Talk about a bad day....

Think you are having a tough day?  Earlier today during lunch, I passed a guy spreading caulk between plates in the sidewalk. When I returned,  I found this little ground skink in it!

He was not there half an hour ago.  I tried to free him but this stuff sticks to everything!  He probably died from exhaustion or perhaps was asphyxiated in the goo.  Just a reminder, no matter how tough things seem......... someone has it tougher.

A Rainy Day on the Neuse River

Earlier this evening, I noticed the rain tapering off and immediately a thought came to mind: A rainy day means no swimmers, dogs, kayakers...... a great time to fish.  It's only 3pm I can get in a couple hours.  So I hit the Neuse and this wonderful sight (an almost empty lot)  greeted me.

A short walk to the landing and sure enough, no boats, no dogs, no swimmers and believe it or not clear water!  Nothing against swimmers and boaters, they have every right to the water and I like dogs (except when they try to retrieve my lures/flies), but it's nice to have quiet water. 

I gladly went back to the truck, grabbed the 5-weight and got to work.  I fished up and down the main channel using an olive beadhead bugger, a black leech pattern, and finished with a chartreuse and white clouser.  Nothing.  I only planned on spending a couple of hours on the water, but just before heading back to the truck I saw a feeder stream that I could not resist.  I decided to tie on a small brown and tan clouser and work the mouth of this feeder stream before heading out.

Bang, hit!  Landed this nice bream (number 4 of 2012)

A few misses and I got number 5...........

As usual the fishing heats up as the clock winds down.  A quick in and out before dinner, but a wonderful way to finish off a late rainy Sunday.

When the Dogwoods Bloom.......................

When the Dogwoods Bloom the Bass will boom.   That was an old saying I heard when I was young.  It generally referred to pre- spawn largemouth bass on a post-winter feeding binge and white bass gathering for their travel up stream.  Last week I had an opportunity to return to the Eno with Kev2380 to flyfish for white bass.  Well the turkey hunters were out (opening weekend), the dog woods were in bloom:

These fellas came over to greet me as I left the parking lot:

The parking lot began to fill:

All signs the white bass run was on, but there wasn’t a white bass to be found.  Much like the dogwoods (this one just started to bloom……. A month after the former!)

the unusually warm March followed by a seasonably cooler April have thrown a lot of migrating species slightly off their traditional patterns.  On the plus side, a few bream and robins made the trip worth it……. The skunk is no more.

The Eno River runs through Orange and Durham Counties in central North Carolina.  My blog is named in honor of the Lower James River which holds a special place in my heart.  My home.  However, the Eno is a small unspoiled (for an urban) river loaded with the largest, most colorful and gorgeous robins (redbreast sunfish) and bream (all other sunfish) you’ll find anywhere.  There is another small gem hidden in this stream as well.  The roanoke bass.  Unless you live in a warm water river drainage of high water quality and no smallmouth bass in the piedmont region of central/southern Virginia or central/northern North Carolina, you’ve probably never seen or heard of it.  Just imagine a rock bass, slightly deeper with a red eye.  Next up......... perhaps a trip to the Neuse  River.  (Note: I was beaten to the punch on Roanoke Bass...... Nice post).

Almost one year ago (April 12, 2011), I initiated this blog with a post about a wily turkey that eluded us for an entire season (The Screamer).   That old Tom had me and my two sons obsessed with turkey hunting.  Addicted!  We were up and ready to hit the woods every Saturday morning!  The only things that kept us away from the woods were a tornado and…….. well that’s about it!  We were off to a hot start, turkey hunting every weekend we could.  Not much fishing, but enough success to feel like I accomplished something.  I did catch my largest cat fish ever!  I was ready for what I expected to be a fun and successful deer season.  Lots of prepping, scouting and practicing.  Some pretty in-depth posts about bow hunting public land  and selecting the right tree-stand for the hunt.  Of course work and life forced a little hiatus and I literally only got to hunt or fish about half as often as I expected.  That’s the life of a Dad.  Not that I’m complaining.  The fish and game will likely be there for as long as I’m able to follow them, but little league football, dance recitals, science fairs, Daddy Daughter dances and family bike rides are fleeting.  My two little hunting buddies are bound to grow up and move on.  They may return, but for now I’ll enjoy the time we have.

Please follow and enjoy as I attempt to make year two more entertaining and informative than year one!  In addition to posts about fishing, deer and turkey hunting, I will expand my topics to include some new things I’ll be exploring in 2012:

·         Gardening (flower and veggie gardens)

·         My first attempt at fly tying

·         Creating a sportsman “EDC” not the urban survival type…… 
·         Reviews of equipment (some old, some new ) for the field and the water.

