Syracuse.com - Cortland 'Spring Safari' reaps fond hunting/fishing memories

[HuntingNY-News]

The Tioughnioga River was a little high and muddy that day, but I scored big, landing a 23-inch walleye on a black Mr. Twister tipped with a night crawler.The The water was a little high and muddy that day, but the action on Factory Brook was great.Last weekend, I got to fish and hunt in Cortland County during the annual “Spring Safari” of the New York Outdoors Writers Association. I wasn’t disappointed and plan to return — soon.Friday morning, I fished Factory Brook near Homer and caught four trout (two browns and two brookies). The same morning, J. Michael Kelly, my predecessor on the outdoors beat for this newspaper, caught and released a 22-inch wild brown trout in the same stream.That afternoon, I teamed with another writer and fished Tully Lake for about 90 minutes from a canoe that was loaned to us by Jim Dempsey, director of the Cortland County Convention and Visitor's Bureau. We caught a host of panfish (including a 13-inch perch) and four small pickerel. We had a ball with our ultra-light spinning outfits, using worms as bait.The following morning I traveled to nearby McGraw and hunted wild turkey. I had three jakes come within 50 yards, but held up shooting because I wasn’t comfortable with the distance. The guide, Mike Joyner, was a little bit behind me, calling in the birds. Joyner told me afterward that while I was concentrating on the jakes, two hens came within 10 yards of me on my left side. I never saw them, but, of course, could not have taken a shot at them anyway.Half of a shed. An impressive 5 points. Makes one wonder what that deer looks like -- and about him being there next fall.On a side note, Paul Walling , one of the other turkey guides who was calling for another nearby writer, found and gave me half of 5-point shed (shed deer antler) he found where we were hunting. We saw deer sign all around and I can't help but feel that area would be a great place to return to this fall for deer hunting.Following lunch, I went with Kelly and his buddy, city Police Lt. John “Kid” Corbett, down to Blodgett Mills, where we fished a couple of hours near a bridge that spanned the Tioughnioga River. The river was high and muddy but I scored big, landing a 23-inch walleye on a black Mr. Twister tipped with a night crawler.My wife, Laura, and I enjoyed eating that fish (along with the Tully lake perch and few other panfish) for dinner Monday evening. For more on Cortland County’s outdoor offerings, see the county's tourism Web site and click on "Outdoor Adventure."A great finish to a great weekend -- a 23-inch Tioughnioga River walleye.

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