Who is Ron Oules

I would like to introduce the newest R-Dub Outdoors Pro Staffer Ron Oules. He will be writing about all sorts of hunting and fishing gear and techniques. He has taught me a lot so far and I know he will pass it on to the readers of R-Dub Outdoors as well.

Who I am:

I grew up in rural Eastern Washington on a small 200 acre farm.  Just like all farms it was work and life skills building from as far back as I can remember.   I believe every person should have the incredible fortune of being raised on a farm.  I grew up learning and doing things we just thought were normal, but when people hear about it today they have a hard time believing it.    The diversity of things I was able to do growing up was pretty amazing.  

Two things have stuck with me for as long as I can remember.  Hard work not luck produces success, and the best things to do are hunting and fishing.  

I was around hunting and fishing with my grandpa and started on my own when I was eight.   I was given a single shot .410 for my 8^th birthday and that was the real start of my personal hunting.  The surprising thing to many is I was 95% self taught.  I got my first German Short Hair bird dog at 10, and we spent a lot of days hunting Quail and Chucker together.  Shooting varmints from starlings to feral dogs was pretty much just the norm, and would be a everyday thing if I still lived on the ranch.  I even ran a short trap line for rabbits going to and from school.

I still remember my first deer hunt at the age of 10.  Dad dropped me off at the top of the hill (many would call it a mountain) in the dark and went back to work.   He had told me to walk over the edge, sit down, wait until 10:00, and then hunt down to the house.   Of course I knew I could only shoot bucks, and had a good idea of how to gut a deer.  Remember those life skills from above?  I had seen and helped gut a lot of animals butchered for food.  I shot three times at what I thought was a huge (reality 18-20”) 4x4 Mule Deer, and missed every single shot.  The first of two deer I have ever missed.  When I walked out of the trees on my way home my dad was waiting for me because he heard the shots.  Having to tell my dad I missed hurt more than missing the deer.  My dad was very supportive, but I was not going to ever tell him I missed again. 

I was slow to start Elk hunting but if I can only hunt one big game animal it would be Elk.     They are impressive animals who live in beautiful country.  I also was late in starting my bow hunting, but I wish I had archery hunted from the beginning.   One day I will go archery Elk hunting when my schedule allows it.

I have been reloading since I was 10 also starting with shot shells.  I had to reload because all the ammunition I was shooting was too expensive to buy new.   I cannot even remember the last time I purchased a center fire metallic cartridge loaded.  Reloading has helped my shooting probably the most in being able to practice more combined with the ballistics knowledge.   

I fished growing up for fun.  I was not as dedicated to the fishing as much as the hunting.   I fly fished for trout some, plunked bait, threw spinners, but really did not troll very much.   The only trolling I remember was with my Grandpa on Lake Chelan for Kokanee.   The trolling gear had more weight and drag then the fish did.  My limited fishing was always enjoyable, but I had never really caught any “Big” fish.  I started fishing for Salmon in the mid 90’s and I was immediately in love.   Then in 2000 we had our own local Chinook fishery, and my hunting had a very serious competitor for my off time.   The enjoyment of Salmon fishing just continued to grow, and I started providing guided fishing trips with my company Reellentless Guide Service.   I have to admit the Salmon fishing has taken over quite a bit of my hunting time now.  My fishing details of gear and technique have less time in then the hunting, but it is quickly gaining and will surpass it very soon I believe.

I have also been lucky enough to spend time with my kids hunting and fishing.   It is so much fun just to spend any amount of time I can with them in the outdoors.  All of them are very good athletes playing all year long.  There has always been a conflict for time, so we take advantage of what time we have.  The boys are several states away during hunting season now.  I’m planning a out of state hunt next fall to Nebraska.  My daughter (Teenager) told me last year she would go deer hunting only one day.  We were dragging out her smallest buck to date. I told her how much I loved being able to watch the sun come up with her.   She asked what about the deer?  I told her I could care less if she got a deer or not.  She had a odd look on her face.  Not now but I know she will understand later on.   I am a Hunters Ed Instructor also, and that has been a very rewarding thing for me.  Just today I saw two nice first bucks from students from my spring 2012 class.

I hope I can share my experiences from equipment to technique to help others, and at the same time they get enjoyment out of my information.

Ron

 

Alaska Please Don't Eat Me

So OBN has a writing prompt asking what would be or was your scariest outdoor experience.



It was June 2011. I was on a boat trip heading from Ketchikan, Alaska to Juneau, Alaska. We were taking two weeks to go from point A to point B. I told the captain (who happened to be my Dad) that I wanted to stop along the way and do some fresh water fly fishing. I had some success in one small stream but was having some issues finding something to bite my dry flies.

We stopped at this one spot which had a nice sized river coming into the bay we were anchored.  So I tried talking my wife into going on a hike with me. But since she had already gone on a few death marches with me on this trip with little to no results, she said no. However, I was able to convince my Dad to drop me off as far up river as possible with the dingy.

The pointy eared creature

So after Dad hit a few rocks with the boat motor he kicked me out into the tall green grass of the salt marsh, with just my fly fishing rod and a camera. My goal was to get above the tide line to fish fresh water without any influence of salt water. I stayed in touch with the big boat via a handheld radio. As I walked though the deep grass knowing full well I was in grizzly bear, black bear, wolf, and moose habitat, I came up with a song to sing while walking through the grass.

Please Bear don't eat me.

Don't eat me because I'm skinny and tough.

I promise Mr. Bear you won't enjoy me.

Please Bear don't eat me.

I sang this over and over at the top of my lungs as I walked.

I came around a corner and there they were two black creatures staring at me. They had pointed snouts and their ears stood up as they were alerted to my presence by my singing. The only thing I could think of was Oh shit I just walked up on two black wolves and they now know they have an easy dinner. I knew I could not out run them so I pulled out my camera and I figured well when they find my body they will see the pictures of what ate me.

Then the two creatures stood up on their hind legs, and I thought wow these are some talented wolves. Then it hit me Oh Thank God they are just black bears. So of course I stuck around and got some more photos of the two.

The fishing hike ended when after an hour and a half of walking I was still in the salt marsh and I had a moose bolt out in front of me.  I also had to meet up with Dad before too long to get a ride back to the big boat.




This was not my only close encounter with bears in the Alaskan Wilderness this trip, just the one that got my heart going the fastest.

Another bear encounter later in the trip.

Alaska Quick Post

So we are here in Petersburg Alaska. Fishing has been slow, king salmon are running but local creeks are still high with snow melt off and silt. I did manage to catch a nice 12 inch cutthroat out of a very small creek flowing from Lake Helen to Santa Anna Inlet. We have seen Killer whales, Humpbacks, Dolphins, and some bears, Although have not run into any bears while fishing.