2013 Archery Deer Hunt 11/30/13 Morning Hunt

I am really hoping that this morning is going to be the one that finally settles the season for me as with the rut in full swing, something has to be moving as it is cold once again. Conditions for this hunt were mid-teens for air temperatures, moderate wind and cloudy skies. With the cold weather parked over us right now and the rut in swing, really hoping that the bucks would start moving more during the daylight hours but without any snow, hard to tell what they are doing now as the ground is frozen so finding fresh tracks is a bit hard these days. After sitting for a few hours and nothing moving around, is making for a very long sit while in the stand. With the upcoming shotgun season approaching, my hopes of getting this done before those are getting more dismal as the hours pass by. Nothing was seen this morning and with one more sit for the weekend, not looking good and as I walked back through the woods to my truck, there is little sign of rubs or scrapes and that does not make for a good feeling.

2013 Archery Deer Hunt 11/29/13 Morning Hunt

The weather has been horrible and for the last long weekend of spending in the woods before the guns enter, is getting shorter as each day passes. Conditions this morning were cold air temperatures of mid teens, light breeze and sunny skies. I wanted to get out Wednesday afternoon but it had been and was raining all day and ruined any chance of getting into the stand. Usually go out Thanksgiving morning and that was not the case as well as the rains were gone but now the cold temps were here and also the 30 mph winds that come along with them. So finally I was able to get out Friday morning and was hoping that after the bad weather the past 2 days, the deer would be moving around much more and the rut in full swing. Sat in the stand for 4 hours and not a deer was seen or heard and made for a cold morning waiting. The animals are in these woods as their tracks are left behind each day but they are moving mainly in the nocturnal hours and that is making the hunting a very difficult and challenging one. I want to start doing some stalk hunts, but without any snow cover, making it near impossible for getting around the woods without making any noise. The small squirrels even make a lot of noise as they hop across the dry leaves so for me to walk through there, going to be a difficult task.

2013 Archery Deer Hunt 11/23/13 Evening Hunt

Really didn't want to go back to this stand as I feel the deer have left the area and are using totally different routes but my son convinced me to take another shot here. Conditions have stayed about the same from this morning with partly cloudy skies, low 40 degree air temperatures and considerable amount of wind. I didn't do the scent drag to the stand but when arriving at the stand I added new scent to the wick and hung it under the tree. Just as I was settling into the stand it sounded like a deer snort coming from behind me. Thinking there was a deer in the vicinity, I scoured the woods and looked for movement as another sound came out so did a gun shot. The trapper using the area had a bog raccoon in his trap and dispatched of it and reset and vacated the area. After having this happen, my hopes were not that good as there has been a human walking and making noise through a section of woods. But with the amount of wind we were having, I was hoping that the sounds were carried the other direction from where ever a deer may come from. I don't watch the worked over field to much as there is nothing there for the deer and concentrate more on the creek bottom and woods behind me. As I was turning around from searching those areas here comes a deer walking across the field and it seen me rotating around but wasn't alarmed. I ranged the deer at around 85 yards and it looked like it was heading to the trail on the edge as it went behind the field edge brush and disappeared out of sight. From what I could see it looked like a doe to me and figured that it continued into the woods and not to be seen again. 15 minutes went by and all of a sudden here comes the deer down the edge of the field and it is a spiked buck. It took me by surprise as the time that had elapsed had me off guard and was not ready to say the least. As he walked down the edge he got to my stand trail and stopped there smelling the wind as he could smell the doe urine hanging there and was searching around for the doe that left it. With him standing 10 yards right in front of me, I slowly got my hands onto my bow and get the release to the string as he starts meandering down the edge of the field. By the time I could get the bow into position, he was getting out of range and no shot could be taken. At this point my heart was racing and my hands were shaking from all of the excitement that just happened in front of me. Hoping that he would turn around or swing around from behind me searching for the doe, he and no other deer were seen as darkness came. I did learn something from this that if I see one I need to be ready for a while after seeing it as the silence these animals can travel at, will have you off guard and allowing you to miss the opportunity of having a harvest.

2013 Archery Deer Hunt 11/23/13 Morning Hunt

Going to sit in a stand that hasn't been used in the morning yet and hopefully something will be moving through this area. Conditions were partly cloudy skies, winds around 10 mph and air temperatures of upper 20's. Upon arriving to the area, with the rut coming to a heightened state, decided to drag a scent trail as I cross the field heading to the morning stand. I criss crossed across the field dragging a scent patch full of doe estrus in hopes that anything crossing the field will catch wind of this and follow it to my location. With a decent breeze in the air, the scent should be drifting all over the area and at the same time I am using a doe bleat call to try to entice something to come out as well. As the morning went on, frustration starts setting in once again as there were no deer being sighted from this stand. So decided to go and collect all of my cameras as they are not getting any pictures lately as well and as I go back to the truck, go and check out another area that I haven't hunted before and see if there is any sign at that location. I dropped off the cameras and backpack in the truck and made my way to the first location and there were a fair amount of deer tracks there. But as I looked more and more around this area, low and behold there was a ladder stand there and not sure if that was to be used for the upcoming gun season or if they use it for bow season. Walked around to another area that I have seen deer in and there definitely is plenty of trails through it and is a number of rubs on small trees. So there are a couple of options to try as well and would sit on the ground at these locations.

2013 Archery Deer Hunt 11/21/13 Evening Hunt

Decided to sit on the stand where the rub is just to see if anything comes through this area on its way to feeding for the night. Conditions improved a bit as the air temperatures were in the mid 40's, sunny skies and the winds did pick up a bit as they were noticeable now. This outing was turning into the same as all of the rest as there wasn't any movement of basically anything in or around this stand. Kept watching out onto the open swampland in hopes of seeing some coming across but nothing was venturing around from where I could see. After walking out of the woods after sunset, there was nothing moving around on the open fields as I walked back to the truck. I went and checked the small field and nothing was hanging out there as well. For a day that I felt was going to be somewhat promising, it is giving me more doubts as each hunt passes and it is turning into exactly the same as last years dismal hunt. My conclusions are that for next season I am going to have to really search for some new land to hunt and be able to get away from other hunters as well as finding more food plots for having more active deer around.

2013 Archery Deer Hunt 11/21/13 Morning Hunt

With the onset of the rut season vastly approaching, wanted to go to the woods during the week so that there shouldn't be any other hunters in the area. Conditions were cold, 20 degree air temperatures, partly cloudy skies and no wind. Felt like a good morning that the deer may be moving around and decided to vacate the previous stand locations and sit in a stand that is on a travel route. As light approached, off to my left really sounded like there was finally a deer going to be seen as the steps were pronounced, and you could hear something rubbing on the brush as it moved. But after quite sometime, nothing materialized and all hopes of seeing one were vanishing as the moments passed. It was quite a cold morning for sitting in the stand and I made it to 9:30am before I needed to get down and move around. Nothing came through this morning and figured I might as well check all of my cameras since I am out and about. Checked the camera watching a fresh rub but doesn't look like he has been back. Checked the camera watching a heavy trail coming to a field and nothing was recorded there as well as our prime location seems to have dried up. The deer have definitely changed and moved as the season has gone along and I really need to figure something out fast as after Thanksgiving, the gun season starts. I walked back to my truck and always check a small field down the road and someone has setup a blind on this field. Looks like this weekend I will be pulling the stand near this field and relocating. Have an area in mind and hopeful there is no one there as I am finding out fast this year that I need to find some new land to hunt as there are just to many other hunters on this property.

