Episode 311 - Making big hunts happen

This episode of the podcast is brought to you by Bear Boat Alaska. Up your DIY hunting game. With one of their 37 foot adventure yachts, you and five of your friends can hunt, fish, set crab pots, shrimp pots, and take DIY to the next level. Bareboat Alaska is locally owned by a Ketchikan resident who lives here year round. Call Larry at 907-617-4542 or go to bearboat alaska.com that's b a r e boat alaska.com and tell Larry you heard about it on this podcast. This episode of the podcast is also brought to you by Islander Calls and Creations. Bill and Sarah Yockey are lifelong residents of Prince of Wales island and their unique deer calls are built for blacktail hunting specifications. Check out their Facebook page. Islander Calls and Creations to order yours today. Welcome back to the podcast. Jaden Bales. What's going on, man?

Hey, man. It's been a long time since we've caught up and I'm curious how things are going. I'm excited to catch up with you.

It's kind of funny because I think, man, I haven't had Jaden Bales on for a long time, but it's always ends up being about a month and a half.

Is that right?

Something like that. It always seems like, man, I haven't talked to him in like half a year, five, six months, seven months, and it ends up being every about month and a half, two months that I have a have you on. So it's, that's good as it works out like that. I think for the most part that.

That'S how I keep my corresponding status.

That's true, that's true. How's the season going for you? Because it, we're up here and it's, it's October, so the alpine deer season is over. We're now looking at rut and people kind of counting the tags. So if you have ideally you have two alpine tags taken care of, you got some deer in the freezer and you got two more tags getting ready for rup. I don't have any deer yet. Abby has one, but things aren't necessarily shaping up as. As I had planned.

Hey, wait, isn't it what's hers is yours and what's hers, yours is ours.

In that situation, like exactly, exactly.

No, that's great, man. You know, I, I always think about this, about this time of year, I start feeling like, oh my gosh, like things have moved so fast because we've been hun a month and a half or whatever. Down here and if you, if you're an archery antelope hunter. Anyway, it's a month and a half, but really a lot of things are just getting started. You know, a lot of rifle season started in early October. A lot of deer and elk seasons have yet to open up. So yeah, I'd like to summarize the season, but I feel like, man, I just have been lucky to get out a bunch. So I can't really say it's been a bad season or not. You know, I've been out a ton and I've shot a couple antelope does and I shot at elk and unfortunately lost it with my bow. So that's been, that's been how the season's gone and you know, and that you try to summarize it, but gosh, you're talking like, you know, 20 days, maybe a field in the last month and a half, including antelope season. So like it's. It. That doesn't really summarize it very well. Right. That's just the highlights.

Yeah. Yeah, I was thinking about that too, that I don't have any deer, but I'm not really that panicked. I, I have a caribou and a mountain goat like those. That's a legendary start to the fall. Like that's. Who am I? So it's. I feel horrible to even complain or mention the fact I don't have a deer yet because things have been so good. But you know, that is the thing that I look forward to so much is the alpine deer and those things. That, that's the thing that I should be the best at at this point. But you know, you start looking forward to that stuff and you start thinking that you're going to apply all the cumulative knowledge of all of your career so far. And then when it doesn't necessarily turn out, you think, oh man. And I think it's different up here because we have such a long season, so we have four months and you can get multiple deer. And so I think unless you have a bunch of tags that can kind of stress people out because their whole year is tilted toward the one week long trip or the 10 day trip that they're making, that can add some, some bonus stress.

Yeah, absolutely. Man, I, I feel so lucky to have like, you know, my First Tag opened August 15th this year and the last, and the Last one closes January 31st and that being a kal elk hunt. And so I think you're right. You know, we're kind of in a lucky select group of people. Who have the opportunity to hunt for a long, long time. But for the majority of folks who hunt, like you said, like a week or two a year, it's. It's definitely a lot more. I could see it creating a lot more anxiety to try to get something down. Yeah.

Especially when you add. Add in the travel. Like, if you're. If this is the week that you plan to go to Colorado or Montana or Idaho or Alaska, like, this is. It has to work out. This is the only time that I have. So it's nice to have more options, but.

