2022 Wolc Journal

[phantom]

1 minute ago, wolc123 said:

Are you going out tomorrow for the ML opener.  It looks like it will be noisy.  I saw about 20 combat choppers and at least that many trucks parked around the fields on 3A on the drive up this afternoon.  It looks like they are setting up for some type of big practice tomorrow.  

War games for ww3 

[wolc123]

9 minutes ago, phantom said:

War games for ww3 

Could be, or maybe they are just making sure that a bunch of old stuff still works before they give it to the Ukrainians.  If so, that could be the straw that brakes the camels (aka Putin’s) back and ignites a nuclear WW3.  

[REDNECK4LIFE32]

10 th mountain is training. 1st brigade is in Iraq. 2 nd brigade is scheduled for training in jrtc fort Polk. Wolc why is oldest coming home not to pry? Times are hard. Kill a big one up here in the dacks. Good luck fishing calling for snow beginning of week so have fun.

[phantom]

23 minutes ago, wolc123 said:

Could be, or maybe they are just making sure that a bunch of old stuff still works before they give it to the Ukrainians.  If so, that could be the straw that brakes the camels (aka Putin’s) back and ignites a nuclear WW3.  

 Scare tactic I'm thinking to make Putin back off thinking we're gonna invade if he  Doesn't or  Maybe make him scared to not launch a nuke 

[9jNYstarkOH]

1 hour ago, wolc123 said:

Some out of state work took a bit longer than expected this week, and I had some issues at the airport coming home.   I still made it up to my in-laws place just before sunset today.  
 

I am ready for the Northern zone early ML opener tomorrow.  It looks like the only thing that I forgot was my grunt tube.  It is tough packing for a 9 day hunting and fishing trip in 1/2 hour, but that’s what I had to do to get up here before dark.  
 

Tomorrow morning’s weather and wind (8 mph SSE wind 53 deg) looks perfect for the spot where I killed the old doe up here last year, so that’s where I am headed in the morning.  My father in law saw (3) antlerless deer back there earlier this week.  Hopefully, I run into them in the morning.

I can see light though my breech plug, so the touch hole is clear and there is no need to waste a printer cleaning it out.  I’ll drop a couple 50 gr T7 pellets down the bore, and press in a black-sleeved 240 gr XTP bullet in the morning.  My sling will stay in my pack until I kill a deer.  

Sunrise is at 7:20.  I will start a slow, still-hunt back to that spot at 6:50.  Any antlerless deer, over 1.5 yr old, or an antlered buck with (3) or more points on a side will do.  
 

 I just found out that our oldest daughter is moving back home in December, so I can’t be that fussy, until our meat supply is secure.  If I get another antlerless one first, then I will revert back to the (4) or more points on a side for my buck tag.  I am bringing binoculars and will try my best to avoid killing a button buck.  

Good luck

[Four Seasons]

1 hour ago, wolc123 said:

Are you going out tomorrow for the ML opener.  It looks like it will be noisy.  I saw about 20 combat choppers and at least that many trucks parked around the fields on 3A on the drive up this afternoon.  It looks like they are setting up for some type of big practice tomorrow.  

Never start until Halloween for the most part. Did sit once on the Tier farm after camera showed a hit lister but that’s it so far.  Just run cameras and get a couple worthy opponents picked out and then go at them when the time is right. Never harass the ladies that will bring the victim to slaughter. It’s all about timing and playing it smart when dealing with the best the area has to offer. 

[Four Seasons]

1 hour ago, REDNECK4LIFE32 said:

10 th mountain is training. 1st brigade is in Iraq. 2 nd brigade is scheduled for training in jrtc fort Polk. Wolc why is oldest coming home not to pry? Times are hard. Kill a big one up here in the dacks. Good luck fishing calling for snow beginning of week so have fun.

Lots of areas are closed to hunting for training right now on Drum. With our property just across the road I’m Ok with that and hope it lasts thru November. Copters out training 4 and 6 to a group with Jets cranking thru every day. They are keeping sharp for some reason that’s for sure. 

