An Outdoorsman’s Column – 10-10-2012
by Mark Walters
Hello friends,
When I was a kid, and to this very day, my deer camp was on public land in northern Juneau County and every fall a group of hunters from Delafield, Lynn Halboth, Tony Wagner and Larry Sowle, had a camp and “campfire” next to ours.
Our experiences together date back to 1970 and when my pals from Delafield purchased land in Clark County it appeared that we might be saying goodbye.
That was not the case, every year we have a party at our camp on the Thursday night before the deer gun season opens, and my buddies from “Clark County” do not miss it.
All three of them purchased permanent homes near Willard and Lynn Halboth also bought 103 acres of well, managed hunting land, that has become a serious hobby for Lynn and his 34-year-old son Vince Halboth to work and play on along with many other friends and family members.
Friday, September 28th – High 71, low 41
Today would be my first bowhunt of the fall. I pulled into Lynn and Linda Halboths piece of paradise about 2:00 and all three of my buddies were preparing for an afternoon hunt. Tony Wagner would be hunting black bear about a mile down the road. Larry Sowle, Lynn Halboth and myself would be hunting deer on the Halboth property.
Lynn and Larry both use crossbows and all stands are placed over bait. Though I seldom hunt over bait, I am pro-baiting and pro-crossbow.
My goal on this hunt was to have a blast with my pals and maybe harvest a doe for some fresh, red meat; if a shooter buck came along I was going to try put an arrow in it as well.
On tonight’s hunt, Tony did not see a bear, Larry did not see a deer, Lynn passed up four doe and I saw two doe but did not get one either. The woods are so quiet due to the drought, that you can hear a mouse under the leaves from 50-yards away.
I love bow hunting, I call it forced relaxation. Tonight as we have done for several decades, we told stories, enjoyed barley pop, and laughed a lot.
Saturday, September 29th – High 81, low 45
Though this would be an easy weekend, it would not involve much sleep. Lynn and I would hunt both morning and night and after dark, we did not exactly go to bed with the ten o’clock news. Possibly the coolest part of this adventure was spending time with Vince Halboth and his wife Eve Ong. Vince was just a teenager last I saw him and after getting an education he moved to China where he met Eve and learned how to make money, which is very cool. The stories of world travel, that this couple, who are both world-class business people, have are incredible.
A major bonus for Linda and Lynn Halboth is that Vince and Eve have settled in Winona, Minnesota and spend much of their time on the family property.
Vince has a major goal of establishing a sustainable pheasant population on this property and a month ago purchased 100 pheasant that he released and today, another 40.
Tonight, while in the bowstand, I could hear pheasants cackling and saw a doe with a nubby and a doe fawn. No one harvested anything and everyone had a pleasant hunt.
With a realistic figure of under a 5 percent survival, Vince Halboth will have a while before he will be hunting pheasant on this property but it’s cool to have goals.
Today we headed over to Withee to purchase some food plot equipment and I have to tell you folks, there might be a time when I relocate to this area, I love it.
On Sunday afternoon we watched the Packers and the Saints for a while and my old buddy Lynn Halboths butt, along with mine, was dragging as we walked through the forest to our stands. I had a doe and a nubby come into my bait and chose to keep my arrow knocked. Lynn could have taken a spiker, a six-point, or a doe and let all pass.
If someone from this beautiful part of the planet wants leave your property to the “Mark Walters Cause”, I promise to write good things about you, pursue my Second Amendments rights and laugh a lot.
C, ya at the Thursday night shing ding! Sunset
THIS WEEK’S COLUMN IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY: Downing Tractor Parts.