Yeah, absolutely. One of the things I've. I've talked to a couple people who've gone on elk hunts, like from back east. They've been clients of mine, and nobody, you know, the two guys I'm thinking about right now, or actually it's really three I'm thinking about right now, didn't fill their tags. Right. But they also, like, the. The whole thought process behind their hunts was I just want to go and learn and I just want to go and, like, enjoy this whole process. So, you know, I think that's a huge factor. Right. That you don't. Each hunt's a little different as to what you're trying to get out of it. Because if you're these guys and you're just coming out here to Colorado, for example, and just trying to be in elk and they got in elk, and you know what? That's a success. So I don't know that they have a whole lot of heartbreak coming home after that versus, you know, like, us who have these really long seasons and are just used to getting critters. That's just a totally different mindset that we. That we, you know, go into the season with.

Yeah, I've been thinking a lot about this. There's a couple different angles to it. One is I. With the proliferation of social media and experiences it is offered, we have so many more amazing, incredible opportunities. And it's so positive that we have these. These. It can connect us to hunts that we wouldn't ordinarily know about, which is so great. And then a potential byproduct is that you have, you know, do people not have. We eliminated the contentment that we used to have with hunt specialization. So there were people who were just mule deer hunt and would just crush meal deer. And that was their thing. They didn't think about caribou. Like, they don't care about caribou because it just wasn't on the radar. So you put. You put some of these hunts on the radars for other people. And it's like, man, I'm so thankful. I'm so happy that I was able to have this experience. Caribou or not, you know, or in Abby and I's case, elk or not. It was so much fun to be in now to be down there and be in elk. Even though they weren't bugling and they'd gone quiet, it was still such an amazing experience. I'm so happy I was able to do that. But for some people, they're, you know, oh, I heard about this hunt. I'm gonna throw some money at it and if it doesn't work out, then I'm gonna be upset about it. And that's an unfortunate byproduct of it. But it's cool to hear about people who are excited for the opportunity for the experience not taking that as a guarantee that they will get meat or be successful.

I see that a lot in like when someone burns a bunch of points or spends a bunch of money on a hunt, that's for some reason that that is gonna guarantee that they have a more successful or more like a hunt that meets their expectations more. And I just, I feel like oftentimes the more invested you have that the more disappointed people end up being, you know, rather than like, I had this elk hunt with my dad and brother last year and I just knew that we weren't going to be just hammering all over the place because this is a family hunt, like we're going to do it all together. And you know, and that was a totally different outcome than if I would have been like, man, I'm going to try to find the biggest bull and I burned 30 points or whatever the case is. Right. It just, I, I, I think that if we keep everything in perspective a little bit better, it can alleviate that. But gosh, it's really easy to get down that trap of just being like, it's got to be this, you know, specific way, this specific experience or it's not the experience I wanted.

You know, we see that a lot up here. And I have some guide buddies that come up and they, or they talk about people who've come up and they get really disappointed when they don't catch a 50 or 60 pound king and they don't have that perspective. And it's, they've talked for months about going up to Alaska and they have this, you know, they tell their friends, are bragging to their friends that they're going to come up here. And so when it doesn't happen, it's it's like a hit to their ego because they were the ones who were going to make everybody jealous for their trip up here and they were going to catch all these fish and they've hyped it up so much that if it doesn't happen, it's not a matter of oh dang it, I didn't get the fish. It's how am I going to face my friends who are supposed to be jealous of me because I was talking so much trash and it didn't end up happening. So yeah, that'll. That approach but you can't do anything about that. Like that's, that's. People are going to have that approach and that people are going to do that and that's. I don't know if you can. I think you could definitely learn to, to think a little bit differently and maybe change your approach a little bit. But yeah, it's kind of sad when people have that and it ruins what could be really, really fun.

I actually am having this conversation with my brother right now. So he's coming out for like, we've got a six day rifle mule deer season here locally and he has a tag just for this local area and he's coming out. We're really excited. I've scouted a whole bunch. I've seen a bunch of deer, yada yada, but at the same time, and I actually was supposed to have the conversation with him tonight but didn't. Anyway, him and I need to discuss the fact that like, look, as soon as we see an animal, we need to like take a sec and be like, you know, deep breath, ooze fra bah. And like really embrace the fact that we have set a lot of expectations for him to get a deer. And if we, you know, if you over set those expectations, you lose your noggin and you lose your cool. When you're in the moment, you got to really just stay focused because yeah, just keep keeping that good perspective is like, could ruin like. And make or break a hunt.

