adkbuck

I have my Thompson Omega topped with a Nikon Omega 1.65-5X36. I love the scope, large exit pupil at low power enables you to get on target fast. Sadly I think they only make then 3-9X now.

Nice photos!

Great photos. Nice to see CLG 4, the Little Rock still afloat even if it is now a museum and never gets underway.

Good trolling information reeltime and great rod & reel recommendations for diver fishing. . I have had good luck with the Diawa 47's as well as Okumo line counters which I also found to be very reliable. I would add that unless you can always have a man on the helm an auto-pilot is almost a must for running wire especially more if running more than two or if running them in conjunction with other presentations. I have had a hard time getting most table sized walleye (on Oneida) to trip size 1 dipsies that pair well with 30# wire, just not enough resistance and I don't like fidgeting around with the "lite-bite" models. So I use smaller dipsies on mono as well as lead core for trolling up walleye. I save the wire for salmon but realize Lake Erie Walleye fishing may be different in terms of tackle. Some people dislike leadcore but I have found with just a few colors of lead core, which is all you really need in Oneida, you still feel the fish pretty well. Actually 15# lead core works great and has less drag and sinks better than heavier test.

Same here Jim, I mow a couple of acres also, loaded with clover, but only a few bees. Thinking we may have to manually pollinate the pumpkins, melons and winter squash.

Thanks Doc, Good point, the implications can be far reaching. Many crops are self - pollinating but many important ones are not.

Thanks Mike.

Any bee keepers or bee experts out there? Being an avid gardener I have noticed a shortage of bees in the garden. I have even had to pollinate my summer squash by hand, using a small brush to transfer pollen from the male flowers to the female flowers just to get things going. I hear that honey bees have suffered some losses due to disease or winter losses due to the cold winter. Does anyone else notice this or have a handle on this? Thanks.

Gander Mountain and Bass Pro stock sonars. I have had good luck with silver, silver and blue, silver and red and gold but my best producer is my own hand painted perch finished sonars (photo below). Attach your snap to the middle hole in the back for jigging or the front hole for casting. The action of these sonars (also called "blade baits") is truly amazing.

Years ago I purchased the mold from "Do It" molds and have caught worlds of walleye on them. Description by Heddon and photo below. Heddon Sonar Key Features Depth and action adjust to match your situation Front hole for shallow running and high vibration Rear hole runs deep with a wide, slower action Center hole is perfect for jigging Equipped with extra-strong, extra-sharp hooks Heddon Sonar Great Forgotten Lure For Walleye / How To Catch Walleye Saturday, July 21st, 2012 at 10:45 pm How to catch walleye using the Heddon Sonar. An excellent deadly lure for walleyes Is called a Heddon Sonar . This lure has been around since the 1960-1970′s and was a very popular lure for fishing rivers. Today the Heddon Sonar is forgotten by many walleye fisherman and kept as a secret bait by other walleye fisherman. For those not familar with this lure. It gets its name from sonar from the extreme vibration that this lure gives out when fishing it. Picture a flat metal lure shaped like a minnow with The 3 holes in the middle of the back of the lure for line attachment. The three line tie holes allow adjustment of the lure’s running depth and action. The front hole is for shallow running and high vibration. The rear hole produces deep running and a wide, slower, wobbling action. The center hole is can be used for jigging. It can be fished verticaly over schools of walleye like an ice fishing jig. Try casting and fishing the sonar like you would a crank bait. Cast the sonar on shallow rock beds or sandbars. Also try casting the sonar parallel to a the deep weed line (like you would a crankbait). The sonar is an excellent muti-specie bait. When you spot a school of walleye that is reluctant to bite using live bait rigs or other methods. Try using a marker bouy then vertically jig the sonar over them. Drop the sonar to the bottom (if the school of walleyes is on the bottom) and lift up with the rod about a foot. You will feel the strong vobration this lure gives out. Let the lure fall back to the bottom and repeat. Vary how fast you jig the sonar up to match the mood of the walleyes. If the walleye are in a nuetral feeding attitude you will jig the sonar slower then if they were in a positive feeding mood. Do not forget to try the Heddon Sonar for trolling. It has a heavy weight so the Heddon Sonar sinks like a jig, yet when trolled gives off a flutter and a strong vibration. The walleye that are used to seeing live bait rigs and crankbaits have not seen this lure type action. Try the Heddon Sonar to help you catch more walleye.

Thanks very much for the good ideas guys. I will be giving them a try next season!

Congratulations and good luck!

I think we will have a good season. The ADK herd seems to have gotten through the extreme cold well since the snow depth has be reasonable. The southern herd seems to be in good shape although the numbers are down from a few years ago due to the large numbers of nuisance and antlerless permits that have been issued in recent past.

Does anyone have a way to make a Canadian Goose a Palatable meal other than making jerky out of it? Just wondering as we have access to great Canadian goose hunting but all the Canadian Goose dinners cooked by my friends and relations have resulted in my eating some of the bacon on top of the goose but not much eating much of the goose itself. Thanks.

Its not too late. I planted some in my vegetable garden last week. They will do fine.

I don't but my neighbor hunts everything from Rabbits and Grouse on up with muzzleloaders. He hunts with both .32 and .50 caliber. I also know of a guy that uses a 10 Ga. Muzzleloader for turkey.

