The boys from Premium Game came up trumps with the deer Stew and I dropped off for processing. I was wondering about how the whole thing would work out cost wise, but the salami's we got done more than covered the entire cost of the operation (if you consider them in retail terms). On top of that we got vac packed loins, sausages, patties, free flow steak......awesome !! Thanks guys, you've got yourselves a 'convertee' should anything else be vacant enough to wander out in front of me at some point.

After a few years abscence I got a crew together on Anzac Day for a groper trip out into the Strait. Weather was pretty good although forecast to blow up during the day. In the end this never amounted to much and we enjoyed a pretty successful trip with the legendary Dave Fishburn aboard the good ship Nimrod.

Nimrod was pretty much the first vessel I set foot on when I arrived in Marlborough some 20 years ago.......I well remember going out with Daves son, Barry, and catching my first groper, and also seeing a couple of whales 'blowing' as they moved north through the Strait. 

Over the years there have been various trips and expiditions. Once I even worked as deckhand for Barry on a 10 night trip into the Tasman. I remember seeing the Southern Alps on the first morning as we were working some 'wires', and then they had disappeared..................next piece of land I saw was Mt Egmont (Taranaki) as we were heading home 10 days later ! It takes a bit of getting used too haveing to ask the skipper where home is every morning !

Anyway, back to the groper trip with Dave. Unfortunately, the advent of the hand held GPS systems have resulted in the loss of most of his fishing spots over recent years. Ie; A customer comes out on a trip and then takes readings of the various spots. Later on they return with their mates, catch a few fish, and someone else does the same trick. End result, bugger all for anybody.

Luckily for us, Dave still has a few places that most recreational guys would struggle to find GPS or not....the tides being so strong that fishing them is a real problem for all but the very experienced. The weather is often not the best either due to their exposed locations either, so hopefully they will remain undisturbed for some time to come. Cycnget Charters is the website - you won't be disappointed.

We also discussed the farcical blue cod rules relating to size, as it pertains to any fish landed within the Sounds. Its such a mess and surefire way to kill lots of supposedly 'released' fish, that Dave wouldn't take us to any of the recognised cod grounds for fear of killing more than we kept ! Even targeting terakihi resulted in a high return catch of fish that were too big for the limits imposed. The couta and shags around the boats must think its paradise !

I know the local recreational fishing population is lobbying hard for changes to be made, but at this point, deaf ears seem to be prevalent. Keep at it guys !

The Graf Boys are at it again and have a new website set up with various interesting things going on. WebCam photo's, special deals, video footage etc etc.  TV Wild in your search engine should see you right. I don't want to go looking for last address as last time I lost this entire post again when I changed sites !!

That'll do for now.

The pigs are just starting to come out in the back paddocks so I shot over the see my old mate Peter at New Zealand Archery Products in Nelson. As I've said before, top service, top gear and top guys. A few new spears in the back, plus a few sharp bits to stick on the pointy ends, and we're ready for an ambush or two.

Fingers crossed.

Cheers

BJH

The fly is made from a silnylon fabric and has 14 reinforced tabs around the outside and one large tab in the centre of the tarp.  The way I pitched it was I ran a guy like right down the centre of the tarp through the tab in the centre and added small slip knots on the guy line so I could tension the tarp from each end.  This made for a very tight pitch and went up in no time. 

There is plenty of room under this tarp for all your gear and you could at a push get 2 guys under here with plenty of shelter.  It is a really well made tarp and with all the tabs you will never run out of ways to string it up.

I used the tarp when hammock camping in the Kaimais but did not have a camera for photos so had to set it up at home to get these shots. 

Damn nuisance - just spent an hour typing up a yarn and it disappeared on me when I pushed the save button ...!!??

So, on with version two..........

Ross and Hamish have returned from their Fiordland jaunt safe and well, if a little skinnier for the experience. They were lucky enough to get an awesome run of good weather which enabled an extended trip and stay on the tops. I think the plan was to fly camp for one or two nights at a time but since the weather held, they did a six nighter. In the end they pretty much ran out of tucker, except for boiled venison, so it was back to base before the scurvy set in !!

Hamish culled an old hybrid stag with uneven antlers. Ross managed couple of nice 'bush' reds with solid 12 and 9 point antlers. The 9 pointer must have heard them mucking about as they waited in the fog for a chopper ride home. He obviously decided to hurry them along, and headed for camp with mischief on his mind.

Unfortunately for him, the boys heard him coming, and he only got a one way chopper ride for his efforts.

