Hook-n-Trigger Guide Service

Hook-n-Trigger Guide Service Fishing guide, bow fishing guide, upland game hunting guide, nuisance animal damage control (trapper), consultant, licensed marriage and family therapist.

I have a multi-faceted business including multi-species fish guiding, and upland game bird guiding in Minnesota with my two beautiful Gordon Setters - Sam, and Junie.

I was out spearing last week in the bitter cold. Got lazy and left my portable out there. 40 plus mph winds were forecas...
12/20/2025

I was out spearing last week in the bitter cold. Got lazy and left my portable out there. 40 plus mph winds were forecast - so I had to go get it. With just a couple hours of daylight left, I decided to drop the decoy for a bit. Glad I did. The fish were running! Wound up with 3 pike and two nice lake whitefish. Old Sammers had fun watching. Was batting 5/5 and would have been 6/6 if I didn’t accidentally stand on the rope! Seems I have to be reminded to be more careful of that at least once each season.

12/19/2025

10:30 am breakfast. Spied this ruffy budding in an Ironwood tree. It’s not a food source that many are aware of - but I’ve witnessed grouse exhibiting this behavior too many times in my 60 years to overlook it. Like oaks - Ironwood often hold their leaves into winter. Grouse love their buds and may linger in the tree long after feeding.

The pups and I contacted a few other birds yesterday before the huge winds hit. After a 50 degree day on Tuesday, snow levels shrunk dramatically - and made hiking in the backcountry much easier. No birds collected on my 6 plus mile trek - but it sure was nice to get out one more time!

As upland game, waterfowl, and deer season closes in Minnesota - we usually transition to our winter pursuit of spearing...
12/16/2025

As upland game, waterfowl, and deer season closes in Minnesota - we usually transition to our winter pursuit of spearing.

Nothing against those who angle; I’ve done plenty of it in my lifetime - but right now, we prefer the big screen TV - where we can watch, interact with fish, and do some selective harvest.

Pretty relaxing - listening to music, sitting side by side with a really good friend, just talking… or not.

Testing out a new portable this season, and decoys too.

Last Thursday I woke up contemplating : am I ready to be done?I wasn’t.So Juju and I went for a brisk hike along a Clear...
12/16/2025

Last Thursday I woke up contemplating : am I ready to be done?

I wasn’t.

So Juju and I went for a brisk hike along a Clearcut/ mature oak transition where there has been grouse all season. But not a trace. I wasn’t surprised.

Grouse were likely tucked into a snow burrow, or perhaps sticking their tongue out at us from above- perched amongst the thick needles of a conifer, or the leaves of an oak.

In recent years - I’ve been fortunate to pursue grouse and pheasant until the last day… but this year? With snow in the backcountry almost knee deep, with more coming - it might be time to throw in the towel.

Cold days like the ones we’ve been having make that easier… but then you get a 60 degree temperature swing, and you just gotta go!

Such is the case here in Minnesota the past few days. I still don’t know if I’m done - but I have a couple weeks to decide.

Meanwhile - I’ve got four Gordon’s that are all gamers. We might get one more point and flush yet…

Found myself with a free day yesterday. It wasn’t a day for the faint of heart. We started at -8, with wind blowing outt...
12/05/2025

Found myself with a free day yesterday.

It wasn’t a day for the faint of heart. We started at -8, with wind blowing outta the NW.

I grabbed my lightweight 20 ga, dressed for a long, hard hike, and invited Sammers - aka “meat dog”, to join me. Of our 4 Gordon’s, he is not the most polished - but he is the dog that I harvest the most birds over… hence the name.

I selected a remote piece of country without roads or trails. Since this country has had 6-10 inches of fresh, powdery snow - I wanted to see what the deer were doing, and the predators too (I do some trapping) - but I’m usually aware of what Sam is doing, and my gun is “at the ready.”