Guys, A Few years back we went out west to visit my Son and his family and we had dinner at a restaurant run by a fellow named Wolfgang Puck. I ordered Veal Osso Bucco and it was served over parmesan polenta. It was so good it melted in your mouth. Ever since I have made polenta to accompany the Venison Osso Bucco. Here is a link to the recipe plus a short Video on how to make polenta. http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-make-polenta

Pygmy, You're mighty welcome. I have not been lucky enough to be in on a moose kill but hear they are wonderful eating. You would sure get plenty of beautiful shanks from one. I keep putting in for the ME and NH Lotteries and each June I get the same old bad news. Maybe someday! I have had veal Osso Bucco several times before I tried the venison version. But now I think I like the venison version better or at least as good.

Venison Osso Bocco 4-8 Venison Rear shanks, about 2 ½ inches long, 2, 3 or 4 inches in diameter. (Can also use front shanks but they are not as meaty) 1/3 cup flour 1 tsp salt 1 tsp black pepper 1 tsp garlic powder ¼ cup olive oil 2 medium onions diced 2 stalk celery diced 2 large carrots peeled and sliced thick 4 cloves of garlic (minced) ¼ cup chopped parsely ½ cup red wine Scant ½ tsp sweet basil 4-12 whole plum tomatoes (canned) 4 cups beef broth In a large bowl combine flour, salt, pepper and garlic powder, dredge shanks coating on all sides. In a heavy pot or skillet, brown shanks in olive oil over medium heat. Remove and add to a pot, covering with 4 cups of broth and several plum tomatoes. Simmer for 2 – 2.5 hours. Using some of the oil from the browning process and sauté carrots, onions, celery for 6-8 minutes, add garlic then sauté another minute. When shanks are tender remove from pot into an oven dish or roasting pan. Add broth to vegetables and boil until reduced and slightly thick. Pour juice over shanks and add additional tomatoes if available. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 and serve. Serve over parmesan polenta if possible.

I been using turkey loads aimed right at the fur covered CPU's. Had two of them under the deck this year. There seems to be bumper crop this year.

I cut them with my meat saw about 2 inches thick and follow the exact same recipe for Osso Bucco and serve them over parmesan polenta. Its some of the best eating there is! Once you've tried them you'll prize those shanks. The rear shanks are meatier than the front but the front shanks are good too. I tend to cut the front shanks a little higher up on the leg to make them a little meatier. They come out very tender and tasty. Photo below of venison Osso Bucco I made recently. Let me know if you need an osso bucco recipe.

We use snubbers only for big salmon when fishing Lake Ontario when using big size 1dipsys on wire lines. Hook-ups with big salmon really put a jerk load on the knots and snubbers reduce it quite a bit. They are not really required for walleye. We use 30 pound braided wire for dipsys. Those double lure rigs will work but are best done with down riggers and "cheater" clips as they are prone to severe tangling.

On Oneida Lake I usually anywhere from 1 - 5 colors of lead core. I usually remove the center core from a few inches from the end and tie the Dacron sheath to a short length 30# mono with a blood knot then blood knot to short lengths 20, 15, 12 mono then a longer length of 8# fluorocarbon for a leader. Alternatively you can use a very small swivel to tie your lead core line to your leader. Just be aware of the small svivel when you are really in fish as it goes through the tip top. Here is a nice little summary on lead core by Cortland line: http://www.straitlineanglers.com/Articles/Leadcore_How-to.htm There are days (especially mid to late season) when the jigging & bottom bouncer bite is very slow but trolling swimmer plugs and small spoons lead core will put some very nice fish in your boat. In-line planer boards will help you keep the lines away from the boat for boat shy fish and will help you avoid crossing lines. A good setup would be to run port and starboard lead cores with in-line planers the run a dipsy set on zero degrees directly behind the boat set for deeper depth. There are also straight running divers that are very easy to use and work well. Their are lots of combinations as you can imagine. You really don't need to use in-line planer boards as long as you can keep your boat on a straight course and don't make any tight turns as long you use long rods and only fish a port and starboard lead core line.

For walleyes at moderate depth (10 to 50 feet) from a small boat: Easiest: I would recommend sticking with dipsy divers on monofilament line at least 15 or 20 pound test up to 30 pound test depending on the size of the dipsy. I use 30 pound for size 1 dipsys. For large dipsys which go deeper you will need a fairly stiff rod since the rig will put a pretty good load on the rod at trolling speed. Second Easiest: Lead core. You can run them on in line planer boards, on port and one starboard. One color of line will usually get you down 5 feet, 10 colors 50 feet. Also a I oz. keel sinker will add 5 feet of depth. I have caught lots of walleyes on lead core. I use wire to get deep beyond 50 feet in conjunction with size 1 dipsies but I don't recommend it on a boat smaller than 16 feet. Wire line should be stranded. It can be difficult and a little dangerous to use until you get the hang of it. Unless you are going after deep salmon or lake trout it is probably not needed.

When I pick up a buck moving in brush I swing with him and take the shot when he hits a relatively clear opening that may still have some small twigs. Most of good hunters that hunt the big woods use lower powered scopes or peep sights for quick target acquisition and small twigs are not always obvious during the short window of opportunity we have to shoot. I have never wounded a buck this way and have been very successful with it. Most experienced big woods hunters do the same.