reeleyz

I have homemade bouncers with wire that is about 2’ long.  So I attach my leader about 2’ up from the bottom of the bouncer. 
 

I also run leaders around 6’ so my lures aren’t running too far down.

I don’t want to know how much trout and salmon ends up freezer burned and tossed in the garbage after a year.

This will ruffle some feathers but I do NOT think that a Captain’s or Mate’s limit should be taken on a charter.

11 hours ago, jk1 said:

The state park at branchport s not iced in yet????

In my very limited experience it takes some serious cold for that part of the lake to freeze up. Many nights below zero. 

Nice job. The lake was a zoo yesterday. That’s good for the local businesses at least.

I also use a M18 but I have a 12AH battery that came with my sawzall. I run it on a clam

plate with a old 7” lazer power auger bit. I have been using this for 10 years with zero issues.

Looks like a nice bunch of eaters.

The DEC does still manage cormorants. They shoot quite a few of them and destroy their nets. The number of birds that they are allowed to kill is slowly increasing each year as well. 

This has the report for 2023 and the plan for 2024. The audio is not great. The report starts at around the 1:30:00 mark.

In 2023 they killed 2500 birds and I think he said they destroyed 600 - 700 nests.

At our camp in NNY the bass will be spawned out by 6/15.

They were on beds by mid May.

The last few birds I have been making a smoked turkey chili with the legs, wings, neck, and thighs. I put them in the instant pot for an hour, then shred  it and add the meat to the pot of chili and smoke it.

There are no docks in at Oneida Shores either. Just enough water there to get my 17’ Impact to float with a little shove.

12 hours ago, dremarquis said:

Rob,  I also shoot a CVA Optima V2 with a nitride barrel. I am shooting Barnest Spit Fire TMZs with 100 gr triple se7en and I'm getting golfballs at 100 yards.

At the risk of starting a controversy, I no longer clean my barrel like I used to. I followed some guys instructions about simply LICKING the patch and I have noticed my MZ shooting much better. Here are the instructions I follow, FWIW, and I feel awkward posting this because I know so many of you know more about these things than I do (but this has really been working for me):

This is taken from somewhere on the web, I can't remember who or where:

Here are the steps I follow in loading every shot, every season, every circumstance with all my muzzleloaders. Period.

1. After the shot, lick a clean, cotton patch. (yes, lick a patch; with your tongue) Place it wet side down on top of your barrel. Using your ramrod with a cleaning jag attached, work the patch in ever-lengthening strokes to the bottom of the barrel.

2. Remove the ramrod, flip the patch over and run the other side of the patch to the bottom of the barrel.

3. Remove the ramrod. Discard the patch.

4. Dump in the pre measured powder charge.

5. Seat the bullet until the powder stops compressing.

Done. Use this simple five step sequence every time you shoot and groups will shrink and velocities will stay constant, shot after shot. Using this method, I have shot my flintlock 100s of times without a full cleaning.

Here are some simple DON'Ts.

1. DON'T use any type of cleaner on the patch. Blackpowder and Pyrodex shoot much, much better on a fouled barrel than they shoot on a clean barrel. Using cleaner will remove the "first shot fouling". The "spit patch" will remove the excess fouling while leaving the "first shot fouling" on the barrel. Chronograph three - five shot strings with the same load. For the first string, do nothing between shots. For the second string, swab with a patch dampened with cleaner. For the third string, swab with a spit patch. You will be amazed at the results.

2. DON'T go hunting with a clean barrel. My best example of this is using Pyrodex RS on a clean barrel with a Knight Wolverine. The first shot out of a clean barrel can be as much as 6" out of the group at 100 yards. With that first fouling shot on the barrel, 1" groups are very common but on a clean barrel, that first shot can be anywhere in that 12" circle.

3. Always seat your bullet using a bullet starter that will not deform the end of the bullet. Deformed bullets may shoot fine at 50 yards but cannot fly the same over extended ranges due to variance in ballistic coefficiency.

I use the same spit patch procedure and it works great for me. If I shoot my CVA on a clean barrel the first shot is always quite a ways off. Not sure it was ever a foot off though.

I run BH209 and Barnes or THOR (for out west, made by Barnes) bullets.

I gotta be honest, that deer creeps me out a little!

Gambler

Looks like you need to get the doe to drop in a shooting lane next time.

I had a small buck keep stepping on a dead doe several years ago. He didn’t really beat on her. He was more like “wake up, I’m ready!”

I love it. The walleye bite was the best I have ever seen Friday morning. I should have brought my shotgun too. I passed 3 flocks of geese on the way back in.

Anybody seeing poults? It looks like the chances of rain is going to increase. Hopefully they are big enough that it won’t bother the hatch.

The river is loaded with em. I would not feel bad!

Nice catch!

That is awesome! This part of the season can be great. If you can find a Tom there is a better chance that they are alone and callable.

I am guessing it is similar to how you can out jig a set of tipups in the winter?

Beautiful bird. Congrats!

Congrats! Jakes taste better anyway!

Thanks to you I now skin out the entire bird and keep every bit of meat. Lately I have been cooking down the legs/wings/neck and then making a smoked Turkey chili. It is awesome.

Awfully quiet here? Is nobody turkey hunting?

I tagged my second bird on Sunday in the finger lakes. This one was silent with a hen and I happened to walk up on them and see them before they saw me. I was able to crawl to a tree and she brought him right by me at 20 yards about 30 minutes later.

Jakes are more tender anyway! 

Hopefully we will have another dry late May and June so we have another good hatch.

Those are some nice hooks!

This bird walked the same stretch 3 days in a row. He would sort of shadow the flock 100 yards away. Finally I got set up in the right spot this morning. I never made a call.

When they changed the SZ deer opener from Monday to Saturday there was a lot of grumbling too.

Turkey season has opened on May 1st forever.

I would not be surprised to see more seasons open on specific dates. It cuts down on regulation updates.