Yeah. So part of opportunities here, when you talk about making or breaking a hunt, knowledge is such an important thing. And we have outfitters who you spend a ton of money but everything's taken care of. You have on the opposite end, you have the free podcasts and things like that. Do your own research. Then you have kind of, you can pay for class and such. And so you've, you found a different space. Talk a little bit about the space that you found in a. That's, that's also in the Middle there.

Well, one of the things I've always loved is kind of like sending people pins and like talking about an approach for a hunt. And I don't. I've done it with you and Abby and like, I just, I love doing that thing because it's like, it's like getting the insider information on like a hunt you're doing and then when you have success or not, like, then, you know, I think that it's really cool to kind of talk through what happened, why, when. And like, I think there's just a ton of learning with that. I mean, I think especially now, I've got a ton more to learn and I do it on all my hunts. And when I think about when I got my first elk, I did that with Cody Rich and we did that through the podcast. So I basically, like, looked at all this, like, history of, of this, like, kind of advising or, you know, consulting that people do to each other and with each other, myself to others and others to me. And I thought that was really helpful. So I started Hunt west, which is a project of mine that I'm just trying to play around with, helping people out on their hunts, like doing exactly what we're talking about, looking at, setting the right expectations, step one and then two, like figuring out a game plan that, that fits someone's style. Like, not everyone is going to be The Ryan Lampers 12 mile backpack into the backcountry, and not everyone's going to be the Jason Carter looking for the biggest trophy buck on the mountain either. So, you know, it just really, just working with folks and trying to help them have really good haunts has been something that I've been focusing on with Hunt west, and it's been really fun this year. It's. It really has.

So you don't like the term consulting, but that is essentially what you're doing, which is a cool thing to provide. It's, it's, you know, people can't afford outfitters and people. It's still a. I don't know, who cares about the classification? It's not, it's a diy, but with enhanced research. I don't, I don't know. But what, what's the operational load or how many people are you clients are you taking on?

Man, I like to think of it as like trip advising or like a travel agent for, for hunting. Right.

I like it.

It's not giving someone. It's not, you know, giving someone the spot where they have to go, but it's teaching them the tools to figure out how to keep looking and, and having a game plan for each day of their hunt. Right. Because like, I'm not gonna, I, I don't know. And even if I did, I wouldn't give it to folks. Like, I don't know exactly where the deer or elk are in these units, but I can also teach them, like, hey, this is what you're looking for. You want to go, you know, in these zones that are overlooked by people or where you can kind of get away from folks without having to hike 12 miles in the backcountry. Or like in the case of some folks, it's like, here's some really great looking habitat and you have to back back into there. Like, I just think that there's a lot of different approaches and it's been fun to basically just sit down and look at what each person wants and, and try to help build a game plan around it.

Yeah, people get really funny about helping other people. And you know, as a writer, outdoor writer, I try to be as vague as possible when it comes to places and whatnot. You know, because your Prince of Wales is on the map, people go to hunt and fish. Prince of Wales. And the rivers there are packed with people now. And it's it that seclusion, that isolation that you used to be able to get, you don't really get anymore, but that's, you know, it's providing money for the, for the island. So there's always going to be people who are upset about the people who are making money off it, who are writing about it, who are getting the word out about it. Do you consider that? But don't worry about it or how do you approach the people who are inevitably going to take your entrepreneurial idea and turn it into some sort of. This is the worst thing in hunting since, well, killing the bison from the trains or something.

Yeah, man. And I think that it's something I think about a lot because I never want to like, blow up someone's spot. And that's why, like these places that I'm helping them look at the vast majority of them I've never been to before or if I have been there, like I've driven through it, I haven't hunted it before.

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That'S because I'm trying to teach people how to do it, not like what the exact spot is. And I think that it's. The term I like to say is like, you know, you give a man a fish, he eats for a day and you teach a man to fish and he can feed himself for a lifetime. Like that's the whole, that's the whole idea behind it. Right? So, and I think that when you look at the influx of people that, that are interested in hunting out west or just hunting in new, unique kind of ways, it's. I don't see a slowing tide of people getting into it. What I would like to see though is just a better cohort of people coming in and doing a better job when they go out there. Not just running around on the razor and causing a big ruckus and tearing stuff up. Right. So, you know, that's, I think, where you can see an opportunity to make a positive impact while helping people learn.

