jperch

14 minutes ago, chinook35 said:

Back in the 50’s and 60’s ( before the introduction of the salmonids) the beaches around our camp on Sandy Pond were ankle deep in dead alewives we would rake them into piles and burn them. I can still smell them. Lol


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Yes, back then the "shiners", as we called them, were disgusting on the beaches.  After they were on the beaches they would be alive with maggots.  In the summer there would be schools of them that seemed to be a mile or longer long.

On 1/3/2021 at 7:10 PM, justtracytrolling said:

I'm using 44 grains of Accurate Arms 5744.  This is SMOKELESS powder do not use it in any muzzleloader not designed for smokeless powder.  I would use my crossbow before I went back to black powder.  My savage holds 1.25 moa accuracy out to 400 yards and under 1 moa to 200.  Powder is free compared to triple seven or pyrodex.  Box of 50xtps is cheap.  I have to get special sabots and magnum primers, but they aren't any more expensive.  The gun itself is the expensive part if you can find one.  Savage can no longer make them as part of a lawsuit settlement.  The gun is safe, but apparently people couldn't follow the simple instructions and there were accidents.  

Justin, I see that there are currently four nice looking ML 10 IIs on Gunbroker.  They start at a grand and the current bid on one with scope and accessories is almost 1900.  I think I paid around 750 for mine at Beikirchs maybe 8 years ago.  One issue with the ML II is that Savage no longer offers any parts.  I see on ebay that there are aftermarket ventliners and breech plugs, guess I should take a chance and stock up.  Right now I can't find any primers online, very little AA 5744, etc.  It's crazy, hope things settle down.

15 hours ago, steelie said:

I've been shooting Barnes exclusively for a long time on multiple guns and recovered many rounds. There has only been 2 that didn't "petal" out, I shot through alot of stuff on those. Here is a pic of a few of what have been recovered. Right side is 308 rifle, Middle is muzzleloader, left is 12 gauge.

 

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Steelie, would you mind saying what your .308 load was?  Factory or handload?

Yes, great job.  You did that deer (and the other hunter) a big service.

The biologists say that an essential part of the grub life cycle is shore birds (like herons) that feed on fish and snails.  So it makes sense that the grubs are more prevalent on smaller, shallower (and so warmer) bodies of water.  I remember fishing a small lake in Ontario that was loaded with nice sized rock bass on a canoe trip.  I kept a dozen for a shore lunch; they were absolutely loaded with yellow grubs.  We were not hungry enough to eat them!  The gulls didn't mind them.

Four guys with shotguns in a rocking 14 foot boat, what could possibly go wrong?  Glad to hear that they are ok.

I took a walk down to the Oswego river yesterday afternoon before the rain.  Lots of fisherman up by the dam, as usual.  I saw people catching salmon, could not get too close to  the dam where most of the fisherman were, it was too crowded.  There are few boats out on the lake now, guess most of the fish are in the river?  A week or so ago I would see dozens of boats off shore from my office.  The parking lots were packed, saw vehicles from lots of different states.

I am glad to hear that Gambler.  As a state employee I know they are EXTREMELY sensitive to state employees benefiting from anything like that.  I could give you numerous examples where material is hauled off to landfills (at state expense) instead of allowing employees to put some of it to use.  I understand it, but it's sad.  So I am glad they can give some of these fish to the public instead of just tossing them.

Ten or fifteen years ago, whenever we would dive in Lake O over rocky bottom we would acquire a small school of bass that would follow behind us.  I think they were looking for any crabs that we might stir up with our fins.  And you could call them in by banging two rocks together.  If you caught a small crab and released it a few feet off the bottom they would often zoom in for an easy dinner.  Now there are way less bass.  There are more carp and drum(sheepshead), which feed on the mussels.  I do not know where the walleye spawn in the St. Lawrence river, we don't dive when the water is that cold.  In other bodies of water I believe they head up feeder creeks to spawn.  We see the gobies on hard bottom.  We don't see them over silty, muddy bottoms.  That makes sense I think because gobies lay on the bottom, supposedly they don't have a swim bladder?  So maybe the gobies and walleye spawn sites just are not in the same place.  

