wolc123

We fished this past Sat, Sunday, Monday, Tues on the St Lawrence, below Alex bay. The smallmouth action was a little slow on our usual drifts out near the shipping lane, but the fish seemed extra big, stuffed on round gobies I suppose. We kept 5 on Sat and on Sunday, all very healthy looking, even the fat 20 inchers. On Sunday we also hit a 24" and a 27" walleye at the deeper part of our drift (25-30 ft). The last 20 years , it had been 5 years almost to the hour in walleyes for us taken in that part of the river. I rarely target them since learning how to properly care for and prepare bass, so the only ones we get are strays while bass fishing. Monday, the strong west wind blew hard, and just like they say, the wind is from the West, the fish bite the best. We pulled into a protected bay and took our limits of largemouth on spinnerbaits in less than a half hour that morning. That action was faster and fish more aggressive than I have seen up there in many years. I suppose they were recovered from spawning and we hit them right at that "summer peak". That afternoon, with the West Wind still blowing hard, we tried for more walleyes out in the river, but only managed a few more smallies (which had to be returned due to the largemouth limits we filleted in the morning). We froze our fish from the first 3 days, ending up with 12 vacuum sealed quarts of fillets. We only had a couple hours to fish on Tuesday, having to pack up for home. With no wind blowing, action was very slow out on the river with just one fat Smallmouth. Back in the bay at Monday's Largemouth hotspot, just one 15 incher took the bait. Fortunately, a 27" Northern pike hit my brother in laws's spinnerbait, so we managed enough "fresh fish" for a fresh meal when we got home. I only keep them bony things if we don't have enough bass or walleye to make a meal. So far this season, the smallmouth action has been off a bit, but the Largemouth, Walleye, and Northern Pike action is way up from prior years for us on the St Lawrence at least. We landed about 7 other Northerns over 22", and about the same number of shorter "hammer handles".

I was also too cheap to get the enhanced license so hadn't been to Canada since that law took effect. We had a job down in South America last year, so work sprung for my passport. That also re-opened Canada for our family. I have taken the wife and kids up to Bass Pro in Niagara on the lake twice and they loved it. The parking is free and we can be there in a half hour over the Lewiston-Queenston bridge with light traffic each time. Also a real nice food court next door there. On this past, unseasonally-warm superbowl Sunday, we did the falls from the Canadian side, including the Clifton-hill wax museums, etc, and again, the kid's loved it. Also, the $1.29 American dollar currently gives us some good spending power up there.

What kind of fish will you be targeting and what waters will you use it on? New York state is blessed with some of the best smallmouth bass fishing in the world. Excellent fishing for Largemouth bass , trout and salmon is also easy to find here. A few places even produce respectable walleye and pike fishing on occasion. These are the species I go for with my 17 ft Sylvan Profisherman with the main engine, a 70 hp Johnson 2-stroke outboard, plus a 15 hp Johnson kicker on the side of the stern and a 28 lb thrust min-kota trolling motor up in the bow. The boat is a 1989 and the motors are 1999's. You out to be able to locate a similar used rig in the $4000 - $5000 price range. The deep V 17 foot aluminum hull is just right for trolling the great lakes with 4 occupants (rated for 6 and 900 lbs max, 130 hp max). The 70 hp easily pulls waterskiers with a heavy load in the boat (my original 60 hp was a little underpowered for that). For drift fishing or working shorelines, weedlines etc with the electric motor, it is just right for 3 fisherman. The 70 hp main motor will push it close to 40 mph which is plenty fast in most sea conditions. The 15 hp will plane it at about 10 mph with 2 guys on board if one is up front. That provides great backup if the main engine goes down out on the big-waters. The boat takes great wind-driven waves like we find out on the great lakes, but does not do so good with boat wakes like we find on busy afternoons on the upper Niagara river (I usually finish up my fishing early on the weekends there). One thing to consider in a fishing boat, that many overlook, is the color of the hull. Fish see silver or light grey when they look up, so if you can match that, you will spook less and catch more. Those fancy red and purple metal flake bass boats might be pretty, but probably cost the owners lots of fish. Any boat is a compromise, but the one I have represents the best combination of capabilities for the species and waters where I fish. Aluminum is lighter, thus cheaper to power than fiberglass and easier to trailer, but ride comfort in wake-driven waves suffers in comparison. Fiberglass bass boats are certainly superior for bass fishing, but not too good for great lake salmon or walleye trolling. With an aluminum boat, you cant fight the wind as there is always too much "sail area" for that. Rather than fight it, I just work with it and let it push me over the fish, using the electric motor to control the drift a bit. Doing that with my rig, I was able to secure my families yearly fish supply (12 quart vacuum-sealed freezer bags) of Smallmouth bass, Largemouth bass, and Walleye fillets in just 4 days last week up on the St Lawrence river. Just like hunting, sport is a secondary reason why I fish, food is the primary reason.