I had a quick viewing of the photo's from their trip and man they covered some ground ! On one occasion they spied a distant spiker in a steep gully that looked like good camp stew. They got the animal, but it took them a full day to reach him, including an overnighter on the way. Distances and terrain are not what they seem by all accounts.

They also watched a small mob of reds feeding on an extremely steep hillside, with a huge sheer drop off just below. Good country for tahr but not Uncle Bry I suspect.

My nephew Stewart (Hamishs' bro) invited me out to his secret spot on Wednesday, in an effort to stock up the freezer before he moves to Wellington. I was all for it especially as Stewart, father James, and third bro Angus, had got a few pigs and a young deer the day before. James reported seeing a stag that he thought might be a go-er for the bow, if weather and wind were right.

So, daylight saw us moving off from the truck and heading along the farm track to gain access to the more 'animal friendly' country a few hills away. It was immediately apparent that the wind was going to push along behind us if we stayed low in the creek area, so a quick bit of mountaineering soon had us atop a nice ridge which ran between good nice looking valleys, complete with plenty of scrub gullies and clearings to glass.

Stewart soon announced the sighting of a stag, and another deer, some 300 metres distant. They were feeding just out from the bush edge and were likely prospects, if we could narrow the distance, and get a better angle on them.

I contemplated a sneak with the bow, but soon flagged that idea as I would have to return to the creek, and the wind would be blowing straight up to the animals.  Meat was the priority so the glory would have to wait.

We did our best land crab impressions along the ridge top until we were around the 200 metre mark, and worried about the wind again. We could now see a total of six deer including another stag, so Stew got set,  ready for a crack at his first 'real stag'.

Soon enough the .270 boomed and a stag faltered in the distance, a few more steps and a follow -up shot, had him heading for pastures greener.

We watched the other deer charge around a bit, obviously unsure where the danger was. All but one soon found the safety of the bush.

The last animal, a spiker, decided to trot down the hill along the bush edge............more or less straight at us. I quickly commandeered the .270 and duly topped up the freezer as he passed by some 70 metres away.

It was all fist pumps and grins from Stew as we approached his prize. He was stoked and the camera did a wee bit of overtime recording the moment for posterity - not to mention Facebook !

I got Stew to take a couple of snaps with me and the spiker with the bow prominently displayed. These were for Robbies benefit - my arch rival in the game of 'first deer with a bow'. We'll tell him the truth eventually (like if he bothers to read this), in the meantime I bet the bottom lip smashed into the ground when he got the phone photo !!

Anyway, we got things tidied up and the left overs went onto the buffet for the local porkers to find and dispose of in due course.

Back at the truck we headed for the chiller at good old Roscoe's place. Bad news on arrival, it was chocka full of pigs, deer and dog tucka in the form of an old cattle beast.

Dilemma time.........hot day getting warmer, the last thing we needed.

I managed a quick entebbe into the house and rang the guys at Premium Game to see if they could help out. They were more than happy to help however they could, so, decision made.

 Normally we would only take meat for sausages/patties etc in but I had tasted one of the goat salami's a couple of weeks earlier and it was awesome. Stew was keen for salami to take north so we decided to take both animals in 'as is' and get the experts to deal to them.  

It was a bit embarrasing arriving with the deer still in 'bush' condition but the guys soon whipped off all the untidy bits and duly dispatched them into the chiller to await the knife.

A great bunch who I hope enjoyed the thank you Heinie's after work on Friday !

Next trip is groper fishing on Anzac Day with local legend Dave Fishburn. Ross and young Angus are on the team for this effort, so Mr J Hickey esq, better get the weather right.

Hopefully a couple of photo's attached soon.

Stay safe

BJH

 Nice Bow shot Spiker... reckon there is a Tui ad in this one.

Stewart Cochrane and his first stag.

The dogs had caught and killed a pig the week before, which he had been unable to get to in time.

The chase has been on for a couple of months for one particular pig that he calls 'that running bastard', and he was hoping that this was the animal concerned. A couple of phonecalls later and we had a team for a hunt/search/track cut day up at his 'meat safe'.

Thursday morning saw myself and two nephews arriving at he farm before light. Stewart and Ryan were both fit and keen for a bit of work, which suited me just fine. The knee is very weak so I was all for hanging back and ambushing any would be escapee's.

An uneventful trip up the hill and we soon had the dogs collared up and away checkin out the pines. We carried on for quite a way with the dogs coming and going sporadically. No result unfortunately.

We got to the gully where Trev's pig was and before long the dogs were hooning off after an unseen quarry in the scrub. Trev and the two boys (men - but young fella's to us) headed down the track to a creekbed where these chases always seemed to have their ending.

