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About 20 years ago, I became involved with some friends in a friendly, opening day trout contest. The rules were simple. We fished in 2 man teams, $10 per man. The team that brought in the LONGEST TROUT won all the money. The trout had to be taken from the Cohocton River or one of it's tributaries, which ,if you are familiar with the drainage, covers quite a bit of water. We would meet at a given spot at 1:00 PM, measure up our fish, and then play poker the rest of the day.. It was kind of a win/win situation..<grin>... We had a number of different teams over the years, but there were four teams who were there pretty much every year from the beginning. This year we only have enough guys for two teams. Of the original 8, 3 guys are now fishing that great trout stream in the sky, one guy is no longer physically able to fish, and another has moved out of the area. 2 of the 3 guys who are gone passed away in the last 6 months, including a very dear lifelong friend of mine , who was my partner since the beginning. I have another good friend who is my new partner this year, and I am looking forward to getting out on the stream, although it will be bittersweet to say the least. My partner Mike, who passed away last fall, always got as excited as a little kid over opening day, even when he was in his 60s. He'll do doubt be looking over my shoulder next Tuesday as I drift a worm through his favorite pools...

I am going Sunday and help set up. I will post pics and update. work is important and family comes first. As long as you can make it on 11/4, that is the important one.

Leopold base and twist lock rings. Rock solid

Oboy....Wait 'till I a beer and some popcorn... Okay..Tell me again about tha RABBITS, George....

I dont know if I could go back to a car. I like the fact I can go anywhere, whenever I want. I can pick up large items without having to borrow a truck, or plan it out. Its just so convenient. I dont have to shovel or plow my driveway in the winter, etc etc etc. The convenience is worth the expense IMO. Id be pretty bummed if I had to give up the truck, I feel for ya.

Lots of forage. It is just 50' up. Lol. Would be great if NY ever decides to stock giraffes lol

QDM, TDM, Big bucks.. the bottom line is none of it means anything if you're not having fun... One thing I will say about the QDM approach.. most that are doing it (regardless of what my opinion is) are having a great time doing it and it has made their hunting experience exciting... that is really what it's all about...

...and still doesn't run. Lol. ADD folks! I'm already on to mountain bikes.

A man received the following text from his neighbor: I am so sorry Bob. I've been riddled with guilt and I have to confess. I have been tapping your wife all the time. I'm not getting any at my house, but that's no excuse. I can no longer live with the guilt and I hope you will accept my sincerest apology, along with my promise that it won't happen again. The man, feeling anguished and betrayed, went into his bedroom, grabbed his gun and without a word, shot his wife and killed her. A few moments later, a second text message came in: Damn spell-check. I meant "wifi", not "wife".

And Four Seasons your argument that it is QDMA VS Captive Deer Farms and how there is fear or competition is probably the silliest thing I have ever heard. Apple and Oranges..... Ask any hunter if they would rather hunt a wild 100% free animal vs Captive animal and we all know the majority is wild. Sure you have clients, there is a market, there is one for herion too. Doesn't make it right.

Saw it on Facebook. People where freaking out scared. Person posting it said it came from a great friend who would never lie - sound familiar? Google image search shows it was in a newspaper last fall in the midwest. Same story as always.

Pygmy, you want some of my popcorn, Ill share. Just nevermind that hole in the bottom of the bucket.....

Did you hear about the agnostic,dyslexic, insomniac ? He lay awake all night wondering if there really IS a dog.

Sneaking around the mountains with snow on the ground is a wonderful thing. In late season, I find it common to have to travel a long ways to find fresh sign. But once I find that sign, its game on. That said, I unfortunately can't say I've killed any truly big bucks in this fashion yet. Wish I had more opportunities to hunt snow. By late season wife has had enuf of my hunting and I am in damage control mode.

Any one that has to manually satisfy an animal for a living can keep that profession. Please wash your hands before counting all that money you make. Lol

PM me if you are making a purchase and need the code

If the person you bought it from bought it new and never registered it then he should have a certificate of origin another words if the bike was bought new and nobody ever registered it then there should be a certificate of orgin (title) if the bike was reg at some point in its life then there will be a transferable registration which acts like a title