Yeah, it's that it's like the movie Hitch when Will Smith's character is, it's. He's by recommendation only so he can control the clients and you know, and it just helped people and it's realizing like that he doesn't actually help them. Like they kind of help themselves or what he tried to help them with or the suggestions that he gave him weren't really the things that was working. It was just the confidence to be able to be noticed. It wasn't like any sort of tricks or anything by a, you know, by someone who's. Who's good at getting girls or making relationships or something like that. It's like you said, it's. It's enabling people to make that a right decision in the right moment and have the confidence to follow through with a plan rather than, you know, just say, well, I'm just going to throw money at it, or I have no idea what I'm doing, and I just hope I get lucky.

Yeah, absolutely. You know, and. And I. I do a questionnaire, like, survey thing before I help anybody out. And, like, the question is, what, you know, what kind of experience do you want? And then I also ask them, like, what would make this really helpful? And if someone says, like, I want to know, like, the biggest critter in the unit and, like, how to get it, I'm like, I'm not going to be helpful for you, you know, like this. You're so right. Like, it is very much based on, like, you got to have the right person who is looking for their personal, like, trying to teach themselves and not just look for the get out of jail free card.

Have you found people? I know you're kind of new into it, but there's people who represent who they wish they were versus who they actually are. So when you're filling out a questionnaire, you can think that you embody all these great attributes of a hunter who, you know, is just ethical, and I'm about the experience. But have you. Have you had any that might not have a sense of reality when it comes to who they really are?

I. I think a large part of it is. Is, like, the questionnaire is built in a way that, like, I try not to set anyone up if they're. If they're answering the questions in a way that might not be a good fit. Like, I'm gonna. It's gonna. I'm gonna catch my. It's gonna catch my eye. Right? The other thing I do, I do, just to answer your question, the number one thing that I keep seeing is everyone wants to backpack hunt, and no one wants to actually be fit enough to backpack.

Oh, yeah.

So, like, like, that is a huge factor. And I. I've seen it with, like, three or four different people so far that, like, they were like, yeah, I want to. You know, they answer the question, I want to backpack hunt. And then you get to, like, breaking down, like, what their physical fitness is, like, and, like, how much They've done before. And you realize that, like, we really actually got to step back and, like, backpack hunt for them means walking around the woods with a backpack on after sleeping at the truck. So, yeah, that's been huge. Peace.

That's. That's such a. I want to be the type of person who does this, and that's an identity thing versus, you know, will you actually do that? And there's such a. Such a big difference. That's one of the cool things about some of these experiences, that if you are pushed, you find that, yeah, you can do that. That is you potentially, and you can have that experience. Then it becomes less about telling other people and more about just that feeling of, man, I. I did that. Like, we biked, we took a boat, and then we hiked six miles and then camped, and then another three miles and shot a deer. Then three miles back to camp, then six miles, like, dude, nice. You know, and getting up from. Going from sea level to 3,000ft in elevation, you know, those sort of things are really cool. And it's. It's fun to. To find that you're capable of that, and that's. It's fun to be able to help people see that in themselves and provide that. And that's. That's awesome.

But it's one of those things where. So, like, I have a friend of mine, we. There's an aquatic invasive species kind of cracked down in Wyoming, so we had to put the kibosh on this plan. But we were planning on boating into an area in Wyoming to go deer hunting. Not because it was, like, significantly better hunting to boat into this area and then camp on the beach, but because it was, like, part of this experience that we really wanted. You know, my buddy's dad, who was trying to orchestrate all this, is like, man, I have shot big deer. I have shot a lot of deer. I just want one in this specific way. And I think that when you. When you're looking at, like, the style of hunt that you do, there's, like, just a big adventure that goes with it. It's, like, logistically, like, not easy. There are a lot easier ways probably, to kill deer or to, like, you know, fill your freezer. And. And this is maybe just from a lower 48 perspective, but there are a lot of easier ways to. To get a deer and elk than to backpack in and get one. It just happens to be like, you know, that is a great experience. Or to boat in and get one is a cool experience. I think sussing out, like, what someone really wants out of a hunt is hard and important to do, but we don't do it very often.