Last but definitely not least, I would like to thank all those whom followed my rookie season of blogging.    I’ve received a number of emails from friends, family, people surfing through and followers.  To you, I say thanks.  The notes were encouraging and I will post much more regularly in 2012.   Kev2380 thanks for asking about me last weekend (I’ll post a short review of our Eno river fly fishing trip shortly).  River Mud, thanks for listing me as a blog to follow in the River Mud blog!!!!  I got a huge spike in views after your listing and hopefully I’ll keep them coming back and perhaps even following! 

About 16 posts +/- a few last year.  I expected to make about 24 or more.  This year looks a bit more promising.   While I missed the turkey opening, I will probably get after the screamer in about 2 weeks.  No… I am not worried about someone else getting him.  Judging by the number of folks hunting the archery zones and actually bagging a bird using archery gear………. He’ll be there.  Before I end this post, I am going to set some 2012 challenges and I’m posting them here so I can’t back out…. 

1.       Harvest three archery deer (any sex).  Two for the food kitchens to help feed the hungry (donation via Hunters feeding the Hungry) and one for the grill!!!!!!!

2.       Harvest one turkey using archery gear

3.       Catch, photograph and release a “Neuse River Slam” on the fly: largemouth, striper, and catfish.

4.       Catch and photograph an Eno River roanoke bass on the fly

5.       Bonus: Harvest an archery feral hog.

Spring is here, a season of re-birth and renewal for the outdoorsman.  Time to get started on 2012!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A wrap up of the 2011 Deer Season

I intiated this post November 2, 2011... edited it December 29, 2011 and didn't remember to review and release it until well....... now (January 16, 2012).  What can I say? Life happens and sometimes a lack of time for hobbies or play is an indication of great things to come and memories in the making. 

Football, school, work and (gasp) social invitiations significantly limited my opportunities.  The biggest factor being little league football (Pop Warner).  My Wife has had enough of football and she has never been one for hunting or fishing. She was not exactly thrilled by prospects of bowl games, big plays, road trips, last minute victories and..... a trip to the playoffs.  So let's take a moment to blog out a quick review of the 2011 deer season before we move on to the 2012 fishing season. 

• Hunt 1: The season 2011 deer season started September 8, 2011.  Our first hunt didn't take place until mid-October.  The temperature was above normal in the mid 70's.  The warm temperatures meant food was abundant and as a result, the deer were scattered about, well into pre-rut patterns and  pretty much nocturnal.  So the boys and I hunted from a pop-up ground blind.  A shoot through blind is great for this type of hunting because: it holds in odors; is very mobile; and most importantly it is really the only way to hunt with two restless boys.  We set up about 4 yards off a 20 yard cutover with lots of natural cover, acorns, tracks and other signs of heavy traffic.  I took some "doe pee" and began covering our scent trail in and the perimeter around the blind.  About 15 yards from the blind in a hardwood stand I look up and there are 3 does looking at me!  I stare at them, they stare at me.  After what seemed like an hour (a few seconds), I blink, they snort and wave goodbye.  End of the day.........

• Hunt 2: Started pretty much the same, but I did not go on a long walk to cover our scent this time!  I just cleaned up our scent around the blind (quickly and queitly) and hunkered down expecting the does to come back up the trail.  About an hour into the hunt, I looked out of the window and what did I see coming in? A coyote!!!! I got around to a stable position and tried to draw my bow when I realized that I had my release strapped on backwards. We had a really good wind and he was no more than 10 yards out when he heard me fumbling with the strap and/or the boys moving in for a better vantage point to watch.  Did he run?  No, he actually circled us about 10 yards out then drifted 15 yards and stopped to look back at us. I shuffled again to turn his way, drew back and he jumped behind a log and slowly walked away. We must have done a great job of playing the wind.  He went about 20 yards further and started digging at something under a tree. I think he heard us again, moved to try to wind us, didn't get a good bead on us, but was nervous enough to move on. They are smart! He just seemed to keep outside of my shooting lanes.  Of course about 5 minutes later in that general direction, I saw the does we were waiting on take off tails flashing. If the coyote couldn't wind us from 10-15 yards, I don't think the does got us from about 40-50 yards. I suspect they either ran up on the coyote digging or got his scent and ran off.