2013 Archery Deer Hunt 11/16/13 Evening Hunt

With the sight that I had seen from the morning walk through the woods back to the truck, time to change stand locations. Conditions stayed fairly much the same for the day at mid 50's for air temperatures, sunny skies and little wind. In the morning on my walk back as I was almost out of the woods, I walked past a hunter sitting in a stand that wasn't there before. So this evening's sit was going to rest on if this hunter was at this location or not. As driving past the entry point, I looked at the stand location that you can see and there was no person sitting there so I planned to sit in the stand that has the rub underneath it. I had about 3 hours on this sit and did some rattling as well as in the past I have always been able to get something to come and look around for the sound being made. But as I sat there until darkness fell, again nothing was to come through and was an uneventful day of hunting. I know that the temperatures were a bit warm for this day but with the peak of the rut coming, would think that the deer would be moving around much more. I am definitely seeing a lot more deer sign than I did last season so I know that they are using the area but it is going to come down to timing and them going through an area that I am in. As I walked out of the woods and got to the edge, across the field there was a deer walking on the opposite wood edge but was never able to see what it was as it stepped into the woods and disappeared. They are here, just have to be in the right place at the right time.

2013 Archery Deer Hunt 11/16/13 Morning Hunt

Going to give this one stand location one more morning sit and will have to adjust to another location if it doesn't pan out this time around. Conditions were overcast skies, low 40's air temperatures and little to no wind. Was in the stand before the sky lightened and listened to the woods come to life for another day. As it started getting light out there was a grey fox that came trotting across the field and hit the edge of the field and came right back to the tree that I was sitting in and he was looking around for a bit and then headed down the field. Today I had decided that I was going to start doing some rattling and doe calling to see if the bucks are into the rut phase yet. As the morning went on it was becoming like any other morning that there was going to be no deer coming through this location. I don't know why they have changed the patterns as for months they had been using this location and now nothing. Even after checking the cameras there was only one deer pictured coming through and that was during one night and that was the only one for the whole week. Checked another camera in the same location facing a different direction and that camera had no pictures as well. Checked my third camera that was on a decent trail that always has fresh tracks and may have had that one to deep into the woods as there was no pictures on that one as well and I moved that camera right next to the field edge right where the trail comes in. When leaving this location I typically cross my bridge on a deep creek, and make my way past one of my other stands. When arriving at this stand there was the first buck rub on a tree right next to my tree stand and was fairly fresh. So I hung a trail camera there in hopes of capturing which buck was using the area and also left some scent in the area. Plan is to sit at this location this afternoon when I return.

2013 Archery Deer Hunt 11/9/13 All Day Hunt

The plan for this day was to try and sit all day to see if the deer moved around during the noon hour as some of the pictures on the cameras were showing. Arrived in the stand at dark-o-thirty and there was a breeze all ready, skies were clear and the air temperatures were around the freezing mark. Hopes of seeing the big buck in the area, I set myself up for an all day sit and hopefully something will come through. As the skies brightened up and all of the small animals and birds started coming to life, anticipations were running wild listen to every little noise that one could here. As the minutes and hours passed by, you do a lot of thinking and second guessing yourself as to was this the right stand, why don't they come through here and always, there is sign everywhere, where are they? At around 11:00 am with nothing sighted yet, decided to get out of the stand and go check my cameras and stretch my legs and get some feeling back into my toes. Upon checking the cameras, the past week had only shown one small deer at this stand in the middle of the night. There is a trapper using the area and not sure if that is messing with the deer's patterns here or if they are changing their patterns with the coming rut. Since the cameras had no pictures, I took two of them off of the field and located one behind my stand looking a different direction than one that is there already and the other one was moved down the field to a highly used deer trail and hopefully will see some better results there next weekend. After doing the cameras I made it back into my perch in my tree stand for the rest of the afternoon's sit. It was definitely cooler in the afternoon as the clouds came in and the breeze picked up quite a bit. Still was no deer moving around and I had been there for 11.5 hours and not one deer sighted. Now my mind is playing games with me as to which stand should I sit in next time. I am making a plan that when I leave the next stand I am going to go work my way through a small patch of woods that I really feel that the local buck is using as he bedding area. Would be nice if we could get a few inches of snow this week but the temperatures are going to be to warm to warrant that.

2013 Archery Deer Season 11/2/13 Morning Hunt

Was really looking forward to getting into the stand this morning and after the last day or so of rain and high winds, we were greeted with cloudy skies turning to sunny skies later in the morning, no wind, and 50 degree air temperatures. Made it into the stand under the cover of darkness but upon arriving at my small trail to the tree, the previous winds had knocked a bunch of branches across os made it very difficult getting to the tree in the darkness. It felt right this morning and was hoping for a lot of animal movement and couldn't wait for the light of morning to come. The squirrels and small birds were very active at the first light of morning with big expectations of deer moving as well. As the morning went on a family of turkey's came out onto the field and the young ones came out in front of my tree stand. They were still very small and not worth taking a shot at but the parents wouldn't come off of the crest of the hill to offer a shot and they eventually went on about their business. Also had a grey fox run under the stand and not sure if I have ever seen one of these in the woods before. As the morning went on the winds started to blow a bit and decided at 10:00 am to vacate this stand and relocate to another for a little bit longer. Stayed at the second stand for an hour and there was no deer movement and at that point I needed to head out for other plans. I returned the next day to check the game cameras for the week and one of the cameras near my first stand left a good picture. There was a very nice buck that went right under my stand an hour before I had gotten there and also another deer was under that stand if I would have sat there for the evening hunt. There are definitely deer in the area and it is going to come to a waiting game and hopefully be there when they move through.

2013 Archery Deer Season 10/30/13 Evening Hunt

The clocks are going to be turning back within the next few days and that means our evening hunts will be coming to a close during the work week days. So we were able to get out for a little time this evening and see if we can see some of the deer that we keep getting pictures of. Conditions were prime with sunny skies after a rainy cold day, no wind was detected and the temperature was around 50. Instead of going to the usual stands for during the week, wanted to try a stand that we haven't been to yet and opposite side of our stand that we sat on last Saturday morning. Conditions were great and was really hoping to see some activity, but once again the sit was not going to work out and no deer movement was seen. Plenty of other wildlife were active in their search for food, but getting the feeling it is going to be hit or miss, but as long as the cameras are still getting morning and evening movement, it is only a matter of time. As darkness was setting in, the tall swamp grass you could once again hear something that was moving around in there. Almost sounded like a deer getting up from a day's nap and moving through there but also sounded like it went out the opposite side from where I was sitting. Between the last two stands, there is a long narrow strip of this tall grass and I am having a feeling that this may be the bedding area for some of these deer in the area. Time will only tell.