Yeah. Yeah, there's a couple lakes around here because our road system isn't very extensive on this island. Prince of Wales has a pretty extensive road system, so they can get around a lot of different areas. But there are some lakes around here that you could hike. Hike around pretty easily. But now that Abby and I both have pack rafts, just, hey, let's raft across. Just a whole new experience. Just a different thing. Let's play the pack rafts. Let's go. And, yeah, it's. It's just cool to include different things and different toys and have a different experience. And not that it ever gets mundane, not that ever gets old, but, you know, just that opportunity for something new and fresh is just. It's so great.

Yeah, absolutely, man. And it. I also think that it's. One of the things that we don't talk about is like, I'm gonna do this thing because it sounds freaking fun, you know, that's okay to do, you know, if it's fun to have a nice camp or to sleep in a motel, like, gosh, just do that. Don't worry about what you think. Other people may or may not think about how hard you hunt or don't hunt or whatever, you know, Like, I. I. Jess and I have talked about this a lot this year. Like, how can you make sure you have fun on these hunts while also going really hard in the paint? And it just is. It's. We've got a lot of pressure, I think, right now from, you know, particularly. I like to blame social media, but also just from the general ethos of hunting right now to go really hard. Yeah. It's not always what it's all about.

Yeah. I think we get really caught up in. In minimalism, in badass, in difficult. And sometimes we could forget about just how fun it is to be out there and then warm and comfortable. There's nothing wrong with that. You know, like, I took minimal stuff, and I only took, you know, 18 saltine crackers for the whole time, so. Well, why. You know, like, there's. There's nothing wrong with. Hey, you know, I. We brought a ton of stuff out in the truck, and we truck camped, and it was awesome. Or bringing the hot tent, you know, and. And tons of food, you know, taking the boat out and everything. It's. It's okay to have a ton of fun. You don't have to have this epic story of how badass you were and how minimal you were and how miserable things were. Like, having fun is good too.

Yeah, exactly. I agree. And it's not like I want every, you know, every, every hunt also should be different. I think that's the other thing people forget because you can do. I mean, just, you know, each one has its own challenges. Each weekend's a little different. This weekend I'm going to go pronghorn hunting in an area that I might like legitimately backpack in for a pronghorn this weekend. But I also shot two antelope does in front of my house. Two pronghorn does that. I left the house with my rifle in my hand and walked out the meadow and got them right. Like, like each thing has it. There's a time and place for everything.

Yeah, I, I would love at some point to do one of those, maybe llama. I'm not sure about getting on a horse in some of that rugged territory, but just, just go back to one of those camps where you have the, the canvas tent and you have, you know, full on meal and everything. We saw up on the. When you're hunting caribou, someone had one of those programs and, and they just firewood stocked outside. And it was, there was a wife and there was at least one kid. And I was like, dude, this, this dad's doing it right? And he understands and knows that if this is going to be a family thing, it's going to have to be maybe a little bit more comfortable than what he ordinarily does with, with some of the buddies. But it was an awesome tent. Took a while to set up, but we were, we were jealous of just the comfort and we were in awe of, of, of the program that he was running. And it was, it was really cool. And that'd be really fun to, to do one of those in the, in a rural area. But if you start talking about the cost of that, I mean, it sounds definitely like an outfitter type hunt, not just, I don't know, the amount of money that you could spend on something else would probably, you know, you, you get an outfitter for an elk hunt somewhere remote that's got everything taken care of, or you could do five, six or seven or eight other hunts. So I don't know if I'll ever do it, but that, that sort of cool comfort elk camp seems like a cool thing to do.

It's. Yeah, there's totally a balance of like, you know, being financially responsible and, and, and doing one hunt really well versus like doing a bunch of hunts. You know, the way you want to do them. So, yeah, I. I struggle with this all the time. I would imagine everybody else does, too, because I've noticed every time that a topic has been brought enough, you're like, man, I'm always like, you know, balancing this. I'm like, oh, yeah, this is just a common thing.