[wolc123]

4 hours ago, REDNECK4LIFE32 said:

10 th mountain is training. 1st brigade is in Iraq. 2 nd brigade is scheduled for training in jrtc fort Polk. Wolc why is oldest coming home not to pry? Times are hard. Kill a big one up here in the dacks. Good luck fishing calling for snow beginning of week so have fun.

I’m not sure if she’s if she’s just had enough of downstate, after a semester and a half of college down there.  I know that she has been talking to a Navy recruiter.  
 

It will be nice having her back home for a while.  Bringing her back is going to cost me a hunting weekend, that I had planned at a buddy’s place in the southern tier.  Hopefully, there will be plenty more opportunities for that.  

 

 

[wolc123]

On 10/21/2021 at 8:41 PM, Four Seasons said:

Way to many Doe’s out in the corn while we were out with the combine this afternoon. One less now. 

 

4 hours ago, Four Seasons said:

Never start until Halloween for the most part. Did sit once on the Tier farm after camera showed a hit lister but that’s it so far.  Just run cameras and get a couple worthy opponents picked out and then go at them when the time is right. Never harass the ladies that will bring the victim to slaughter. It’s all about timing and playing it smart when dealing with the best the area has to offer. 

Never say never when there's way too many out there, or one old dominant doe that is keeping others away.  That was the case at my spot up here last year.  It seemed that many more deer (does and bucks) moved in, after I took her out.  
 

I also had both issues going on at home earlier this year.  The doe that I killed back there this September had been caught “yellow/green” mouthed  several times in my sweetcorn.  I saw more deer than ever on my next September antlerless hunt, after taking her out.  The does were very skittish, but the bucks were clueless (and sadly off/limits in September).  
 

I can’t wait to see what the deer situation is here up North later this morning and the rest of this week thru next weekend.  I’ll be very thankful if I can bring a decent sized doe home, processed and in a cooler, like I did last year.

 A decent buck, during early ML week, could be a bonus.  It’s going to be extra tough for me to hold off, on any antlered buck with my gun tag next weekend, because I am really itching to see how the 30/30 works on a deer.  
 

I already know how my 50 cal ML works on them, and I want to save my ML/bow buck tag for a good one that I have been watching at home, when crossbow opens in early November.  

Edited October 15, 2022 by wolc123

[wolc123]

10 hours ago, phantom said:

 Scare tactic I'm thinking to make Putin back off thinking we're gonna invade if he  Doesn't or  Maybe make him scared to not launch a nuke 

You might be on to something there.  Why else would they park that many choppers and trucks right next to the main public road that so many Adirondack weekend leaf-gazers use ?  Usually, they keep all that stuff far away from public view.  
 

The same tactics were used in Britain against the Germans in WW2, using foam and cardboard tanks and trucks.  Maybe some of those choppers and trucks are fake.  I have taken that route (3A) hundreds of times and rarely seen a single HUMV out there in those open fields.  

[wolc123]

I didn’t see any deer this morning, up on the north end of the ridge.  That’s where I killed an old doe last year at this time.  The SE wind was good for it this morning. I got up there 15 minutes before sunrise and sat until 9:50, when the wind really picked up.

I still-hunted, into the wind, along the upper, back side of the ridge, on my way back.  I saw a 2 ft long snake up near the north end of the ridge, and I flushed a grouse form near the bottom.  
 

After lunch, I am going to try and squeeze in a little fishing before the rain.  I brought up my old, early 1950’s Mercury K-5 outboard, which hasn’t been ran in about a year and a half.  
 

Hopefully, it will start today, because it’s going to be tough rowing in this wind.  I mixed up some fresh 40:1 for it, which I will use the leftover in my chainsaws.  
 

I need to drag one of the (2) little 12 ft row boats down to the water for that.  That will be faster than bailing the water out of the 14 footer, which has my father in laws Johnson 5 hp on it.  
 

That one has already had plenty of run time this year.  It takes a 16:1 mix, just like my 1956 Evinrude.  I use that as a kicker on my 17 footer at home ever since I brought the little bit newer Johnson up for him.  I brought up my leftover gas for that, which I will burn up in his Johnson, over the next week.  
 

