November 18 am
southern zone gun opener
45 degrees
SW wind 10-20
Cloudy skies
rain beginning at 430
Well that sucked. Ugly end to a very slow day. Zero for me tonight. The kid saw a few but never had a shot. Tomorrows forecast looks terrible... Uggggg!
Drove around and glassed a couple properties on the way home from the southern tier. Saw a stud of a buck walking the field edge around 1130 this morning. Needless to say I'm in that block of woods for the pm portion of today's adventure. My kid is with me and he is on the far side of the block. I'm begging for something to walk by him. He has an itchy trigger finger. Sent from my XT1585 using Lake Ontario United mobile app
November 18 am southern zone gun opener 45 degrees SW wind 10-20 Cloudy skies Passing rain One of the slowest gun openers I have ever witnessed. Two fawns the entire morning. I'm assuming with that front, rain, and heavy wind that it shut off all of the deer activity. I'm also thinking that the weather deterred the fair weather hunters this morning. Low pressure + awful weather = long quiet sit. Sent from my XT1585 using Lake Ontario United mobile app
November 17 pm 42 degrees West wind 5 mph Clear skies Two big groups of does in the field. One on my end and one on the far end. Two young bucks spent the evening harassing the does on my end. Let the gun season begin! Sent from my XT1585 using Lake Ontario United mobile app
November 17 am 32 degrees NW wind 10-15 Clear skies Clear, cool, and crisp morning. 3 bucks, 4 button bucks, and one doe this morning. Put eyes on a shooter 8 pt again today. I think I've seen this deer four times in the past two weeks. He is gonna make a mistake one of these times. Sent from my XT1585 using Lake Ontario United mobile app
An Okuma 55 series reel with either an Okuma Classic Pro GLT or White Diamond copper is a perfect match
https://www.okumafishingusa.com/product/view/reels/star-drag-reels/convector
https://www.okumafishingusa.com/product/view/reels/linecounters/cold-water-wire-line
https://www.okumafishingusa.com/product/view/rods/salmon-steelhead/white-diamond
https://www.okumafishingusa.com/product/view/rods/salmon-steelhead/classic-pro-glt
400' of Blood Run 45# copper with 500' of Blood Run 65# braid
https://bloodruntackle.com/45lb-super-copper/
https://bloodruntackle.com/bloodline-braid/
Heres a spooling chart...
Well I sidelined myself today to take care of a few hunting related things. I had a few posted signs that needed to be put up on a property so I thought it would be good to do before Saturday. I aggressively moved a stand after witnessing the deer activity the other night. It's a long walk but it should prove to be a killer spot. I also went to southern tier today and moved two stands for Saturday. They have been in place for bow hunting but I moved them in order to cover more ground for opening weekend. I plan on enjoying the last day of the season on stand before the orange army invades. Sent from my XT1585 using Lake Ontario United mobile app
Tough forecast for Saturday and Sunday....
https://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?w0=t&w1=td&w2=wc&w3=sfcwind&w3u=1&w4=sky&w5=pop&w6=rh&w7=rain&w8=thunder&w9=snow&w10=fzg&w11=sleet&w13u=0&w16u=1&w17u=1&AheadHour=0&FcstType=graphical&textField1=42.8162&textField2=-78.0448&site=all&unit=0&dd=&bw=&AheadDay.x=71&AheadDay.y=11&AheadDay=48
I am honestly shocked that the DEC would even release the statement. I think they just say the things they think we want to hear sometimes. I get it, the state tries to maintain the balance between hunters, farmers, insurance companies. They all have their own special interests and NY will never manage the herd in favor of deer hunters (unlike the Midwest). I would like to know what the states official management plan is. I would think it is in writing somewhere???
I am not a big believer in antler regulations. IMO, it puts the pressure on great racked young deer (with great genes) and takes all the pressure off spikes and fork horns. In high pressure areas this could change the genetic makeup of the herd over time. I am the last person to believe the solution is more government regulations for anything EVER (but thats a whole different rant). LOL.
Although all of my hunting time is spent targeting mature deer and I would never like the thought of pushing that ideology on anyone. Its a torturous existence. I have absolutely no issue with anyone shooting any deer they choose to shoot. We all have that one neighbor... I have a neighboring farm that kills every set of horns they can. Every gun season they show up as the orange army and nothing is safe. They start their deer drives at 730-800 opening morning every year and push all day long. 20+ guys. Its insanity. But its a family tradition that probably been in place for over 60 years.
Good news is I think the hunter population mindset has changed dramatically. It is easy to see that is very different from last generation or two or three ago. Everyone is a big buck hunter now. We are much more educated (or we think we are) then our fathers and grandfathers when it comes to hunting whitetails. The past belief was to shoot at every set of horns you saw and god save the does. And now there seems to be a growing trend to give small bucks a pass and shoot a doe for the freezer instead. Voluntary restraint.