Month: November 2017

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HUGE Outdoors Guy Christmas Cookbook Sale!!

Ok Folks, for the first time ever I am offering my entire Cookbook Library ON SALE in time for Christmas – $10 per book ($15 for hardcover) (Plus $8 shipping, $15 shipping for 2 or more)

Choose from the many cool titles I have written over the past 8 years. Each cookbook features 100+ tasty recipes, useful tips and personal stories from the great outdoors, published by Canada’s authority on cooking; Company’s Coming.

These Cookbooks will make great stocking stuffers and I’ll personally sign each and every one! (Please note that the Canadian Fishing Cooking and Outdoor Cookbook are nearly sold-out.) 

Drop me an email at: [email protected] or by phone (613) 601-7471

Happy cooking and MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

 

Campfire Cooking

Everything cooked over a campfire and eaten in the outdoors always tastes better it seems. But when faced with the challenge of cooking something other than hot dogs or hamburgers, many of us seem stymied. In this handy guide to campfire cooking, you will find lots of easy-to-prepare recipes as well as tips and tricks to make the planning and executing of interesting meals and snacks made over a campfire not only easy but fun.

Canadian Fishing Cookbook

Canada’s lakes, rivers and oceans are blessed with an abundance of wild fish, from salmon to trout to mackerel to sunnies and much, much more. After a relaxing day of fishing, there’s nothing better than frying up your fresh catch right there on the spot. Canadian Fishing Cookbook offers up to 150 of the greatest wild fish recipes out there.

 

Canadian Berry Cookbook

150 delicious recipes all featuring Canadian berries at their finest

 

Canadian Wild Game Cookbook

From the field to the table, the author presents 150 delicious recipes all featuring Canadian wild game at their finest

 

The Essential Guys’ Cookbook

A great gift for any guy! Essential recipes that celebrate the wonderful enthusiasm men have for cooking their special cuisine: – Classic recipes that taste like Mama used to make – Date night dinners: three secrets to win their hearts – Quick fixes – Late-night snacks – Game day cooking – Desserts to wow

 

The Canadian Outdoor Cookbook

Food simply tastes better when you’re outdoors. Canadian Outdoor Cookbook helps you take your outdoor meals from ho-hum to fantastic! With 150 recipes for brunches, lunches, dinners and campfire snacks, the possibilities are practically endless for your next adventure in the wilderness. Make-ahead tips throughout also simplify your preparations so you can get part of the work done from your kitchen before you leave. The whole family will love cooking with Canadian Outdoor Cookbook.

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Another exciting deer season

My annual deer hunt at Kenauk Nature in Montebello is the highlight of my year and this fall was no exception. The famous Quebec deer woods, with its majestic old growth stands of oak, brings me back every time.

Climbing the peaks each November in pursuit of a trophy whitetail buck is about as exciting as it gets, and this year was no exception. On one hand, I am in a paradise living a hunter’s dream of pursing whitetails in one of our region’s most scenic woods. Then on the other hand my Montebello trip is the last kick at the hunting can for the year.

This deer season, I was not presented with the opportunity to harvest a buck and that’s okay with me, it is why we call it hunting after all. My partner Jim and I climbed many miles of clean hardwoods and exposed bedrock chasing a particular buck we found good sign of, but could never catch up to. We were encouraged this fall to see increased whitetail activity overall, both here and back home around our family camp near Mont. Tremblant. Though we left Kenauk’s Muskrat Chalet empty-handed, I feel completely fulfilled as a hunter and fortunate to have experienced such an amazing deer woods. Perhaps next year I will have the chance to harvest a mature whitetail but until then, I am left with the memories of another great season. Thanks to Bill Nowell for facilitating my annual trip to this little slice of heaven.

To experience a wilderness at its best and top notch accommodations, check out:  http://kenauk.com/ If you’re considering deer hunting in the province of Quebec, visit the Québec Outfitters Federation:  https://www.pourvoiries.com/en/hunting-quebec/species/white-tailed-deer/

Backyard deer feeding
Winter deer feeding can be a controversial issue in this part of the country, even though I continue to do it almost every year. When carried out properly, supplemental feeding not only serves as a great past-time, but can be of benefit to these animals once snow depth increases. Once you begin distributing feed in early winter; however, it is imperative to continue throughout the winter, as the animal’s digestive system will adapt to the supplemented diet. Game management agencies usually discourage backyard feeding, for the fact that most people are not familiar enough with white-tailed deer diet requirements. Another way to help is by increasing access to the deer’s natural winter forage by creating trails with a snowmobile or ATV or even snowshoes, to offer our deer friends improved access to winter browse.

Safety first
This time of year with some hunting still on the go, enthusiasts are reminded to be vigilant and take the necessary safety precautions. Remember that hunter orange of a minimum 400 square inches is required and, for Ontario residents, a hunter orange cap as well. Be sure to keep your firearms and ammunition locked away when not in use, and never shoot unless absolutely sure of your target and beyond. It is illegal to shoot from a vehicle or carry a loaded firearm in or on a vehicle, and remember that any hunter who harvests a deer must immediately attach the game seal. A safe hunt is a happy hunt and a careless accident can turn a wonderful day in the woods into tragedy.

