fisherman21

Well, never how you want to recover a deer. But grateful to at least put my hands on him and know I did put a lethal shot on him. Not a giant buck, but the biggest I have taken. I shot him with my bow the first week of December. He ran onto the neighbors land, who was nice enough to let me track him. Unfortunately, the snow from first thing in the morning had melted which made following the blood trail impossible to follow. We trailed the deer 350 yards, so I figured he was going to be just fine. Fast forward to this week. The neighbors texted me saying he found the buck I shot. It ended up being 500 yards from the initial shot which appeared to be a single lung. The buck was dead in the middle of the creek submerged under the water. The neighbor was nice enough to let me come get the rack. Cool to have some closure on the deer at least.

First trip down to the keys. We had a great family vacation, and I was even able to get alittle fishing in with my son. I ended up ordering a nice travel rod to bring down with me and also brought two old ugly sticks. We caught a variety of fish. It’s truly amazing how many fish there are in the ocean. It was float downs every fast. Had a couple crazy encounters as well. I was able to connect with a nice barracuda, and was also able to battle 2 tarpon…..one being all of 100 pounds. I stood 0% chance at landing it lol. I had 20lb braid and a 50lb fluro leader. The thing jumped 3 times and then in seconds ran me out about 250 yards before breaking the 50lb leader. The strength of that fish was unlike anything I have ever encountered. I have caught numerous kings on this setup, and the power and speed of the tarpon was unlike anything I have ever seen. All in all it was a great vacation, and I can’t wait to go back next year. I’ll be properly equips next time.

Heck of a night last night!

I have had them on camera the last three years in Greece, Hilton, and Spencerport. They definitely seem to be becoming more prevalent in our area

They are bayrat s3’s

Another good night! Could have been better if it weren’t for some poor shooting lol…..but what are you going to do.

Hard earned fox last night lol

Epic night/morning. Did 6 sets and had coyotes come in on 5 of them.

So I can shed alittle bit of light on using lights. I made it out 16 times last year and called in 32 foxes and 17 coyotes. I run a spot light with a red lens. The big thing is, is to never shut the light off. Keep that thing on from the time you leave your car to the time you get back to your car. It’s definitely cheaper than thermal, and you can still have enough action to have a good time. It’s also helpful to have as many spots as possible so you aren’t burning spots up. Once you call an animal, and either miss or get winded, it’s extremely hard to ever call that animal in……at least with a light. You can definitely have success running lights though. However, everyone I know that puts up big big numbers runs thermal. My buddy got one this season, so we have been trying to dial that in this year. We haven’t had much luck yet, but had bad winds the couple times we tried. I think thermal also allows you chances at animals that are light shy or have previously been spooked. You are also going to want a thermal monocular for scanning……which is another 2K lol. It’s an investment, but if you are going to go out a lot to make it worth it……go for it!

Perhaps what you caught was a small steelhead and not a stream rainbow. Which would negate this whole situation. Do you have a picture of it? We do have wild/native rainbows in some rivers/streams throughout the state. They are much smaller and do not go out to the lake. You also have, or at least did have three strains of rainbows in the lake at one point. You had domestic rainbows who would run the tribs in the fall and spawn in the fall. These are not stocked anymore from what I know. Then you have your “steelhead” who will trickle into the system fall through spring and spawn in the spring. Then you have skamanias who are a summer run “steelhead”. I would lean more towards you catching a small lake run fish last year, but it’s not impossible that it was a resident/native rainbow. Would love to see a picture

The light in the scope is a “night eyes” predator light. You turn that light on when you are ready to take the shot. We scan with a red lens spotlight. I would be happy to answer any questions you have

Well……we didn’t stack them, but we had a fun night!

It’s supposed to stop around 8/830, so I’m banking on that!

Going out to hopefully stack tonight!

Yeah…..it’s a tank steelhead. Nice!!!

Me too! I have still never got one. I was jealous when we walked up to them and saw they were greys lol. Those 2 make 3 that I have called in for friends though. They are so far a few between around here

Got a buddy out last night on his first predators. Two beautiful grey foxes.

2023 had a lot of great outdoor memories. I really made it a point and was intentional this season to take full advantage of having the boat. I got a lot of friends and family out on the lake to catch fish. It was another year filled with lots of fish and game. The kids enjoyed catching panfish, largemouths this summer, and salmon and trout out on the lake. My middle child also accompanied me on her first deer hunt, which ended in the harvest of a nice mature doe! I also brought my youngest on his first track job….very awesome experience. I was also able to assist a few anglers in putting them on the first kings and others on their first predators. Some of the highlights include: -17 foxes and 7 coyotes taken -My finished Jake fan mount I did from my turkey last season -Family trip to Florida -Tagging out on two toms this season. First time ever for me -Fathers day out for kings with my son -A tank of a largemouth kayak with my wife for our anniversary lol -A 49 fish lake trout jigging day. Lost and missed just as many. -My dads 60th birthday trip to Cayuga with my brothers -5 Atlantics -Spring king hitting the chinook diver out 20ft -All deer tags filled -Awesome times with my kids in the woods and on the water -Annual fall musky trip -Pier casting for kings Enjoy the pictures!

Nice way to end a great season!

Where did you find the .204 ammo Bill?