2013 Archery Deer Season 10/26/13 Morning Hunt

Finally the weekend has come to be able to get to our key location for an early morning sit in hopes that the cameras aren't lying to us. Was in the stand before the skies lightened up and there was no wind, clear skies and temperatures were at the freezing mark. As I situated into my stand, in the darkness I could already hear an animal moving through the tall swamp grass off to my left. It definitely sounded like a deer coming through as some branches were snapping and you could hear the grass or brush dragging on its sides. As it got lighter out this animal either went out the opposite side of the tall grass or it laid down in there for its daytime sleep as it never came out on my side. It didn't take long and the winds really started kicking up and was blowing out of the wrong direction and blowing any of my scent into the woods to the side of me. Where this stand is located, I have a field in front of me, a small creek running right behind me and bigger woods to the left of me. The camera that I have covering this location, always has animals coming and going and today just wasn't that day. There are also a number of red squirrels in this location so I am going to have to watch myself as they definitely let everyone know that something is not right in the area. Hopefully will be able to get out there a couple of evenings this week before the clocks get turned back which will take away any evening hunts during the week.

2013 Archery Deer Season 10/23/13 Evening Hunt

Have to take advantage of these first two weeks of the archery deer season for getting to the stand after work as after these two weeks then daylight savings changes the time and the evening hunts will be gone. Another very nice evening to be in a tree stand with sunny skies, little to no wind and air temperatures around 50. It is very hard to get into the woods right now as the leaves are falling and it has been very dry here so these leaves are very crispy and hide a lot of branches as well. Decided to sit on a different stand this evening and it is in a funnel location that has a small cornfield to one side and a swamp to the other and where the stand is there is a strip of woods that the deer use to move from other feeding areas to the deeper woods. Keeping me entertained once again are a number of squirrels that frequent the area and it is amazing how they sound like a bigger animal is coming through the woods. Unfortunately, there were no deer sighted but was still very nice sitting in the stand and can't wait to get to Saturday as we will be locating into our prime location that we feel will show some deer.

2013 Archery Deer Season 10/21/13 Evening Hunt

The 2013 archery deer season has officially kicked off and was a very warm time sitting in the stand on this evening. There was a slight breeze, sunny skies, air temperatures were in the upper 60's at the beginning. Has felt like a long time coming for getting this deer season underway but now that it is here, we are in full motion gear going forward in search of 2 deer that we would like to harvest this year. The first deer that we are looking for is one of 2 different spike bucks that have been frequenting one of our locations and either of those deer would be a good freezer filler for some fresh venison. Then we get to a trophy hunt that entails a couple of different bucks that we have been tracking all summer and lately they have still shown themselves to our cameras. One thing that we are not liking is that we are starting to see the better animals are starting to turn nocturnal, but this hopefully is only due to the bright evenings we have been having with the clear skies and very bright moon phases. All in all there should be a number of deer seen this season and we are really looking forward to seeing how the season unfolds. Last nights hunt yielded no deer being seen but also getting all of the little things taken care of from our equipment placement and such, so we are ready to go now.

Fishing Report June 9

We had a few hours to try and catch some fish and hit a local pond and hope to find some bigger fish as we move into the summer pattern season. Weather conditions were sunny skies, winds around 5-10 mph, water temps in the upper 60's and air temps mid 60's. There was only one boat out there and they were constantly moving around and that is not a good sign that the fish may be a bit harder to locate. Started fishing a mid lake hump and worked up and down the steep sides as well as the top flat and wasn't able to locate any bass but my son was starting to get hot with the sunfish. After leaving that area we worked the shoreline and the sunfish were very active along the shores. I left the plastic baits and started throwing a shallow running crankbait at the shoreline targets and started connecting with some smaller largemouth bass. This lake has some good fish size wise but this year we have only been able to find the smaller bass and hopefully something hasn't happened to the fish in this lake. Have seen this happen to other lakes and it takes 3-5 years to get them back to a size quality lake once again. We will keep working this lake throughout the season and hopefully start connecting with some better sized fish.

Fishing Report June 2

The heat is finally breaking as it had been so hot and muggy that fishing has been very uncomfortable. Conditions were windy, upper 80's air temps, mid 70's water temps and sunny skies. Upon arriving at the lake the boat landing parking was near 3/4 full already. Was going to be a busy day on the lake and fish are going to respond accordingly. Didn't take long and we were catching crappies on crankbaits and bass on plastics and was hoping that the day would continue as it had started. Moved around the lake trying to find an area that wasn't being blasted by the wind which was mostly impossible and along with that the boat traffic was getting unbearable so for the few hours out it was a good day of fishing, everyday is a good day when on the water.

Bass Fishing 5/27/13

Been out a few times as the season was very late getting going this year with the late winter that we have had here in New England. Small fish have been caught and nothing really to write home about hence the lack of reports but now that the season is in full swing the reports will be coming regularly. There is one lake that I like to visit in the spring and fall that can give up some good fish and during the summer months, this lake becomes fairly difficult to fish as the pleasure boaters and water skiers really take over the lake. Weather was clear skies, light winds, air temps in the low 40's and water temps in the low 60's. Other lakes have been warmer but the bigger fish generally are still in the spawn phase and that was the agenda of finding them today. Started in a cove that generally offers bed locations but water clarity doesn't allow seeing them and within 15 minutes was rewarded with a nice 3 pound largemouth. Caught this fish of the side of a dock in less than 12 inches of water using a black/blue jig and trailer. Felt good getting a good fish finally this season and continued through this cove with no other fish. I continued all around the lake in the typical locations and as the wind got stronger and stronger, was not able to locate another fish. Tried a variety of baits, jigs, worms, jerkbait, deep diving crankbait and shallow crankbait. Covered a lot of water with all of the baits and while watching numbers of other anglers continually moving around, looked like it was the way the bites were going to be, tight.

Turkey Hunt 5/18/13

Was able to get into the woods in the dark and planned on setting up on the edge of the corn field where the previous hunt there was a active Tom working. The setup is perfect as can be with an open field that I placed 4 decoys at 20 yards away, behind me a tuff of brush to conceal me and in front to my left, another tuff of brush that conceals me from the birds as they would approach the decoy spread. As the morning light came around, the coyotes were yipping across the swamp, and the wildlife starting to come to life. For the few hours that I was there, there wasn't one turkey response to what i was hoping to be a great morning hunt. The last week of the season is ahead and one more chance to fill a tag and hopefully the weather will allow the hunt to happen.

Turkey Hunt 5/11/13

Went back to the same area as the previous hunt and the same bird was in the same location so the plan was to get in and closer to where he is at. Was able to get within 70 yards of where the bird was roosted and found an open in the woods to setup the decoy display. Once situated, started calling and the bird definitely was interested and very vocal as the morning light increased. Once the light got brighter, he did the same thing as the previous hunt and clammed up after he flew down. Kept calling in hopes that I could draw him from his location as he seems to be stuck where he is and seems very tough to get him out of there. As i was working that bird another bird got very loud and came in fast and hot across a bigger corn field to my right. I was just in the woods to far that I couldn't seem him and there was something in between us that he was not going to come through to get to me. Not sure if the weather change or may be a predator came onto the field, but after a long talk session he clammed up and disappeared. That was fun to have such a hot bird working the area but frustrating in the same breath as it makes you work your brain in trying to figure out what you can do differently to make things work.

