Wolc 2023 Journal

[wolc123]

Early antlerless gun season at home in wmu 9F produced a button buck, on the first Sunday just before sunset, with my Marlin 512.  On the second Sunday of that, I killed a mature doe over at my parents place, just after sunset, with my T/C Omega. 
 

Good thing our freezer is in decent shape early (also had about a deer and a half left in there vacuum-sealed from prior years), because the hunting has been tough so far, up north at my in-laws in wmu 6c & 6f.   Two days into early ML week and no sign of any deer yet.  

I will be heading to the spot where I have had the most sightings up here over the last 10 years this morning.  I’m not expecting much there either, because they usually don’t move in there until the snow comes.  
 

The weather has been colder than the last few years up here this week though, so maybe they will be in there early.  Regardless of what I see in there today, I’m going to hit it again on my last hunt of this trip, next Sunday.  We are supposed to get a winter mix of precipitation on that day.  
 

The smallmouth bass fishing was ok on Saturday afternoon at least, with (4) legal keepers (all released), from 12-16” going for my 1/8 oz bucktail jigs.  It was too rainy to fish yesterday afternoon.  Probably won’t try that again today because we are going into town for supplies.  

 

Ive already helped my father in law finish most of the tasks, to get the place ready for winter, so the rest of the week should be a nice relaxing break from work, unless a deer or two show up to add some excitement.  

[GreeneHunter]

Smile Dammit !   LOL

[wolc123]

It’s raining and no deer in sight but at least the Bills eeked one out last night. 

55 minutes ago, GreeneHunter said:

Smile Dammit !   LOL

[wolc123]

I can smile now, because the rain stopped, sun came out, and they were hitting on topwaters this afternoon.  As Pygmy say’s, smallmouth on top waters is about as much fun as can be had with your clothes on: 

 

[wolc123]

Last year at this time, the deer up here were feeding in the shooting range meadow at night.  I got out there an hour before daylight Saturday (opening day of ML), and none showed up.  

I tried again tonight and no deer showed but it sure sounded like there was a bear, up on the ridge behind me.  It sounded like it was ripping a log apart up there, starting about 5 minutes after sunset.  I don’t know what else could have made that noise.  
 

Maybe I’ll try and get in position up there tomorrow night, if it’s not raining.  

Edited October 16, 2023 by wolc123

[Gobbler Chaser]

I've been so tied up with projects I haven't even been in the woods once this season. But reading you posts certainly stoked the embers. The leaves are changing and I'm getting things wrapped up and will be out very soon.

[wolc123]

3 hours ago, Gobbler Chaser said:

I've been so tied up with projects I haven't even been in the woods once this season. But reading you posts certainly stoked the embers. The leaves are changing and I'm getting things wrapped up and will be out very soon.

I’m thankful that most of the leaves are down up here.  There’s still enough to make for some nice scenery though.  The white birch are still holding as are a few other red and yellow late-droppers, plus there’s lots of evergreens for contrast.  

 

Im hoping for some snow before Sunday.  That makes the deer hunting at least 10 times easier, and makes the scenery even better.   
 

It looks like they are calling for a wsw wind today and no rain.  We haven’t had that direction yet since I got to here last Friday.  That will be good for hunting the spot up on the north end of the east ridge, where I got my last early ML doe up here, two years ago.  

I’ll be still hunting my way up to that spot, staring 1/2 hour before sunrise, and hang out up there until 11:30 or so.  There’s lots of mast yielding trees up there.  Hopefully, the deer get sick of all the standing corn around here this year, and stop by for some nuts today.  
 

 

Edited October 17, 2023 by wolc123

[wolc123]

I didn’t see any deer up in the ridge this morning.  I did see 4-6 turkeys up there.  I think that season closed the Friday before Saturday’s ML opener.  

After lunch, back at the house, We helped a neighbor pull out his docks.  I did some fishing after that, landing (10) keeper sized smallmouth 12-17” long on bucktail jigs.  They were feeding on the bottom, along the shoreline.  

I lost (9) jigs on snags.  Good thing their cheap (cost me less than 5 cents each because I tie my own and only need to buy the hooks).  The coyote tail ones didn’t seem to work quite as well as the bucktail ones did.  

Im skipping the evening hunt tonight because it’s shower day (every other day for me when I’m on vacation, wether I need it or not).  I like the “dead down wind” scent free bar soap, it lathers up real good, compared to the Irish spring, that I use on work days.  
 

