Thrill of the hunt: Mike Walker’s “blast and cast”
From staff reports
Firearm hunting season on Northern Michigan’s deer population commences on November 15, with leaves resting on the ground and a pre-winter chill hanging in the air. But Mike Walker, a retired educator at Glen Lake School and realtor at Coldwell Banker, has already been on the hunt for weeks.
Walker and Greg Hamilton, a former counselor at Elk Rapids High School, take a “blast and cast” trip to eastern Montana every September to shoot sharp-tailed Grouse and then fly fish for brown trout in the Big Horn River, a tributary of the Yellowstone in central Montana. Walker brings his German shorthaired pointer named Rosie (a dog bread in the 19th century specifically for hunting) to help sniff out birds. Then he trades the gun for a fishing pole.
“Prior to these trips, I had always been just a fisherman,” says Walker. “With fly fishing, you have to become part of the food chain of that river and understand its entomology. It’s a cleaner sport because you don’t deal with worms and get dirt under your fingernails.”
The flatlands of eastern Montana are superior to mountainous western Montana for bird hunting, says Walker, but after three weeks he misses the trees, which we take for granted in the Midwest. Walker always breathes a sigh of relief when he encounters trees again while driving east along Highway 2 in Minnesota. This year Walker and Hamilton also spent several weeks in the Upper Peninsula, camping and hunting for Ruffed Grouse and Woodcock.
When Walker returns to the Lower Peninsula, hunting season isn’t over yet. His wife Carol’s family has a hunting cabin, built in the 1920s, which he visits in November, in hopes of bagging a buck to go with his fowl. “What I enjoy most about deer season is being outdoors,” says Walker.
Mike Walker is working on a book of recipes that befits his prey. Look for news of that book next year in the Glen Arbor Sun.
Creamed Ruffed Grouse in White Wine/ Pear Sauce
4 grouse breasts – (skinned and filleted/ 8 pieces)
2 cans sliced pears (save juice separately)
¼ – ½ cup white wine (Sauvignon Blanc)
½ – 1 pint heavy cream or half and half
8 oz baby portabella mushrooms sliced
½ finely diced small sweet onion
3 Tbsp real butter
1 clove fresh garlic
Large fry pan
Breading mixture:
flour
Basil
Rosemary
Garlic powder
Salt & pepper
1. Cut breast halves length wise into 3 – 4 pieces each (1/2 inch strips)
2. Dust strips lightly in breading mixture and brown pieces in butter (cook almost done – takes just a couple minutes per side)
3. Set grouse pieces a side
4. Add more butter to pan and sauté onions, garlic and mushrooms until soft
5. Add wine and most of the juice from pears (adjust amounts to your taste)
6. Wisk in some flour, add cream and thicken mixture
7. Add grouse and simmer a couple more minutes
8. Salt and pepper to taste (if desired)
9. Add pear slices for just a minute
10. Serve on egg noodles
