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Fish, Fowl, Fur

What's the fascination with steelhead? Bluegill beat them at several different points and they wouldn't even be number 1 on my list..
 
Whatever picks up my worm off the bottom of the lake or pond
Pheasant for sure, unless I'm in the forest then it's grouse
Elk, because they taste good and live close by
I would love to kill a cougar, but I don't want to put in that much effort, so I guess squirrels
 
@Europe said:
It would be interesting when this thread comes to an end if someone was to calculate which animal in each category was mentioned the most and post it for us.

Actually we could ask the same question annually and @wllm1313 could both trend it for us as well as do a comparative between species chosen and annual harvest!

…just putting that out there🤔

Gentlemen, while we wait on this to be officially done by Will, a teenage female did a quick count for me ( although I doubt her mind was 100% into doing so )
and found

Elk, Black Bears, and Turkeys seem to be the big winner ( not so clear on fish but Salmon and Trout pulled in a fair amount of votes ) Elk and turkeys didn't surprise me but I was a bit surprised at Black Bear vs Brown, possibly because I personally prefer to hunt the Brown more than the Black. But the difference in the numbers of folks who prefer the Black did surprise me a bit. The Elk and turkey wasn't surprising however. Nobody wanted to fish for Catfish on the Mississippi with me :(

Oh I think about anyone that spent any length of time chasing steel (in their native waters) knows what it's about.
This is true :)
 
OK, here we go again. If you could only fish/hunt for one single species of each of the following in North America what would it be? One fish, one bird, one ungulate and one non-ungulate mammal.

My list:

Fish - lake trout in the Northwest Territories (smallmouth bass if stuck in US)
Bird - pheasants
Ungualte - Elk 'cuz - tasty (antelope a close second just 'cuz - fun)
Non-ungulate mammal - black bear (coyote close second with squirrels distant third)
Fish - definitely NOT lake trout, especially the lard bellied grease balls from Great Slave etc. They are very poor fighters and barely catfood. Definitely at the bottom of my list. Pound for pound the best fighting fish in North America is ocean run fresh sockeye on a fly rod. They just happen to also be the best eating.

Bird: Pheasants because they are smart, tough, squawk when flushed, light up like a neon sign, and taste great. They also have a smell that drives dogs crazy. Other uplands may be more challenging but I go for action. Waterfowl? Meah ... unless it's jump shooting. I prefer to stalk.

Ungulate: Whitetail deer because they are wiley ... when stalked. Elk are social animals and I did not find them to be particularly challenging to stalk. Often they would stand and look when I tracked them to beds a second time. Of course that was a time before wolves were back in play. Probably different now. Moose here is a close second for challenging stalk. They are a solitary animal and chased a lot by wolves and hunters. They do NOT hang around if they hear something on their track ... and they keep on going. Even eating on the run. Mule deer are at the bottom rung. Least challenging to hunt.

Non-ungulate: Gophers I guess. I've only shot two coyotes in my life and both were spur of the moment. I've had plenty of opportunities to shoot wolves here, legally and not. Lots of opportunities to take bears over the years. Just have no real interest in shooting dogs or bears.
 
OK, here we go again. If you could only fish/hunt for one single species of each of the following in North America what would it be? One fish, one bird, one ungulate and one non-ungulate mammal.

My list:

Fish - lake trout in the Northwest Territories (smallmouth bass if stuck in US)
Bird - pheasants
Ungualte - Elk 'cuz - tasty (antelope a close second just 'cuz - fun)
Non-ungulate mammal - black bear (coyote close second with squirrels distant third)
Fish: panfish with my kids
Bird: wild turkey
Ungulate: Pronghorn
Non-ungulate: squirrel. (or cottontail during those once in 7 years or so population explosions.)
 
Last edited:
Elk, Black Bears, and Turkeys seem to be the big winner ( not so clear on fish but Salmon and Trout pulled in a fair amount of votes ) Elk and turkeys didn't surprise me but I was a bit surprised at Black Bear vs Brown, possibly because I personally prefer to hunt the Brown more than the Black. But the difference in the numbers of folks who prefer the Black did surprise me a bit. The Elk and turkey wasn't surprising however. Nobody wanted to fish for Catfish on the Mississippi with me :(

I went with things as a food source. Walleye taste good!
Moose has LOTS of meat, even though I've never hunted them.
Turkey are big AND tasty.
I can make a big old batch of bear stew.
 
I went with things as a food source. Walleye taste good!
Moose has LOTS of meat, even though I've never hunted them.
Turkey are big AND tasty.
I can make a big old batch of bear stew.
Wait ... turkeys are tasty? By all accounts I've been told and read the legs are poor dogfood at best and even breast meat so so if brined, marinated, and whatever else can be done to improve the meat. Ruff grouse are tops for bird eating. I've been told coyote meat stews up good too ... but I'm not interested. I suppose if I was into non-ungulant for eating, I would select cougar. Supposedly delicious, similar to chicken. But I'm not interested in shooting cats either. Squirrels here taste like turpentine and I've never eaten rabbit though I shot hundreds of jacks in my younger days when they came out of the hills onto hayfields in midwinter sick and dying.
 
I went with things as a food source.
Moose has LOTS of meat, even though I've never hunted them.

And immediately you are now an honored First Nation individual;)

Muskox and Wood Bison are first on the list and then Moose For us it is all about how many meals can you bring home with one hunt. But, I like hunting moose more than Bison or Muskox, so sometimes it is also about what one enjoys. Which explains people who like catfish fishing ;)

I was a bit surprised at Black Bear vs Brown, possibly because I personally prefer to hunt the Brown more than the Black. But the difference in the numbers of folks who prefer the Black did surprise me a bit.
.
The blacks are hunted at 3 per year, while the grizzly is hunted at one every three years, in this area. Just more opportunity for hunting the Black is my guess April. But, we always enjoy the Grizzly hunts more as it actually makes us hunt. We can kill a black on the way to the store ;) Last year more Blacks were killed via DLP than Grizzly. However the Kodiak that you speak of is an entirely different bear, than the ones we have. That would be a good hunt.
 
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