2022 blessed me with a phenomenal year of hunting and fishing opportunities that checked a few bucket list items of mine. In this blog, I will take you through the highlights of my 2022 hunting and fishing season.
Hunting and fishing have always been passions of mine. They have a tight grasp on many of my earliest memories that I hold dear. On my fourth Christmas, I got my first 22LR and caught my first fish younger than that. My childhood is not dissimilar to many of you who may be reading this blog right now. It has given me a foundation that I have shaped my life around in more ways than one. In this blog, I will take a trip down memory lane to highlight some of the opportunities that I have been fortunate enough to experience in 2022.
It's not a Phillips honeymoon unless there is something related to the outdoors. While on my honeymoon in Cabo San Lucas, my wife and I made a promise to each other that we could pick one bucket list excursion to go on together. Being in the heart of marlin territory, I naturally gravitated towards a private fishing trip for Striped Marlin - a bucket list trip of mine. So we went!
I booked a trip with a local fishing guide who specialized in catching marlin, along with other species. The morning started out cold and slow with only one bite during the morning tide. After switching tactics and catching fresh bait, we headed approximately 5 miles offshore to the marlin grounds. It didn’t take long before we had a double hook-up with two on the line. The first mate and I rushed to grab the poles and set the hooks. After losing one, we zeroed in on the remaining, but much larger, marlin. After what seemed like an eternity, we landed the fish, took a quick picture, and released it unharmed. After a round of congratulatory high-fives, the crew told me that was the largest striped marlin they had landed in quite some time and that they estimated the weight to be over 150 pounds (even though I’m sure they tell everyone that). The weight didn’t matter to me as it was the largest fish I’d ever caught, and will likely catch, in my lifetime. We caught one other fish, a small Bonita, which we turned into sushi for a nice lunch to cap off an eventful day of fishing.
Each year, my Father-in-Law, Brother-in-Law, and I head to a ranch in Refugio County located in the heart of South Texas. The 13,000-acre ranch is home to a healthy herd of whitetail deer, turkey, various upland bird species, and the notorious Texas hog, or wild pigs as some will call them. Texas hogs are an invasive species that originated from domesticated pigs and are rumored to have crossbred with Russian boars. They are responsible for millions of dollars in damage to farmland and animals across the country. Due to this, ranchers are eager to have hunters help regulate the population.
We typically spend a week at the ranch to hunt wild pigs over corn feeders. This may seem counterintuitive, however, it concentrates the pigs in one location giving hunters more opportunity to harvest the pigs. On our February 2022 trip, we were able to harvest numerous pigs and contribute to the ranch's conservation efforts. My most recent trip in January 2023, I was primarily targeting deer, however, I was able to nail a few pigs while I was there too.
Washington holds a special place in my heart. Apart from the beautiful landscape, I was born there and my father lives there. We have a longstanding tradition of fishing for summer-run salmon, and the occasional steelhead too.
On this trip, we set out on the Columbia River to chase the majestic King Salmon. My wife Julia was along for the ride and was on her second fishing trip with us. The mornings were early and cold but were quickly forgotten by the active morning bites. Julia is a salmon slayer in her own right and came away with two of her own, one of which was the biggest salmon of the trip. I took home two salmon of my own and many memories with the people I care most about.
This year I was fortunate enough to be drawn via a lottery system for numerous hunts across the great state of Texas. This system acts as a lottery in which applicants have the chance to be drawn for unique hunts across the state. In total, I was drawn for 6 hunts of varying species:
The first of these hunts were two private land dove hunts that would take place in September. In my opinion, dove hunting offers a low-barrier way to have fun with friends, get outdoors, and hunt for delicious food - everyone loves a good jalapeno dove popper. These hunts took place over sprawling fields of sunflowers and other food plots, which served as an attractant to hungry doves. The trips were successful as I was able to take some dove home to the family each time and spend time with a good hunting buddy.
After a fruitful first half of the year, my whitetail season, which spanned from October 2022 to January 2023, proved to be the challenge of all challenges. It was an abnormally hot and dry season plagued with drought and a deep freeze the year before that killed much of the food supply. This was further compounded by an increased coyote population that pressured the deer herd. Excuses aside, I tried my darndest putting in multiple days a week by playing the wind and the weather.
For most of the season, I hunted out of a Tethrd Saddle with a Hoyt Carbon Redwrx RX5 bow. This setup further allowed me to access the woods by giving me the opportunity to hunt a piece of archery-only public land located 1.5 hours from my house. As I mentioned earlier, I was fortunate enough to be drawn on 3 whitetail hunts across Texas. As the season progressed and due to last-minute travel plans with work, I was only to participate in the Aransas NWR drawn hunt. This was a unique experience as the National Wildlife Refuge was located on the Gulf Coast of Texas giving me beachfront hunting territory - a completely new world from the woods of Kentucky where I spent my formative hunting years. It was hot and humid, to say the least with enough mosquitos to make you want to throw in the towel. After a long week of camping, I was able to arrow one doe at 30 yards, broadside, on my last night of hunting 10 minutes before the shooting light was done for the day. As I saw her run off, I noticed that her front shoulder was nearly incapacitated and she was running with a bad limp. However, as luck would have it the blood trail eventually slowed to a slow trickle leaving me questioning penetration because I was unable to find my arrow after the shot. To further complicate the issue, I had to back out for the night as the park rangers close the refuge gates at 9PM each night. I went back the next morning only to find that she had been eaten by coyotes. As they say, nothing goes to waste in the woods.
While the season seemed long and proved unfruitful with my bow, I learned a lot about the properties I was hunting and deer movement to improve my odds for the 2023 season. Being an avid hunter, you must learn to adapt and overcome and always have a card up your sleeve that you can pull when the odds are stacked against you. This year, I had to pull that card on our annual hunting trip this January at the ranch in South Texas. I was able to fill the freezer by harvesting two doe with a rifle. They will provide a year’s worth of venison for my family and that is all I can ask for.
In November, I took the annual trip to Kimball South Dakota to hunt Pheasant in the holy grail of Pheasant Territory. The property we hunt on provides expertly managed food plots and shelter belts for wild pheasants to roost and feed. While it is common for folks to hunt pen-raised birds, we do not as we enjoy the challenge and appreciate the effort it takes to maintain property that will hold wild birds naturally.
For this trip, we had 15 men in our group, all of which were family members or family friends. This meant that our daily bag limit was 45 birds. If memory serves me right, I believe our 3-day bags were 37, 39, and 45. Not too shabby considering the 30mph sustained winds, 60mph wind gust, and below zero wind chill.
All in all, I am beyond grateful for the opportunity to hunt and fish as much as I do. I understand that not everyone has the access to the outdoors as I do. That is until now. The Wild is a platform that connects outdoor enthusiasts with trusted outfitters and guides. With The Wild, you can book from fishing trips in Alaska to hunts in Texas. Don’t wait to get out and experience the wild for yourself!
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Nick is an avid outdoor enthusiast and content creator who enjoys hunting and fishing. He has spent over 25 years hunting and fishing across North America. He currently lives in Austin, Texas and when he’s not outdoors he’s practicing Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. You can follow him on his Instagram and TikTok accounts to keep up with his latest adventures and get helpful tips.
