ray koziatek

First of all I feel i should state I am not in any way part of this Great site. Other than tossing in my 2 cents now and again ,well a little bashing,And a little poking too. Back in the day it was a basic fishing site,nuttin wrong with that...then it was discovered that some of us hunted....hmm hunting section was born,then someone wanted something and others were selling,some had a great time on streams and tribs,then the finger lakes were starting to mix in,then photos,stories ,derbys,tuornements,prit much everything but spellcheck....links were shared as to lake conditions,water temp,lake cams,ect ect..yup it all there um mixxed in with 300,000 post..kinda tuff to keep track of.. Well someone out there in computerland did some homework compiled all that info the seperated it so even some one as challenged as me could find something ..heck back in the day we were getting post from "Peggy" selling fun times in russia,,or a quick link to a pill that could have ya like a man for days,,,so moderators had to keep those good sites for themselfs err i mean delete them.. So upgrades to servers,filters,and antivirus stuff were tossed in there...but the moderators still have their days when we get spatting and toss a lock on a post (their the fun ones)that get outa hand.. Now for a small fee we have info at our fingertips that could take hours to find and fishing tips that could save many hours to learn "the hard way".. So if yer looking for weather,derby info,lake temps,camera links and tons of other information at yer finger tips I would suggest you consider a Professional Upgrade it might be your smartest investment since a fishing hook to improve you catch ratio,or improve yer hunting skills,or find the newest small stream full of fish with no fishermen,,,ok ok 2 outa 3 aint bad... The cost of 5 gals of gas could save ya "learning the hard way" when it comes to product info,hot fishing areas on the lake..and ya can read some of Big Daves reluctant persute of posting a new joke in the comic section.. Just a suggestion from some one who enjoys this site as a "L.O.U. Professional" Ray K. (Hey Santa I know what i want for Christmas"

yer beard fell off.........great team work...

yup , my brother shot one with a ear tag a few years back...it was a trapped and relocated bear..just a iD for state research.

Ahh i see the fog .. Well it was the last day of season as i remember..my target that day was to fill my buck tag..the temps were way outa line and the snow melting fast,i was tracking a nice buck,and the way the snow was melting at 8 am on the west facing side of hill i knew i had a little over a hour before the sun was high enuf to break the top of the hill. I hadn't seen the buck yet but the spacing and size of the track told me all i needed..due to the morning fog i knew i could push him and get a lucky break within 1/2 mile.he angled the hill perfect and i could keep a good pace on him..thats when i first crossed the bear tracks. they looked to be a week old . I discounted them and kept tracking the buck..It took 45 min before i got to see the buck he was 90yds or so at the top of the hill.I knew he was gonna turn to double check his 6 before heading into a bedding area. I had a dead bead resting on a tree with a almost perfect shot..when the smoke cleared he was gone..i went to where he was standing and their wasnt a single hair or sign just 4 deep marks where he jumped..about 10 yds towards where i shot from,I found a tasty 1in baby oak..cut right in half,,just enuf haze in the air that i didnt see it when taking the shot..as i was doing my NCIS figuring out why i missed i noticed my 20 min old tracks looked like a 2 day old track..then a bright light went off..ok it was the sun reflecting off my bald spot.I then realized those bear tracks were fresher than i thought..well i was on top of the hill sweating like a fool (overdressed) so i followed the ridge south and in about 1/2 mile i crossed his tracks again this time i followed them..he went over the hill and i tracked it for about a mile close to the only house on top of the hill..as it went on anothers land I knew the chase was over...or was it..it was about noon hot (for dec.) snow melting fast and so was I. I decided to drop over the hill and walk the pipelin 2 miles to my van..well 1/3 of the way down the hill there are fresh very fresh bear tracks heading back towards my van. With the wind to my back i knew i would have to go back to the top of the hill head north along the ridge for a mile and drop back down and double back..their was no sneaking heading back up the hill as time and speed was critical to pass the bear and cut him off...did i mention sweat,and screaming legs..?? Well lady luck and a plan were on my side i dropped off the top and bingo no bear tracks..so i started still hunting into the wind hopeing for a shot...i didnt go 100 yds and their was a belly growl 30 yds in the thick laurel in front of me he stood tall for 1 sec dropped down and started running down the hill...in 1 /2 second i was on it fired the shot and after the smoke cleared it was too quiet..not a stick or brushing branch from wher i shot.. I stood still and after about 20 sec i could see a tiny patch of black..Like a idiot i started walking to it then i remembered to stop and reload..I think i reloaded in record time thinking of a posable wonded bear...at 10 yds it let out his last breath ..dropped it almost in its tracks with a neck shot..(luck)thats it ....oh draging out a bear alone 300 yds is another story but i did it ..

I remember the story twas a good hunt...