Stina - Rod & Rifle

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ugling in response to my roars. One bull in the Catseye block was screaming its defi ance non stop with a lovely high pitched bugle. As we came to the start of a scrubby saddle a bull suddenly replied to my roars from only 50 metres away. Dave stayed back while Sako and I crept in as the bull kept bugling. Wapiti hunting doesn’t get any more exciting than this and as I got closer the tension was unbearable. It was so thick that I only had 5 metres visibility Above; A typical Fiordland camp in heavy bush. Most wapiti blocks cover a large area so it is essential to move camp around the block so time is not wasted travelling back to base camp all the time. By travelling to good areas when the weather is bad and camping you will be in prime hunting country when the weather clears and not waste the good days getting there. Left; 3/ The Stina Burn block has a relatively small area of open tops however these give good access to the ridges on the coastal faces. and then it happened. A huge creamy bull with massive lower tines suddenly appeared in front on me but as quick as Sako can be, the bull crashed away before we could get a shot off. Cursing my luck I headed back towards Dave on the top of the saddle who had a tale to tell himself. The bull had run along the top of the ridge and they had come face to face with the bull only two metres from Dave before it wheeled around and crashed downhill. Dave had his camera around his neck but had been taken totally by surprise and never got a picture. I had been unable to see the bull’s tops but Dave said that while he had tremendous lower tines his tops were weak and he was probably a young animal so it was good I never got a shot off. By now rain was starting to fall and the going was very slow through the thick scrub. By late afternoon and in heavy rain we came to a beautiful tussock area full of wallows and game trails but with the weather being so wet there was not a sight or sound of any animals. We were both soaked thru and very tired so we pitched camp and turned in early. The next morning was no better as we packed up camp in heavy rain and headed for the Tinsley Highway. By ROD & RIFLE 17
HUNTING late afternoon we were fi nally above the Stina Burn head basin and dropping down to the campsite in rain that was getting heavier by the minute. As we were getting the fl y up the rain became so heavy it was like someone had a fi re hose on us from above. No sooner had we got the camp pitched than the rain eased off and fi nally stopped. Twenty minutes later the sun peeped through and a red stag roared on the rim of the head basin. With only ten minutes of light left I wandered down to the tussock below and immediately saw a magnifi cent red stag roaring on the ridge top. Glassing him I could make out at least 12 points; he remains the biggest red stag I have ever seen. I raced back to camp and grabbed Dave but there was simply no time left to go after him. We planned for an early start the next morning however a southerly front put paid to that and we never saw or heard that stag again as we were camp bound for several days as rain As we came to the start of a scrubby saddle a bull suddenly replied to my roars from only 50 metres away- Dave stayed back while Sako and I crept in as the bull keep bugling and hail lashed the area. Great gusts of wind came up the valley, sounding like a freight train and trying to tear our tent and fl y from their anchor points. The weather report from the mountain radio schedule that night indicated a few fi ne days so we decided to head onto the tops the next day. The Stina Burn has a relatively small area of tops but these give good access to the spurs running down the coastal faces. It was very frustrating listening to hunting parties on some of the most sort after blocks calling up to be taken out because of the wet weather; ironically they were being picked up as the weather cleared. We spent the day hunting and roaring on the spurs leading down to the sea, but with mixed results. Dave managed to photograph a young wapiti bull holding several cows and several other animals were seen but no trophies. The next morning we headed downriver and then up a steep ridge to camp near the basin above the Stina mouth for a 18 ROD & RIFLE Dave Cochrane took this heavy antlered eleven point hybrid after an exciting hunt with the author. few days. Despite many hours glassing this great area we saw only one wapiti cow in the distance although there was plenty of fresh sign about. During our stay there we heard several wapiti bulls bugling well in the valley below and a few others of mixed parentage bellowing down by the Stina River so this is where we headed. Dropping our packs we proceeded down river towards a stag that was roaring well in response to my roars. Dave was in the lead and he suddenly threw his rifl e up and fi red, downing a very heavy 11 pointer on the rivers edge. The stag had been coming in on my roars and was a lot closer than we expected. Although the stag had been roaring well it had a slightly creamy coat and we surmised that it was a hybrid. After the usual photos we removed the rack and headed back to camp in the head basin. With rain falling again the next day we packed and headed for Bernie’s Camp where Mike and Barraclough had been for the last week. After a miserable wet trip I was really looking forward to catching up with the boys but the camp was empty when we fi nally arrived late evening. This camp has quite a collection of old antlers lying about and has been
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Stina - Rod & Rifle

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