5/4/13 Turkey hunt

The morning of a new season was kicking off at day break and with high anticipation, couldn't wait to get the new season off to a great start. Upon getting out of the truck in the twightlight hours, was surprised to hear a gobble very close and went into action to get setup before it gets to light out. Being the light was getting to much, didn't want to venture to far into the woods to alert the bird that I am in the area. Decoys were setup in a small clearing in hopes that the bird will come out and check out what is going on with the sweet calling to draw him out. After working this bird for 3 hours and he was very reluctant to leave the quarters that he was in, he finally clammed up and didn't give me an idea as to where he was anymore. He was very vocal when making calls but apparently the sweet music I was trying to create was not enough to bring him in. Made a long walk around the property that I hunt in search of any other flocks that may be around but was not able to find any active birds. Generally there is a good flock that lives on this property but of course this year they have decided to vacate the premises.

Ice Fishing February 20

Now that the snow storms have stopped for a while and the snow and ice are settling, this has helped some ponds and lakes and has hurt others. It had rained the night before and then froze so the pond we went to fish was very slick on top for walking and you had to be very careful not to take a fall. We were able to get out in the morning with low 30's for temps, cloudy skies and of course a good breeze blowing once again. The rains and warmer weather has definitely helped this pond in creating more ice compared to what was there before. The top layer of frozen snow was 4-5 inches thick and the black ice underneath was 4-5 inches as well. We had fished this pond a couple of times before in different locations and decided to stay close to the entry point and fish some shallower water. Set the traps out in different water depths from 6 to 15 feet of water. Of the eight lines out only half of them had activity and a couple had more than the others. We only had 4 lines in the water when the first fish hit and was a nice 2 pound largemouth bass. Throughout the morning other bass were caught but they seemed to get smaller as the time went on. Before packing it in we had a flag and caught a nice 3 pound fat pickerel that gave my son a very nice fight. All in all the day was a success and the action was spread out enough that about the time you were getting bored, a flag would go up. Did try some jigging for panfish but have been having a tough time this year as Massachusetts has banned lead head jigs and I haven't been able to find any non-lead jigs that work like the lead heads that I use to use. The search will continue on and hopefully find some that will start producing.

Ice fishing February 3

When you get warm weather in the winter and the ice has not totally firmed up, warmth, wind and rain can wreak havoc on the ice that we had. We had a pond targeted for going after large crappies and when we approached the pond, we were greeted with open water in the main location we wanted to fish. There are two other ponds in the same vicinity and upon viewing them we were greeted with the same results, open water. Headed the truck off to another location as we have a pond that typically is a reliable one for ice conditions and when we arrived we were relieved that we could finally get onto the ice. The conditions were cloudy skies, stiff breeze and mid 20's for temps with snow flakes falling. We setup our lines along the shallows of the shorelines, along an underwater point and a couple in deep water. While the shiners were soaking we drilled a number of holes in the deeper water to look for crappies and sunfish and do some jigging to coax them into biting. After drilling many holes and fishing them all with electronics, was a very rare sight to seeing them void of fish. We had the traps with some action with a small largemouth bass coming from shallow water and also a small pickerel on top of the underwater point. One trap on the point edge had a couple of flags and the line was being spooled off with something making long runs but when time come to setting the hook, nothing was there as the fish must have had the minnow by the head. We have a major snow storm coming in for the latter half of the week so not sure if we will be getting out there, time will tell.

Ice fishing January 27 2013

With a cold week for temperatures this is getting the ice on its way for a much needed kick start to get our ice season going this year. Weather today was sunny skies, mid 20's for air temperature and still can't get rid of the strong winter winds. We went back to the same lake that we fished last weekend as we had heard reports that there were some big fish in a different area of the lake. So we made the walk to the other end of the lake to give it a try and with the little snow on top of the ice, made for some fun walking to getting there. The far side of the lake depth wise is a lot different then where you get onto the lake. The shorelines are deep and isn't much for weed structure as well, but usually these are the areas that bigger fish live in and no one usually bothers them there. We setup in a cove in water depths from 6 feet out to 20 plus. Tried for an hour or so and had no takers and we also tried some jigging for panfish and that didn't pan out either. Packed up that location and went across the lake into another cove that had a small island to the one side. Started punching holes around the island and the water depths ranged from 4 feet out to 18 feet so we setup our traps in a variety of depths to cover all of the water depths. The winds were howling much stronger onto this side and as the afternoon went on, the shadows from the trees definitely made it feel a lot cooler than it actually was. We did catch a few fish in this cove but all of them were smaller pickerels. We weren't able to find any bass on this trip but if we come back to this lake again, we are ruling out waters that we don't need to fish. Warm temps moving in this coming week with rain and this will mess with the ice a bit, but we already have a game plan fir fishing this weekend and will be chasing some large crappies.

Ice Fishing Jan 20 2013

The ice season has finally come around and since there was no ice last season, is a very welcome sight and can't wait to get this season underway. The ice had formed very nicely with a few inches of clear solid ice but then a very warm spell came through and for most ponds and lakes, this created very unsafe if not open water once again. We have a few places that the access points are consistently in the shade so this allows for no ice degradation to occur. This first pond we wanted to explore the local town’s fire and rescue departments decided to use it as a ice rescue practice site not allowing us access to the ice. So we moved on to another pond a bit further away to finding access was good as well. We had the ice to ourselves and setup not to far from the access point. This is a cove with a outlet so there is a bit of moving water going through this area. The winds had picked up considerably and made it a bit tough for fishing as everything was blowing around and actually the wind blew some of the traps out of the holes. We weren't able to do any jigging because of this but had our allotted number of traps in and this allowed us to catch bass and pickerel. The fish were fairly active and with the warm mid 40's weather, made for enjoyable afternoon of fishing. The last half hour slowed way down as a major cold front was moving in with higher winds and dropping temperatures. But all in all was a very productive and fun day for once again getting out on the ice as we never had an ice season last year.

December 15 AM Hunt

After taking off time during the shotgun season, headed back into the field to hopefully find some whitetail deer once again. Weather was cool in the mid 20's, light breeze and sunny clear skies. Started the morning in a stand that typically has good morning activity with views of a small corn field, necked down area of woods and overlooking a salt marsh. Typically the deer come down the edge of the swamp, through the necked down woods and head towards the bigger woods. But once again this day was not going to show that scenario and no deer sighted at this location. Did have an owl sitting in a tree directly behind me and had a fisher cat scamper through the area. After 3 hours of sitting decided to move to my other stand that is deeper in the woods to see if anything was milling around that area. Only thing that was milling around there were 3 different hunters that skirted around me. With wearing blaze orange and standing out, one would think that once another hunter is spotted, you would make an effort to stay clear of the sitting hunter. Not these guys as they all skirted not more than 50 yards around me. If I were to be walking through the woods and came upon another hunter, I would either turn around and go back or change total direction and would stay clear of the other hunter. After these walked past, I got down and took a slow walk around myself as I headed back to the truck and called it a day.