Tomorrow morning, I’ll head back over to the south ridge with the plow truck.  Ive got (3) good spots on the 250 acre block I’m hunting, do I will hit them each (1) more time over the next (6) mornings.  I’m also going to hit the shooting range meadow or the ridge behind it (2) more times.  
 

I have never not seen any deer up here on early ML but I may not this year, based on the lack of sign that I’m seeing.  I think the main reason for that, is all of the standing corn, within a mile of here, this year.  

I think my best odds of seeing deer, is to minimize the pressure in my three hot spots, so that’s what I’m trying to do the rest of the week.  

It is odd that last year, I saw the most ever deer up here during ML week, and this year the least (so far anyhow).  It only takes (1) “stray” to fill a tag though.
 

 It ain’t over till it’s over.  I’m not hunting as hard as usual up here, because our freezer is in pretty good shape at home right now, thanks to early antlerless gun season. 

Edited October 17, 2023 by wolc123

[wolc123]

I’m getting ready to pack the old plow truck for the drive down to the south ridge.  There’s a south wind today, which is the opposite that I prefer for that spot.  Since I didn’t see anything there with a north wind last time, there’s nothing to loose.  
 

Maybe I’ll catch deer from the outside coming into that spot.  It looks like a chance of rain in the forecast early, so I’ll bring along my tree umbrella.  I’ll probably hang out until 11:30 or so down there.  

[wolc123]

I didn’t see any deer again yesterday, hunting down on the south ridge from 1/2 hour before sunrise unroll 11:30.  There was light rain on and off throughout the morning, so I had my tree umbrella up most of the time.  

There is an old logging road that loops around to a dump up there.  I hunted from the same tree, overlooking a deer trail down into the valley to the north, on the east side of the dump, yesterday and three days prior. 
 

I missed a chance at the largest antlered buck I have ever seen at that spot, on opening day of gun season, (3) years ago.  That buck popped up out of the valley in the rain, just 15 yards from me, and disappeared back into it before I could get off a shot.  
 

My current “every three day hot spot rotation” is going to work out for that spot again on this Saturday’s gun opener.  I’m going to mix it up a little this year and hunt on the West side of the dump, overlooking the valley, a couple hundred yards closer to the main camp road.  
 

Ive rarely hunted that spot, but there is thick cover there and deer always seem to head for it when pressured or shot at.  I grazed a one-horned buck with a high back hit with my 30/30 the weekend after Thanksgiving last year and that’s where he went.  So did the old boss doe (which I killed up here the early ML season before last) and her fawn, when I missed her two late ML seasons prior,  due to striking a branch.  
 

There is a large state forrest and a huge hunting camp directly across two-lane road to the south, so any deer pressured from over there might head for that thick cover on opening day.  I’ll pick a tree, overlooking it, that will be determined by the wind direction on that day.  
 

After lunch yesterday, I helped my father in law work on moving a post out front, the location of which is currently under dispute with the neighbor.  We had a little setback there, and had to leave it unresolved.  Thankfully, nobody got hurt.  
 

After that, a light south wind was blowing and I drifted the west shoreline of the lake, catching just (3) smallmouth on jigs only one of which was just barely over 12 inches.  I did miss a big one, back at the dock with a black Zara puppy, on my last cast.  
 

Wr had leftover smoked brisket, taters and Lima beans for dinner, then I hunted the shooting range meadow till 1/2 hour past dark, seeing or hearing nothing.  

Im headed into the center  stream bottom deer hot spot this morning.  That’s where I wounded the unicorn late last fall, and where ive seen the most deer up here (usually not until there is snow and all the local corn is down). 

Edited October 19, 2023 by wolc123

[wolc123]

Today was the best of my 9 day hunt/fishcation so far.  A little hunting action down in the stream bottom this morning, when a grouse landed 15 yards from me.  I missed the head shot with my .50 cal.  Should have went for a center shot.  Oh well, it lives and I learn. 
 

The sun came out before lunch and the southwest wind was blowing, so I spent a little extra time fishing.  They were biting very good.  I caught more than a dozen smallmouth including  18, 19, and 20 inchers that I used the net on.  I also needed that for my hat when it blew off.  The fat 19 incher in the first picture was the “fight of the year”. The 20” in the second is my longest of the year. 

I released all the bass.  I’m only going to keep one over 22” to mount if I get one.  I caught (3) perch by accident (everything on the same 1/8 oz bucktail jig) that I kept for my mother in law.  Two were 10” and one was 12-1/2”.  

They are in the fish cage now, which I tied to the dock.  I’ll clean them tomorrow, along with any more that I might catch.  We got the barge into its winter spot and pulled in the small dock.

