On The Fritz Game Recovery

31/08/2024

We’re excited for the 2024 season. Be sure to save these numbers to your phone, and please share them with your friends and family!

13/04/2024

Looking for a British Labrador male to stud for an upcoming litter of puppies. Ghost is not in heat just yet; but, we’re expecting it to come any day now..

Please share if you know anyone who has a definitive British Lab male…not interested in male AKC labs, they’re too big.

PFA

21/02/2024

YAKFAB METALS INC is currently seeking an Experienced Fabricator at our growing Oconto facility, please submit all inquiries to [email protected] or stop in for an application.

14/11/2023

Scott shot this deer yesterday around 8:45am. He did a great job marking his blood trail with flagging stakes. He had about 35 yards of marked blood leading into a clearing with about 6 different game trails intersecting. Ghost initially took one that Scott said he did walk down. She didn’t seem too enthusiastic and she checked out all of the other trails too.. for a long time.. we must have sat at his last marked blood spot for about 10-15 minutes while she just sniffed around. Super slow sniffing.
She seemed interested in that first line more than any of the others so we checked it out again. I marked blood about 40 yards from the previous spot. Then we advanced about 10 more yards. The deer was circling back to where it got hit. If Scott hadn’t reached out, he wouldn’t have found this deer.
Congratulations to the hunter!!

13/11/2023

Nice nightcap track to end the weekend.
The hunter had tracked his way to the deer’s second bed where he jumped the buck. He backed out and called for help. Ghost made short work of this recovery! 800 yard hike - in and out in 15 minutes
Congratulations to the hunter!!

06/11/2023

As this is a family business, Julia took the lead today.

Here is what she had to say about her first thrill of solo tracking:

“Successful Monday for our hunting community!

Had 2 similar shots last night; hunters describing how they quickly lost blood. Ghost was thankful they both pulled back and left a clean search for us.

Track 1: was recovered approx 50yds from last blood in a large shrub field. He seemed to have been jumped prior to our arrival. Congratulations Scott on your 3yr search tracking this Buck!

Track 2: was recovered approx 300yds from hit site and was found standing alive across a river! I walked Ghost away and then Travis made the finishing shot.”

I’m so proud of my girls!
How’s your week going?

05/11/2023

Ghost made short work of this recovery today.
After waiting 6 hours the hunter had tracked 300 yards to a cluster of three bloody, empty beds and decided to back out. Smart move! The deer was only 15 yards from that cluster; however, I’m willing to bet the buck was still alive when they were tracking him. Wait times are extended in this phase of the rut. By backing out and allowing the deer to fully expire the hunter was able to get hands on his trophy!
Congratulations Eli!!! Thank you for allowing us to be a part of your story!

03/11/2023

Stella got a little practice tonight and she did excellent.
Hunter/friend reached out while in the stand right after he shot the deer. We discussed the details and I asked to come help regardless of the blood trail.
He made an excellent shot and the blood trail was amazing. I really appreciated him calling today.
Congratulations on your deer!!!

29/10/2023

Ghost deserves a medal after this one today..
I won’t forget this one.
Our hunter called and said he shot a buck last evening. He knew the hit sounded good. He did recover the arrow but wasn’t exactly sure what to expect with all the fat on the arrow shaft and fletchings. We made a plan to start the track this morning based on the deer’s behavior after the shot. It did not behave at all like a gut shot deer..

We started with Stella at the hit site. She took the right line and eventually found blood. She lost blood after about 40-50 yards and then she got kinda squirrely, leading me in big circles and trying to go into a swamp to the right of the last blood spot.
I switched dogs and Ghost did behave similarly at first, but she has a lot more track experience so she eventually figured out the deer’s turn - it actually turned left and went up a ridge instead of going right and down into the swamp. Ghost found new blood going up the ridge, across the road, into the neighbors (we had permission). We must have restarted her 50 times today. At one point we thought she lost the line because the deer might have been alive. The hunter admitted he was ready to quit looking before I was. Ghost just kept finding us more blood right when we needed to. We couldn’t give up when she kept doing that! Finally, after about 1300 yards, many long stretches without blood, five different 90 degree turns, and MANY restarts - Ghost brought us to the deer!
The hit was low and a bit back. The wind blew the arrow off target but was 100% lethal. We found this deer long after he had passed on; he was stiff as a board. It was very surprising that the deer wasn’t eaten by coyotes or wolves considering it didn’t bed like a typical gut shot deer would. Every opportunity is a learning opportunity!

Congratulations to the hunter on your deer! Thank you for handling it the proper way. Every step of the way he listened attentively and patiently - and THAT began right after he took the shot. He reached out for advice while still in the woods. Us trackers WANT to help you find your deer even if it’s just giving advice. Our dogs do have your back though and we really appreciate when you help our dogs with clean/undisturbed tracks. Congratulations to Ghost! She blew some minds today and she definitely needed some rest after today.

21/10/2023

Ghost was able to help Mike find his deer today.
Mike shot the buck last night; he watched the deer go into a corn field after the shot. He tracked the deer across the corn field and then backed out and called for help. Ghost tracked the buck across a hay field and into the woods where the deer bed for the first and last time.
Congratulations on your deer, Mike!