November 23 PM Hunt

The weather continues to be fairly nice and the rain is non existent which is nice for a change, sun shining, 40's for temps and light winds. Went to my farther deeper stand in hopes of seeing deer on the move heading to their evening feeding locations. The squirrels are always very active at this location and the red squirrels in particular are some of the noisiest animals in these woods. There would be the leaves russling sounds as well as twigs breaking and to find out all it is are the red squirrels rummaging around. Never realized either that these red squirrels are very mean to other animals and particularly for the gray squirrels. As the evening progressed on and squirrel watching continued, the deer once again were not going to be making a showing this evening. Even other hunters that are hunting these woods are not seeing any deer as well and hopefully with the upcoming gun season and more hunters in the woods, this will get these deer moving around more during the daylight hours. Always seeing fresh sign that they are always there during the evening hours but gone once daylight comes.

November 22 AM Hunt

Thanksgiving morning hunts have also been pretty productive in seeing very decent deer. Not really sure why, but hopefully it will continue again this year. Weather was nice, sunny skies, light breeze and cooler temps was a nice way to start the day out. Decided to go back to the stand from the previous night and see if anything was going to move through while doing the rattling and bleat calling. Got to be around 9:30 AM and still had no activity what so ever so decided to take a walk to another stand that is deeper into the woods and hope to see some late morning activity. After sitting there for another 2 plus hours and no activity, decided to call it a day and go enjoy a turkey dinner. This season is not becoming very fruitful what so ever and just another day of trying to figure out what is going on out here. Did walk back along the marsh swamp just to look at anything I could see and came across a flock of wild turkey's. Where there was tall swamp grass in a couple of areas there was a well beaten deer trail through both of them heading into the marsh and crossing the farther river. Across the river there is a good chunk of land and have a feeling that they are bedding down across over there but the river is to big to get across and when the tide comes in, you could be trapped there for quite a while. Hopefully with a couple of more days to hunt, I can figure out something and get some action going on. Been a long season already and something has got to change from what is going on right now.

November 21 PM Hunt

Long weekend ahead with many opportunities to fill a deer tag before the upcoming gun season of the next week. Weather wise was a very nice sunny day, upper 50's for temps and a light breeze. Wanted to spend more time at the camera location that has been the most productive with the pictures and hope to see one of these bad boys that frequent these woods. Did do some rattling as well as brought along a doe bleat call to try and entice Mr. Buck into my lair. After countless efforts to try and fool one of these beauties, my efforts went un rewarded once again and nothing was going to show itself once again. Seems to be the trend in this particular woods this year that the deer are definitely only moving at night and just have vacated the area during the daylight hours. Still trying to figure out what is going on in these woods as I have never seen this happening here before and another hunter that has been here for quite sometime, is saying the same thing. Something has changed but no one can seem to figure it out.

November 17 PM Hunt

Headed back to the woods after a quick lunch and the weather temps were in the mid 40's, clear sunny skies and virtually little to no wind. Went back to the same stand that I spent the morning in hoping that the deer will be roaming around and tried once again with the rattling and doe bleating. The area that this stand location is in, there are so many red squirrels there and it is amazing how much noise these little creatures can produce. It was always sounding as if a deer was coming and then the tell tale chirping sound put a stop to that thinking. My other locations have some red squirrels but this place is rediculous with them. As the evening progressed on and countless times of rattling to entice a buck, nothing appeared and once again made for a long evening sit.

Checking cameras on Sunday morning revealed once again that the deer are definitely in all locations but their movements are staying nocturnal. The Does are moving consistently after 6:30 PM and all Buck activity starts at 10:30 PM. Getting repeat pictures of a few bucks and definitely are some shooter deer. Not sure when this nocturnal pattern is going to break, if it even breaks, but with gun season only a week away, will be hoping that this long weekend coming up, they decide to come out into the daylight hours.

November 17 AM Hunt

Back to the woods in search of Whitetail Deer once again, cooler temps in the mid 20's, no wind at all and clear skies once the sun rose. With last Sunday's venture of seeing so many deer, set up a new stand location that looked promising as it is deeper into the woods and inbetween a couple of ridges. Plan is that the deer will travel between these ridges and hopefully I can rattle one in as well. Took a bit to find the stand because it is fairly thick and you could almost walk past it if you didn't see it. Guess that is good as maybe the deer won't see it as well. Was situated in the stand as the skies brightened in hopes that they would be walking around. Started doing some rattling and also added some fawn bleats in there to try and entice a buck to show itself. As I was looking behind I noticed some movement through the brush and as the animal got closer, it was a coyote. It didn't know I was there and got to within 40 yards of me but never offered a shot at it. It was just far enough away that I couldn't tell if it had mange or not as the coat looked a little odd. Sat in this location for 5 hours and between the rattling and calling, was not able to bring anything into this location. Not getting a good feeling this year as I have been out every weekend and the deer that are in the area, are staying to their nocturnal travels and are just not moving during the day.

November 10 PM Hunt

After taking a couple of hours off for lunch, headed back into the woods and decided to sit in the more active camera stand once again. Air temps were around 50, light breeze and sunny clear skies. Never knowing what the deer are going to be doing, especially this year, was in the stand earlier than usual. We are approaching the rut season so working between rattling and doing some grunting and fawn bleating, wanted to see if I could get some attention from the local bucks. But once again after a long sit, there was nothing going to show itself and a fellow hunter that I talked with upon leaving the woods, he was having the same issues. Plenty of sign but the deer are nocturnal and making for this hunting season very tough to say the least.

Update Sunday:

Sunday mornings, being in MA we are not allowed to hunt, I generally run my cameras to see what the week shows for deer activity. Upon nearing my first location, there was a fresh scrape near this stand and was not there the night previous as I walked past there and it was not there. So upon seeing that I decided to take a walk through the woods to see what was going on if anything. By the time I got to where I wanted to walk, I had counted 12 fresh scrapes, seen 12 deer while checking all cameras and decided to put another stand up in a totally different location. Sunday was the most productive day that I have seen for the whole season so far. So it is looking like the rut is kicking into gear and this coming weekend, hopefully, will produce seeing some deer. I have a new stand location and plan on spending the whole day sitting there and time will tell if this pans off.

November 10 AM Hunt

Another weekend has come and time to hit the woods once again in hopes of finding that trophy Whitetail deer. The week coming up to this day has been much cooler than the whole fall season has been and hopefully once and for all this will get the deer moving during the daylight hours. Morning came with little breeze and a crisp mid 30's. Picked a stand that generally has good morning traffic as it is a funnel area that they travel on their way to their bedding areas. As usual there are always fresh tracks around while walking to the stand. Once again met with an onslaught of squirrels that make every little noise that sounds like a deer walking towards my tree. A few times there really sounded like finally a deer would make an appearance for all of the time that has been spent in the tree. But after sitting for 5 hours and not one showing itself, made for another day without sighting a deer once again. Was really disappointing as I really thought that it was finally time that they were going to start traveling during daylight hours but was mistaken. Other hunters that I talked with on the way out were having the same thing of not seeing any deer, one of these days it will change and the season will finally get started.

