Mike Klemmensen
Location:
I was born in Iowa and raised in central Illinois so I was destined to fall in love with this sport. My best friend and hunting partner, Tom Ware, introduced me to bow hunting. Assisting him with his outfitting business taught me a lot about all aspects of this irresistible pastime and the hard work it takes to consistently be successful. On a typical day I’ll go 550 mph; other days bring dense fog and icy runways….but nothing gets my heart beating like the pursuit of big whitetails. I hunted a few times as a kid and enjoyed it; but it was the introduction to bow hunting that got me….and now I’m no different than the crazy November bucks I’m after….obsessed!! Hunting brings many challenges. These are animals of prey, so they spend 365 days a year honing their survival skills….who am I to saunter into their home a few weeks out of the year and think I can beat them at their own game?? The old warriors are the hardest to bag. As we understand them, they learn more about us and I feel that a mature whitetail starts the season with the upper hand. This is why I love it!!! Everyone likes an underdog. Then an even greater challenge presented itself….filming these adventures. For those of you who have done it, you understand what I’m saying. In my opinion, it is much harder to film these hunts than being the hunter. Zooming in on an unpredictable subject in manual focus through tree branches, corn, or bush (the whole time the hunter whispering; “Are you on Him??”) is not for the faint of heart…….I liken it to an engine fire with 20,000 pounds of jet fuel onboard!!!
Occupation:
Illinois
Pilot for Caterpillar Inc.