Water was a key element in both Adirondack deer that I managed to harvest over the last 5 or 6 years. The first was a big doe I took with my ML, on private land, up on an oak-covered ridge, near a small lake about 30 miles from the northern edge of the Adirondack park. I knew there were deer in the area, having heard some "snorts" while out fishing on the lake. The next morning, I snuck up into the general area before daylight, but when I saw several deer after daybreak, they were on the next ridge, and well beyond the effective 125 yard range of my in-line ML. Persistance pays off however, and the following year, I was right up on that ridge at sunrise, as a group of 5 antlerless deer ascended towards my position. The largest doe was out front, clearly the leader of the group. When she reached about 30 yards and stood broadside, I put a bullet behind her shoulder. This was an extremely remote area, and I have to believe this was the first encounter these deer had with a hunter, based on her reaction after taking the bullet. She calmly walked closer to me, stopping about 10 yards away, staring in apparent disbelief. Soon her knees began to buckle, and she tumbled down the steep incline. Clearly she had no clue what had hit her. With no snow and extremely noisy walking conditions, that harvest was completely dependent on being in the right place at the right time, based on a food source. The buck I killed right on the Northern edge of the park, 2 years ago was on the far bank of a creek, a mile or so above a beaver dam. That was late in rifle season, when downed leaves and a complete blanket of snow made visibility much easier. From high up on a ridge, I could see that buck coming from miles away, as he walked along the opposite bank of the creek. His body was so big, that at first I thought it was a moose. I missed on my first well-rested shot with my 30/06, probably because it came from a cold, lubricated barrel, complicated by a little "buck fever". My second shot, taken offhand when he reached the next opening, also missed. By divine providence, he must have heard that second shot, above the noise of crashing ice along the creek from the late morning sun. He stopped just as I reached a perfect branch to rest my heavy rifle on. My third shot, from a rested and warmed barrel, hit him just right, traveling diagonally thru his chest, dropping him in his tracks from a range of about 300 yards. Good luck with your hunting up there, it gets pretty addicting, especially after you taste some of the venison. I will keep hunting up there as long as I am able. Keeping yourself in top physical shape helps out a lot, as there is a ton of ground to cover (largest block of public land in the lower 48), and it takes considerable effort to reach the higher elevations. You might also want to concentrate more on the edges of the park, where more food means more deer.

If your goal is to take any Adirondack whitetail, you can greatly improve your odds making your hunt during the 1 week ML season. Does are legal then. If you wait for rifle season, it will be bucks only, which are far less common. Key on the food sources. Look for white oaks on ridges. Don't overlook thick, brushy areas close to the roads, especially if overgrown pastures are nearby. Old apple orchards are another hot-spot, as are pine trees near swampy creek-bottoms. Later in the season, when there is snow, tracking is very popular. Sometimes "backtracking" is effective to learn the feeding patterns, then setup an ambush a few days later. Still hunting with a good pair of binoculars has accounted for many an Adirondack buck and it is a lot easier against a snowy white background. You can get a taste at what the scenery up there adds to the hunting experience by viewing some of the videos Robin has posted in this section. It is so awesome, that actual deer encounters are not necessary to enjoy the hunt, and come home happy. Of course, when you do manage to bag one up there, you get a little taste of what Heaven must be like. I have only sent a couple deer to Heaven up there (one doe and one nice buck, the heaviest one I have ever taken), but those stand out in my memory far more than any of the those I have taken in the flatlands of Western NY. Personally, I would take an Adirondack deer hunt over anything else this world has to offer.