Scouting if possible will increase your odds. While I do not get to scout that often it is a big part of successful ADK hunters. 6 miles in is a long hike, how much area did you cover after you get into the 6 mile area? 6 in and 6 out is a long day. Sometimes you are better off setting up a remote base camp to eliminate that long of a hike every time and staying a few days minimum. This will allow more time to check the area. My average stalk is anywhere from a mile to about 3 miles for the day depending on how many deer are in the area. More deer causes me to move much slower out of fear of being seen. I did a 7 mile in hike and it kicked my but!!! I was not able to cover the area like I usually do from exhaustion. Send me a pm with the exact area you hunt and I might be able to help you pin point some "preferred" area's the deer tend to use more. Food is a good indication of deer in the area. If you are not seeing deer hitting food sources you might want to check another area. Some area's are void of deer more than others, key in on the ones with deer makes your sightings much better and a hell of a lot more fun. One thing about deep ADK woods that has helped me is finding a good food source but this is not a simple task as food sources can vary from area and time of year. Doe are another key ingredient to finding bucks, they want to get a girl even if it is only for a few days! When rut is on bucks will abandon their core area to chase doe and tend to any doe that is close to breading. Pre-rut will see them patrolling the doe to see if any are in heat and how many are in the area. Mature bucks tend to like high places with a good view and good scent that rises to let them know about any predators. Find valleys that connect high peaks for early season and as the cold and rut progresses look for them near the doe as this is the main driving force during peak rut. During "lockdown" when bucks are tending doe it is feast or famine. If you have doe you will have bucks. After rut is over the bucks will key in on food again. Patience, persistence. A drive to accomplish what your goal is. Attention to detail is critical. Become an expert shot with any weapon you use knowing where to aim from 5 ft out to as far as you can shoot. (For me that is 5 ft to less than 80 yards due to cover.) Topo and satellite maps are great to find pinch points, connecting valleys and sometimes even cover and food sources. Another thing is this. ADK in many area's is deep woods just by stepping off the dirt road. Do not feel like you have to go back a few miles to get your deer. In area's with high human traffic and activity I have found that most action is about a half mile for bucks yet doe do not seem to be upset by human activity as bucks do. Cover some area you think might be good with a fine tooth comb! I tend to look more for deer than sign when hunting and when scouting I will look more for sign then actual deer. Are the tips of plants chewed off? Any rubs or scrapes. And food sources along with water and easy water crossings. Lake edges tend to attract deer and they are expert swimmers that can swim more than 7 miles with no problem so not many lakes are a big barrier. Big lakes tend to have a area of blow down that deer love usually on the windy side where all the trees fall. Become an expert tracker, the story told in the tracks can not only tell you the type of deer(male/female) it can tell you the area he came from and where he is going and if lucky you can plot to ambush or stalk them. You can determine if he is a swamp buck or a high ridge deer when you really get good at it. I am not their, yet! One thing is for sure your task of getting a buck is a big one that many give up on after a few failed attempts. When and if you finally do it is and accomplishment like no other, especially when you plan it out and everything comes together. PS: If you do get one you might be addicted to hunting deer for the rest of your life. While my first in 2000 did not set me on that path the one in 2010 sure did. The misses I had in between 2000 and 2010 drove me crazy and I was determined to connect with a brute. Another reason I say to know your weapons and become a expert woodsman. Hello my name is Jeff and I am addicted to hunting ADK whitetails. But any whitetail gets my blood pumping!!!

I went to school Naples, and so I was raised around the Naples Trout Derby and the carnival-like atmosphere of the shoulder to shoulder fishing in Naples Creek and its tributaries. It was an annual blast that was always a pile of fun. And some of those huge fish that came out of the water there always kept the interest stoked. Over the years, I have drifted away from those great times as all the people I used to go out on the waters with have moved away, died or simply lost interest. But when I hear someone talk about the great times on April first, it always brings back those great memories.

Nice heartfelt post, now I'm sad.

I can't say I am a big fan of the narrow ladder sections now being used. They are not as easy to even the weight when hanging and are more apt to cant. Plus, they become annoying in winter with heaver bulky boots.

Dick's sells a model slightly above the basic - called the deluxe. These have full platforms going back to the tree.

Garbage bags and duct tape work well too...

Ahhh, I see a black CC Raptor out that way quite a bit, wasnt sure if it was you. No, the blankets to protect the truck instead of the item you are hauling automatically keep it in the sissy category

OOOO! Maybe it was Sam Merlotte on vacation from Bon Tempes!

LOL, Deerthug ! A little error in terminology... That reminds me of the time , many years ago, when I sent my wife to Cox's to pick me up a seersucker suit. She went to Sear's.....

x2

that's the best archery related investment you've probably ever made. I've still got mine. It stops everything cold, whether it's the fastest compounds or crossbows. I've never had an arrow stick through the other side period. more you shoot it the easier the arrows are to pull out. It's really not a struggle either. I've shot layered foam, fused layered foam, solid foam, and pretty much any other target out there and it's by far the most durable. I've shot 450 vegas rounds over and over without moving anything and it still takes the abuse. that's fat arrows hitting the same three spots 15 times each round. I think you'll be happy and if not i'll take it off your hands!

well at least someone reading these forums will get about the first 4 pages worth of good discussion.