Tomorrow is the last day I’m fishing, so I’ll bring up the 5-1/2 Johnson and put it in the shed, haul up the 14 ft rowboat, and pull up the last dock after I finish.  It’s supposed to rain Saturday and Sunday.  I don’t mind hunting in the rain but I don’t care for fishing in it.  
 

Im skipping the evening hunt.  I was going to go to a spot along the lane to the neighbors place, who is currently involved in a property dispute.  He’s down at his place on the south end of the lake now and I don’t want to escalate the situation.  I let him know that the pie he baked for my father in law was very good.  If he’s gone tomorrow night, I’ll hit the spot along his lane then.  
 

Tomorrow morning, I’ll be back on the spot that is almost as far from his place as I can get, the north end of the east ridge.  He’s into hunting and hasn’t seen much on his trail cameras lately.  I explained my “their all in the standing corn”  theory to him.  My only hope is to catch a buck traveling back and forth  between the corn fields to the east and to the west.  

 

 

 

[wolc123]

Today was the last day of early ML season and I managed to get thru the whole week without seeing a single deer.  I hunted the morning up on the north end of the east ridge (red sky in morning - what’s that mean ?), and the last hour at a spot close to the house.  

One glimmer of hope for opening day of rifle tomorrow though.  My mother in law saw a small deer, that appeared to be flattened by a semi truck, just to the left of the driveway into camp.
 

Maybe that means they are moving in.  I’ll be hunting down that way tomorrow morning for opening day of rifle season.  It sounds like it’s going to be a wet one, so I’m thankful I’ll have my rifle and not my ML.  Keeping the powder dry would not be easy with that.  
 

Im sure that my tree umbrella is going to get plenty of use.  I’ll probably carry in my camp chair also, because my tree hammock seat tends to collect runoff from the tree it’s attached to, during heavy rains.  I’ll be hunting pretty close to where I’m parking the plow truck on the logging road, so it will be no big deal carrying in the chair.  
 

Hopefully, some “opening day” hunting pressure across the highway, on a big block of state forrest, will push a buck over onto our side. I’ll be looking for one with at least 3 points on its side, or clearly at least 2.5 years old.  No need to “settle” for a smaller one, because our deer meat situation is ok at home, right now.  

Aside from hunting, we did finish up the last of the outside work, to get the place ready for  winter.  Fishing was tougher today than yesterday, but I did add one more smaller perch to the bucket, so I had (4) to fillet for my MIL.

 I also got (3) smallmouth 12-1/4” , 14”, 15”, all on the same 1/8oz bucktail jig that I used yesterday.  High winds made the fishing tougher today.  I caught them all anchored near the spot on the south end  where they were hitting best yesterday.  I tried trolling, once around the lake with a diving plug but no hits doing that.  

No more fishing for me on this trip.  The 5-1/2 Johnson ran very well and is now stored in the shed, along with the other gear.  The 14 ft rowboat is hauled up and flipped over for the winter, and the last docks are pulled up.  

The only heavy work that remains is getting the chains on my father in laws snowplow tractor.  We can do that in the barn, so the rain shouldn’t be an issue.  

Edited October 21, 2023 by wolc123

[wolc123]

It’s over a hour past sunset and I’m in my camp chair, under my tree umbrella, on the north edge of the south ridge.  I’m about 150 yards from a main highway and there is a big block of state forrest, and a huge hunting camp, on the other side of that.  
 

There is a steady rain falling and the wind is steady from the sw at about 10 mph.  I haven’t seen a deer up here thru all of ML week, but a small  one got flattened on the road, within 200 yards of where I am now.  
 

My plan is to sit here until 11:30 or so.  My odds of seeing a buck from this spot are probably better than anyplace else I can think of.  (3) years ago today, I blew a chance at the biggest antlered buck I ever seen up here, about 200 yards to my east, along this ridge.  
 

I am also very close to the spot where I lost the trail of a one-antlered 2.5 year old buck, that I got a bad (high back) hit on last December.  I also tracked a  big doe and her fawn to this same spot,  a few years before, after I missed her in the snow with my ML during the late season. 

So this seems to be the spot where they go when they are shot at, hit, or pressured.  I’m in no condition to pressure any deer today myself, after a week of walking these hills and lots of “bull work” for my in laws, getting their place ready for winter.  Hopefully, somebody else pushes one to me today.  I have not heard any shots yet.  
 