November 3 PM Hunt

Today turned out as a great day weather wise as the temps were mild, wind was moderately strong and the sun was shining. Decided to sit at the most active camera in hopes once again that maybe tonight would be the night that something finally happened. The woods were fairly quiet once again and little movement of any creatures as well. With the coming rut, I have been doing some rattling to see if I could peak any interest in anything that may be around this location but to no avail. I have no idea as to what is going on and can't seem to figure anything out this year. There are 3 other hunters in the area that I am hunting and they all are saying the same thing. I know the deer are there as there are always fresh tracks and the cameras are taking pictures as well. Still thinking that the warm fall weather has these animals a little messed up and hopefully this week coming with the very much cooler weather changes things up a little bit. Guess it can't get much worse than it is right now anyway.

November 2 PM Hunt

Is this season ever going to get going as we are continuing exactly where we left off from the last hunt. Weather was consistent with a light breeze, cloudy conditions, a bit cooler temps and the last 45 minutes before dark was rain. Was hoping that since the storm had been gone for a few days now, the animals would be getting back to normal feeding. There was a fair amount of squirrel activity and I generally use that as a guide to other animals moving around. A couple of times there was the sound that there was breaking twigs thinking that a deer was coming, but to no avail nothing came through. Made for a long sit especially when the rain came and just made it miserable sitting there. Hopefully with the cooler weather coming things will start turning around.

Hunting PM October 27

The day continued on similar to what the morning hunt has entailed. Storm still approaching and animals other than deer very active searching and storing food. Weather was still clear skies, little wind but still fairly warm temps for this time of year. Decided to sit in the stand with the most buck activity in hopes that tonight they would start moving around before the sun sets and darkness takes over the landscape. Unfortunately, it was the same as all of the other sits that I have done so far this season. Starting to question my locations but then when I make my rounds of checking the cameras, they are always showing that these animals are here, but traveling totally at night. Hopefully with this cooler weather coming in this coming weekend, we can only hope that this will kick that magical time of year, the RUT, into gear.

Hunting October 27 AM

Hurricane still approaching and animals should be gearing up and feeding heavily before it hits. Conditions were perfect for an early morning sit and sat in a previous active morning stand from the previous season. Sun rose to clear skies, little to no wind and cooler but moderate temperatures. Really felt that this morning was going to be the morning that there would be some very active deer in the area. Every animal in the woods was busily seeking food but the deer just were not going to show themselves once again today. Squirrels were busily working and had a couple come face to face with me trying to figure out what I was sitting in their trees. Really felt that I would see something this morning but once again, that was not the case so the saga continues of the warm fall weather still not getting the deer into their patterns for the fall and other hunters are telling me the same thing as well in different locations.

Hunting October 26

With the approaching hurricane Sandy, thought that would get the animals into the feeding mode as they can sense when conditions are going to change and they will adapt accordingly. Day was setting up nicely weather wise with little wind, sunny skies and moderate temperatures. Picked a stand that is deeper in the woods that I haven't been to yet this season in hopes of intercepting deer moving through the area. This location is ending the same as the other areas with stands and a big contributor to that is the weather. Been talking with a number of other hunters and they are telling the same stories that animals are not moving much if any during the daylight hours. Every week when I go to check the trail cameras, there are always bucks and does on there and they are showing that movement doesn't start until after 7 PM. Hopefully the cooler weather will come and stay for the rest of the year as that is what is needed to get things moving in the right direction.

Hunting Blog October 22

Another beautiful day here in New England and what a way to end the day but to sit in a tree stand waiting for a whitetail deer to come along. Today's conditions were sunny skies, temps around low 60's, steady barometer and winds up to 20 mph. One thing that I have noticed over our hunting is that when the winds are blowing fairly good, the deer just don't seem to want to move. That was the case once again and even sitting in a stand that I haven't been in yet, seems to be the trend of lately. The warming weather is not contributing at all to the cause as that is another factor that is coming forward is that if the temps are on the warm side, the animals just aren't moving. It was feeling like it was going to be a good hunting day setting up as the birds and squirrels were very active but the bigger game was not. Cameras are still showing plenty of deer activity but that usually doesn't start until after 7 PM. Hopefully as the weather cools and stays more consistent, that will get the deer moving more during the daylight hours. One thing that I can't wait to try is that I have not been in a stand in the morning hours and cant wait for that to happen. A little rain is forecasted this week again and hopefully cooler weather as well.

Hunting Blog October 20

We have been having quite the fall this year with the way the weather has been playing games with us, cold, rain, hot, wind and seems every day is something of a great variety. Was not able to get out for a AM hunt as the rains were coming down very hard and heavy. But then as the day progressed, humidity and hot temps set in for a very warm hunt in the afternoon. Things we have noticed over time pertaining to weather is that when it is vary warm out the deer just don't seem to move much at all. Today was another chapter in that book as we took the stand at our most active camera in hopes that something would come through. The woods are getting very scarce of leaves now and most of the underbrush is basically leaf free and the trees are dropping them very quickly with the winds. Today's hunt was sunny clear skies, noticable winds and very warm temperatures reaching almost 70 degrees. As mentioned before, with the warm temperatures there was little activity of any animals at all, with one lone squirrel as the sun was setting. While sitting on stand I did take the binoculars and scanned the area and did notice that the bucks are very active here and have recently been making numerous rubs on the trees all around this whole area. Since the action was non-existent, decided to try a little rattling just to see if I could peek the curiosity of any local bucks in the area but none had showed themselves.

Hunting Blog October 17

A beautiful night was setting up nicely with clear sunny skies, light to no winds, rising barometer and comfortable 60 degree temps. My first location once again was occupied by another hunter so I opted to walk into my stand where the most active camera is located. I wanted to wait another couple of weeks before starting to use this stand as I feel that this location could harbor some nice bucks come the rutting season. Was a fairly quiet night until the hundreds of starlings perch over my head and created such a ruckus that nothing could be heard. After a while they finally flew off and then to my left I could hear a deer breathing and coming my way. To my left there is a line of pine trees and this deer didn't make its way through there and either lay done in the thicket or went a different direction. As the sun was setting, straight out in front of me it looked as if a doe was waking up from a day's nap. I could just make out her head and see her ears twitching as she laid there but as it gotten dark she never stood up. I snuck out of there and didn't hear her getting up so hopefully I didn't spook her and she will be comfortable with the area going forward.

Hunting Blog October 16

The season has opened on Monday October 15 with a typical rain that we have been having lately. Unfortunately, our time is limited as to days that we are able to get into the field so we were not able to get out on opening day. October 16: Was able to get out for an evening sit in one of our stands. The stand location that we wanted to concentrate on had been occupied by another hunter and to not disturb him, we chose a different location. We had clear sunny skies, rising barometer and very gusty winds. With the high winds the woods were loud and any movement from any animals was not able to hear at all. Sat until the sun set and the woods got to dark to see, but didn't have any deer movement on this evenings sit.

