas:

Just an update: we hit the Bighorn River yesterday and I finally got a chance to try out the new Rod and Reel set-up. The dam monkeys cranked the flows up 35% while we were on the river causing the water to murk up on us but we still managed to get a few fish into the boat regardless. I finally managed to get a nice hen brown trout with my new rod and reel set-up. It

worked very well and I can honestly say, the new Sage Z-Axis is a solid rod for river fishing. I did hook a smaller cutthroat (snake river carp as Mike calls them) a bit earlier in the day but I let it roll until it popped the fly out. I was determined to have the new rod’s first fish be a good brown trout. This nice but very thin 22-inch hen took a…you guessed it, a Girdle-Bug in size 6.

Just thought I would let you all know I have been staying out of trouble this summer, so far. Good luck in the draws fellas’.

Guy

Spring Fishing

May 28 2009

Hello All,

Memorial Day was a great holiday weekend for us. Rinda (my girlfriend) and I hit the Bighorn River here in Wyoming for some fly fishing. This is Rinda’s second year at the helm of a fly rod and reel and she has been searching for a “big” trout ever since first picking up the sport. I think all of my talk of huge fish ripping line off my reel has worn off on her. Well on Monday morning at 9:00 AM her quest was fulfilled.

With a cone-headed Muddler Minnow and a Girdlebug (my favorite fly for big Brown Trout) in tow she latched on to a “Wild Brown” trout of epic proportions on a heavily fished public river. This monster hammered, you guessed it the Girdlebug in only about 14-inches of water lying against the far bank and he took it slow. Rinda set the hook on him and all hell broke loose.

With the over-cast skies above and a drizzling rain in the air, I did not get a good look at the fish from behind the oars until he lit up and went airborne. It was then and there I was glad she rigged up with an 8 ½ pound leader. After a fifteen minute fight and plenty of barking orders from my mouth she landed the trout and what a gorgeous brown he was.

I knew we were destined for big fish as I forgot my good camera that morning and would be left to resort to my Blackberry camera phone. The photos do not do this fish justice. He is right at a little bit over six pounds and almost 24-inches long-a hook-jawed monster brown and one hell of a fight to go along with it. Rinda did a great job fighting her first “big” trout. I am very proud of her. Maybe the next one will be mine.

Just thought you might enjoy a photo. Cheers and good luck with your next outdoor endeavor.

Guy