jperch 

This is an excellent video Kevin.  I have done lots of scuba diving and snorkeling in Lake O and the St. Lawrence so I will add my observations.  The gobies seem to be less in numbers now.  Perhaps this is because it took a while for other fish to recognize them as a viable food source.  At some point one sees schools of bass fry off the bottom.  Gobies seem to stay very near the bottom so the fry may be protected at that point.  They are probably vulnerable to other fish however, I don't think they receive any protection from their parent bass at this point.  By the way, one might wonder why gobies don't eat their own fry and be more self limiting.  We see the goby fry under the cobble rocks, out of sight!  One last thing that relates to bass is that since the mussels have carpeted the bottom there seems to be way less crabs, a primary food source for bass.  jperch

The statistics put forth by the DEC about hunter orange are that hunters who do not wear hunter orange are seven times more likely to be accidentally shot in a hunting accident than hunters who do wear hunter orange.  What more needs to be said?  The only people I see who do not wear hunter orange during firearm season are the trespassers we catch on our farm.

jperch

This is an interesting thread.  I have lived on Lake Ontario for 60 years and have seen the perch numbers rise and fall in some kind of cycle.  I'm not sure if anyone really understands why but I don't!  Conesus Lake used to be an outstanding perch fishery.  On weekends during ice season there would be thousands of fisherman mostly from Rochester, no limits on perch back then.  The fishery was able to sustain that pressure and the spring/summer fishing was excellent too.  Now the perch fishing on Conesus is poor at best.  I have read that the cause of the perch decline on Conesus is due to the introduction of alewives, which apparently consume perch fry and eggs.  On Lake Ontario we have cormorants now in huge numbers.  Supposedly they take a serious toll on juvenile perch.  Gobys are abundant and eat eggs.  It's a complicated situation and I guess I trust the biologists to make the best possible decisions.  We still have some truly excellent fall and spring perch fishing available to us.  

jperch 

Thanks for this excellent video, I enjoyed watching all of it.  I love late spring rock bass fishing.  From cold water they are very tasty!  

jperch

Grizzly's in Hunt, NY (near south end of Letchworth)....   The best I have ever used by far.   The are a professional meat processing operation and hang the deer in a cooler for a 10 days+ before cutting.   Makes such a difference, like night and day....   Most places don't have the space to be able to age them..

Another strong recommendation for Grizzly's.  There is never any surprises, extremely well trimmed and packaged, well aged.  They are the best of the processors I have used in 46 years of deer hunting.

Sterile grass carp are sometimes used by pond owners to control vegetation.  You must first obtain a permit from the DEC.  The permit is for a specific number of grass carp and the permit must be shown to the provider(certified seller).  I believe these carp are called "triploid", having an extra set of chromosomes which causes sterility.  I was told they are produced by "shocking" the eggs shortly after they are fertilized.  They worked great in my pond.

In Oswego County they seem much worse on the Eastern side of the Oswego river.  I believe there are 3 stages (so 3 sizes) of the deer tick.  They all can carry Lyme disease, and other nasty infections.  As has been mentioned, treating clothing with Permethrin is extremely effective.  Buy it online or the tractor stores.  Clothes only, not to be applied directly to skin.  It is said to be highly toxic to cats, I guess you can't leave treated clothes around your felines.   jperch

I have had very good luck with Whitetail Institute products.  The cost of the seed is small in comparison to the other costs for lime, fertilizer, fuel for tractor, etc.  There is also a serious investment in time and work.  With all that I am happy to pay for the seed.  jperch

I use Doug's Deer Processing on County Route 85, near the intersection with Ridge Road.  It's maybe 10 minutes from Fair Haven, about the same from Oswego.  He does a good job, everything is boneless and vacuum sealed.  He will cut it the way you want it, I think I paid 70 or 75 this year.  perch

Congratulations Kevin, very nice.  The "silent treatment" strikes again!  jperch

Thanks mhtrapper, appreciate the information.  jperch

Does anyone have any recent information on Kring Point?  Is the launch still frozen?  Has the perch bite started?  Thanks for any help.  jperch

Does anyone know if the ice is out at Kring Point?  Any reports or information would be appreciated, thanks.  jperch