Fishing March 24 2012

Finally the open water season is underway even though we never had an ice season this past winter. Conditions were cloudy; moderate winds with an air temperature around 48 degrees. We have a lake that we frequent quite often and my son likes to fish with shiners from shore and since he never seen the ice this winter, he has been very anxious to wet a line. Once again this lake didn’t disappoint my boy and we fished in a back cove that had been warmed from the previous week’s temperatures that were in the 80’s. Not knowing the water temperature, this was a good area to look for fish as the cove is shallow and should be a little warmer than the main lake which should draw the fish into it. It didn’t take long and the fish were biting fairly regularly and he had a great time for the couple of hours that we were out there. In the end he ended up with 5 largemouth bass and 5 pickerel with the bass being fairly small but a couple of the pickerel were very nice. He had a great time and is ready to go back and try again and hopefully the next trip we will get out in the boat and search for some early season largemouth bass.

Fishing Report September 17 2011

Fall is definitely in the air these days as I headed to the lake the air temperature was a balmy 42 degrees. There was no wind to speak of and at this time of year the boat landing was very quiet with only one trailer there at 7:30 in the morning.

After launching the boat I checked the water temperature and current readings are in the mid to upper 60’s all ready. The temps are dropping fast as it wasn’t long ago that we were in the upper 70’s, but fall is definitely in the air and here and this will start to trigger the fish into their fall feeding frenzy.

This particular lake I always start out in the middle as there is an underwater island that has a sharp break off the opposite side. Fished all over the deeper break side with a jig and Carolina rigged plastics bait and couldn’t find or get a bite what so ever.

Since the wind still hadn’t started up yet, decided to go and fish the way that the lake seems to produce some fish on a regular basis, topwater frog action. There is a good portion of the lake that has numerous lily pad fields along its shorelines. Didn’t take long and the waters were exploding around my frog but they were missing the bait and I was missing them. A couple of them were some very decent looking sized fish.

As I progressed to a back corner, I finally connected with a 14 inch largemouth bass and it gave up a good fight. At this point the winds were starting to pick up a little and it was enough that any bite that I had going, virtually disappeared. Went around a good portion of the lake and could only muster up one more explosion and missed that one as well.

Switched gears on baits at this point and started throwing a spinnerbait, 4 inch plastic worm and a jig into shoreline grass and wood. Wasn’t able to entice any bites that way either. Decided before heading home to go back to the middle of the lake and fish the deep break side of the sunken island with a dropshot.

Milled around the area for quite some time and watching the electronics very closely and seen fish on the screen but either they were panfish or non-aggressive bass. Even though there wasn’t much for fish caught, is was a beautiful September morning to be out on the lake and look forward to the next few outings as the fishing will start to pick up as the nights get cooler.

Fishing September 2-5 2011

Labor Day weekend for some means that summer is over and with school starting, summer activities are done and fall things are on one’s mind. But for the angler, fall brings new life for fishing as the fish are going to start feeding for the long winter ahead.

Being this was a camping weekend, wasn’t able to bring the boat along and fishing was contained to fishing out of the kayaks. Conditions this weekend weren’t too bad for kayak fishing as we had fairly calm winds but considerable heat and humidity. Waters are definitely starting to cool down but retained some heat for the majority of this weekend.

Since fishing out of kayaks limits you to what you can bring along, I generally fish the jig/pig through different types of cover. The weather was so nice that the main lake was very busy so fishing out of a kayak is kind of hazardous to say the least. So this contained me to the cove that the campground is on.

So the majority of this cove is roughly 8 feet deep and there are patches of weeds with clear areas around them. By working the jig through and around these weeds, I am putting the bait in front of the fish and this seems to work very well in a couple of particular areas.

Seems like the last few times out there, I am catching fish always in the same general areas so whatever they are attracted to there, it is consistently holding fish. I lost more fish than was caught but the ones caught were in the 2 pound range. Didn’t find any monsters but for the short time out there, was a productive trip.

Fishing Report August 27 2011

With the big news of Hurricane Irene going to hit New England later this weekend, I made a run up to New Hampshire to do a little pre storm fishing. Weather was beautiful, the calm before the storm, no wind, very hot and humid conditions.

There were a number of anglers out on the water but one nice thing was that the pleasure boaters were in the process of pulling their boats so the anglers had the lake to themselves. The morning started very nicely as my son and I was fishing and he was catching sunfish and my jig pattern was picking up right where it left off.

After a while of fishing he wanted to go do something else so dropped him off at the dock and I headed out to deeper water. There was panfish surfacing all over the lake and the fishing was getting better as the morning was going along.

Seemed that no matter where I stopped to fish, the fish were there and ready to bite and they were hitting basically anything that you threw out there. I was only able to fish a few areas as the fish that were there kept me there wanting to catch more.

They were biting on crankbaits, jigs, Carolina rigged plastics and small plastic worms. Did try some topwater but couldn’t seem to get any fish to go after that so didn’t pursue that too long. Had one location that was producing numbers of fish before I had to leave. This was a main lake point and was fishing in 15-20 feet of water and there was some good weed growth there as well.

Went out for a little while in the afternoon and the wind was starting to pick up a little but the fishing definitely was dying off as well. Did catch the largest fish of the day just before leaving and was fishing a jig in the weeds in 10 feet of water out in the middle of a cove. This was one of those days that you wish that you could stay out there and capitalize on, but with a major storm brewing, it was time to head home.

Fishing Report August 24 2011

I usually never get out fishing during the week but a fellow coworker has been fishing a local pond and been catching some nice fish so we made a plan to hit the water after work. Upon arriving at the lake, the water quality is very apparent as it is crystal clear and clean looking.

This is an either paddle or electric motor only lake and makes for a body of water that doesn’t receive high pressure as easy accessed lakes do. There was only one boat out this afternoon but the winds were blowing very hard so hugging the shorelines and back coves was the plan for not getting blown all over the lake.

We went right for the first island and worked our way around it and wasn’t 10 minutes I felt the tap on the jig I was fishing and the first fish of the trip was on. This 3.5 pound largemouth gave a great fight and was caught away from the island in 4-5 feet of water. Now that our excitement had been peaked, we were pumped for the rest of our trip.

As we were going along we were fishing different looking shorelines and I was switching between the jig and a plastic worm. We went over a submerged tree and I could see a huge bass lying underneath it in the clear water but when the corner of the boat came to close it disappeared. I was able to get an average sized bass out of the weeds on the plastic worm.

We get to the back corner of this cove and it was a perfect scenario, timber, pads, weeds and shade and you couldn’t find a better looking place. My partner said that this spot usually gives up a good fish and on that cast I had set into a bass almost as big as my first fish. Two good fish and now I am really pumped and want more.

The wind is starting to blow a lot harder and it is swirling all around no matter where you are fishing and boat control was a little tough. We worked our way all the way to the end of the lake and I picked up another small fish off of a log sticking out of the water on the plastic worm.

We wanted to go to the other side of the lake but when we tried the wind had another story for us so we turned back from where we came from and worked everything again. So on this trip back through the same areas, my plan was to fish the jig but instead of fishing the shoreline I made all of my casts out into deeper water and see if I could find any cruising deep water fish.