•  Hunt 3: The third hunt was an evening hunt from a treestand (~2 hours) which I actually tried to blog live.  The most exciting part about it was that it took place on Christmas Eve a few hours before church.  This time I hunted a nice parcel behind my home.  As as soon as I sat in the stand, I heard dogs barking in the background.  and shortly after I saw about 4 does high tailing it across a ridge.  I never saw what was chasing them, but I didn't see any dogs or hunters either.

•  Hunt 4:  The fourth was a last ditch effort to avert a 2011-2012 skunk!  The boys and I grabbed the groundblind and headed out to a known travel corridor for some does.  This hunt occurred on the very last day of the season, during the last two hours of shooting light. Our last chance.  We waited, desperately watching the tree line for any hint of deer or movement.  Suddenly, in the very last minute of light, there appeared a head bobbing.  It just appeared like a ghost. I could see a really nice mature doe, but she was quartering hard towards us and about 10 yards out, from the corner of the blind.  A really bad bow shot.  I needed two steps .  Just then, a light wind, I heard a short.  BUSTED! Suddenly, it seemed the woods came alive around us!! Deer were everywhere!  Their camo is perfect!  Never saw them.  My boys were adrenaline junkies at this point!  We didn't get one this year, but the final hunt was exciting enough to bring us back. 

The 2011 deer season is over............. 4 months until we hunt the screamer again!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Time to practice!

Live from the stand!

9:30am :Trying to have some fun and post from the stand live. The isolunar app said this was an excellent day. I spooked 4 does coming in. Two minutes ago, i saw 3 does runnning accross a ridge about 150 yards and moving! I think something bumped them. Shorty after I heard bursts of shotgun fire. prime time is 10:30-1:30 we' ll see! apologies for spelling now!

9:35 am. The old saying that is proving true: if it sounds like a deer its a squirrel! if it sounds like a squirrel its a deer!!!!!

Hunting Public Land Part 2 of 2: Treestand Selection.

So, let’s continue looking at the “challenges” of hunting public land a how this influences tree stand selection, factors to consider and some modifications I’ve made in response to experiences in the field.

Generally speaking, in North Carolina and Virginia screw in steps, lug bolts, nails or any other such “permanent” climbing aids are prohibited on public land.   Our regulations allow for the building of natural ground blinds or even leaving a tree stand attached to a tree.  Permanent structures remaining after the season are prohibited.  More importantly, you don’t want to leave something you really like in the woods too long or someone might like it better than you – hence my “carry in-carry out” rule.

The areas I hunt are spread over about 60,000 land acres of public “multi-use” land open to hiking, wildlife watching, camping, biking and fishing.  Some areas are within close proximity of residential dwelling and are limited to archery equipment.  Other areas are heavily wooded and open to deer hunting with muzzleloaders, rifles, shotguns even the use of dogs.  Highly pressured and/or mature bucks and does on public land survive by patterning hunters and making use of areas rendered ‘un-hunt able’ per human habitation, the unwillingness of hunters to take on the thick nasty stuff, or a lack of trees most hunters find suitable for many traditional tree stands.  

Given these conditions, the ideal public land set-up would be extremely portable to carry long distances over rugged terrain hunting game signs; adaptable to almost any tree, easily transitioned from area to area most of which may be unfamiliar and stealth to hide from people as much as game.  After all, if an area has ‘telephone pole’ trees and easy access it is likely to be highly pressured.   

So let’s look at the set up that I ultimately settled upon, the Gorilla Silverback Scout. 

This is an aluminum hang-on type stand that weighs in at a verified 10 pounds even (including all straps).  The stand is very light.  Light enough to hold in place with one hand as you attach the stand to the tree.   Unlike the comparable Lone Wolf or Muddy Hunter Pro stands which have adjustable seats and platforms, the Gorilla has only an adjustable seat.  The Lone Wolf is crafted from a solid one piece platform whereas the Gorilla and Muddy stands have the typical welded platforms.  In theory, the Lone Wolf’s platform should be quieter as welded platforms are known to creak in very cold weather.  I hunt in Virginia and North Carolina.  During deer season, temperatures will range between 80 and 32 degrees Faranheight with only occasional dips lower during mornings late in the season.  So, that not really a concern.  However, the Gorilla Silverback Scout costs about $100.00 less than the Lone Wolf Assault of comparable size and weight. 

To climb, I use Lone Wolf climbing sticks. 

They weigh in at about 2.5 pounds each, very quiet to climb, and solid.  They were engineered to stack and are adaptable to pretty much any tree you might encounter.  The sticks come in packs of three and most people will use 3 to 5 (I generally carry 5 sticks which weigh ~ 12.5 pounds).  I am 5’7” and 4 sticks will get me about 16’ high without any dangerous maneuvers and comfortable steps.  If you are closer to 6’ tall then you might make 18-20’.  The 5^th step isn’t always needed but it does allow me to reach 20’ and step down on the stand for safety.  The single post design of the Gorilla Silverback Scout tree stand allows the Lone Wolf climbing sticks to stack lock on for portage as if they were engineered to do so.  