Yeah. And I do wonder. And I, you know, again, going back to the social media and the Internet and YouTube and the. The fact that we don't have the same gatekeepers that there used to be, anybody can make content. And so it seems like everybody has this long resume of so many different hunts. If you're a western hunter, you've been to three or four different states, you have a fistful of tags, and at some point, you have been to Alaska or are going to Alaska. And so I think those voices are probably amplified. And I'm sure there's plenty of people who are super, you know, Robbie Denning, like, the guy just crushes mule deer, and he loves mule deer. Brady Miller. Those guys are mule deer guys. They've done other hunts, too. But, you know, we just get this sort of, I can't be satisfied, or I don't want to just be a sitcom blacktail guy in southeast Alaska. My resume is incomplete if I haven't done these other epic experiences. And that can be a trap, but it can also push us to do some epic things that we're going to be so happy that we did for ourselves, not just so we could tell other people.

Yeah, yeah, absolutely, man. It's one of those things that, like, I identify, quote, unquote, identify as a mule deer guy. Right. It's like one of the things that I really just like, I wake up in the morning, I'm like, what kind of honey you want to do? I want to go be with your honey. But, you know, Jess is. Jess and I work really well together in a elk hunting team, and, you know, she. You know, it just makes more sense. And we have some epic hunts when we go elk hunting, you know, and deer hunting is more of a solo thing. So I think that there's totally, like, it's. It's good to have people around you who kind of push you to. To do a little bit things that are not just in your comfort zone, you know?

Right. Yeah. So what's. What's up next? What do you got next? Hunt?

So we're kind of elk hunting. That elk season is open here next to our hometown, and we're elk hunting, and Jess is trying to take her mom out. Her mom is 67 years old and is just a firecracker. She. Her name's Jenny. Jenny. One of the most fit 67 year old women I've ever been around. And we got her shooting and she's gonna try to get an elk. So Jess is gonna go hunt with her this weekend primarily. And I'll. I'll be tagging along a little bit here and there, but then also I'm gonna go probably do that like that pronghorn hunt, try to get my buck this weekend. I really like those, like solo supper fests. So I'll go give that a shot. And then my brother's coming out the 15th of October for six days. And again, it's one of those things where, like I will say the pressure is probably pretty high and we, we need to lower that pressure a little bit before the season ends here. But we have big expectations just because of how much scouting and how much work that has gone into the preseason planning. So, you know, there's, there's a lot going on, man. It's really fun time of the year for sure.

Nice. I got blacktail for the near future. It was awesome to get those other exotic hunts out of the way, but it's gonna be blacktail. Abby leaves for Boise for a wedding, so she'll be down in the lower 48 for a couple days. And so this weekend I'm gonna do an unsupervised solo trip somewhere. And looks like the weather might be okay. So might might camp. It'll be a little chilly. It's kind of nice to get out on that first chilly chili hunt where it's camping and you're out there. You had some snow on that last one. That's pretty cool that you guys were. All that snow go away by the, by the end of the day, as it does down there sometimes, or did you have to fight it the rest of the time?

Oh, yeah, yeah. I mean, we were up there at 9,000 or, you know, the second day we were hunting at 9,500ft or 9,800ft and there was still snow, but it was melting. So I'd imagine by now it's gone. So what is your, you know, when you're going solo like that, Are you gonna backpack in and like do the whole thing or are you trying to sometimes reel it in a little bit and hunt some haunts closer to home?

We're in that transition period. A lot of people don't hunt the early part of October because the deer aren't moving a whole lot. They're kind of getting in that pre rut waiting for things to really start kicking up and so people really waiting for them to get to the point where they're going to come to a call. So there's a lot of stuff from the truck. You just kind of go from the trunk, do a truck, do a day hike or, you know, camp at the truck. That's kind of my program at this point. Alpine season, when you get on top of the mountain and you camp up there and do that whole thing. But there's a, I don't know, a couple different opportunities that involve a couple different things regarding, you know, where I camp, if I'm gonna camp away from the vehicle or at the vehicle. But yeah, sometimes you bring all the stuff and then based on what you feel, based on other people that around and based on what the weather actually does compared to what it was forecast to do, then you, you make the call and you go with that. So, yeah.

How do you, how do you balance hunting with your significant other versus like hunting with the plans that you want to make or is there ever a issue with balancing those two?