08/10/2023

Not the way we want to find them, but we still put a hunter on his doe this morning.
They had blood for 250 yards and lost it.. Ghost came in and found the deer 100 yards past their point of loss.
At least the hunter was able to get half of the deer..

07/10/2023

Stella made a hunter happy today.
He shot this buck yesterday morning and had video of the deer turning during the shot.. the arrow was a little bit back so we knew to give him time.
We started the track at 24 hours post-hit. Stella took the line and then made a circle because I was going too slow for her liking. Then we got back on track and she brought us right to an empty, bloody bed 175 yards from the hit site. She did some scent drifting again and lots of barking. Had to restart her at the bed but then she found the deer dead about 40 yards away.
Congratulations to the hunter!

25/09/2023

We started this track Tuesday evening and closed the case this morning..
The arrow had smelled of guts Monday night, so we collectively decided to wait 24 hours before starting the track. We believe this deer was being pushed around multiple properties, still alive when we initially tracked it. Both the hunter and I each had personal/professional obligations preventing us from continuing the search until today.
Huge thank you to the hunter for his persistence and allowing us to help find his deer!
4/4 on deer!

23/09/2023

We got to make an 8 year old boy a very happy kid today. He was hunting with his grandpa last night and got a shot at this nice buck. Such a cool story as the kid had to wait, watching the deer for 20 minutes before getting an ethical shot. Excellent patience!!
They waited 3 hours to start tracking but ended up jumping it and losing blood. They backed out and texted me in the morning. I started the track with Stella and she extended the line to a couple beds and then started scent drifting the air a lot. I thought we were close but didn’t like that she wasn’t keeping her nose to the ground so I switched dogs. Ghost came in and brought us right to the deer. The hunter’s grandpa could not believe what he was seeing.

We’re beyond grateful for the opportunity to be part of this hunt. Congratulations to the hunter!

19/09/2023

Our second track of the 2023 season involved two visits..
Gregg shot this buck opening night but had very little blood when they trailed it that night. I met him Sunday morning after I finished my first recovery of this season. Stella took the line and ran with it. She extended past their last blood and indicated the deer went into the neighbors’ property.. I tried calling the phone number listed on HuntWise but it was inactive. Gregg drove around and got permission while I went home. We resumed the track later in the day after getting permission and some rest. I switched dogs and Ghost brought us right to the deer; however, we were not the first dogs there. Some form of wild canine got to it first - wolves or coyotes..

I am grateful to have had the opportunity to meet Gregg and help him locate a deer that he’d never have found without a dog!

19/09/2023

Sunday morning we took our first deer track of the season. Connor shot this guy opening morning and texted me right away. We discussed the shot and the deer’s behavior after the shot a bit.. I recommended giving the deer about 11 hours before starting to track. He had bubbly blood for about 150 yards but it got sporadic and he didn’t feel good about it.
Stella and I showed up to help him 24 hours after the shot.. she never wavered on her line, pulling me through some thick stuff and across a creek. She started barking and I knew we were close.. and then there he was - STILL ALIVE! He wasn’t running away though so Stella and I walked out of the woods while Connor finished the deer off.
Congratulations, Connor, on a stud and your first public land buck!!
No chance this deer would have been recovered without a dog!

24/08/2023

We are officially a family business! My wife, Julia, took Ghost on a successful UBT-1 evaluation last night!!

Stella and I also passed a UBT-1 last night!!

04/08/2023

01/05/2023

We added another pup to the team this weekend!
Please help us in welcoming Xena, a 9 week Pomsky.
We wasted no time in getting her acclimated to our rigorous training regimen AND she crushed it like the little warrior she is!

17/03/2023

Today is Ghost’s 3rd Birthday 🥳 🥹🥰
Three of the best years..
Here’s a collage from the day I got her. I drove 8 1/2 hours one way to get her. We got lots of bonding in on the drive home..

15/02/2023

I am one lucky guy, having dinner with these two ladies.. ❤️ 🌹
Happy Valentine’s Day!!

26/01/2023

Ghost wants another job now that tracking season is about finished 😂

21/11/2022

Our third track today was for a young guy named Collin. Collin’s dad texted this morning.. Collin had shot the buck, it dropped, and then it got back up and ran away. The blood trail was pretty decent in the beginning but of course it stopped at a wound bed and it had ran into a thick area with lots of intersections.. when they lost blood they backed out. Brilliant move!
We put Ghost on the trail at the 8 hour mark. She picked through the hit site and she led us to their last blood spot (without us even discussing which way the deer went). She blew past the wound bed and ran towards where the deer decided to expire. I had the hunters wait at their last blood and Ghost DRAGGED me to the deer!

Congratulations Collin!!
This is a great first buck buddy!! Ghost and I are very happy for you and we appreciated being a part of your experience today!!

21/11/2022

Our second track of the day was a gut shot buck. We went in at the 21 hour mark and bumped him out of wound bed 😭 he was huge. HUGE!!
He was limping pretty good so I put Ghost back in my truck, I grabbed my rifle, and we tried to do a quick/spontaneous drive. The hunter and I were able to get one of the people posted a chance to shoot, but they weren’t able to hit the buck.
Collectively, we decided to give the deer more time to bed again.. hopefully the hunter will get another shot at him.