Regardless of the stand selected, I intended to make a few modification to “quiet the stand an enhance durability”.  Basically, I coated the stand with a rubber undercoating then sealed it with a coating of bed liner followed by a coating of camouflage paint and ACU camouflage.  In the dark things hit and bump. Metal on metal is an unnatural sound that will wake for the forest especially mid fall though winter.  As the humidity falls sounds travels better and the metal seems to attain a higher pitch. This process results in a stand that produces a light “thud” instead of a forest awakening tuning fork style “tiiiiinnnnggg!!!!!!!”.

If you are interested in quieting your stand down (highly recommended for Summit stands), here is an overview of the process:

Step 1:  Disassemble the stand, remove all, straps, cords, labels, tags and scuff up the existing paint or roughen up other  smooth surfaces with sandpaper.

Step 2: Coat the stand with a layer of roll-on Herculiner bed liner (preferred for climbing stands) or spray on Duracoat bed liner and let it dry.  The key here is to ensure the final coat dries with a roughened surface to improve grip on rainy days. 

Step 3: Add a coat of rubberized auto under liner.  This is a rubber spray on substance that can be found at almost any car parts store.  I purchased a can of the Scotch Guard brand for about $6.  This is probably the longest step.  This stuff smells pretty strong so I leave it outdoors to “cure” and loose some the odor.  It won’t totally go away, but we’ll take care of the remaining odor in step 4.

Step 4: Coat the parts with a couple coats of flat camouflage paint.  Kryon is great and runs about $3 a can, but the $0.97 flat hunter green from Wal Mart works just as well.   The critical aspect of painting after the rubber liner has cured is that the paint will seal in the odor.  From here you have options:

allow the paint to cure, reassemble, and add your carry straps or.........

add a camouflage pattern using additional "camo" colors, stencils or add a layer of camouflage duct tape.  Below, I added some ACU digital camouflage to the stand and the sticks.  Note how the climbing sticks stack on the stand.   The stands attachment belt makes a great tool for cinching it all together for portage.  Absolutely silent and with the MOLLE shoulder straps and belt you barely feel it upon your back.  Great for long hikes.

Other popular choices for hunting public land are

Climbing stands:  The first stand I purchased was called the Summit Viper Xtreme. 

 It was nearly identical to the ever popular and Summit Viper with one exception.  The Summit Viper is aluminum and weighs in at 21 pounds ready to hunt.  The Viper Xtreme is a steel version that weighs in at about 28 pounds and about $70.00 less.   With a MOLLE kidney belt and shoulder straps to distribute weight along your waist, the viper Xtreme is a great value, mobile and highly efficient.  However, as noted above, quite often the best trees for a climber are often associated with easily accessible areas and high hunting pressure.  Typically, the best forage trees are not as amenable to climbing stands as say pines.

Ground blinds: Mobile, very adaptable and great for taking out children or new hunters as they are great at hiding movement.  Scent control is critical as is and finding a place to set up.  While I have used them as a carry in and out system on public land they are at their best when they can be left in the field.

Tree Saddle: The most mobile, stealth and adaptable set up I found involved a hang-on sling type seat called the Trophyline “Tree Saddle”. 

The design allows you to hug the tree and lower your profile by keeping the tree between you and the deer, much like a squirrel.  You can use device this on any tree big enough to hold your weight and the thinner, gnarlier and forked the better.   This was my number one choice.  Unfortunately, Trophyline appears to be either out of business, out of stock or somewhere in between.  The result has been a ridiculous rush on saddles via eBay and classifieds.  I purchased a neoprene “Real Tree” version last February (wanted a leather “Roads trips” edition) on EBay for $169.00.  I shot from it a few times and it wasn’t bad.  Overall, the set up was about 20.5 pounds (saddle/accessories – 8 pounds, 5 climbing sticks 12.5 pounds).  After several sits in the saddle and looking at some of the newer ultra portable lock-ons, I realized that many of these smaller platform stands were comparable to the saddle in adaptability, stealth and portability.  For example, the Lone Wolf Assault, Muddy Hunter Pro, and Gorilla Silverback Scout HX, all weigh in at about 10-11 pounds, have adjustable seats and with 5 Lone Wolf climbing sticks they are in the same 20-21 pound range as the saddle.