My old Evinrude trolls just a little better.  Probably because it has the old style, two line “unsafe” pressurized fuel tank, while the newer Johnson has the modern single hose setup.  
 

It’s good to run all those little outboards at least once per season.  Otherwise, it seems like the carbs get gummed up and they don’t start.  I use only stabilized, ethanol free gas in all of them.  

[REDNECK4LIFE32]

9 hours ago, wolc123 said:

I’m not sure if she’s if she’s just had enough of downstate, after a semester and a half of college down there.  I know that she has been talking to a Navy recruiter.  
 

It will be nice having her back home for a while.  Bringing her back is going to cost me a hunting weekend, that I had planned at a buddy’s place in the southern tier.  Hopefully, there will be plenty more opportunities for that.  

 

 

That's great. That she's talking to a recruiter. Military is a good step in right direction. Opens good opportunities to see the states and world.

[REDNECK4LIFE32]

13 hours ago, Four Seasons said:

Lots of areas are closed to hunting for training right now on Drum. With our property just across the road I’m Ok with that and hope it lasts thru November. Copters out training 4 and 6 to a group with Jets cranking thru every day. They are keeping sharp for some reason that’s for sure. 

When I was at drum we trained all the time. Most deployed division in us army. 

[wolc123]

I had to change up my fishing plans a little due to a couple minor calamity’s.  First, I couldn’t find the mooring line for my 12 ft rowboat, so I decided to take out the 14 footer with the Johnson on it.  
 

Before I finished draining all the water out of that, I located the mooring line (my nephew had borrowed it for his kayak and left it up on the porch under it).   I was already committed to using the other boat by that time though.

There was still about 10 gallons of rainwater in it, when I stepped inside, to speed the process along with a bucket.  The drain hole always plugs with leaves and it takes a long time to clear them and drain it using just that.

When I stepped in, the boat tipped on its supports which we’re holding it up out of the lake.  I planted one foot into the water that was still inside, to keep from falling out, drenching that shoe.   
 

I took off the wet shoe and sock, wrung out the sock, and left them them on the party barge.  Luckily, the sun was out and it was pretty warm.  I went out fishing barefoot.  

I don’t think I caught a bass barefoot all summer, but I got three that way here in mid October, all on 1/8 oz jigs.  Now , I am back out waiting on a deer.  I don’t expect much with the crazy swirling wind this evening but maybe the open stick of EverCalm will cover my scent.

The smallest one was a little over a foot and the biggest was about 16”, all on 1/8 oz bucktail jigs (I lost one of those jigs on a snag).

Edited October 15, 2022 by wolc123

[wolc123]

Sunset was at 6:17, and I stayed at my spot, until 6:15.   I still-hunted my way back.  About half way, I saw at least two deer around 100 yards away, thru some young hardwoods.  They must have seen or smelled me first, because they took off with their tails up.  
 

The main trail/driveway, that I  was on when I saw them gets year-round pedestrian traffic.  I hope those deer didn’t realize that I was after them.  Hopefully, I will get a more favorable wind to hunt the spot where I saw them, before next week Sunday.  
 

It will be nice to have an evening spot, a little closer to the house, so that I can stay there a little longer.  
 

 

[wolc123]

I got buzzed by a couple of combat choppers, at treetop level, while I was out on the lake fishing yesterday.  It also looked like an A-10, or some other jet, dropped a flare up high.

 

Its much nicer out in the woods this morning, than it was yesterday.  I am back on top of the north end of the ridge where I killed the old doe last year.  Light winds and thermals should carry my scent away.  There is nut producing trees nearby.  
 

I am going to stick it out here until 11:30 (it’s about a half hour still/hunt back to the in-laws lake house).  

[wolc123]

A couple more calamity’s this morning.  I only held out until 11:00 up on the ridge because the wind picked up and I was getting hungry.  No deer, and no more grouse showed up.  As  I was packing up, I forgot that I had unzipped my pack.  When I swung the belt around back of me, everything dumped out.