I put in about (4) acres of field corn with my old 2-row planter on the weekend before Memorial day. Germination was excellent at near 100%. I just got back from a ride around the plots with my mountain bike and they are looking kind of sad with the lack of rain. Fortunately, the weeds are also doing poorly. If and when we get some rain, everything will probably take off. As soon as it does, I am going to take care of the weeds by cultivating, and spraying roundup on the rows only. I always use free RR seed-corn, leftover from farmer-friends a year or two prior. Hopefully we will get some rain soon as the current drought conditions are bad, and every time rain has been predicted, very little or none has came. The only plants that look good at our place are those around the house that I can reach with a hose. I think I will put up a portable stand by my pond on the back 40. It has always held water through even the driest years. That will keep my bases covered if this drought lasts until fall and the corn don't grow. Every year I have had good corn, our venison supply has been plentiful. I have a feeling that water will be worth more than corn this fall however.

Make the x-bow legal at the start of archery season and the antlerless population could likely be brought under control by hunters in one season in those over-run zones. I could have filled 4 tags with one in 9F last year, but they had all gone nocturnal by the last two weeks when x-bow opened up. We have the tools, but they won't let us use them at the right time. The state politicians still have a couple more days left in session to enact "full inclusion". My guess is they won't do it and population control this year will again be left mainly to the motorists and coyotes. Fortunately my new car is light weight and has great brakes. Had I been driving my old pickup, I would have taken out a doe this morning on the way to work. Drive careful folks, especially when traveling in these zones where the DEC has been struggling. Maybe give a few last minute calls to your reps to get this thing (x-bow full inclusion) passed.

Head shots, wow, anybody taking that bait? Not too many went for the "arrow kills are unethical stuff", so why not ramp it up a bit on your second last post on the thread (math is tough too I guess). Speaking of head shots, anyone see the third episode of Roots on the History channel? There were a couple of great scenes there with the argument at the fancy dinner followed by the duel.

All healing comes from God and you are on the right track asking Him for some and for asking for some prayers from others. You got a prayer from me and a bunch from others by the looks of these posts. No request is too small or to great to ask of God for there are no limits on what He can do. Jesus does not just "practice" medicine or treat symptoms, He delivers healing. He only uses suffering to make his loved ones stronger, and that sounds like the situation you find yourself in now. Rest assured that He ALWAYS turns all things for good to those who love him.

For most individuals, it is easier to put an arrow in the kill zone of a deer with a crossbow than with a vertical bow, especially if fired from a rest with telescopic sights. Also, "string-jump" is less likely with a crossbow than with a vertical bow, since no quick motions (ie: draw), is required when the deer is in close. These two factors combine to make a wounded and unrecovered deer significantly less likely with a crossbow for hunters at all experience levels. Personally, I don't have a problem with hunters who prefer to use a vertical bow because of the greater challenge to themselves, even though that "challenge" may occasionally come at the cost of a wounded deer. I respect those who put in the additional effort to attain proficiency with vetical bows. I only have a problem with those who ridicule and seek to exclude those who prefer to minimize that challenge, and maximize the odds of a cleanly killed deer. Selfish elitism is never a good thing.

I got to see that happen last archery season with ( antlerless deer in one of those overpopulated zones. On our farm, there was a doe with (2) fawns that would emerge from heavy cover every day about 1/2 hour before sunset and feed on a clover plot. At my folks place, 20 minutes away there was two mature does, one with twin fawns and the other a single that did the same thing. Had they continued that activity up to the time x-bow opened, I have no doubt I could have filled multiple antlerless tags. The problem was, most daylight activity ceased about two weeks into archery season. By the time x-bow opened, there was very few sightings. All (4) of my dmp tags went unfilled. We have the tools to do the job (x-bow), but the law still prevents their use when they could do the most good. It seems that some folks must prefer the automobile for controlling the deer population by the looks of the carnage on the roadways over the last few weeks. We will likely see the same thing at this time next spring if they don't let us use the x-bow at the start this fall.

How great it was this morning to wake up to a soaking rain. My corn all came up good but was looking a little parched with no significant rain over the last three weeks. It is no coincidence that it came on a Sunday, Thank you Jesus.