Not long in - Old Sammers pinned a single grouse between us, and it flushed behind me going hard left to right. It was the kind of flush we dream of… close, and in the open. It took me two shots to catch up - but I dropped the bird cleanly as it tried to escape a young Clearcut into a mature oak forest.

This was a special bird… an adult male red phase with copper / bronze in the tail and ruff. I admired it for a good long while.

I wish I could say that this quick strike was a good foreshadowing for the rest of my hunt - but it wasn’t. I hiked over six miles and didn’t collect another bird.

Winter grouse hunting in Minnesota can be an extreme challenge , but also very very rewarding.

I’ve been doing this - going on 50 years now. I find that grouse are not just out there wading around in the deep, fluffy snow. They are no longer able to forage on the ground, so they take to the trees - eating aspen, hazel, birch, and alder buds/catkins.

Horizontal movements become vertical movements. Up in a tree to eat. Back down to roost. Any horizontal movements are typically a grouse sailing from its feeding tree to a nearby thicket to roost. Often, it’s a bushy oak that still has its leaves - or a conifer of some type. The buggers sit up there and watch me walk by… I’m sure of it.

All this makes it hard for the dogs to find them! Sammers and I arrived home tired, but satisfied. My poor old boy had been poked in the eye, and his feet were all iced up. He was well deserving of some pampering.

I know - it sounds rough… but as I write this, I’m already plotting to do it again.

And just look at that gorgeous bird!

Now booking for fall of 2026.
218-232-6067

I love new adventures!This one started last year when on a western deer hunt, I witnessed flocks of late season prairie ...
12/03/2025

I love new adventures!

This one started last year when on a western deer hunt, I witnessed flocks of late season prairie chickens and sharptail grouse doing their thing. They were in big flocks, and they were spooky; I wondered if I could get within shotgun range? Seemed like a great challenge, and at the worst - some hiking in very cool country.

I dreamed about it for a year, and together with my sweetie, made it happen over the Thanksgiving holiday.

It was so cool to harvest my first prairie chicken! Such a beautiful bird. And, it had been a long time since I hunted sharptail - so it was very enjoyable to do that again.

I did some close examining when I cleaned them - to note the differences in the feathers, wings, feet, meat, and of course - to see what they had been eating.

My goal is to plainly recognize them in flight - even in a mixed flock, like I’ve learned to identify ducks throughout my life.

Just returned from a new adventure out on the western prairie.We have never pursued prairie chicken, nor have we hunted ...
12/01/2025

Just returned from a new adventure out on the western prairie.

We have never pursued prairie chicken, nor have we hunted sharptail so late. Until now.

Conditions were good the first day - with hoar frost on everything. Watching our Gordon’s glide across the rolling hills was pure pleasure; the contrast was mesmerizing. The second and third days were brutal - with blizzard conditions, drifting snow, and below zero windchills.

But you gotta go when you can go! So we made due. So glad to have a tough and capable hunting partner in Debbie Petersen!

If you’ve hunted late season prairie grouse, you know they are extremely unlikely to hold for point or even let you get remotely close. They bust out two hundred yards ahead and sail a half mile or so, until you lose perspective on exactly where they landed amongst the rolling hills. You pursue them over and over, but usually only to fail.

Oh- and they laugh at you as they go. You might hear them but probably not in the wind.

We enjoyed the challenge, the country, the wildlife, the full sensory experience, the big picture. And a lotta bird watching!

My highlight was when both of us were able to harvest our first prairie chicken out of the same flock. We also bagged sharptail and pheasant.

Hard work… yes! But I’d do it again.

Already thinking about a trip in 2026… perhaps earlier when birds are less spooky and more likely to hold tighter for the dogs.

11/29/2025

My majestic Bogie running the grasslands hunting sharp-tails and prairie chickens.

He can stop on a dime, too!

(Watch to the end.)

🤣🤣🤣

My last couple days of guiding have been acting as a teacher - which I always do naturally, but in this case, it was a s...
11/07/2025

My last couple days of guiding have been acting as a teacher - which I always do naturally, but in this case, it was a specific request by my clients - so i offered more and answered questions.