 

Fortunately, I had cleared the area at my feet of leaves, so that I could swing the hammock chair silently, in case a deer snuck up behind me.  That made it easy to find everything.  There were a couple milkweed pods that I didn’t realize I still had.  I will be able to test the wind direction tonight. 
 

Back at the in-laws house, no one was home.  No note, but still some cold pizza in the fridge.  I knew my mother in law wasn’t feeling too good the nigh before, so I suspected the worst.  I saw the neighbor out and I almost walked over there but I called my wife (who is back home in wny). 
 

She is a certified medical assistant and her mother had texted her earlier.  After explaining her symptoms, she advised her mother to go to an urgent care facility in the nearest town.  As it turned out, she fainted as my father in law was getting ready to take her.

He got the neighbor to help get her up, revived her and took her to a little hospital out in the Adirondack boondocks.  They pumped her up with some saline solution, gave her some meds, tested her positive for covid, and sent her home.

She looks a lot better now than she did last night.  Hopefully, she won’t have too much trouble getting dinner ready for us around 7:00 when I get back from hunting, and see how the Bills/Chiefs game went.  

While waiting for them to get back from the hospital, I removed the heavy Honda 4-stroke outboard from the party barge and put it in its winter storage box down on the dock.  That damn thing is way too heavy to carry up those 22 stairs. 

When they got home, after seeing that she was ok, I went out fishing a bit, trying for that elusive 22 inch smallmouth.   I caught (4), (3) on bucktail jigs and one trolling a silver shad rap.  The largest was close but no cigar at a solid 21”.   It still had lots of fight in it for the cool water temp, and is the second largest bass I have ever caught in this lake.

I’m up at the spot where I saw the group of deer last night.  It’s real close to the house, so I’ll give them until 6:40 to show up (5 minutes left of legal shooting time).  

[wolc123]

The ssw wind wasn’t quite right for the spot that I hunted last night.  Accuweather said sse, I should have used my milkweed pods because it was ssw.  The group of deer that I saw there the night before looked like they had come from the north, so I thought it would be ok where I was.  
 

Ad it turned out, there was a little draw thru the small finger  ridge at that location, and twice I heard deer approaching that, from directly downwind.  The first was a single, around 5:50 pm.  I couldn’t see it thru the heavy cover, but it sounded maybe 50 yards away when it must have caught my scent and snorted.  
 

I remained there, in my tree hammock chair, until 15 minutes past sunset, as the light was fading fast.   I could still see pretty good thru my old Redfield scope.  As I started folding up my chair, making a little noise, multiple deer snorted from about the same direction, but a little farther away than I had heard the single earlier.

They must have smelled me and hung up out there, until they heard the chair rattling, then snorted and retreated back where they came from.  
 

I am on my “shower every other day” vacation schedule, and I took one last night (after the hunt) with scent free soap and shampoo.  I should be able to get a little closer to downwind deer today.  I will wait for an easterly wind, before I try that spot again in the evening, and verify it with milkweed before I strap on the chair. 

Depending on today’s wind, I’ll probably hunt the north end of the ridge where I did the last two mornings.  That’s where I killed my last deer up here, and I really want the grouse that I saw up there yesterday.  
 

It’s supposed to rain this afternoon, so I am going to run into town for supplies.  I want to get a cheap grunt call (I left my good one at home by mistake), and a small hunting stool (the tree hammock chair collects water off the tree while under the tree unbrella).  I also need another gallon of cider.  
 

I am mostly after a doe this early ML week, so I haven’t tried any rattling (I did remember my rattle bag) or grunting.  I’d like to try it this Saturday, when gun opens up and doe season closes.  I think that the single deer that I heard early last night was probably a buck.  

[wolc123]

The shopping trip went ok.  We found a bait/tackle/hunting shack, 11 miles away that had grunt calls for $ 11.  They had a decent selection of guns and ammo (no 30/30 or .410 which is all that we wanted).  They were also out of hunting stools.

 The market in that town (Edwards) only had one item on our shopping list (milk) and it was a couple days past the expiration date.  I left it there, and we drove another 12 miles North to Governour.  Price chopper there had that and everything else on our grocery list at a very reasonable cost.  
 