I just finished it and submitted. One issue I mentioned concerned getting deer numbers under control in the zones where they tried the 2 week antlerless only archery last year. I believe that allowing the crossbow at the start of archery season would be far more effective there than a September ML season. The biggest issue in these zones is that the deer go mostly nocturnal soon after they detect hunting pressure. Those "booms" from the ML will backfire and make them go nocturnal even quicker. If we can hit them from the beginning with the crossbow, they will never know what hits them and I think populations could be brought under control in a single season. Vertical bows are nearly useless at controlling antlerless deer (as DEC learned the hard way last season), because they usually travel in groups, making the draw a tough proposition with all those sets of eyes to fool. Eliminating the need to do that makes the crossbow the ultimate antlerless deer weapon, but only if it can be deployed early, before they go nocturnal after detecting hunting pressure.

It was a little too choppy out on the lake for the girls, but in a short time we did hook three smallies, landing (2). The first one looked to be about 15". A bad knot let go on that one right next to the boat. The second one would have been a legal keeper at 20", but was a little "rough" looking and that is a bit larger than I like to eat, so she got to go back also. The last one was too short to keep now at 14", but very healthy looking. It was good to see that the bass population looks healthy and stable out there. I prefer to eat bass, since they have more oil in them and are therefore better baked, grilled or broiled than walleye or perch. No one questions their superiority over those other species in the "fight" department and they are usually easier to locate. I am not into catch-and release fishing, and was hoping to get into some walleye or perch, which are better fried. Also, the boat needed a "shakedown" cruise to make sure everything worked properly. The "real" bass season opens up in a couple weeks and when it does, I will be targeting 12-18" bass to restock the freezer. We finished off the last vacuum-sealed package from last year for dinner on Memorial day, which gives me more incentive to get out there. That vacuum sealer is amazing when it comes to keeping fish tasting fresh. I would like to see the May season minimum length go back to 15", like it was for a few years. 15"-18" bass are far more abundant and usually much healthier looking than those 20 + inchers. To me, "catch and release" fishing is just the senseless maiming of a fine food source.

My girls and I cruised thru there on my fishing boat yesterday. The area is not too friendly for boaters. They are asking for $9.00 to attach to the docks down there. Small wonder that on the Memorial day holiday at noon, there was only one or two boats moored there, and at the other docks where the cost was the same out on the outer harbor by the big Labbats Blue grain elevators. I would have had no issue paying for a few rides, games, drinks or snacks at the carnival, but no way was I going to fork over $9.00 to dock after already shelling out that same amount to launch at small boat harbor (at least that is is cleaned up, well maintained and worth it now that the State has taken over). I guess with such a short season, they want to squeeze all the cash they can out of those who visit, and they must figure boaters have plenty to spare. It looks like they figured wrong based on the number of boats tied up there yesterday.

"Decades", that ain't nothing compared to what I am dealing with right now. The roofs are failing on a couple old barns my great-great granddad built, just after the Civil war. I am literally dealing with "centuries" of stuff. I am just now taking a break for lunch, about half way thru dismantling one of the old graineries That old "virgin-timber" lumber does have a lot of character to it at least. Those old, square, forged iron nails and hand-hewn beams are pretty cool also.

It has been about 2000 years since anyone who's perfect walked the earth, and all you did was proved you are human like the rest of us. Thanks for posting. It may help others, including myself avoid similar issues. Looking on the bright side, I see it far better than loosing a deer. A few pounds of semi-tasteless white meat means a lot less to me than a much greater quantity of top-quality, lean red stuff. Since it was a tom, the loss will be minimal to the overall Turkey population, and even it's odds of survival sound pretty good. Over more than thirty years, I have lost several deer (fortunately none in the last 10). As a pure blooded "meat-hunter", I am still bothered slightly by a grey squirrel I dropped and lost last winter, and it hurts me a bit every time a fish that I hook gets away. What helps most in getting over it is getting back out there and doing it better the next time, taking full advantage of that lesson learned the hard way. You are a better hunter because of it and there is always more learned from a mistake than by doing it right.

