Gator

Zero

It doesn't take much to remind us we're not immortal. Critical safety equipment in every kayaker's go bag should include a tow rope, a whistle (by law), and a hand pump. And I agree that everyone should swamp their kayak at least once to see whether they're capable of recovery from in the water. Inflation bags bow and stern can help sit-in models. Most importantly, have a plan. You were smart with your rescue approach. He's lucky you were there.

As long as you're jigging them, one at a time is how you will roll lol. I dream of being able to jig lakers off Sandy like we used to off the Niagara Bar...hundreds of fish a day, literally. But the current over this way makes it a different game. Give a shout next time you're going to do it, and we will share what we know. You're always welcome on Nothin' but Net, as well.

Only academic liberals are allowed to fish from college property. You have to take a test and they give you a card for your windshield. lol

Okay, that's just funny. I've never tried to type the word S E X in a thread before, and it got changed to fun loving. Obviously I'm not referring to the act but the physical descriptor. Deer don't have gender, since they don't have self-perception, and so the S-word is appropriate. ROFL.

I try to forget my past year's struggles as soon as they're over lol! I keep photos of my DEC bowhunting log from forever, and my records show three weeks in October this year that rotted. This coincides with camera activity. Past years generally had more sightings, but less time overall in the woods too, so it's tough to compare, and there are always factors beyond the pale that impact perceived success. For example, last year during the peak rut it seemed like I couldn't sit in a stand without a neighbor shooting and tracking a deer right under me. Go figure. It's also easy after the season ends and the doe have herded up to have a skewed idea of numbers, particularly if you're on the best food source in town. I will be interested in seeing final harvest numbers from DEC, but even that doesn't tell the entire tale. How many of us here pass on bucks until we see our "shooter"? The bowhunter sightings logs are at least unbiased in terms of your decision-making - it's based on how many of what fun loving deer you see while in the stand, on a per hour, per location basis. I have never tried to access that information myself though. Anybody else tried?

So, from what I know, COVID doesn't have a clinical manifestation in deer. They can carry it, but don't suffer the consequences we do. And I haven't found any dead deer on my properties, despite lots of walking over the past year and a half. We saw and shot more deer this year than most. I've heard similar from a bunch of folks, but the opposite from others. It's seemed like quite the feast or famine out there. Certainly the wife and I saw ample tracks in the snow this afternoon at our Albion property, so they're still around. I suspect that the crazy wet year and lack of mast significantly impacted normal patterns. It's just so tough to tell what's going on from a single year's experience...

Yeah, that makes sense. I've had the broadhead break off inside before. If you positioned in next to the broadhead, or even made a broadhead that had something itself...it might even give you better punch, being slightly heavier. Sounds like an opportunity for a young inventor/investor.

I think that they're still too big to put in an arrow, but interesting idea. Eventually it may be feasible. But in my experience, the arrow either passes through or is lost from most of the deer that I've had to track over any significant distance.