We couldn’t find a hunting stool there either though, trying Tractor Supply and the big 3-story hardware store.  I found a little folding camp chair in my in-laws attic, and I am rigged for rain in it now, under my tree umbrella.

The rain just started falling hard and it’s working well.  I am up on a stone ramp, that was made back in the early part of the last century, for loading barrels of maple sap on wagons.  Other years, I set my pop up blind up here, but I left that home this year.  This is the only decent location, that I have found up here, for evening hunts with a south wind.

As long as the wind is light, and the rain comes straight down, this setup seems like it will work ok.  Visibility in this open setup is way better than in the pop up blind.   I have seen many antlerless deer from this spot, but never a buck and never a doe when there was no snow.  Hopefully, one or both of those will happen tonight.  

[wolc123]

I struck out in the morning up on the north end of the ridge, not seeing any deer (3) in a row.  The wind has been from the south each day, as it was again today.

I had to switch it up a little, so I tried a perpendicular ridge down on the south end, near the main highway.  I figured If I hunted close to the steep drop, the morning thermals might carry my scent up out of harms way.  No dice and nothing but red squirrels seen there.

After lunch, I helped my father in law move patio furniture into the barn and pounded in snow fence stakes across the shore on the north end of the lake.  My arms felt like they were going to fall off after pile driving about 40 stakes.

I wasn’t up to casting after that, so I trolled 1-1/2 times around the lake, picking up a 15”, 16”, and 18” smallmouth on a small silver shad-rap.  
 

The wind is still blowing from the south.  I am going to try hunting some state land across the main highway.  It’s a different DMU over there (6F), which is open again this year for antlerless ML harvest.  It was last year also, for the first time in many years.  
 

That state land is so remote, that it is a preferred spot for the DEC to release trouble making bears that they trap in “touristy” areas like Old Forge and Long Lake.  I never wasted much time over there because it was closed for antlerless most years.  Now that it’s not, I’ll take at least one shot at it tonight, and maybe have a better chance at a bear.  
 

Edited October 18, 2022 by wolc123

[wolc123]

I didn’t see any deer or bear sign across the main road on the state forrest last night.  I did pass a few hunting camps, on the short stretch of private land, between the main road and the big chunk of state land.  A couple of them looked pretty crowded.  
 

There’s a private hunting club, of about 6000 acres, behind the 1000ish  acre state forrest.  I imagine most of the guys that I saw at the camps hunt back there.  There were signs up: “logging in process” but I didn’t see or hear any signs of that.

I’ll stick to the 400 acres of private land, and 100 acres of water that I have all to myself on this side of the main road, for the rest of the week.  Hopefully, those guys will push some game over to this side of the main road.   I am going to hunt close to that road on opening day Saturday for sure, because that’s where I blew a great chance at a huge buck two years ago on opening day. 
 

I tried a low spot close by this morning, where there is always tons of deer activity after the snow hits, but nothing showed up early.  After that, I helped my father in law with some more “heavy lifting” tasks - putting chains on the tractors that he uses for snow plowing.  
 

Once again, my arms were in no condition for casting after that, so I trolled a few times around lake, getting a few more decent smallmouth bass  on the small silver shad-rap.  This fat 19 incher just didn’t want to say “uncle”, and I drifted about half way down the lake before I was finally able to land it on 8 lb line.

While we were working on the tractors earlier, my father in law pointed out some bear and deer tracks, where they must have came thru last night, out on the volleyball court, right next to the house.  I am going to get setup tonight, downwind of the spot where those tracks led up and over the ridge.  I’ll sit in my moose camo pattern chair up there tonight, till 1/2 hour past sunset.  No rain in the forecast, so I won’t need the umbrella.