This had paid off as I was able to pick up two more fish with another that was a little less than 2 pounds. As the evening was winding down, my partner had a rough outing as he wasn’t able to connect with any fish but we definitely had a great time out there. I am already looking forward to making another trip out there soon and see if we can find some bigger fish.

There are a number of these town ponds that they allow you to put cartop boats into and the fish that swim in these waters are generally unpressured and grow to some very nice sizes. So if you have some of the waters around you, if the town allows it, try fishing them and you may be pleasantly surprised.

Fishing Report August 21 2011

This summer it has been tough finding time to get out fishing and this will have to definitely change once the ice season comes this winter. Went to a lake that I fish regularly and this was the first time out there this year. Normally numbers are not the catch but there is usually always a good fish or two in the fish caught for the day.

The lake has been getting a lot of pressure this summer from a number of bass clubs fishing their tournaments out there. This weekend for a change didn’t have any and the lake was fairly quiet when I had arrived. Calm conditions, cloudy with breaks of sun, cool when the sun wasn’t out but hot when it did come out. Water temps were in the mid 70’s and water color is pea green at the present time.

Normally I like fishing the milfoil patches but looks like there is a more stringy grass growing in the lake this year. I started in a creek mouth that has a large flat out in front and after working around from the weed edge to up on top, only was able to catch a very small lagermouth bass.

I went to another cove and fan casted the crankbait around in some deeper water but wasn’t able to locate any fish there either. I did pull a decent largemouth, biggest of the day, off of a point in the weeds on a Carolina rig. I moved to a back shallow cove with lily pads and fan casted a topwater frog and the waters there looked very good but came up empty handed.

The wind was picking up at this point and I had followed a shoreline casting a crankbait only to catch a couple of small bass. At this point I was seeing that the shallow bite was not going to come around and found a deep sunken island in the middle of the lake but got the same results.

At this point I figured that I might as well call it a day and headed off the lake by noon time. It was very nice to get out on the lake once again and wet a line after so long. Was hoping to get into a couple of decent fish but just couldn’t locate them on this trip. Wednesday I will be heading out onto a local reservoir with a fellow from work that has been catching some very nice largemouth this summer. Weekend coming will be heading to New Hampshire for a day or so and hopefully the coming hurricane allows for a full day of fishing.

Fishing Report July 20 2011

Summer time brings on vacation time and BWS and family headed west for the first time for most of the family. Renting a home in the Rocky Mountains near the town of Canon City, put us in some gorgeous scenery as well as close enough to fish a well known trout river, the Arkansas River.

The Arkansas River is primarily a brown trout fishery but there are some rainbow trout mixed in certain locations and when caught is a nice bonus. Since spring time we had been watching the water flows for this river as CO had a high snowfall this past winter and that is dumping a lot of water this late into the season into the river. By now the water flow should be at summer rate but it was still flowing at almost spring rate yet.

The conditions are getting better as each day passes but another week or two and that would have setup for a prime time to be fishing this river. As with any family vacation, fishing will come second hand to the sightseeing and family activities that are planned. Went out one night in Canon City and tried a few locations but was unable to find any slack or slow water compared to the ripping flow. These trout hang where fast water meets slow water, seam area, but in Canon City there wasn't any of these seam areas.

My son wanted to try his hand at trout fishing, as he has never fished for them before, so I had decided to take a drive and go on the other side of the Royal Gorge. We found a boat landing area that had an island in the middle of the river and the main flow was on the backside and there was a small shoot on the near side that created exactly what we were looking for.

Didn't take long casting the Egger's Spinners at this seam area and I had caught a 19 inch Brown Trout that was a real fighter and didn't want to come in. I lost a couple of smaller Brown Trout as they took to the air and threw the lure right after getting a good look at them. My son yelled that he had a fish on and after his battle he had caught a nice 15 inch Rainbow Trout and his excitement was unbelievable. He had lost 1 or 2 other Brown Trout as well and for the short time we were there, it was a very fun trip.

I had driven back to this location one other night and lost 2 small Brown Trout to their acrobatics after setting the hook. All in all it was a productive trip out West, just wished the flows were lower and that would have offered a much better scenario for this fishing trip but it was great to be back in the state of CO and definitely going to have to make the trip back once again.

July 2 2011 Report

Holidays are a great time of year as this gives you that extra time to enjoy fishing and camping at the same time. We spent the long weekend in New Hampshire and even without the big boat, brought the kayaks along to be able to get out on the water.

I started the day searching for some of the smallmouth that live in these waters and fished deep points as well as shallow rock shoals. I tried one deeper point that had numerous large boulders but just couldn’t seem to find the smallmouth. So change of gears was made and started fishing shallower water looking for largemouth instead.

I fished a main back cove that has a lot of different types of structure from rocks, mud, sand, gravel to weeds as well. As the morning went along more and more pleasure boaters were coming out and fishing off of the main lake was getting very difficult. So a move was made back to the arm that the campground is located in as this area is a no wake zone so the waters aren’t so rough.

The water depths in this area are all about the same from 5-8 feet deep and have a fairly dense weed base as well. Decided to stick with a jig and pig and work this bait through the weeds in search of fish. Didn’t take long and the first fish was hooked and was a nice 2 pound largemouth. Continued to move around and fan cast and work the jig through the weeds and all in all had a pretty good success doing that.

The technique was making long casts and slowly work the jig back through the weeds and if it got hung up in there, give the rod a quick and fast jerk to break it free. By doing this I was able to catch 6 largemouth throughout this area with the biggest pushing 3 pounds. Never had a lot of confidence in the jig/pig but by forcing myself to fish with it, I will be throwing this bait a lot more in the future.

Fishing Report June 19 2011

Father’s day is meant for fishing and that is where you found us, exploring our favorite lake in New Hampshire. Haven’t been up there fishing yet this year and always look forward to the time that is spent searching these waters for large and smallmouth bass.

Arrived early and the lake was fairly quiet with little wind, high sunny skies and a number of boats already out fishing. Went to the back lake to start the day and fished the main flat with a Carolina rigged plastic bait. Second cast yielded the nicest bass of the day working the bait through the weedbeds that frequent this area.

It didn’t take long and the winds really kicked up and made fishing very tough on this lake as they were coming straight down the lake with nowhere to get out of it. With the winds so strong this didn’t allow fishing specific targets and areas and I had to do more of a junk fishing type day. By junk fishing I mean that being you can’t sit on a spot, you just go with the wind and fish fast with fast baits that cover areas quickly.

Went along a variety of shorelines and cover and mainly fished a crankbait, weedless frog, and when you would get out of the wind a little throw the Carolina rig. There was a handful of fish caught this way but the sizes were on the smaller side as opposed to being able to work specific targets or area for the larger fish.

Water temps are starting to rise as a majority of the lake was at the 69-70 degree range which at this time of year is still way behind. Three different baits were used that caught fish and they were a medium diving crankbait, the Carolina rigged plastic bait and also a fish imitating swimbait caught a fish.

After being pounded on the water for most of the morning, I was out of there around noon time with 5 largemouth bass caught. Not a bad outing but feel that if the winds weren’t so high that targeting certain areas a little more thoroughly, more fish and bigger fish could have been caught.