Ice-fishing safety
With ice fishing season just around the corner, fishermen should consider registering their hut this winter. Not only is ice hut registration a requirement by law it goes a long way in preventing wayward huts later in the season.   Abandoned huts which end-up in waterways after the thaw will create havoc for boaters and early season fishermen. To register your hut in Pembroke District, please call the ministry office at: (613) 732-3661

Next time
Check out next month’s column for your Valley ice-fishing primer. Drop me a line anytime with your hunting and fishing news and let us know where you plan to fish this winter: [email protected]

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Kenauk Nature, a Quebec deer hunting tradition

White-tailed deer hunters everywhere are joining in the annual pursuit of North America’s most sought after big-game animal, and the province of Quebec has some of the most underrated deer hunting in existence.

Deer season is a special and sentimental time I have enjoyed immensely for the past 37 years. From my first deer hunt back in 1980 when my father brought me to the family hunt camp near Mont Tremblant, I was immediately hooked. Of course I lucked-out that year when a big eight-point buck ran straight out to me on opening morning. It was an exciting time for a green-horn hunter and I believe most hunters, young and old, still share this child-like enthusiasm for the deer season and Kenauk Nature has always been my favourite place to pursue whitetails.

 

Deer hunting at Kenauk’s 65,000 acre private paradise is time I look forward to year after year. The famous Montebello, Quebec Preserve is a true hunter’s paradise with its rolling hills, rugged terrain and the most majestic old growth stands of red oak I’ve ever seen.

 

Climbing the peaks each autumn in pursuit of a trophy whitetail buck is always exciting and I have been fortunate to take some truly magnificent whitetails at Kenauk over the years.

Getting out to enjoy Quebec’s crisp, cool fall air each fall is what I live for. Coming together as a team; strategizing and pouring over topographic maps and GPS co-ordinates with hopes of positioning ourselves for a chance at a deer. Many years our best planning does not translate into a sagging game pole and that is ok with me, there have been more than enough successful years to make up for it. One year in particular, I enjoyed the most exciting deer action in recent memory and Kenauk is where it all unfolded.

From the very start of the 2012 deer season I had a feeling I was in store for something marvelous…

First hunt of opening day and a dandy (but not legal) 4-point yearling strolled out to me at the end of a lake I was watching. (Kenauk practises QDM and has a 6-point or better rule) The scrappy little buck got to within 10 feet of where I was sitting and never even knew I was there. I knew this little guy well from photos I had on my trail cam, and I had no intention of raising my rifle on him even if he was legal.  I sat there quietly and enjoyed the sight of this young lad as he disappeared over the hill. As the days went on, my Kenauk deer sighting went sky-high. On one chase alone I had 8 deer coming to me including two bucks; one a spike and the other a forkhorn. I already had 3 bucks appear at close range and I still hadn’t raised the rifle.

By the final day of the season, I promised my then 81-year old father that HE would sit in the location where the 8 deer had appeared the day before.

As I watching the knoll in front of me with another watchful eye over in my father’s direction, my finger’s were crossed. Surely if the big buck which had been making all the rubs and scrapes was around, he should appear and practically run my father over in his hotspot. My poor Dad had seen but 1 whitetail all season and deserved this chance at a nice buck. But alas, as irony and my fate as deer magnet won out, I heard the rustling of leaves on the hill above me and the glimpse of antler caught my attention.  Sneaking down the ridge in front of me was one of the biggest set of ivory white antlers I’d ever laid eyes on!  

“How could this be?” I thought. “This isn’t the hotspot, the oldman is supposed to see this deer over there!!”

A small but persistent wave of guilt come over me. Finally, instinct took over as I picked out a semi-clear window in the brush I figured this majestic beast would step into. And as my continuous knack for doing everything right won out, the deer stopped into the very spot I had chosen; as if on cue. Within seconds it was all over and a marvelous 10-point king was mine.

As I walked up to this magnificent beast I knew this had to my destiny and I couldn’t fight fate any longer. This Kenauk deer was a very special animal indeed and not your run-of-the-mill whitetail. He sported an almost perfectly symmetrical 5X5 crown with long sweeping main beams and even showed signs of “piebald” pigmentation along his lower legs and hooves. Two hooves were half white and half brown almost like a pair of white slippers!

If a memorable whitetail hunt is what you’re looking for this fall, keep Kenauk Nature in mind or one of the other great Quebec Outfitters. For more information on deer hunting at Kenauk Nature: http://kenauk.com/activities/hunting/

If you’re considering the deer hunt of a lifetime this fall, visit the Québec Outfitters Federation: https://www.pourvoiries.com/en/hunting-quebec/species/white-tailed-deer/ for all the hunting and lodging information you will ever need.

Happy hunting and I hope to see you in La Belle Province!

 

 

 

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Deer season scouting is in order!

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For those hunters gearing-up for whitetail rifle season, just a reminder that its that time of year when pre-season scouting is definitely in order. I was up at our hunt camp recently checking on my deer woods to see what’s been going-on since last fall.

While there, I put out some trail cameras and investigated a few of the old runways for activity.

I must admit I was a tad concerned about entering the deer woods this year following a couple of meagre years in a row but, thankfully, it looks as though things may be on the rebound!

Fingers crossed!

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I don’t care who you are, just setting one foot into your hunting territory at this time of year is exciting.

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And when you see deer tracks around, I don’t know about you, but my hearts gets going like a little hummingbird! Running to the trailcams is always the first order of business upon arriving at deer camp. Scrolling through the images I feel like a kid at Christmas time!

Happy hunting one and all. Be safe and have fun with family and friends! Be sure to share your stories on my previous “Favourite Hunt” post.

The Outdoors Guy