Fishing/Hunting

[rookieshooter]

Really don't know where to post this. It's healthy for sure. If some mod knows a better place please change.
At any rate some of the best Walleye fishing in the country can be found below Damn # 4 on the Potomac River. That's right, the Potomac not a further Northern state.
On the other side is in Md close to the Antietam Battlefield. I'm standing on the WV side.
I took this pic about a week ago while fishing for trout on a limestone stream that flows into this spot.





Here's the confluence of the trout stream and Potomac. Once the river temp rises a few deg. I'l be wading below the damn for the tasty and healthy eating Walleye.
I'll post some pics later. That's if I catch anything, but none the less great scenery I think.

[Tbars4]

..If all works out and I have some time before this years Moab trip, I will be heading to some of my favorite trout streams in Utah..

..There is nothing like being out and as one with nature..

[rookieshooter]

Originally Posted by Tbars4

..If all works out and I have some time before this years Moab trip, I will be heading to some of my favorite trout streams in Utah..

..There is nothing like being out and as one with nature..

I'm so envious, please post pics. Love that Icon.

[Tbars4]

..I used to tournament Bass fish and whenever I was getting "to serious", I would head up to Utah and trout fish miles of streams up there.

..California also has some good trout fishing but even Utah can't compete with the trout fishing in Montana..

...I'm big on "Catch and Release" (unless I'm eating it fresh) and a huge fan of "Take a kid fishing"..

..I take some pics for sure if I get some fishing in..

[rookieshooter]

In a few weeks Spring Turkey season opens where only the Gobblers are legal or a little more specific, it has to have a beard.
The below vid was taken last April. It is one you won't see every day as a gang of bearded Gobblers walk across in front of me only to give me no definite killing shot. Had I had taken a shotgun I would have had a nice dinner. But I have not used a gun in the last several years.
Talk about exercise, climbing these hills with back pack and all the hunting gear sure beats a tread mill. The only thing is that I'm a diabetic which means the exercise is just so important for me.
I generally hunt these birds for well over a month in different states dropping about 8 to 10 pounds in weight, mostly from climbing these 3000' hills.
My Doctor told me that one reason I can control the diabetes with medication is that I stay so active. In fact my sugar can get too low with so much of the hiking I do. Needless to say I always carry some form of sweets. I must be doing something right, I've been a diabetic for over 40 years. I go every 3 months for blood work and to this day the doctors can not explain why my vision is so good. They say when they check my eyes it shows no sign that I was ever a diabetic.
Even though the diabeties has taken it's toll on my heart reguiring a 4 way bypass surgery and other bad things to this body, there's no reason to stop doing what i love.
I'll spend many hours this spring hunting these majestic birds. It's just one of the most enjoyable times of the year being out before the sun comes up listening and watching as the woods come alive. Especially when you hear the thunderous Gobble of one of these birds.
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v8...erswalking.mp4

[Scott B.]

Fishing and hunting is the natural way - not this artificial environment we (as a society) have created for ourselves...

The outdoors is good for one's soul, emotionally as well as physically. Shooting/hunting/fishing/outdoors is how my father and I remain connected. As well as the many good friends I've made along the way...

Enough philosophizing. I'm getting ready to spend a week in Utah - with my dad, Tbars, and some others. Very ready to go.

Great pictures, Rookie. Please post more.

[rookieshooter]

Well besides doing some fishing this time of the year, there's no better hunting then Spring Gobbler hunting.
First you need to find some sign that they are in fact in the area...now that makes sense.
And if there are turkeys in the area they will always leave their signature by leaving scratches in the ground. You can see the toe scrape marks as they push the leaves aside and pile it up opposite the direction their walking.
Notice the leaves and pine needles pushed reward.




Now are they hens or males. Can't hunt the females this time of the year.
Now here is the signature download of a Gobbler (center of pic). The j pattern of the crap ha ha. I'm serious, the hen is always just a round pile where the male is always straight with a hook lol.
I have no idea why this is and no one else knows either. My take on this is like most males he's always on the move, and down loads while still walking giving it a long straight shape and then he gives a little tail wag just to clean it all out forming the hook. More study needs to be done in this area, but not by me.



Now I just can not blast a turkey with a rifle which is legal where I live.
My choice is my crossbow. This year I Giliefied it as in the sniper Gilie suite.
Above the limbs of the bow are two optics. One to the left is my scope, to the right is my video camera.



