PREDATE

Good tip Cusehunter, I use it for my county(broome) alot, but some counties have a poor GIS system.

Well that's what we like to hear and congrats on the buck. You will enjoy the site. Lots of good info and people here. It's a little slow around here lately, but it will pick up when season gets closer. Stick around and join in, we all learn from each other.

Hard to tell from the pic, there are 100's or even 1000's of possibilities. One cannot be positive without ascertaining characteristics such as, color, stem?, gills? , vulva? , spore color , smell Etc. Google Stinkhorn mushroom if you really want to be amused.

Did you use the statelands interactive viewer? Cicero swamp- 4,949 acres Hamlin marsh- 1,686 acres Three mile bay- 3,966 acres Three rivers- 3,607 acres Northern Montezuma- 3,600 acres Grand total= 17,808 acres. All within 25 miles of Syr. There's nowhere to hunt?????? On a side note, bowhunting doesn't require trees! If you got a buddy with a big backyard, woods or a brushfield, that could be home to a giant "Burbs Buck"!

That's terrible! It's just stuff, carry on wayward son! The Lord doesn't give us more than we can handle, so he must think you're up to it! Take care

Probably the perimeter! LOL Just kidding. Welcome! What kind of game do you hunt?

I enjoyed those pics. Very nice!

Yep, most puffballs are edible and when you stomp them you're actually releasing literally millions up to an estimated 9 trillions of spores, therefore seeding the area. The giant puffballs are good, but I really like the smaller Gem-studded puffballs, which are found in the timber on dead logs. Each puffball MUST be cut in half to make sure it has no gills, stalk or structure. It should be plain "sponge-like" throughout. This is to ensure that it isn't a deadly poisonous Amanita Virosa(aka. Destroying Angel). There are many many genus of fungi that grow on dead tree stumps(edible as well as poisonous ones)! Remember that fungi is a decomposer and the primary one in forests. Only wood decay fungi have evolved the enzymes necessary to decompose Lignin, a chemically complex substance found in wood. Fungi play an important role in many ecosystems. Myocorrhiza is the association between fungi and vascular plants. In many ways does the fungi help its host plant/tree in recieving/attaining nutrients. I enjoy hunting them, plus I get to scout for deer @ the same time! A win-win!

I sometimes check out NYmorels.com orThe Mushroom Forager.com to get an idea of what's being found. I haven't been out yet, but Sulfur Shelf(chicken mushroom) should be starting along with boletes, and yes oysters should be plentiful. My favorite tasting so far is the black trumpet / horn of plenty. Texture-wise, I really like smooth chanterelles. I really want to find some cinnabar chants and bi-colored boletes this year. I've heard differing opinions on the taste of Hericium(bears-head tooth,comb tooth,bearded tooth), but the next time I find some I will decide for myself. I really haven't preserved much other than freezing Miatake(hen of the woods), sulfur shelf and trumpets. I try to avoid washing mushrooms in water because they tend to get soggy. If I can clean them with a damp towel, that is preferred. I do sometimes rinse Miatake to remove leaf debris/sticks. Bugs like to hide in there too, but I cut them into 1" pieces before freezing and that allows me to check for bugs. My dehydrator will get some good use this year!!!

Absolutely! I like the summer/fall mushrooms the best. Chicken mushrooms, boletes, oysters, chanterelles, trumpets, puffballs, hen of the woods. I didn't get out even once to hunt morels this year, but the season is just beginning for me. If there's one good thing from all this rain, it's good fungi hunting!

Hmmmmm? Now Dicks is catching flak from inanimate objects? LOL

Yep you're right! I had VFW on the mind. Gramps is an old nazi killer from way back, and also VFW commander.

Fish must be taken in Tioga County,NY on the Susquehanna river. The weigh in station is @ Hickories park in Owego,NY. The derby is put on by the Owego VFW.

The deer will tolerate some summertime activity, they're accustomed to it. Between hikers, bikers, fishermen, dog walkers, kids, atvs, wild food foragers, farmers, trailcam checkers, hunting scouters, treestand set-up, clearing shooting lanes, Etc. They aren't gonna run to the next county because they smell you. Try to check cams right before or during a rainstorm so your scent will dissipate.

I'd say 1X/week is ok for now.Just wear rubber boots and let the pics tell you what time of day to visit the cam. When season gets closer you shouldn't enter very often

I do. I'd rather hunker down behind a bush, than have a buck catch my scent. I try to visualize the terrain as a stream bed. Just like water is affected by logjams, boulders, steep banks, thus creating eddys, backflows, swift runs, Etc. Wind currents will do the same. What phade said is very true. Last year I had a small 4pt. buck walk 10yds downwind from me and never even acted spooked. I was sitting in a fallen tree about 6ft. off the ground with a thick stand of pines at my back. The stronger(unobstructed) wind above the pines was actually pulling my scent upwards right over the deer.

I do nothing other than make spiedies with my turkey! Being from Broome County it is a must! Here's a link from my home town(Johnson City,NY). They were the first to bottle spiedie sauce and now they also make a product line named Hunters Pride, which is aimed towards wild game cooking. Good stuff! I actually have some venison spiedies marinating for this wknd.http://www.spiedie.com/index.html

Maybe they have stay-at-home hubbys? Honestly, by the name of this thread, I thought you were gonna elaborate on the "tranny troll pic". LOL

They do reserve the right to administer a ploygraph, which I think is good. Seems like there are always guys fishing the(Tioga County) derby in Broome County. I try to just shake my head and shrug it off, but it does irk me. The last time I fished the derby, the 3 top prize winners were all buddies. Somethin kinda fishy there?? They do have a good chicken BBQ at the weigh in!!!!

cool. I just saw a tom out by the garden.

Do you gig them? I have a gig and have been meaning to give it a try. I used to catch them for bass bait, but never got enough for a meal.

Wind can be your best friend and also worst enemy. It can change in a blink. Set stands for every wind direction and you should see deer. A few ground blinds should be set too, just in case the wind changes direction. If you're planning on hunting that parcel in early season, you should devote a few evenings in late Sept. to glassing from a distance. This is good because the deer will be patternable. Trailcams are great for locating deer, but watching where they come from(beds) and where they're going(food) is the best way. You'll also know which route they're traveling as well as what time they're moving through. You could just pick the correct stand for the wind and sit, but then you're also taking a chance on spooking the deer and leaving human scent. We have a long season, so take your time and make it count!

I was bummed that I had to miss it this year. Got called into work on Saturday. That's a nice fat-lip catty! Do you know what the winning fish weighed? The Owego pennysaver usually has an article, but I haven't picked one up. Back in 04 when we won the derby, I thought I had a couple giant cats on. One was a carp and the other was a huge snapping turtle. My brother caught the winning fish (13lb 12oz.) Edit: I like the hat!

Gotcha covered. PM sent

Got 150lbs of seed potatoes(yukons and reds) and 20lbs of seed onion(red,white and yellow) in 2-3 weeks ago. All doing great! Not much time for anything else, but did manage a 2 acre "7 card stud" foodplot. Next wknd will be the herbs!! I looooove fresh basil and dill.