Hopefully, it’s a good-eating, easy dragging sized bear of about 200 lbs, if it makes it over the ridge with my 240 gr of lead.  I don’t care how big it is, if it goes down on this side, because my father in laws big new Kubota will lift well over 1000 lbs.  I’ll guess 253 lbs field-dressed, based on the size of these tracks:

 

Edited October 19, 2022 by wolc123

[wolc123]

The bass are cooperating more than the deer this morning.  Just got a 20 incher on the shad rap: 

[wolc123]

I saw more deer this morning than I ever did, while hunting in the Adirondacks, but it was about 10 minutes before legal shooting time.  A herd of 10 or more was feeding in this little meadow, across the lane from the volleyball court.

My father in law has been keeping it mowed all summer with the little 3-point mower I brought up for him.  My dad gave it to me after he got a zero turn, and I had no use for it, so I brought it up here.

When I stumbled into that herd in the dark, there was snorting from all directions and white flags everywhere.  I was trying to get around, down wind of the volleyball court,  and they caught me by surprise in the meadow. 
 

Over the last 10 years up here, I have seen a ratio of about 5 antlerless deer per every antlered one, so there was probably a buck or two in that group.  I am going to give that spot a days rest, then try sneaking around the back, from behind the ridge, on Sunday morning.  It will be “bucks only” then, with my rifle because today was the last day of early ML season, when does are legal.  
 

I finished up the last of the winter prep tasks today, getting the dock up, the party barge chained to a tree, the 14 ft rowboat up high on the shore, and the Johnson outboard stowed for winter.  My old Mercury wouldn’t run right, so I’ll be running an electric motor, on the Sears 12 footer, for fishing tomorrow in between rifle buck/bear hunts.   

 

 

[wolc123]

More boat motor problems on Saturday.  The little Mariner electric, that I bought an auction gif $ 5.00 last summer wouldn’t spin the prop.  It worked well in April.  Not sure what’s wrong with it, Donill throw it on th “winter project junk pile” with the Mercury K-5.  
 

I had to use my father in laws auxiliary motor from his party barge.  That little MinKota electric worked ok in my Sears 12 footer.

Just “ok” and not “good”, because “the quiet power that catches fish” struck out, when I  tried trolling the small silver shad rap.  Not even a hit, trolling twice up wind on the east shore of the lake.  Apparently, those bass need to be woke up by the below water exhaust of the 5.5 Johnson 2-stroke, because plenty of them hit when I trolled that lure behind that.  
 

Fortunately, they still hit the 1/8 oz Bucktail jig, when I drifted back with the wind, and I landed 5 or 6 from 14”-17” on that.

I caught more than a limit of bass mid/day on opening day of northern zone rifle deer season but didn’t see any deer in morning or evening hunts.

 

Edited October 23, 2022 by wolc123

[wolc123]

Finally, on the last day I hunted, I had a chance at a deer this morning.  I had to change plans a little, due to the wnw wind.  I had planned on a long, around the ridge hike in the dark, to get to the back side of the shooting-range meadow, but that would have required a south wind.  For 8 days the wind blew from the south, but it switched north on the 9th, foiling my plan. 
 

I tried a frontal assault instead, and I scared off a deer that was exactly where it was on Friday morning, when I crunched some leaves.  I only heard one bolt off this time though, not the big herd like Friday, so I continued on to my spot between the mower and the forks.  I got into position 1/2 hour before sunrise.

Exactly at sunrise, I heard the unmistakeable crunching of a deer approaching through the leaves.  It was a “just legal” spike, with about a 4” horn on the right and 3-1/2” on the left.  He stood broadside at 30 yards, begging for a Federal 150 gr PowerShok.  

It was all I could do to hold off.  Between the tiny rack, small body, and warm temperature, I just couldn’t do it.  My father in law was a little disappointed that I didn’t christen his rifle, but I just couldn’t punch my tag with that little guy.  
 

It has been more than 10 years since I tagged an antlered buck with less than 3 points on a side.  An Adirondack buck is worth at least double to me.  That only brings the spike up to four points though, so he still fell short.    

I educated him a little, as I sat down the rifle and reached for the phone.  He caught that motion, snorted, and high-tailed it into cover.  If you zoom in, you can see his tail at the edge of the meadow, to the right of the tall tree.  

 

 

 

Edited October 23, 2022 by wolc123