I put my orange hat on top of my umbrella to hopefully keep anyone from “shooting at movement” from the taller ridge to my north.  Not sure if that’s legal, but you can’t see the hat under the umbrella, so common sense trumped the law. I do wear the hat when walking in and out.

[wolc123]

I made it thru another day with no deer sightings, making 8 straight.  Just one more hunt to go, in the morning.  I’ll be going to the stream-bottom spot, which is where I’ve seen the most deer here over the last 10 seasons, but never killed one.  
 

I have been doing this (9) day hunt/fish-cation up here for the last 5 or so years and have never made it all the way thru without seeing any deer.  One year I made it up on Friday, with enough daylight left to catch the last hour of crossbow season.  I saw (3) antlerless deer, standing on the main camp driveway, on my walk in and that was it for that trip.  
 

Last year I saw the most, stumbling into a herd of 10-12 on my walk in one morning, about 45 minutes before sunrise.  3 days later, on my last Sunday morning, I went back to that spot and again spooked (2) out, before legal light.  I sat there anyhow, and a “just barely legal” spike buck came in and tempted me with a 30 yards broadside shot (I passed).  
 

i would put my odds of seeing a deer tomorrow at about 20 %, and my odds of killing a buck, with 3 or more points on a side, at about 5%.  It’s too far of a walk to carry my camp chair.  It’s supposed to rain again tomorrow, so I’ll have to suffer a wet butt, with my tree hammock chair under my tree umbrella.  It catches runoff from the tree.

Since it’s my last day for hunting up here, I don’t mind if my bibs get wet.  I won’t be needing them again until crossbow season opens at home on November 4.  I’ll hang them out in my hunting room when I get home and they will be dry by then.  
 

It stopped raining here at about 10:00 today.  I hunted till noon, went back for lunch, then helped my father in law with some pre-winter projects.  We went over to see our buddy, at the far end of lake, about the incident at the gate the other day.  A big old overhead structure almost came down on my father-in-law.
 

 I bruised my left upper arm a little, while up on an extension ladder, holding it back. I held it, until he got his tractor bucket against it, then I screwed down a support brace. We were very fortunate that no one got seriously injured or killed.  

Our buddy said that he had a new blade on his chainsaw, and why don’t we just go cut it all down.  We went back with my father in laws loader tractor, chains, a long rope, and the plow truck.  It took us about an hour to cut down the old structure and clean up the mess.  We even yanked out the offending new pole, which was improperly on the disgruntled neighbor's property.  
 

That little dispute turned out to be a “blessing in disguise” because without that new pole holding up the old rotted overhead gate structure, it may have fallen and killed someone.  Had the new pole not been on the neighbor’s property, we never would have known how rotted the old structure was.  
 

Even though we got all the work done, I skipped the evening hunt for 5 reasons: 1) my freezers pretty full at home 2) It started raining again 3) The local deer have been missing in action 4) It’s shower night 5) I wanted to clean my ML.  

 

All this stuff is gone now ^, except for the rock gate post bases.  My father in law and his buddy are already planning an elaborate new gate structure, none of which will be on the disgruntled neighbor’s property.  
 

 

[wolc123]

I had a very comfortable spot to sit in the rain for my 9th morning in the north woods, but no deer seen.  

The drive home went well and i am all unpacked.  No more deer hunting for me until sz crossbow opens on November 4th.

[wolc123]

My mother in law sent me text,  saying that she fried up the (4) perch that I caught for her last week for dinner tonight.  She said they were very good.  

 

I’m hoping that all of the nearby corn will be harvested, and that there will be some snow on the ground, next time we go up there on Thanksgiving weekend.  That will greatly improve my odds of getting a buck up there.  
 

Back here in WNY, Im taking this weekend off from hunting. I’m trying to get everything ready for winter.  I got most of the leaves swept up off the lawn and piled up yesterday.  I did the roof work today, sweeping out the chimney for the wood stove and cleaning the leaves out of the gutters.

 

If the weather cooperates next week, I might try to cut the lawn one last time.  I took the deck off my primary mower, to give more clearance for pulling the leaf sweeper, so I’ll need to use my backup mower for the last cut.  
 

I put the snowplow on my Farmall Cub. That works good for pushing up the leaf piles from the area where I dump them with the leaf sweeper.  Before the snow flies, I got to get the rear chains on that Cub, and try to get the lights working again.  

I had to straighten out the plow frame before I mounted it because I bent it up a little in a failed attempt to use it for a  front hitch to move my boat.  Apparently, that was a little too much tongue weight for it.  My 22 ton vertical hydraulic press (log splitter) made short work getting it straightened out.