The 'Big Ones' Are in Your Own Backyard

Once upon a time I used to dream of going out west or up north to hunt 'real' deer and catch 'real' fish. Everyone who hunts or fishes knows about the hot spots where the deer or fish are really big or exceptional in quality. Since then, I've learned better.

The best place to hunt whitetail deer or catch fish is probably in your own backyard. I really mean this.

I hear people talk about how small the deer are supposed to be around here. Both meat and trophy hunters. And indeed I have seen many of those little deer under 100 pounds grazing near the side of the road. But think about it for a minute; aren't many of the deer most easily spotted going to tend to be the younger, more foolish animals?

Since I started scouting for deer in a more systematic way around my own property in Albemarle County a few years ago I have seen some truly exceptional animals out there. Fat does that put meat on my table and a number of 8 and 10 point bucks that I've been letting walk as part of my overall management plan to reduce deer density and produce fewer but larger and healthier deer. To find those bigger, older, more cautious deer I just had to get away from the roads and be very patient.

So how are you going to do that with a week in, say, Saskatchewan? Sure, there are deer that weigh hundreds of pounds up there. But you don't know the territory and haven't been scouting all summer. Odds are that you are not going to close the deal with one of those big deer unless you pay a fortune to a guide who has done all of that work for you. You'd be better off finding some land close to home where you can scout regularly on weekends or after work. There are fewer big deer around here, but you have more potential to actually find them when you live close by. And perhaps you could do everyone a public service by harvesting some of the smaller ones while you are at it.

I've been finding this summer that the same is true of fishing. Oh sure, we don't have chinook salmon or anything that dramatic. But as I am reminded every time I take off in a plane at the Charlottesville airport, the countryside is riddled with farm ponds of anywhere between 1/2 to 15 acres. A lot of those ponds haven't been fished in years and if you ask nicely the owners might very well give you access.

My parents have a few ponds on their property which my kids and I have been hitting about every other week. Once I'd given the structure some thought, considering where the light and shade were at various times of day, how the depth varied and where the underwater structure was, it occured to me where the best possible spots would be for bass and crappie. I took the time to cut a trail with switchbacks down a very steep slope to what looked like it had to be the perfect place to drop a lure. That's not something I would bother with on an out-of-state fishing trip, if indeed such an effort was permitted.

The result? My daughter and I have each caught black crappie of over 13 inches at that very spot. The one I got last Saturday was so big that we went to the trouble of seeing if it qualified for the state record book. It was a little shy of record book material in both weight and length, but that was one hell of a big fish regardless. And it tasted really good.

So you probably can't afford to take a float plane to some remote lake in Manitoba or try to draw a tag for the big woods of Maine. Whatever. You'll probably have better luck at home.

[The picture is my daughter, Ida, with her 13" black crappie last month. It fought like a champion and she brought it in all by herself.]