It never fails, each Spring while calling like a hen some coyote or fox comes running in thinking about turkey dinner.
This time I thought I'd give this fox a scare so he'll think twice about this again. Plan is to shoot just under his stomach freaking him out with the spray of the dirt. Reason I did not take him is there is no Fox hunting this time of the year. Note the fur is starting to thin out for Summer.
Click on above pic



But got to admit I did not see the tree ha ha. Lost a $12 broadhead.



Here is one snake you won't often see. Found it when I cleared some old damp logs to sit down and begin calling.
It's the venomous Ring Neck snake. Their fangs are located far back in their mouth. They do not strike at the prey but rather squeeze it and then it bites down on it. I released him after taking pic. Oh ya, it was about 50 yards from where the Brown Recluse got while I was moving rotten logs for a calling site last year.

[rookieshooter]

It's what's for dinner





Well I finally got a shot on a young Tom Turkey. There were about 5 males and I took the closest shot.
I fired the bolt when he turned sideways presenting a shot right at the top of his wing area which exposed all the vitals. Went down immediately.
Next it was off to check the bird in.





One of the best ways to prepare this is to deep fry quickly after coating with flour and spice, Old Bay works for me. It's only in the deep fryer for a few minutes.
Might add that I don't deep fry hardly at all but this is just so Decadently good.

[corkey]

I do a bit of hunting, but not very much, usually a little deer hunting , and maybe some partridge some times,

But fishing is really my fun thing other than my Explorer.

this winter i got myself a new to me bass boat,


i have been having an issue with the fuel flow, but now have that under control and it goes across the lake pretty good, 62 mph so far..

i Usually do muskie fishing , but with some bass fishing and northern pike mixed in with it,

here's a shot of one of my muskie catches , nice fish,

and another big one,


fishing and hunting is a way of life for some, not just a relaxing hobby,

[rookieshooter]

That is just an amazing fish. In the Potomac around the area the I live they introduced Tiger Muskie years ago, which I think is a Hybrid Muskie. Every once and a while a 40" plus gets pulled out.
When I used to hunt in Quebec I used to mix in a little fishing for Northern pike and
Speckled trout also.
But I would love to hunt the Partridge or Ruffed Grouse as we call them, but the population is down now. Seems it fluctuates about every 10 years or so. But the main thing is loss of habitat, as you know they need a certain kind of cover with lot of young saplings, well at least in my area.
Grouse have to be the hardest game to hit once it takes wing. I like the old saying "Every shot you make on a grouse is the best shot you ever made in your life".

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v8...t=M2U00762.mp4

The above link was taken this morning. A hen came in to my call which is not fair game this time of the year, only the fall. The reason there is even a Spring Gobbler season is that once you call in the Old Boss Gobbler, that is if all the planets are aligned and you do get him. Then immediately the sibling Gobblers who could not mate with the hens cause the Old Man beats the living snot out of them, if they mess with his harem lol.
But once the word gets out that the old man is dead...look out. The young toms will divide the harem of hens up and then bingo, more turkeys.
Every state that has a Spring season, now has a larger turkey population.

Site in time

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v8...t=M2U00761.mp4

After the Xbow got a few bangs from limbs and such thought I'd make sure it's still zeroed in. The target is a 2x2" square piece of tape.
Now let me tell you, anybody could make this shot with the way I have he bow set up. I mean as long as you have a steady rest, just put the red dot on the target and squeeze the trigger.
Look at the end of the arrow and you can see a little bit cotton type stuff blowing from left to right. I did not allow for windage and the arrow got blown off target about 1/2" which would have still put the Bird down even if I was aiming at the head.

[BigJoe1094]

Been fishing as long as I can remember and started bow hunting last year. Now I'm just starting a combination of both, bow fishing

[Joe Dirt]

We headed out for our first fishing trip this year. It's been way too hectic after the move, I know that much...

So anyway, my son spent 2 hours before we left cleaning the boat, arranging lures, and yelling from the boat that he was ready to go...




He netted this nice Sheepshead (Freshwater Drum) which was 22" long and 17 lbs.




How do you beat this:




Way better than watching someone sit in front of a video game...

[rookieshooter]

Well it's getting that time of the year again when I get ready for the hunting season. This is one of those things I've put on the back burner for years. Most times a stock on a gun needs to be tweaked for proper fit. A gun that you throw to your shoulder in the sporting goods store in the summertime wearing nothing but a shirt and feels just so right...comes cold weather wearing a series of layers to keep you warm and that sweet handling gun just won't come up so naturally to your shoulder. Especially a shotgun which is often shot fast and is just pointed toward the game. Nothing worse when it snags on your coat and then only to find your head is crawling up on the stock to see the right sight picture. Goodbye game.
So all I did was to remove the rubber butt plate, wrap with tape and then mark the amount I need to cut off. In this case, 1/2".