There's not much, you know, I'm not super, super experienced. I have, you know, a whole bunch of days under my belt, but I've only been hunting and I hunted a lot of solo days hunting for. I think this is my 10th season. So I have more intuition than, than Abby does and she recognizes that. But at the same time, you know, she'll had some insider, what about this or that? So she doesn't just, you know, follow me around. She's, she's very smart, picks up stuff. So. And I ask her stuff too. You know, it's like, well, I was thinking about this, what about this? And you know, so we'll talk about certain things. And yeah, we hunt pretty well together. We haven't had a ton of success, but a lot of the road system stuff around here is just. It gets hammered pretty good. Without the boat, we're kind of limited to where we can go. But yeah, it's fun to, to be out there with someone. I like solo camping or solo hunting because I get to run the exact program that I want to. But at the same time it's nice to. There's kind of an accountability level. So if you get frustrated and you just want to angry hike. If you're with someone else, it's like, okay, I can't get angry right now. I have to keep hunting, stay calm, stay with it. And you have another set of eyes out there.

You.

You might be making more noise, but, you know, there's definitely a benefit to it if you use it to your advantage.

Yeah. And I think we're probably also really lucky that our significant others are pretty tuned in. You know, they're, like, very adept, and it's helpful. One of the things that I struggle with is expressing to Jess, like, man, today I just need to go and do a mind clear that, like, is just me wanting to run my face off. And I understand that it's not the most effective, but I just need to do it, you know, like, I'm gonna hammer. And it's something I've struggled with. Man is like. Is communicating that because it's not like I don't want to hunt with them, but it is something where you have to also prioritize your own mental clearing time. So anyway, that's what. That's why I would. I brought it up just because it's been something I've struggled with. And then Jess has really helped me. She's like, okay, I could tell you're frustrated. Like, you need to also do something yourself and express it and communicate it. So I guess that's a whole different therapy session to talk about couples communication. Yeah. It just is something I didn't know if you had talked about or thought about.

Yeah, I'm definitely the. I'm more likely to get frustrated. I try to approach it with just the excitement, and I usually do. I'm so excited to go hunting. And so it ends up being the, you know, the stress of the week or maybe some. Some kids were. Were unruly, and, you know, you just question the whole thing. But then. Oh, the weekend. So I usually approach Hans with just euphoria almost. But then something inevitably happens that there's someone where we want to go or the weather doesn't cooperate or we don't see anything. So I start to get frustrated in that moment. And Abby's pretty good about calming me down or, you know, reminding me and. Or I just kind of look and, yeah, this is stupid. Why I shouldn't be. I can't be throwing tantrums. Like, there's no. There's no honor and a tantrum. So I need to calm down a little bit. So I'm getting better. But, yeah. Yeah, it's nice to. Nice to get out there. And again, having more days. I think it would be really stressful if there was. If, you know, we're running out of days. And last year on the elk hunt, when we weren't finding an elk for Abby yet. It wasn't my tag, so I wasn't super stressed. But she was just seeing how excited she still was and still willing to walk, and we were still getting after it, and there wasn't a defeated attitude. You know, she was excited to be out there. And, you know, then we started having some encounters toward the end, even though there was nothing making any noise, they were, you know, responding to cow calls, but they were coming in quiet. And, you know, it didn't end up panning out. But on the first day of mule deer season, she shot a nice one. And it was actually funny because we saw a couple of them, and I made a point to be just calm and just, hey, there's this. You can use the pack for, you know, rather than get really excited, which I've done before, you know, I'm just. And I kind of rush things for her or for me, and I create a lot of tension. But I made a point to just, hey, you know, we have time. It's fine. Let's go up to this bush. And so it was. But because of my reputation for kind of freaking out, getting too excited, she's like, just. Just. I'm like, hey, we're fine. We're fine. And so it was cool to just kind of. She keeps me in check really well, which is. Which is nice. And it's helped me be a more effective hunter, at least in that moment. You know, I help things. Things calm. So, yeah, it's. It's. It's pretty fun. It's nice to be able to share that, too. I have some friends who talk about just how special it is and how unique it is that you can have, like, real hunts. There are definitely people who go out hunting with their significant other, but, like, there's no limit. Savvy will go with me on any hunt. You know, the mountain goat hunt, it was super, super steep. And I know she had a little. Some foot issue going on, but, you know, she was a trooper. Didn't make one peep about it, and just had a good time. And it was fun to be able to share that experience with her. And she was really fired up for the. The mountain goat, too. And so, yeah, it's. It's great.

