reeltime

Judy made seafood Lasagna this afternoon,,,,,,, I may have hurt myself LOL. She makes a killer regular Lasagna but this seafood one was phenomenal.

Shut out this morning. 20+ wnw wind so after getting hit with the first wave spray I will be a big ole ice block. So we are gonna set here and watch birds pile in at daylight. Already hearing golden eyes flying in. Grrrrr Sent from my LGL58VL using Tapatalk

What a morning. Fighting ice packs and ice build up on the square back canoe as well as the decoys. Once the ice cleared out and we were a half dozen shy of our limit it was time for Ziva to not be a spectator any more. She had been setting in the truck watching us and man the sad looks I got when we had to move our set up. .. So I got her ice pad and got her set up for about 2 no utes before I shot a drake whistler and drake blue Bill. We ended up with a 4 man limit but 1 guy had to leave early so we let him shoot his 6 and left. The 2 kids that asked to join us had a blast, good thing they asked cause I can not be trying to lift push or pull the boat especially after it iced up so bad. Sent from my LGL58VL using Tapatalk

happy birthday TF

put 260 miles on the truck today and didn't really see anything to get me all fired up enough to set up and hunt. so more scouting tomorrow after making sure something local didn't open overnight.

couple of young energetic duck hunters that were way under boated and certainly under powered motor. when I pulled in to the ramp they were trying to start the boat motor and after watching them pulling on the starter rope for better than 10 minutes I walked down to talk to them. they said the motor is always hard to start, my response was that if your having that much trouble before you leave the launch maybe it would be best to not go out as there is nobody here to come and get you and you will not get to where you want to go as its all packed in with ice. I went back to the truck and changed up plans to keep an eye on them and another boat came in and launched, a much bigger boat. my buddy bailed on me so I rigged off the shore and off the kids went. when I saw them dropping the decoys I knew it was not going to be good. so I shot a few birds and watched them shoot a couple also and then saw that they were really starting to get packed in with ice. where they set up along the ice line the wind was pushing flow ice right to them and by 830 they were packed in so bad the motor wouldn't move them. So I went over to where the second boat was and when they went to pick up birds I walked down and called them over and asked them to go help those kids before they really got in trouble and the ice got too bad to even get to them while I would stand by with my boat in case something bad happened. so with some work they were able to get close enough to get a rope to them and they were finally able to drag them out of the ice and back to the ramp. they were more than a little happy to be back on land and knew they made a mistake not listening, finally in daylight I saw they were dressed like they were going deer hunting, no waders. They said they were told not to wear waders......OIY and they also had no life jackets on. I had a lengthy talk with them about cold water,big water late season duck hunting and in the end I think they have a much better awareness of the dangers of this late season game of waterfowling on the big waters. I talked to the guys that brought them in and thanked them for helping out,, this having my guts still healing sucks, well that and the massive amount of ice that has built up in the last 30 hours.

a nice balmy morning, time to gear up and head out into the wind. LOL.

was likE hunting in a giant slurpee this morning, shot some old squaws to freeze for summer training. Then had to coordinate a boat rescue of a couple young guys that wouldn't listen before daylight......lesson learned after they were safe back at shore. time to fill up the truck and go do some scouting.

time to roll, boats hooked up and trucks warming up, Ziva just brought out her vest so she is ready to go. we will see how the conditions are before we make a final decision.

hunted for a few hours before I had to leave to go back to the surgeon to get my stitches out, should get a reduced rate since 2 of them were MIA. we needed more wind first thing as the water was freezing up around the decoys which made for a lousy looking spread in short order but still managed a few drake buffs and a drake bluebill. things should start to tighten up with the temps if the wind dies down a little, give me an ice line and i am a happy camper LOL

this speaks volumes.

Merry Christmas to one and all. our Christmas is over for the most part, may do a little tomorrow, Lots to be thankful for this holiday season as we are both back on the mend health wise, the kids and grandkids were all here, the house is warm, there's food in the freezer and duck season starts in 33 hours lol. in all seriousness happy holidays everyone, be safe and cherish your loved ones. remember the reason for the season.

you have obviously never been sued, insurance is no guarantee that you will not loose everything you ever worked for. while yes if you have land the possibility of trespassers is possible its not a guarantee that you will have trespassers, just like the locks on your house or car posted signs only keep the honest people honest. voluntary is the only way it could be done, just don't expect a long list of volunteers to sign up.

back in the day we used the large electric wire spools and pipe hangers when we would haul them back into the deeps woods of northern Pa. locations of the feeders for turkeys were key, we always chose areas where there were thick stands of hemlocks close by so that the birds would be able to pitch out to the feeders and then be able to get airborne to fly back to roost. Back then we used to get sizeable snow falls and the issue was if the birds could not get full extension of wing beats it made it difficult or impossible for them to get airborne. We did not have the coyote or fox populations of today back then and we made sure to keep the feeders full and even shoveled out the area around the feeders, we also started the feeding as soon as deer season ended and continued through spring. deer and turkeys as well as other animals all ate from the feeders and they would move in and mill around when they heard the snow mobiles coming in as we towed tub sleds with cobbed corn back into the feeders. The biggest mistake people make is starting with too much too late and not keeping up with it, that and feeding the wrong things, when we went into deer yards in NH for winter mortality studies we at times found where people had brought hay into the deer yards which the deer ate and some even still succumbed to starvation with full stomachs because they could not digest what they had eaten. Far better choices are to hinge cut, clear cut or heavy trim to generate undergrowth/browse regeneration.

