greybeard

Years back,for some reasons that I now don't remember I looked into some history on gun control in our early days. As I recall gun control was here from even before the constitution, and when it was written.. Native Americans, slaves, indentured servants, Catholics and I think also those who wouldn't support loyalty to the revolutioncould not own firearms. I've discussed it since then and do remember some things, but you can double check my facts. As far as local laws.. Tombstone, Dodge City and a few others had local restrictions about carrying guns. So the Sullivan Act, the Safe Act and other local restrictions and laws are nothing new. So the 2nd amendment is not as broad as one might think. I know that an argument is that things were different so slaves and native Americans, in particular, were considered different, but that's the point.. Things were different ..

no.. I think regulations are necessary..Like land 1 posted there are too many "whack jobs". Doc, I'm sure that you remember that we used to be able to buy an army surplus m1 carbine for $60 and under and It came with a 15 shot clip and could get a banana clip mail order if you wanted one. Most hunter's that I knew weren't interested in it because it wasn't good for anything that we hunted, but some bought them. Things were very different then and I never remember a mass shooting. Maybe there's just too much hate and intolerance now.

I've traveled a bit and had thought about moving, but after checking things out have always decided that Long Island is perfect for my lifestyle. The taxes may be a little high, but I find that the quality of life, FOR ME, is better here. The gun laws here have no effect on me.

TurtleFace..I didn't mention this earlier because I forgot... This is my opinion..For big blues..If you have a thick piece of FRESH bluefish see if you can split it and make it thinner.. So if it's an inch thick make it 1/2 inch thick. Sometimes those thick pieces aren't so good..Immediately after filleting a fresh blue I slide the knife between the skin and meat to remove the skin. Sometimes on the big ones I purposely leave more meat on the skin to get rid of more of that red line and make it thinner..You lose some meat, but I THINK that it's better eating. I fillet and skin all saltwater fish that I catch. Some people like their fish whole, but I prefer fillets. If you wait too long to fillet a blue and it's not fresh it won't slide off the skin smoothly and will be a mess. So as I wrote earlier keep it cold..

nice fish.. congrats...They should be coming into the south shore inlets in about a month from now. I don't fish from boats any longer. I either fish the inlets from shore, surf cast, or kayak fish. I can't cook at all..When I cook fish, or game I cook the the same way, just time it different... Squirrels.. venison.. birds.. and fish are all the same method.(my wife is a great cook thank God) On blues, after bleeding, removing the red line, and keeping on ice, or frozen for up to 1 week I coat, or soak in olive/garlic oil.. then salt.. pepper.. paprika...put on bottom shelf for maybe 10 minutes.. then to top shelf(broil??) for a couple of minutes and that's it.. For those who want to keep a bluefish and don't get it on ice, or in a cooler, especially in warm weather it'll turn to mush kinda like oatmeal.

If man makes it, don't eat it.. Jack LaLanne. tommyc ..I ate Italian food my whole life and for many years ate pizza 5 days a week in Howard Beach...I also ate all kinds of crap..Well, one day about 20 years ago I got a blood test and had some issues so I went to more natural foods and lots of vegetables. I wouldn't eat vegetables for my whole life up until then. My mother in law used to say that I was the only Italian who didn't eat vegetables..My blood work has come out really good in recent years since I corrected all of my problems by changing diet, I break it once in a while, but am pretty strict.. I do eat some meat and quite a bit of of fish.

TommyC... Yeah...Most people, who I know, don't like them either. In fact many times you can't give them away. I'm not sure why I like them so much, but I just do. I prefer them in the spring when they first come in through the inlets, but I eat them all season. I only keep one, or two per week and only when I can eat them in a day, or so. They do keep o.k. for awhile, but , in my opinion, not too long. I bleed them immediately and keep them cool.When I fish from shore I keep a cooler in my car and fillet and get them on ice quickly(In my kayak I go to shore, fillet them and put them on ice .) When I fillet them and bass I always remove the red meat in the middle. I am absolutely fanatical about catching them and from the time that they come in until they migrate out I usually fish for them on most weekdays, so I release most. I prefer the smaller blues which would be up to 4lbs., or so, but when I do eat the bigger ones when the mood strikes. You're right about eating blackfish and sea bass. Sea bass are tops. I trap and eat spearing and have even eaten sand eels and like them too so I guess I'm not a good example of what to eat.(My father used to make and eat bluefish soup, so I guess it's genetic). I'm looking outside at the snow today and can't believe that the blues "Should" start arriving through the south shore inlets in slightly over 1 month from now

Never heard of anyone doing it, but It does sound pretty cool. The only gold that I heard of up there was found by a guy who researched some historical facts and with a metal detector found lots of gold coins. It was near Lake George as I recall..