Only thing is the butt plate no longer follows the lines of the stock. The plate is larger.



So enter one flap wheel on my angle grinder.



All I have to now is to finish the stock. Now this is my meat and potato gun so I'm not worried about a custom stock finishing job. Some linseed oil will be fine. And besides, I use this Remington 870 for a tomato stake in the summer ha ha. Don't worry, I've owned some of the finest shotguns the world has ever produced. But even then, if it did not fit, out came the table saw. This was especially true when I used to shoot professional for $$.
Now let that old Gobbler come sneaking into me. Hmm, can smell that fried turkey breast now.

And one other thing, learn to shoot with both eyes open. Unless your master eye is opposite of the shoulder you mount the gun on, ie words if your gun is put on your right shoulder and your left eye is the master eye, then yes, you need to close the left eye or else you'll shoot off to the side. There are simple tests to determine your master eye.

[rookieshooter]

http://s1224.photobucket.com/albums/...t=M4H03719.mp4

Was out scouting for the upcoming bow season for deer while small game hunting. That's the reason for the shotgun. Later in the morning I got up into one of my tree stands just to look around.
Several deer came in and this Buck decides to come over to the tree stand after smelling the wrapper of a Trail bar that I just dropped down from the tree earlier and started eating the wrapper. All wrappers are picked up when I get down. Don't need the aluminum foil making noise in the stand when I move around.
Hard to see the buck at first, but if you look just to the left of my hunting boot where the burlap meets the wood you can see movement. Then he circles around to my right which you can just see parts of him. Then he comes into full view along with 2 Does.

http://s1224.photobucket.com/albums/...t=M4H03745.mp4

Here's another vid of the same deer. They stayed around for about 15 min then left. It was amazing that they never winded me. The deer look to be in very good shape. This years mast crop is spotty with some acorn producing trees hardly having any but other variates producing some. The Hickory trees seem to have a bumper crop as well as the Walnut trees.

[rookieshooter]

Setting up a little deer camp. The Texas style tree stand is just stored there and has not been moved yet.

[rookieshooter]

An abundance of food this year explaining the nice size deer I've been seeing this year. Plenty of rain.
In fact I've got to sweep the drive way about every other day to clear off all the acorns. It's like walking on ball bearings.



With all the heat and humidity this year, even the spiders are reaching huge proportions eek. This is in a trailer thats been parked on the property for years with all most the screens and some windows knocked out. I guess that explains the shedded snake skins also. Property owner says I can use it if I want to...me not think so.

[rookieshooter]

Warning...Graphic killing shot
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwT06dSVZnA&feature=plcp

Filling out a doe tag.
A lot of times the deers body reaction will indicate where the bullet hit. In this case it was a perfect heart shot. The deer only ran about 40 yards and dropped. The deer did what every deer does when hit in the heart as far as my experience goes. It takes a high jump while kicking it's rear legs outward.







The venison was aged for several days then I butchered it and vacuumed seal the extremely healthy lean meat. More lean then chicken. Not counting all the calories I lost dragging it out several hundred yards.

[rookieshooter]

After freezing, some of the meat is thawed about half way where I can just cut through it. That's ice crystals, not salt.



Much easier this way then if it was fully thawed.



Now for the secret ingredients ha ha.



Then place in dehydrator. It's very hard to keep any for myself. It's just that good.

[rookieshooter]

So now with bags of Deer jerky, Deer Bologna and Deer snack sticks, nothing left but to turn on some football. Some of the jerky and bologne will be given to friends who did not do so well during the hunting season along with friends who just love the taste of it.

[rookieshooter]

Tomorrow is opening day of the Spring Gobbler season which lasts for about 30 days. Going to use my crossbow which I have a permit for.
I've already lost 10 pounds even though my Dr told me I have a good mass ratio for my height. But still this will help when climbing all these hills. Not mentioning getting a major knee operation about 3 weeks ago. Had problem bending knee, don't need that when climbing up hills and over rocks and such.
Any rate, click on the below video to see how this crossbow shoots.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_ZPC...ature=youtu.be


Here is my camoed GoPro camera that I used to shoot this vid, plus I hope to get some cool action videos of the upcoming hunt.