On this occasion the pig got away after about 15 minutes and the dogs couldn't get onto it again. I was back up the top of the track cutting a decent path thru the gorse with an old machete. I did here something noisy go cracking past about 15 metres away at one point, so maybe they were all focussing in the wrong direction.

Anyway, after a couple of hours were all joined up again. I had a decent sort of track started and Trev and the guys had found the 'missing' pig. Only a 70 lber so 'that running bastard'  is still on the radar. 

We meandered back to the truck, trimming a few more wayward gorse bushes as we went.

On arrival, I dumped the 243, grabbed the new bow, and headed down the track. Stewart shouldered the 270 and came with me in the hope of scoring some goat curry.

Trev and Ryan were going to do a few little jobs on the track and would follow us down in the ute.

I guess we'd been walking down about 20 minutes without nothing seen except the copious droppings evident amongst the grass.

We rounded yet another corner and two goats were feeding - one on either side of the track. We retreated unseen and quickly formed a plan.

I would try the closest one at about 25 metres, Stewart would then 'clean up' what he could after my shot.

I managed to sneak another couple of steps before the old head came up for a look and the arrow flew. A real solid hit but just behind the ribs and in front of the gut. Bugger - it scuttled off around the next corner but was obviously in a bit of grief.

Stewart dropped two more with the 270, and when we looked over the edge we saw several others scamper into the bush, including a good size billy.

Stewart went to collect his prizes whilst I followed after the wounded animal. I had it in view almost immediately but couldn't get much within about 40 metres. Eventually I took a long shot which pinned it long enough to allow us the catch it and settle the matter. Not ideal but my first success with the bow.

I was pretty rapt but unfortunately forgot to take any photo's. Stewarts animals were prime young goats and are headed for the pot in one form or another.

Grandad and Ryan caught up not long after and we headed back to the farm for the processing business and a big feed.

Not a red letter day but one we all enjoyed........look out 'that running bastard' - we'll be back next week !! 

Hope the roar is going well for all. Be alert - the world needs more of them ! (Lerts that is)

Bryan

What a magnificent summer its been !....yeah right. Had two trips out cancelled due to high winds and rain in Marlborough over last month or so.

Ross did get away for a couple of days around Xmas for a hoozle up on the thar before the helicopters gave that area a smashing. They saw quite a few animals and managed a couple of reasonable heads without nailing any record breakers. They were also driven out by heavy rain !

The dog pack is slowly being rebuilt after the shocking year we had with stock issues. Something thats never occurred before, but to lose 4 dogs in 6 months was a real shock and has taken some getting over. Things seem to be back on track and the mutts are beginning to gel together well. Fingers crossed.

I finally made the decision to blow a few bucks and get a second hand compound bow as a new challenge. I picked it up in late January and have been eagerly anticipating that first trip out. Unfortunately, as mentioned earlier, the weather has been a pain in the proverbial and knocked us back on both the days we set aside for a hunt.

I made contact with Peter at New Zealand Archery Products (NZAP) in Nelson, and he was more than happy to the new toy the once over for me. Wifey, grandson and I travelled over for the day and met up with Peter as arranged. An hour later and the bow was tuned and shooting like a dream. A new sight and a few other little absolute necessities later, and I was ready to go. Peter knows his stuff backwards and upside down if anyone ever needs any advice ! Just for the record, the bow is a Mathew Mission X3 compound. An older bow but in excellent condition and I seem to be well matched with it.

The little highlight was watching young Hunter (grandson) stare in awe at a man test firing a new bow at the indoor range........maybe a little bowhunter in the making perhaps.

I've been murdering a few homemade targets when I get the chance without too many wayward arrows, no doubt it will be a different story when something 'live' is staring back at me !! 

Stoney Creek have bought out a limited edition of the the 3/4 sleeve pig hunters jacket. I have an original of one of these, and as I've said many times before - its still the first bit of kit in the bag. I thoroughly recommend them to anyone, ....even if you don't hunt much they are great for the footy sidelines, outdoor work, fishing, or even the pub !. I've always just washed  mine as normal and its still in great condition. Contact Kerry at the Adventure Shop website and I'm sure he will assist in hooking you up.

My knee continues to be a real problem. I have been doing some light biking which seems ok, but everytime I do a hard walk, or even light jog, the damn thing blows up on me. Cartilage ? I'm guessing it going to be the doctor before long.

Anyway, all for now. Good hunting and stay safe !

BJH