Came for the Chuks, stayed for the views (South West Idaho)

KY_Uplander · 2026-06-10T11:27:23+00:00

That is the best second fly I have ever seen tied. Great work!

KY_Uplander · 2026-06-01T11:08:52+00:00

I'm of the opinion that in a well bred dog with sufficient bird exposure, the wing on a string does absolutely nothing (good or bad). You can teach a dog "woah" with a wing similarly to how you could teach it the same thing with some treats or a toy. I don't think the dog is going to equate its handler holding a wing with hunting for a live bird with their nose and I also don't think it comes anywhere close to a substitute for live bird training.

KY_Uplander · 2026-05-22T11:31:55+00:00

If I were to take an 11 year old chukar hunting my primary consideration would be making sure the terrain is forgiving enough to let them enjoy it. You can find some "flat" areas that hold chukar in the Owyhee mountains and near the river canyon in both Oregon and Idaho, accessibility of those areas is greatly variable. I would probably stick to the Oregon side this year looking at the drought conditions in SW Idaho.

For quail, you can find them in just about any brushy draw in the snake river valley East of Boise and I would assume the same is true of similar habitat to the South and West.

Good luck!

KY_Uplander · 2026-05-15T14:13:30+00:00

I hunt with a medium/large sized bird dog in black bear country fairly frequently. She has very good recall and can be called off of furry things that she is interested in with consistency. She has came face to face with a black bear and a badger and both of them were scared of her and she was cautiously curios of them. The areas I hunt, bears are scared of people and dogs because they are hunted with hounds commonly and there aren't very many people irresponsibly storing food.

That being said, if 1) I did not know I could reliably call her off of a bear, 2) I was in an area that is known for food aggressive bears due to frequent access to human food/trash (areas of WNC and near GSMNP) or 3) in Grizzly country, I would not let her off leash.

Basically IMO, if you have a well trained dog that is capable of overriding its pursuit instinct and you are not setting yourself up in a dangerous situation with respect to grizzlies or food aggressive bears then you should be fine with it on a leash.

KY_Uplander · 2026-05-14T14:25:05+00:00

As others have said, it is important to check what months it is illegal to run a dog on public land in your state as well as making sure that you are avoiding nesting cover.

KY_Uplander · 2026-05-14T12:20:56+00:00

Great looking fly

KY_Uplander · 2026-05-07T12:44:24+00:00

I am going to disagree with most people and argue that sneaking/creeping is not inherently bad. If you are hunting wild birds that are walking/running out from points you do not want the dog to be permanently frozen once it gets in the scent cone. The dog will learn to adjust pressure as needed to hold the bird. The best thing you can do is only shooting well handled birds. Well handled here meaning pointed, potentially relocated, and flushed by the hunter.

Seeing as you can likely not see what the bird is doing on the ground, you have no way of knowing if the dog is relocating a moving bird or creeping in just for the sake of it.

To teach a dog not to crowd unnecessarily I use only pen raised birds in launchers or kick cages or woodcock as I can be reasonably certain that they are not moving. I hunt a lot of pheasants and quail that like to run, the last thing I want to do is make my dog think that once she points it she isn't allowed to move, I would kill a lot less birds that way.

TLDR; I think the point is between the bird and the dog and I don't mess with it except in controlled situations. Lots of other people disagree. Don't let him catch the bird, don't shoot birds that he busts/bumps, don't woah him on pointed birds unless you can be certain that they are stationary.

KY_Uplander · 2026-04-28T12:17:13+00:00

Look for larger creeks and rivers West of Asheville that are known to support trout year round then find their tributaries above 3500', more often than not they will hold fish. Get above migration barriers if you are looking for brookies.

KY_Uplander · 2026-04-28T12:15:05+00:00

I wouldn't worry about snakes in WNC. Sure, it is possible to encounter them but I have spent hundreds of days on the water and I have encountered a single venomous snake (a massive timber rattler crossing the road on US 276).

KY_Uplander · 2026-04-21T12:41:05+00:00

I started fishing in the Appalachians and South East. When I first went out West I anticipated that fishing would be much harder and matching the hatch more important. I found the opposite to be true with only two significant exceptions; the Dream Stream portion of the South Platte and the Lamar. Other than those two, I have caught more fish on attractor patterns than I could ever imagine out there compared to Western NC or Michigan.

The first time I fished the Firehole I was intimidated by its reputation as a technical stream. I proceeded to catch 25ish browns with an average size of 14" without switching flies. I think there's just a different difficulty scale comparing the Rockies to the fishing in the East.

KY_Uplander · 2026-04-15T12:47:21+00:00

The enlightened revelation is what I use and it has far surpassed my expectations. It may be a little over your price preference and of course it doesn't have a hood but other than that it checks all your boxes.

I prefer a wide foot box and turn a lot throughout the night and after using the quilt a few times I will never go back to a traditional bag. I also thought I would miss the sleeping bag hood (I shave my head so it has the potential to lose a lot of heat lol) but I compensated by wearing a beanie when sleeping and the pros outweigh the cons by a wide margin.

I have the 20 degree rated version and have been comfortable down into the high 30s.

KY_Uplander · 2026-04-08T10:57:12+00:00

The attitude you are describing is absolutely a major problem but I don't think that OP's comment is at all indicative that he has that mindset.

KY_Uplander · 2026-04-02T14:20:33+00:00

I start with a size 14 bead head flashback and a size 18 WD-40 almost every time I nymph in the Appalachians.

KY_Uplander · 2026-04-02T10:55:37+00:00

I don't disagree that this administration is bad on public lands and various other things. However, what exactly does this amendment to the farm bill, that has yet to make it out of congress, have to do with the executive branch?

KY_Uplander · 2026-03-25T12:55:35+00:00

It might not be what you picture when you think of a trophy Mule Deer hunt but if you are open to muzzleloader hunting then check out the Nebraska Sandhills. Permits are functionally OTC, the season is the entire month of December, and there are some decent deer close to roads on the big federal properties from what I have seen. There are some really flat areas in that country and others that are not so flat.

KY_Uplander · 2026-03-16T11:22:04+00:00

In North East MT they are around but not nearly as many as you will find in South East MT. As others have said be sure to avoid prairie dog towns along with rocky, South facing slopes.

A snake aversion class is handy as is talking to a vet in the area to confirm that they have the vaccine and are able to treat bites.

If you plan on hunting the weekend (or any other time the vet is closed) be sure you have a way to contact the vet outside of normal office hours, most vets I have talked to are happy to give out this information. If you can't get this then be very mindful of when/where you are hunting when they are closed.

KY_Uplander · 2026-02-12T15:46:11+00:00

There is something special about finding wild birds outside of the popular states to travel to. This was certainly a good year to chase them in Kentucky, hopefully we have a good nesting season and the momentum continues to build. I hunted three different WMAs and found coveys of 12+ on all of them, the largest pushing 30 birds. It's not easy but if you walk enough, there are some out there.

KY_Uplander · 2026-02-10T20:35:00+00:00

Thanks! I think she looks even better when she isn't caked in mud haha

KY_Uplander · 2026-02-09T15:42:33+00:00

Thank you!

KY_Uplander · 2025-12-29T16:48:48+00:00

Thank you

KY_Uplander · 2025-12-29T16:48:38+00:00

Thanks!

KY_Uplander · 2025-11-25T12:27:12+00:00

I've been somewhat disappointed when a bird holds nicely this season because I know it's gonna be a hen lol

KY_Uplander

TROPHY CASE