Just make sure they don't eat the brown jelly beans if they find any.

I know..I should have included a bibliography. My apologies to Steven Wright. I'm a HUGE fan..Pun intended...<<smile>>..

I had an Oneida Lightforce magnum when I shot a compound... noisy son of a gun... fast... but sounded like a cannon going off...

There is a specific joy that comes from driving a hippy station wagon with a couple of dead deer on the slide in rack. I average 25 mpg and with the trailer the only thing i lost is my manhood. lol. Probably buying another in time

Now you will get his comments on how the bottle raised deer are as difficult to hunt as a wild one

One group I know takes a bunch like this each year. Pretty informal rules too,just lots of land and keeping pressure light, but what do I know.

Would you accept $10K cash and closing ASAP?

What about Arkansas? Speaking of Arkansas, I never hear anything about that state; is it even a state anymore?

It's always a "VERY RELIABLE SOURCE".

Hehehehehe....All the little urchins will have to do is follow your tracks in the snow, you silly goose !

Try these --- If it's a penny for your thoughts and you put in your 2 cents worth then someone somewhere is making a penny . I put instant coffee in the microwave and it almost went back in time . If a person with multiple personalities threatens suicide , is it considered a Hostage Situation ? I put tape on the mirrors in my house so I don't accidentally walk through into another dimension . If toast always lands butter side down , and cats always land on their feet, what happens if you strap toast on the back of a cat and drop it ?

It's easy...First you pop open a beer. Next you log on to DORKZ. When in DORKZ, upload the framscuttle TWICE. After that, click on wackdoodle and crossload the fuzzbumper. Once the fuzzbumper crossloads, sidestep into beenybopper. As soon as beenybopper metabolizes, shut down the porksloop and re-boot the fernbender. After that, pop open another beer and try gain. Nothing to it. Glad to help.

Well, I figured I would share my most recent tattoo..I have two full sleeves,this one is at the bottom end of my right arm, and f course is my favorite..,

I'm sorry to hear that but as men we make sacrifices for our families. That's our job and I for one am proud of you. You will have a truck again one day. Till then hold your head up and make the best of your car.

Sounds like it's Half and half. I have had a truck or 4x4 for almost my whole life driving. Feels weird to be back in the car. I really loved the truck. But from a financial stand point with a young family it makes sense. My brother does have a truck that lives down the road that is usually fine with me taking it. I will make this work and then in a few years hopefully things will be differnt. I'd rather be able to afford things for my children.

Landowners agreeing on 3.5 and up is rare here in NY. If you can do it, then that's a big deal. Problem is most hunters in NY don't have 3.5s and many don't have 2.5s on the wall. Might be best to think about setting 2.5 across the board for now and then move to 3.5 as people buy in a year or two down the road. Small steps = big victory.

The DEC cant manage the deer herd to a QDM or TDM standard. They dont have the money, and never will. Educating people is the key to turning things around, and if you look at the trends in yearling buck take in NY, you can see it is turning around. Its slow, but we are getting there. We will never be like the midwest states, the hunter density is too high, and the land is too broken up. You and I live in some of the best areas of the state, due to mineral content in the soil, and the amount of AG in the area and other factors. We have the potential for nice deer, and it shows each and every year. The more people that are educated, the better it will get, and you have to admit, its pretty darn good already, especially in comparison to some other areas of the state.

I stay away from them because if i didnt, I would end up with one of the money pits in my garage. I had a bunch of them when i was younger. Always breaking, worse than a boat lol.

I think Sogaard should be suspended for adding such meaningless dribble to this thread. Oh wait, that would apply to a few other posts, including my own. Never mind.

One last point I think is worth mentioning. If you compare big woods (Northern Zone) hunting vs Southern Zone hunting, one of the biggest factors to consider in my opinion is the amount of food that is readily available. In the southern zone, there is tons of food - lots of farm land, apple orchards etc. It's a lot easier for a deer to go "nocturnal". They can bed down most of the day, and they know exactly where to go once the sun goes down, to get lots of food. Northern zone big woods is an entirely different ballgame. Deer need to eat several pounds of food a day, and there is not an endless supply of food in the Adirondacks. They'll bed down for periods during the day, but they will definitely be up and about, covering a fair amount of ground to find and consume enough food. This need for food, and the need for them to cover ground to get that food, is one of the reasons that mid-day hunts in the big woods shouldn't be overlooked. I agree with NFA-ADK, an all-day hunt is the best in my view.

I use this stuff called Barrel Blaster from CVA. Its probably just soapy water that I pay a few bucks for lol. Whatever it is, it works great.