Oh, that's so good, man. Well, it's. It's definitely one of those things that I don't think we ever talk about, but I. I could tell you for. From a couple of experiences I've had now, that losing my crap and, like, getting all excited when you want to have. See them have Success, like, does not help the situation at all.

No, it doesn't.

I use the guy. Hit it. Post up here. No, here's my pack. And then you're like, no, no, here's. Use this log. And they just need to work through it and. And then have it. At least in. In our experience, like, anytime that Jess has worked through the situation herself, not have me losing my stuff in the background, like, that's turned out really good. Yeah. When you try to, like, force it and you get all excited, like, gosh, that just is not the way it goes. My dad was really bad about getting super excited like that. And I don't wonder if, you know, like, we can't be better mentors by acknowledging that and, like, trying to make a. Try to make a concerted effort, just letting it. Letting someone figure it out. And then when something gets away, just being, like, okay with that, because it's a learning experience. If they needed to do it faster and that critter just got away because they didn't do it fast enough, like, that is part of the learning experience. They're probably not going to get it if you try to rush them either, you know?

Yeah. I look back at that mule deer, and I may have been talking to myself. Myself more so than Abby. Just, hey, we have time. It's okay. He's right there. Let's be patient. Let's wait for the next one. Let's use the pack. That was probably just me speaking to me loud enough for Abby to hear, I guess. I don't know. Who knows? But worked out great.

That's. Oh, that's totally right, man. When you, like, you have to walk yourself through it and it's for yourself almost as much as them is like. I think that's good, though, because it is. As much as they're, you know, the shooter is going through their own mental process, you just want to see them do so well. It's just like, come on, man, like, end this anxiety for me, like, quickly. So, yeah, I think it's really important to call it out and to get it under control.

Yeah. Well, speaking of mountain goat, Abby's cooking up some mountain goat dinner. I'm not sure she has a couple. She has some relatives who are, like, live in Hong Kong. So she has these really great Asian recipes for. They go great with the mountain goat and caribou and stuff. And so it's not just American food and burgers and. And pasta and stuff like that. We're getting some really nice Asian cuisine. It's. It's pretty good.

Oh, that sounds so good. Well, send me some recipes because I think it sounds like that mountain goat might be. You might be able to work with it similarly to like maybe antelope.

You think it's pretty good. I. I shot my mountain goes only about a year and a half, two years old so it was, you know, younger.

Is.

Is tastes pretty good. But yeah, I wasn't going to pass up a solo Billy like that, you know, and go home and empty handed. So yeah, it's. The meat's pretty good and pretty versatile, so.

Oh, that's awesome. Well, cool, man. I'll have to give that a shot and play with some of that stuff. We actually we've got sous vide mule deer and sous vide elk going on right now. Excellent. We've. I've had it before but we had. We just got a sous vide for ourselves. This is the first time we're doing it ourselves and we'll have to play with it. I know it's all the rage. It seems like these days that run a cv.

No, for sure.

But.

Well, it was nice talking to you, man. I really appreciate you helping Abby and I out. Good luck with the business again and how. Where can people find you and. And all that.

Oh, I appreciate it. Yeah, man. And I will say this, I just to take a step back like I appreciate you and Abby, you know, being supportive and like being a guinea pig and all this stuff. Like I've kind of talked with you guys a lot about the hunts that you and I talked about and how that ended up working out. So yeah, thanks for even just letting me be part of those as like an observer and game planner with you. That's been really cool to see you guys have some success. Like a lot of success. Really a ton of success. So thank you. If anyone wants to like hit me up about Hunt west plans, man, I think it'd probably be best if I just look at 2023 at this point just because the lead time is really tough with hunting plans. I've had like two week lead times right now so it's probably better to look to next year. So 2023 hunt tag applications and hunt plans. You can do that@huntwest.net or just give me a shout on social media. Aiden Bales. That'd be huge.

Excellent. Cool man. Thanks. Appreciate it.

Well, thank you Jeff. And gosh, keep keep it grinding on this deer season. I'm excited to see how it turns out because I know you've put in so many days. It's gonna. It always turns out eventually, you know, it's gonna. Gonna come out with some meat in the freezer. I can. I can guarantee.

Oh, yeah, Cool. Thanks, man.

Yeah. Thank you. Have a good evening.

You too.