BigGameHoundsmen.com

I don't tell a lot of stories about my hunts but will try to give you an idea as to what it is like. I headed to California the day after Christmas with my cousin Andy. Lots of snow we drove all day and into the night before we found a place where we could get around chained up part of the time to break through the snow drifts. It was after 10:00 PM before we cut our first track, good track and treed it shortly. After midnight we cut another track big tom. Put out on it and bayed it on the ground some of the dogs got chew up and are still not sound. 30 to 35 pound tom biggest of the trip. 4:00 AM slept in the truck until day light. Put on 2 more tracks that day end up in holes on both. We got to the trailer fed the dogs and cooked the cat meat for tomorrows feed. Got to bed at 9:30 up at 7:00 fed dogs thawed water for them and coffee. 2below. Spend Friday finding someone to fix the quad joint in my front drive line. Saturday up at 4:30 fed dogs and watered them. We made coffee the night before, thawed it out to boil it. 8 below. Treed three cats and bluffed 1 that we could not find. Camp by 8:00 PM Thawed water and fed dogs. Sunday 15 below icicles on the inside of the trailer up at 4:30 again. We cut a track and put it in the same bluffs as the night before but was able to spot it on the side of the bluff. Drove all day chained up found a track late in the day and treed it after dark with a long trail job. Got back to camp at 9:00 . Last day up at 4:30 same old same 10 below. Cut a track early trailed for hours it was a track we missed from the day before. Did not get it jumped. Cut another got a few opens the dogs could not take it far. it was a small cat call them off and went on. Found another track jumped it shortly and treed it. Found another track on top of the mountain trailed it down to where we killed the one that morning, same cat. wasted several hours on a dead cat. Cut a track late in the day going where we had been bluffing the cats. This was the only track that I turned down small female that I figured would make it to the bluffs. Put on one more track at dark could not work it out. We called it a day. Hunting the California desert is some of the most challenging hunting that I have ever done. Rocks, bluffs, wind and snow drifts and very few trees for cats to climb. We put in 12 to 16 hours in hunting every day. Slept in a trailer with icicles in it, all of our water froze. It was a hard hunt but a good hunt 4 trips through got us 8 cats which will pay the bills and buy the dogs there food. I am not a writer and have to hunt and peck to write this. My former wife framed the only letter that I ever wrote her and yes it was while I was on a Three week hunting trip. I wonder why that didn't work out. Few people hunt as hard as I do or should. I do it as a job, I have trapped and guide until we lost bear and lion here in Oregon. Dewey

Good Story Dewey....we do not care about your writing skills, it is your Cat/Hound stuff that is interesting.

Kyle Reeves read your warning and the Rules at the top of the Bobcat section to see why your Post was Deleted!

just curious as to where you are calling the CA desert. Might be around some of the same spots that i used to hunt.

East of the Warners and south to above Susanville along the Nevada line. That was where I could fine a place to be able to get around in the snow. I have hunted a lot of the north east corner of California all the way to the timber country.[ Modoc, Lassen, and some of Klamath countys} It is easy country on an old body compared to some of Oregon that I hunt. To bad we lost it. I feel for you younger guys that can't travel like I do to hunt a good spot. Was that where you hunted.Dewey

That's my stomping grounds for cat hunting. I've spent my whole life hunting the area's mentioned, too bad California is taking this from us.

Well dang, I didn't think you'd be able to get around anywhere up there just yet, guess I shoulda went and checked, I would rather hunt the east side than anywhere else...instead I traveled 6 hours south and spent the last few days hunting the front country where there was no cold ass tiresome snow to fight and freeze us to death.

Ha, yeah i know all the areas you are talking about. I have spent many a days going across the horse lake road. I live in westwood just 23 miles west of susanville. When i had buddies to go with i did a lot of high desert hunting but since they moved i tend to go after the cats in the timber closer to my home. Im only 27 and really disapointed in how this state is treating houndsmen. At least i have "Fox" "racoon" and "coyotes" to chase this year.

Thanks for taking us along Dewey, the writin was fine for me also.