Gator

I hate this damn disease with a passion. Too many good folks taken too soon. Rest in peace, Mike. We will think of you often this coming season.

Every year, I seem to get pictures of little bucks sparring until their antlers fall off. They must figure, if you got them, use them. Their annual appointment with the deer-equivalent of "Dr. Snip" is coming soon enough. And Rob, much as a I feel for you, and I've been there too, I think you've got to look at it as fifteen+ years of being blessed. But it sure does suck in the moment.

I won't be the idiot who says, "that's why they call it hunting". Duh, I just was. Sorry to hear you didn't connect. Sounds like a fun trip and great group.

I'll ask the question that's burning in everyone's mind: what happened in Ohio this year? Dish, Rob! Enquiring minds want to know.

Lots of interesting information there. I recall that Les posted a link referring to the recent Science article on how leftovers from tires wearing down were causing big problems in West Coast Coho. Here's the abstract. I don't know how widely this applies to other salmonids, but it's worth considering.

That's some nice gear she's wearing. I suspect she's not new to the game. Nicely done!

My season recap: Start each day with unwarranted optimism. Sit. Watch. Crap. No deer. Curse and return home. Repeat. 83 times. Lol. Honestly, though, this was by far the poorest season I've had in decades, despite having hunted more than ever. I'm assuming it was just me, since others seem to have done well, including some buddies I hunt with. I'd say luck of the draw, but I suspect that there's something I'm missing, scent, movement in the stand, hearing - we joked that I might have selective Turret's syndrome that only manifests in the woods, combined with early AD so I forget what I did. Picture this: deer comes by, I see it and start swearing at it like a sailor. Deer shakes its head sadly and moves on. Best day was October 1st, when I videoed three 2 1/2 year old 8 points wandering under the stand feeding on acorns. The worst days were the next 82. My bowhunting ledger that I keep for DEC showed that I had a fair number of sightings from the stand, and you'd think that the numbers look good, but many times it was something like thirteen doe that stormed by as I was getting ready to leave, probably pushed by somebody else or a buck one of the neighbors had shot, coming over to die by me. Not a joke. My number three buck got shot and lost by a neighbor. My number two buck got taken by another neighbor who saw it chasing a doe in his backyard, went inside to get his rifle, and shot it between the houses. My number one disappeared, so who knows? I was happy to take a small eight and a doe with clean shots during gun, one of them at 170 yards, which isn't a long shot but it's my longest. Now, if we're going to talk about how much fun I had being able to hunt with my friends and spend time in the woods, that's a truly different story. Production may have been down, but the value I place on being blessed with the ability to hunt and share my hunting with the people I love is immeasurable. Stay frosty, my friends! Until next year...

I spent the night dreaming of custom rods and chainsaws. Woke up to a stocking full of chocolate. 2020 has sucked, but life is still sweeter than the alternative. Merry X-mas to all - keep your families and friends close in your heart, and trust that next year will be so much better.

The wife and I bud capped hundreds of small conifers yesterday with aluminum screen to prevent browsing. It was too late this year for most of the small white pine. My wife was PO'd, but she's the one that removed the mesh cages earlier this year. Protect it or lose it in deer country.

I hunted more this season than ever before, but with less to show for it. I think that the dry conditions this summer impacted deer movement on one property and a combination of factors affected the other, but also I'm convinced that the constant tread of boots on the ground left danger signals that the deer picked up on quickly. Even rotating properties and stands, we put a pounding on both places. But everybody shot deer, even if there were no real studs taken, there were some nice bucks, some great stories, and most importantly we were all able to enjoy being away from the sh$t storm of 2020 for awhile. Onto offseason property management, which I enjoy as much as the hunting. No big projects planned for this year, but we are starting to develop a plan for a 13 acre field that hasn't done us any favors lately. A combination of food, cover, and screening for access are in order. It all begins today, ay wife and I are heading over shortly to cap small pine trees so as to protect the terminal leaders from browsing over the winter, something we do for hundreds of small pines every year to encourage "volunteers". I hope everyone enjoyed their season as much as I did and has a safe and happy holidays!

Ditto. I have a large manly sled and a smaller girly man sled for does and little bucks. I haven't had to break out the former yet this year lol. Nice buck and great stalk Andy!

Yeah, that would get a hard pass from me.