They wanted to know the full gammet: what it’s like to hunt with setters, how I manage and train my dogs from the truck to the field, how to find the proper cover and grouse, what to in wild bird situations, forage species, tree identification, how to use OnX, and more.

In both cases, we had a really enjoyable day in the woods.

Yesterday - Junie was the star of the show. Indeed, all of the dogs found birds - but I’m especially proud of her. She slammed a grouse point… then was rock solid through the flush and shot. Here - Dominic poses with the grouse he harvested. It all came together for Junie as a great experience!

We are still moving woodcock regularly - but season is closed. Still fun, and good work for the dogs.

Grouse - we are having to work for, but yesterday, we found birds every time we stopped. All those were new spots I’ve never been - so it was a learning day for me too.

I enjoy helping people be more successful. If you’d like that kind of help, look me up.

Hook-n-Trigger
218-232-6067

Had a weekend bow hunting in the farm country of Minnesota, and stopped on the way home to exercise dogs. Many of the ro...
11/03/2025

Had a weekend bow hunting in the farm country of Minnesota, and stopped on the way home to exercise dogs. Many of the roosters in that piece slipped out on Sam and I - but not this one! When all the others left, i had a feeling and was patient, stood my ground, until he could no longer stand it.

Such a beautiful bird… my first of the season, and sure to not be my last.

We’ll be back when deer tags are filled, or deer season ends. December is my favorite time to chase roosters!

Hook-n-Trigger Guide Service
218-232-6067

A first grouse with Grandpa’s shotgun.These are the kinds of things that we will dream about while we scale back our bir...
11/02/2025

A first grouse with Grandpa’s shotgun.

These are the kinds of things that we will dream about while we scale back our bird hunting for just a bit. A half million deer hunters will take to the woods on Saturday- much of which is the public land we hunt. We don’t really want to interfere, or be interfered with - so we will hunt select spots on select days. And we will also be trying to fill our own deer tags.

But there’s lots of upland bird season left as late November and December can be outstanding. Tge dogs and I like to track grouse in the snow… especially when they start to group up.

I have a few select dates open for November/December - And also, booking for 2026.

Hook-n-Trigger
218-232-6067

Had a day to myself yesterday ; I took the dogs scouting some new country. Everybody had a good run - and I put on a doz...
10/31/2025

Had a day to myself yesterday ; I took the dogs scouting some new country. Everybody had a good run - and I put on a dozen miles

Bitch Power!

Junie slammed to a point over and over - mostly on woodcock. By the time she was done - she’d contacted 15 wild birds. At the end - I shot one over her and she executed all her steps the best I’ve seen her do.

Valia worked the same cover as Junie and found 7 more. I shot one over her too. The girls had their day, and because of the cover , were more productive than the boys.

I switched areas and began scouring some remote grown- over logging roads. The aspen was nearing maturity, but there was very thick brush underneath. Way way back - Sam and Bogie found grouse and woodcock on swamp edges.

It was one of those days when the country makes you curious… you keep going, and find yourself miles from the truck, exhausted. You hate to re -walk the same thing - so you cut across wild country making a bee line for the truck.

Along the way , Bogie began acting funny. Somehow, his bell cadence changed. Then he barked. Then, charging out of a young clearcut came this big ten point whitetail, right past me - maybe ten yards off! The rutting odor in the area was pungent. My nose was filled with it when i crossed his v***r trail.

The image of that buck is now etched in my mind, and I think about him. Alot. I’m compelled to hunt that specific buck. On his turf. On remote public land.

More scouting is in order, and I need to think about some stand locations. With my schedule / there just isn’t much time. But try, I must. Perhaps that buck and I will meet again soon… Then I’ll have to conjure up a way to get him out of there. I’m thinking, in pieces.

Good luck to the big game hunters, and keep us in mind for your upland bird hunting needs.

218-232-6067

Address

23795 Cuyler Lane
Deerwood, MN
56444

Telephone

+12182326067

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