virgil

Speaking of 'incidental muskies', I got my fish of a lifetime that way. I was on a fishing trip on Lake of the Woods in Ontario with my brother. My brother is handicapped and needs to use specialized splints and adapted rods to fish. Our guide brought us to a spot at the beginning of our first day. We were going to drift a weedy channel throwing spinner baits for pike. I had bought a new rod before the trip. While my brother was getting his splints set up, I decided to try a couple of casts with my new five foot bait caster. I fired off one cast to get a feel for it. Then, fired off another and landed my lure right at the edge of the weed line. I started cranking and felt the line stop. I thought I snagged a log or some weeds, then realized I had a fish on. About two seconds later, I said 'I think it's big'. Long story short, I boated a 51" muskie on 12lb mono with an 8" wire leader. At one point, the fish wrapped himself around a sunken log, but eventually came free. To this day, I still can't believe I caught that fish.

Greybeard, do you mind me asking where you're fishing on the sound? I live close to Mt. Sinai harbor and take my kayak in there often. I've seen people fishing from the shore or wading in the harbor and was thinking of giving it a try. Was wondering if this is where you've been fishing.

Wow, well that settles it. I'm convinced. All we need to increase public safety is more guns. I'm sure there are no socioeconomic factors involved whatsover- surely $38K goes as far in Chicago as $37k does in Houston.

OK, you don't have to agree. My point is that, in the eyes of the general public- at least the anti-gun public, guns are already seen as scourges on society, just like cigarettes. And, I don't think it's a good idea to associate the two. But then again, I usually think that the arguments you guys make don't do much to further your cause.

I don't think that it's a good idea for sportsmen or gun enthusiasts to compare the tobacco industry to the gun industry. We all agree that the responsible use of guns is safe and has a legitimate place in society- we don't all agree on the types of guns, etc, but that's not the point. A person who handles and uses his guns as they were intended to be used will suffer no harmful effects and neither will anyone in society. You cannot say the same thing about cigarettes. The tobacco industry is dirty. Gun owners should not try to draw parallels between the two. Just my opinion.

Yep.

Right NYAntler, 'freedom' means having the right to make stupid personal choices that will inevitably lead to serious health problems, the cost of which the public will bare.

Or, we could try to educate people on the harmful effects of smoking and of eating garbage in hopes that they will make smarter decisions. And, if that fails, we could make it more inconvenient for people to make these bad decisions through taxation. If that fails, we can make people personally financially responsible for the repercussions of their life choices.

Wow. Nice job. And nice to know that the DEC was able to follow up on it.

what's the regular price?

Doc, you make a lot of assumptions that are based on nothing but your own beliefs.

Nobody has ever implied that non-smokers live indefinitely and that they never incur medical expenses. You have chosen to make that leap on your own. Regardless, there is no question that smokers cost the system more than non-smokers. This is not a debatable point. Your argument seems to be that since everyone will eventually get sick and die that there is no reason to take any responsibility. Smokers are knowingly putting themselves at greater risk and the public bears a cost because of it. To deny that fact is foolish. The reason that governments are trying to discourage people from smoking is because healthcare costs will go down for everyone, the government included, if there are fewer smokers. Doc, you make a lot of statements on this subject that make no sense- there is no government mandate for people to stop smoking. There may be a strong push from the government to discourage people from smoking, but that's not a mandate. I agree that people should be free to do as they please, as long as their decisions don't have a negative impact on the public. I wonder if all the freedom loving smokers would be willing to sign a waiver that states that they will personally bear the cost of any health care specifically related to illnesses that result from their choice to smoke.

The government would probably not 'wrap themselves around' the personal lives of smokers if the cost for their medical care weren't such a huge burden on Medicare and the taxpayers.

Congrats. I'm also expecting our 2nd in October and felt guilty about worrying about how my hunting season will be affected. Will have to figure something out.

Any chance they named the kid Jake?

Wouldn't that be entrapment?

Not sure how far away 7P is from my land in 7R. But, although I didn't tag out, I did see a good few birds in my limited time in the woods.

Wouldn't they consider decreasing bags limits before closing a season altogether?

I just passed a field with about 15 birds in it. Couldn't tell if there was more than one Tom, but there was at least one. Is it normal for the birds to be seen in such large groups at this time of year?

OK, thanks. Then, what I was hearing was definitely not a turkey- it was very loud and definitely coming from a distance away. But, there were lots of them coming from many directions. I'll try finding some audio clips online.

Maybe. Don't know what that sounds like either.

What I was hearing sounded like a drum- kinda like the sound it would make if you used a five gallon bucket for the drum. It didn't have the rapid-fire pace of a woodpecker. And, it always slowed down toward the end of each burst.

I've heard a bunch of you guys use the term 'drumming' regarding turkey vocalization. Can you describe what that sounds like. I was hearing a lot of noise in the woods the other day and assumed it was coming from woodpeckers. I didn't see any birds or hear any gobbles. But, my trail cams were loaded with pictures of turkeys- actually had a picture of 2 birds on the camera less than ten minutes before I got to the camera. I'm wondering if the sound I thought was woodpeckers was actually drumming.

The big box stores do put them on sale at the end of the season, like after Labor Day- not that that helps you now.

I think the danger is having your waders fill up in a fast current, not necessarily just having them fill up.