Guppy35

Thanks again Legacy for starting an awesome thread for this year's season. Looking forward to doing it all over again in 2017!

From our experience the best bite was just either side of slack tide. Just as soon as you saw the slightest bit of current, the bite was on. Our captain said that Halibut are scent feeders, so any time there is current the bite should be decent. As others have already said, when there is a big tide change of 20ft or more, it can be very difficult to keep your bait down near bottom - which is probably why our best bite was when the current just started to pick back up. Depending on the conditions on the water, you can also chase the tide. When slack tide hits, you reel everything up and motor a few miles past the tide and set up again so you can catch it a second time.

I definitely agree with you on what QDM can do. We too started using trail cameras about 12 years ago and started practicing QDM shortly after that. It really is amazing to see the growth that can occur if you let them go a few extra years.

Our group of about 10 people hunt close to 500 acres of adjacent property. Over the past 5 years we have stopped doing about 90% of the drives we used to do (for several reasons). First off, now that rifles are legal and most hunters choose to use a rifle over a shotgun, it makes drives much more dangerous in my opinion. Also, the neighbors that border our land still like to do drives, especially opening weekend. So our new plan of attack is to get set up very early opening weekend and sit as long as we can. With everybody driving the properties around us, the deer tend to filter onto our property where it is quiet and we get much easier and less dangerous shots at the deer we want. It's almost as if our entire property becomes a sanctuary for gun season, especially opening weekend. We do still do some drives, but instead of 10 people on a drive, we tend to do much smaller drives with 4 or 5 people instead. Our property has a lot of natural funnels, and after owning the land for so many years you begin to figure out where the deer like to go when they are being pushed. The two biggest bucks i have taken 130" 8 point and a 132" 8 point were both taken on small drives with 2 walkers and 2 sitters. I do agree that antler restrictions would increase the average size of the bucks in NYS, but not everybody hunts for that reason. There are a lot of people that hunt solely to feed their families, and they have every right to do that and not be criticized for it. Antler restrictions should be decided on an individual basis, depending on your goals. I wouldn't mind seeing the 1 buck per season though, whether it was with bow or gun.

Here are a few pictures of our catch from July of this year

My family and I went on a full day charter in Cook Inlet back in July of this year. It was my first time halibut fishing, but it was a blast! The tide is definitely something to think about, the day we went out there was like an 18' or 20' tide change and you wouldn't believe the amount of current it creates. It makes it very difficult to keep your lines near bottom, but just either side of slack tide we had doubles, triples, quadrupled several times. We had an excellent day, with all 5 in our group limiting out, including two that tipped the scales at 104# and 100#. It will definitely be on my list of places to return to in the future. I'll post a few pictures shortly if I can find them Sent from my SM-G930V using Lake Ontario United mobile app

Congrats Legacy on a great buck! Thanks again for this thread the last two years, it's been a real pleasure being able to follow everybody's hunting season.

Nice buck Justin, definitely nothing to be ashamed of there! Sent from my SM-G930V using Lake Ontario United mobile app

Good luck tracking him this morning, hopefully it will be a quick tracking job! Can't wait to see pics Sent from my SM-G930V using Lake Ontario United mobile app

Nice buck slammin!! Sent from my SM-G930V using Lake Ontario United mobile app

Congrats on a successful hunt, Pap!! Sent from my SM-G930V using Lake Ontario United mobile app

Well a friend and myself both dropped bucks off Saturday evening to have European mounts done. We both got calls Monday morning saying they were ready to be picked up. I know someone else posted about someone that does the European mounts, so I'm just adding to the list. His business name is called Droptyne European mounts, and he is located in Savona NY. He charges $55 for a whitetail, not sure what his pricing is for other game. I'll add his contact info below. This is the second buck I've had him do for me and he does a great job and always gets them done quickly. Rob Connis 7574 Eagle Valley Rd Savona, NY 14879 607-438-0810

Very nice Gene, you've done well this year!! Congrats on a successful bow and rifle season.

Joe - I'll have to stop up and check it out! I've seen a real nice 10 point on my way up the hill twice in the last two weeks now, and a big 8 chasing a doe as well. They are smart animals, they know where they are safe..

Haha i've only lived in Addison for 4 years now, but i have never been to the Last Lap. The story behind that 12 point was that they were getting ready to put on a drive down over the hill. He was one of the walkers and started out in the field on top with the wind blowing right in his face. He stepped into the edge of the woods to start the drive and looked down over the ridge and saw the 12 point bedded down with a 4 point. With the wind blowing right in his face, the bucks had no idea he was there, and he made an easy 40 yard shot. Here is another picture after harvest, and one of the trail camera pictures they had of him earlier in the year.

My step dad's nephew shot this buck on our joint property in 8P this morning! Same property that i shot my buck on Saturday. I'm trying to get more details on it, and will post more about it when i hear back from him.

Shot a decent 8 point Saturday morning around 10:30. I watched a half rack buck (4 on one side) chase a hot doe all around me for 15 minutes. He provided a broad side shot at 20 yards which I would have taken if he had the other half of his rack. Both him and the doe were panting from the chase. I kept an eye out on the area they came from and sure enough this 8 point showed up and I was able to get on him at 100 yards. When I made the shot everything went silent and I could not tell where he went. After a little bit I got down out of my stand and started to make my way over to where he was when I took the shot. I got about 60 yards away and could see the body on the ground so I pulled up my scope and took a look at him…only to see a half rack sticking up. I thought to myself "you've got to be kidding me, i shot the wrong buck!!". But as I got closer I realized the other half of his rack was just buried in the leaves . He was quartered towards me quite heavily, so I shot him a few inches ahead of his front shoulder, and the bullet came out well behind his back shoulder. I double lunged him, and dropped him right on the spot, which would explain why I didn’t see him take off after the shot.

So sorry to hear about the passing of your father, Dan. Thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

It really is a shame that there are scumbags out there that do stuff like that. On the more positive side, that is a very nice buck! Good luck this morning and good luck to everyone going out for NY's opening day tomorrow....be safe and shoot straight!!

As JakeyBaby stated, they will browse on the tops earlier on before they touch the bulbs. From my experience, they don't really go for the bulbs much until we get a heavy frost that changes the composition of the bulbs, making them much more appealing to the deer.

Yesterday morning i had a 1.5 year old 8 point coming down off the hill behind me and looked as though he was going to come right to me, but at 50 yards he turned and went into some thick brush below me. I waited to see what would happen and finally saw him out in the cut corn field. At that time i wanted to get a better look at his rack, so i rattled and watched him turn 180 degrees and come right back at me again. He got back to about 50 yards again in the thick brush but would not step out into the woods since he couldn't see the bucks that made all the noise. Had he come into range, i would have been tempted to take a shot since it was my last chance during bow season this year. But i'm really looking for a 2.5 year old or older, and i figured just because bow season is coming to a close i'm not going to lower my standards for that reason alone. I hope he makes it another year or two!

Wishing i was able to be in a stand over the last week or so, but because of my schedule i've been unable to get out. My next opportunity will be Friday morning, but only for a short time. I hope the action is still hot like it has been for most of you in the past few days!

Congrats, Gene! Very nice buck!

Dan i definitely agree that Reconyx is the best there is, but like you said you're going to pay for it. I've never owned one personally but i have a good friend that has several of them and nothing else compares to the pictures that a Reconyx takes. I have also heard good things about Brownings, so in my personal opinion if you are looking for a camera in the $100 -$150 range, i would look at Brownings and Cuddebacks. Just my two cents though..