HARVESTING THE SEASON’S BOUNTY: From fish and fowl to venison and wild rice, fall brings nourishment, tradition, and connection to the land.
By Mashkodebizhikigahbaw, Benji Sam
Fall offers more than just a plentiful bounty of views as the leaves change colors, the breeze grows cooler, the wild rice has fallen, and the birds begin seeking warmer waters south of their summertime stay in the northland. What has always been a busy time of year for folks who grow their own foods or raise their own livestock, fall can also be an incredibly rewarding time for those who harvest, preserve, and butcher goods directly from mother nature.
Fall means the fish and animals we have in our diet begin to become more predictable. As the water cools before ice-up, many walleye return to shallow rocks and sand flats to feed on large minnows. Crappies and bluegill congregate along the edges of deep weed lines to school for the oncoming winter. Perch move into the shallow transition areas, forming schools to chase young-of-the-year baitfish. Muskellunge and northern pike stack on the shallow rock reefs, where tullibees push in to spawn. Meanwhile, bass begin their journey toward the basin, where they will spend the next six months.
Along with the journey of the fish, waterfowl begin their migration to warmer weather and offer a strong opportunity to add into the freezer. Fields, rivers, lakes, ponds, and any other lowland can hold anywhere from a few to a few thousand waterfowl at a time. Early season waterfowl hunting often requires just a tew decoys or a fly-way stoop to take your chances at bringing home geese, ducks, sandhill cranes, etc., to enjoy in the days to come. Often overcooked, these birds make some of the best eating critters we have and can make a fine meal for all to enjoy.
Like their fowl counterparts, we can finally also take to the woods and grasslands to chase rough grouse, woodcock, pheasants, and fall turkeys. Many people who hunt these birds often bring the aid of a canine companion, but hunters willing to put the miles under their boots even solo will be sure to find success. These wild birds offer more than just a pretty tail-fan, as they provide some of the most nutrient dense and delicious meals you can find in all of fall harvesting times. Most of these birds can often be found early or late each day on trails that offer close cover, clover and other natural food sources, fields and ditches with tall grass, or transitions from one type of landscape directly into another such as tree lines, swamp grass to woods, and more.
The largest of our four-legged friends also spend much of their days in the transitions between forest types, elevation changes, and breaks between hardwoods and coniferous forests. White-tailed deer are most predictable when we can find and follow their food sources, their bedding cover, and how they like moving between those two locations in the average day. Some common foods for deer as the weather begins to turn includes acorn stands, clover, agricultural crop fields, natural grass fields, and the last of the fruit trees dropping their goods for the year. These food sources generally provide predictable patterns for hunters to monitor as the days grow cold. And yet, while the actual harvest of all these critters can offer plenty of fun and memorable moments, the real fun begins when you get home and can prepare these foods to share with relatives.
Each of these foods can be enjoyed alongside many of the gathered products through late summer and fall like wild rice and the last of the berries, but all highlight their own individual flavors that can be so much more than a slow roasted crockpot meal or a bacon wrapped cube on the grill. While there is nothing at all wrong about enjoying a nice homestyle meal like this, thinking outside-the-box like substituting venison or waterfowl for some of your favorite oriental beef dishes, celebrating any upland bird or turkey in place of any chicken-based meal like a Nashville hot honey sandwich, or upscaling tacos by making sweet and spicy fish tacos can add a whole new level into any outdoorsman's diet.
These proteins often get a bad rap for being too gamey or tough, but each individual cut and animal deserves its own care and can be enjoyed in so many different dishes than most traditional wild game meals. When we harvest animals with good intentions and take care of the meat each chance we can, we can provide a very different table fare experience for all to enjoy this fall and beyond. Happy hunting, happy harvesting. Never forget to offer your tobacco to the land that takes such great care of us all and enjoy your time in the woods and on the water this fall.