What I find interesting about those shows is that they make it look easier to live off the land down here in NY state than way up there in Alaska. Those folks seem to struggle most of the time to get game and fish. In one or two long weekends up on the St Lawrence or out on Lake Erie, we always come back with plenty enough fish for the whole year (mostly smallmouth bass) and putting 3 or 4 whitetails in the freezer each fall is seldom an issue. Our longer growing season also makes garden vegetables plentiful. Even the scenery is better up in the Adirondacks (Check out Robin's videos in the "big woods" section). More than anything, watching them programs makes me appreciate how good we have it here. Watching them is entertaining, and better than most of the crap on TV, but has pretty much eliminated any urge I may have had to visit the great state of Alaska.

I don't condone what the guy did, but most folks who drop their deer off at a processor are not too concerned about how much or what meat they get back. If they were, they would cut them up themselves, It is not that difficult. Maybe a few more folks will start doing their own after reading this. Then they can get all of their own meat back, and learn the best places to place their bullets.

If anyone is ashamed or heartbroken over an accidental BB take in WNY, feel free to shoot me a PM and I will drive out and take it off your hands if I can. I would often be willing to sign over an unused DMP in exchange (9F or 9H) for the carcass. It would be great if you could save me the liver also.

Thanks for posting the video. We were up in the area that same weekend to celebrate my sister's and my mother-in-law's birthdays. My sister's camp is about 100 mi NW of Tomar, up on the St Lawrence. The in-laws is 40 mi NW, on the edge of the Adirondack park. It would have been nice to have had a little more time to enjoy the great weather. We spent too much time that weekend celebrating and driving from camp to camp and from home and back. That is the first time we went up there for just one night and that is not enough. I only had about a half hour out on the lake on Sunday, but it was great with lots of sunshine and hardly any wind. Your video is a great reminder of just how nice it was up there that weekend. I am glad to hear that you are planning the fall hunt. I think your odds of some whitetail action should be very good there this year. I don't remember a milder winter up there than this last one. In late February, the ice was less than 12" thick on the lake up at my in-laws (most years it is more than 3 ft thick at that time). That made it much easier than usual putting in some holes, and I was finally able to get a nice lake-trout thru the ice. There is obviously a lot of deer around, because there is still a very visible browse line all around the lake. All the evergreens are trimmed neatly to about 6 ft from the waterline. That is about how high the deer can reach as they stand on the ice munching on the greens. I appreciate that activity, as it makes for a lot less lost jigs, while casting the shoreline for smallmouth bass from the open water all year. I am not certain of the extreme dispersal range of a whitetail buck, but I do know for sure that there was at least (3) young bucks and (1) old one that very likely survived thru gun-season in that 40 mile to the NW location last year. You may or may not come across any of them this fall, but there should be plenty more up there based on the lame excuse for a winter we just had. You may want to bring a bigger canoe or go a little lighter on the provisions this fall to leave room to pack out some venison.

I like Basic Outdoors in Star lake. They have a good selection of minnows at good prices and are about 15 minutes from Cranberry to the West, not far off Rt 3 on Larose rd.

Good survey. The last survey a guy posted on here about hunter satisfaction in NY did not even mention the crossbow question. Why could that be? My guess is that he does not want to hear that the majority of NY hunters support full-inclusion of the crossbow. I would have taken his survey if he had asked that or any crossbow question. Now he is complaining about a lack of participation. Go figure.

Can anyone substantiate a rumor I just read, on a national deer hunting forum, that these measures passed and we will have full inclusion of the crossbow for archery season in all but a couple of Long Island zones starting this fall? I am not from Missouri, but you got to "show me" some significant proof for me to believe this. If it did pass, to those who fought so hard to prevent it: try and look at the positives and stop dwelling on the negatives. You now will have another, "easer" weapon to use, if you want to, when you get older. Everyone's time in the woods should get extended by a few seasons anyhow.

We spent Saturday at my siblings cottage up on the St Lawrence. We helped them get their dock fixed from some ice damage, and got their boat in the water. We celebrated my sisters 50th birthday with some Alex-bay wine tasting, beers at Skiff's (they have two of my favorites there, Genny Cream Ale and Genny Light), and more around the campfire later. Today, we stopped for lunch at the in-laws Adirondack lake camp on the way home. Great tee-shirt and shorts weather each day at both locations. It seems like spring got skipped this year and we have already gotten into summer. I have no problem with that other than bass season not being open yet.