Coyofishing

[Coyotes-R-Us]


7:00 am 12* two hour truck ride.
We pushed the Mud boat, named the Agua cow into the COLD Missouri river no real boat ramp.
As it got lighter, our norm is having to use the 10 LED lights to see the bank and random mostly submerged islands, we found our first good looking coyote calling spot.
There is a lot of public lands that but up to the river that are not addressable by county roads. That's what we were targeting.

Most where Really not accessible to walk without repelling gear.
But most had some kind of drainage coming down to the river making a natural place to sit offshore and call. Most had a delta or island at the mouth to hide the boat and us.
We would call for about a half-hour. Some would have dogs show, some would not, Some would have them show up on TOP of the ridges on the skyline. Great fun, thankfully the fur season is over and we did not feel the need to retrieve any of the coyotes we shot.
In the mud and snot, it was WAY too much effort even for a picture.
We did this for most of 20 miles. There was a slight breeze from the northeast but the sun was full and it warmed up to a bommie 35*.
The trip up we had a lot of river fog and thousands of Canada geese, tundra swans, and ducks of all kinds bust-up just feet in front of us.
That was worth the trip in its self.
Our plan was to hunt up and fish down.
It turned out to be a very good plan.
We hit many great looking "Sucker holes" back eddy's and jigged for walleye. Even with the water running 32* we did very well.
No sturgeon but a gob of carp a few read tail suckers and WALLEYE.
They did not "Hit" the jigs they just kinda sucked them in and you would feel weight and pull them in. No catfish kind of odd.
We kept 3 a 28" and two 23"ers.




When we got back to the take out it was 40* and after 4:00 pm.
Banked the boat backed the truck down the now very slippery hillside trailer pointed downstream. The boy in the boat and I shoved him back out, HUM the mud motor would not start, Turned great just no go, as he is drifting off. He quickly jumped up to the front and dumped off the anchor to stop the drift.
To far to throw a rope to the bank, he put the mud motor prop into the water and used the started to drive the boat to the end of the trailer, from there we have a 25' winch strap I hooked to the boat and I winched him and the boat up on to the trailer. Some fast action and a crises was averted. Or was it?
We still had to get the truck and boat/trailer up the bank on to the semi-firm Montana two-track road. A dozen or so attempts the Chevy clawed it's way up to a flat spot.


And so goes another Great trip In Montana's outback.
The road out,30 miles was messy but makeable, and the 2-hour trip home was full of rehashing great shooting, and great fishing.
GOOD TIMES.Clap

[nastygunz]

Dang!  Now that's my idea of a good time!

[Hawks Feather]

That does sound like a great day!

[Okanagan]

Dang!  Now that's my idea of a good time!

I'll say!   

Good for you!  Wish that kid who took the pics would have sent me a photo of the coyote we saw swimming when we were fly fishing a lake summer before last.

For years I intended to float hunt the Columbia River from Radium to Golden in British Columbia, for elk and whitetail in the Fall.  I planned to kayak it, drifting at dawn and then still hunt or call on each island till dusk.  Would have been fun with wife to drop me off and pick me up on the parallel highway for two or three days of float, stay in a motel.  That is one of those plans I never got done.  The river flows north in the Rocky Mountain Trench through that section, huge cattail flats and willow brush or timbered islands, Purcells on the left and Kootenay Rockies on the right.  Lots of game.

Good on you for getting out there!

[pitw]

It did read as a great trip.
Never hunted like that but bet it would be fun.  Thanks for sharing.

[Coyotes-R-Us]

It's a fun trip. A guy should spend a few days doing it and camp on an island or something. BUT at 12* it's not as inviting to seep in a tent on an island in the middle of the river. We try to do a long run at the end of September.
There is a motor/wake restriction on the remote parts of the river from mid-June to mid-September.
We deer and sheep hunt with the boat too.

[FinsnFur]

I'm jealous.
Looks like you caught some Saugers as well.