If you chose Long Island you'll have lots of choices. I recommend reading the online reports like "Nor'east Saltwater" and "The Fishing Line" just to get an idea of what's currently hot. I've been fishing saltwater on LI for years, but don't go out on the party boats, or charters, but if you hit it right you can score pretty good on either one. There are boats to chose from from western Long Island out to Montauk and on both shores. So you don't have to drive too far out on L.I. to get a boat. One party boat that I know of goes out for various bottom fish on his trips so he gets a variety of species. I would personally choose bluefish because they fight like hell and if you pick the right time of year you can get some nice fish. However, I like to eat blues, but most people that I know absolutely hate them, so I can't recommend them for most people. I caught my first blue over 60 years ago and have been a bluefish addict ever since. As written above , when the porgy bite is on, you can slam them and fill buckets. Fluke, can be a crap shoot, so I personally wouldn't choose fluke for my first outing. Striped bass taste great(my opinion), but the limit is one, or two. It was 2 on charter/party boats, but not sure if it went back to 1(I don't keep up with their rules since I fish on my own and my limit is one).. Size limit is 28 inches for stripers. There are a # of other species in local waters,. You can even charter a boat and go offshore for some game fish, but I'm not sure how costly the offshore boats are.

I'm pretty sure that deadfalls are not legal either . I don't know if snares and deadfalls were legal at the time I learned about them from the book. I was kinda young and I never thought to ask I guess..I don't know who I would have asked anyway.. It was a different time.

Reminds me of a book I read years back by A.R. Harding.."Deadfalls and Snares".. I still have it and a few other of his books...

Hard to say, but as far as local fish/game: BBQ squirrel for game.. Striped bass and early season bluefish

Sometime after I saw my first L.I. turkey vulture I met a woman who was a bird watcher(I think they want to be called birders now). I told her about my sighting and she said that she was surprised because the air currents weren't right for them on L.I. I didn't know her so I don't know if she was correct but it sounded good. I see lots of them in Putnam and Rockland Counties.

incredible!!! Love it !!

I've seen 4 or 5 in the past few years, but years back I never saw any on L.I. I've seen some bald eagles too in the past few years and never saw those here before either.

I've been getting that free permit for years. It's for DEC Managed lands not Suffolk County Lands. It's the Managed Land Access Permit and You will also need The Managed Land Parking Permit.As Rachunter said, It's free. It's good for 3 years. It covers many spots in Suffolk, but I don't know about Wildwood either. You put the Parking Permit in the window and carry the Access Permit on you. Everything that you need to know is on the Permit. It takes seconds to get it online. Look up maps for the areas online too. The permit lists the spots and gives the rules. In the activities box I always check hiking in addition to hunting, fishing and boating(I used to get the night hunting permit too, but my days for that have long passed.) I never asked the DEC, but I figured that with the hiking box checked I could walk around off season, which makes sense to me... You can call the DEC in Stony Brook and ask questions . They've always been good when I called. Ask can ask about the hiking too... As I'm sure you know there are TICKS !! I'm not sure if this is what you're looking for.. Hope that it helps..

I was in touch with the outfitter last night and began planning my spring hunt on the Big Island. It'll probably be for boar and black Hawaiian ram. I'll work out the details shortly.. I missed out on NY hunting this year because of frostbite so I'm anxious to get out to hunt again.

congrats on your success..

The terrain is challenging where I am considering the hunt. I listened to a boar recently in the jungles and not sure how my old body would handle running through that area. My rifle hunt was a lot different. I just began setting up my next hunt for boar and also sheep, but haven't gotten into the details with the outfitter yet. I change my mind a lot on these types of hunts, so we'll see. I haven't finalized anything yet. I got frost bite on my foot early this winter and missed the NY hunting season so will be glad to hunt again for just about anything that I can set up.

Nice hogs. They hunt them like that a lot in Hawaii. I used a firearm in the fall for them, but am CONSIDERING a dog and knife hunt there this spring. I've met a number of Hawaiians, who hunt them that way . I think I prefer a rifle hunt, but it is a thought... Thanks for sharing the pictures.

I've called quite a few red fox during daylight hours using mouth calls. All my calling is during the day, except that I did call at night years back, and called in greys with a Johnny Stewart record .

very interesting.. thanx

Point lookout area has a pretty strong current

Belo...Sorry, I guess I didn't explain myself properly.. The point that I wanted to make is that it may help a parent assess how their young "hunter" will react to handling a gun in the field, safety, and reaction to killing and dressing game. I think that it should be explained to the "child" what a preserve is and how it operates. Many people don't have access to , or knowledge of productive hunting land and I believe that exposure to a chosen preserve can be helpful in the assessment of the child's behavior in the field. I think that bringing a child to hunt over bait would require the same explanation. I have nothing against hunting over bait where it's legal and that's what someone likes to do, but it's not like spot and stalk. I would explain that also. I'm sure that many here disagree with my beliefs , and that's o.k. with me,. I'm not trying to sell my opinion, just express it. I have a lot of thoughts about preserves, as well as other controversial hunting issues. I really enjoy discussing them , and have done so many times through the years, but they are best expressed in person .

I was into doowop so I' wasn't a a Ted Nugent fan, so I really don't know much about him, but a few years ago I read something online that he wrote about High Fence Hunting that I thought was interesting. I don't know why I came across it at the time , but he gave his take on it. It's probably still online if anyone cared to read his opinion.