all the kids and grandkids left about an hour ago. i scored some long johns, custom printed charter sweatshirts, work boots, sneakers, and giftcards. it was more fun watching the grandkids with all their stuff, the funniest part of the whole day was while all the kids were about done with their gifts Ziva was setting by me and every time a gift was handed out she would whine a little, towards the end she looked at me with the most pitiful look and whined. She wanted her gifts so one by one I gave her a gift and she would slowly work on opening it. she's not spoiled at all. LOL.

as far as coop land goes, having experience with coop land hunter access in Pa I can tell you that it is as bad if not worse than actual state game lands. Trying to do some kind of a state lease/permit is going to be a nightmare with trespassers and who is going to patrol the property and pay for all the signage? There are properties out there available to hunt if someone wants to put forth the effort to find it. As far as all of this being because of the "antler craze" while some properties that may be true for the most part things started changing before all the craze started. The 2 biggest reasons for all the posted land here and in many other states is because of #1 hunters themselves and their actions. - If you don't or have never owned land of a huntable size you have NO idea of the hassles, excuses, lies, threats, property damage, theft, littering that landowners have dealt with. so hunters have no one to blame but slob hunters to blame for the posted signs. #2 the liability and sue happy society we live in today, whether you want to believe it or not it IS an issue and even "signing" a waiver isn't worth the paper its written on. As far as all the complaining about the posted land goes, while yes its not easy to get access sometimes, remember its private property. The owner paid for it, they pay the taxes on it, they do all the work, they worked for it its theirs to say who if anyone hunts it. maybe they don't like hunting, maybe they bought it for themselves to hunt. Maybe they posted it but will allow someone to hunt they just want to know who, when and what is being hunted. Just because land has posted signs does not mean the owner will not allow hunting. The issue of hunter access has been and always will be the biggest factor in trying to manage game populations not just here in NY but in any and all states. Wild animals are not stupid they are in survival mode 24/7/365 it certainly does not take them long to find the safe havens and as I have said before does not matter how many tags you give out, you can not kill deer you can not get at, why do you think the suburban herds flourish so strongly.

played santa yesterday, my buddy owns a marina in town and he knew i have been going stir crazy being somewhat grounded after surgery so he asked me to do a boat delivery.. took about 2 seconds to say I would do it. LOL so 11:30 yesterday morning I headed out with a new 17 foot boat headed to Cape Cod. called the customer when I crossed the bridge and got the address to meet as it was a different location than his residence, the boat is a family Christmas gift. got the boat stashed did up all the paperwork climbed back in the truck and drove straight back home arriving at 2am. made for a long day, return back was a painful ride but the smile and excitement of the customer made it worth it.

some good advice given so far and some I will repeat and also add some new points. good boots are a must with removable creepers - also one of those foam floor pads is a great thing to take along to rest your feet on. ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS Safety FIRST !! If your not experienced being on the ice go with someone who IS experienced. Ice fishing is a lot of fun but can also be one of the most dangerous forms of fishing. its not summer and the water isn't 70* the survival time is nill compared to going in in July. there are some videos out there on "self rescue" if you go through the ice, watch them and study what those folks do and the tools they carry to aid getting out. Get a set of retractable ice picks and carry them where they are accessible at all times, carry a throw rope, wear a life jacket if you do not want to pay for a flotation suit ( but they are worth the $ hands down) Pay attention to your surroundings, most of the ice fishing we do is around seasonal properties, when walking out pick landmarks, note where you see a small boat, canoe or even a ladder propped against a cottage, all things that will be an aid if someone goes through in helping get them out. The strongest point in aiding in a rescue I can make is IF you are the person doing the rescue do NOT get so close to the person that they can get a hold of you, the most dangerous rescue you can attempt is a water rescue! A person that feels as if they are going to drown will literally drown you to stay alive, do not let them get their hands on you as you will likely end up in the water. it will take time to learn how to read the ice, you need to know the body of water, where are the springs, creeks, dock bubblers, known current flows etc. all will take time to learn. As far as the gear goes, really a couple jigging rods with open face reels spooled with 2,3,4 lb. test some small ice fishing jigs in a multitude of colors, chartruse, green, white, glow and non glow seem to be the popular colors. of course as others said match your gear to your targeted species. auger size dependent on targeted spcies5" hole will be most vesatile. targeted species through the ice are #1 being perch/panfish , 2'nd pike, 3rd walleye bait can be spikes, mousies, minnows (yes you need a receipt) and perch eyes. good luck, have fun and most of all be safe.

you didn't.

i will let sod take over my head hurts from reply crashes. LOL

yes the rest should work fine.

if you cap the wires you should be able to turn the breaker back on.

generally I have had to put heat to the shear bolt. as its too late now but just for future reference do not use a punch as that may make the shear bolt end swell slightly when it puts the divit in the end of the bolt. I use a junk bolt lust about the same size as the shear bolt or next size down to drive out the old bolt. with all that said though generally putting heat to the bolt frees it up enough to drive it out.

i can see someone standing in the woods holding the whole package in one hand and their knife in the other hand and saying man I thought that buck was dead.....as they watch it run away.