Gator

Now that I realize what you're looking for, I remember seeing that the Cuddeback Cuddelink thread at Habitat Talk was up to 137 pages, last count: http://www.habitat-talk.com/index.php?threads/cuddebacks-cuddelink.7859/ I have no personal experience with them, but the company representative is very interactive, judging from the posts, which speaks well to customer service, and since you can daisy chain them, you only need to have one camera that's cell capable.

I've heard that you want to be careful if you open up the abdominal cavity not to puncture the intestine. Even on ice, fish are extremely susceptible to bacterial contamination. IMHO, if at all possible, I would leave them whole until just prior to being able to wash and freeze them - although it sounds like you haven't had any issues.

. No, my bad. I need to learn to read better. Pay me no attention.

Every year, the manufacturers come out with new models. For some reason, certain years' models might be stellar, then the upgrade the next year isn't as good. I found that the Browning Strike Force BTC-5HD (2015 model) gave me better picture quality, quicker reaction time, and a further detection zone than any of my other cameras, although my Bushnell Trophy Cam 8 MP cameras from 2014 continue to function well after five years. The later Browning models have been hit or miss, but I think that the Strike Force series is generally solid, sometimes even spectacular, and that's my go-to. I look for a 0.3 s trigger and 100 ft detection range using a red glow illumination. I'm not a big fan of the black light illumination, as I think that big bucks know the camera is there, regardless. Stay as far away from sub-$50 cameras as you can get. Nothing but headaches.

There was plenty of banging yesterday and today across the street from our house. We'd been watching flock after flock go to one of the fields over there for a week now...I thought about hitting it myself, but I I have too much work to do in the woods, and time's evaporating on me with several away trips planned for September. Somebody had a fine, fine shoot though.

Man, I wish I could... Having basically grown up summers in the ADK and worked there during college breaks, every time I go now I realize how much I miss it. But there are other priorities, and other mountains to explore, too. We are headed to Sequoia in September for a week, now that we're empty nesters and can get away while school is in session. I'll post pics when we get back.

Brian, are you shooting the CCI 209m primers like Blackhorn recommends? They also mention Federal 209a, which is a magnum shotshell primer as well. Word is that the "regular" 209 primers aren't as good, but I suspect that depends on whether you have the appropriate breech plug for Blackhorm more than anything.

Lol! Reason #1 to fish the ADK is the solitude. Reason #2 is the atmosphere. Reason # way down the list is the fishing. That having been said, if you're willing to put in the time (and get up before the sun in the summer), you can find remarkably solid bites. More days than not I can generate a couple dozen hits before breakfast, running and gunning points. And I've never had ANY competition. The fish are generally on the small side, but if that's your main concern, you want to go somewhere else for sure. Since the water quality has recovered, there's been an influx of bass taking over former trout lakes, which has really ticked some people off. But there are good and great fisheries in the ADK...and I'm not going to argue if most folks think that the 1000 islands are superior in every way. Different strokes for different folks. I will argue though that fishing has declined everywhere. I think that we are living in a golden age, myself. And I appreciate every day of it.

Hung the first stand on our new property a couple weeks ago, and had a ten-point walk past it at 30 yards the next day. I was trimming overhanging limbs on our access road when I saw him walking through the back field. I boogied around the hedgerow to where the stand sits, to have him walk right up to me. Very impressive animal, even in velvet. We will be hanging the rest of the sets tomorrow morning. Also contracted with a local hobby farmer to hay the back lot in return for some food plot installation. Win-win. I finally ordered my Accura V2 yesterday. It's the same gun that Brian, Matt, Rob and seemingly countless others shoot. I ended up with the Leupold scope and nitride finish, Blackhorn 209 powder, and Barnes 245 gr Expanders, One final impression - the oaks are loaded this year. Everyone should be thinking about oak flats at the end of October. This is going to be one of those banner years for hard (and soft) mass in this area.

To all the guys who have given thoughtful, considered responses to the original question: your input is much appreciated. To unnamed others: go sit on a Gambler rig !!

You got to come up with a treestand version that we can use on rutting bucks lol! I don't doubt that you could, given you've got them working for everything else.

And didn't you catch some walleye on your rigs last year, just for sh$ts and giggles?

We ran in this morning just ahead of the storm, and after everything was put away, as I was walking to the truck, lightning struck just South of the marina, so close that I felt the percussive shock from the thunder. What a rush! After I cleaned out my britches, we went to breakfast. I was done for the day, but some of the guys got back out on the lake after the storm rolled through. I was caught once 13 miles out in a thunderstorm. Never again.

We got to spend two days hiking in the High Peaks area earlier this month, and that's all we have time for this summer. I missed fishing up there, for sure, but if you get on (and off) the trails early, it's like you have the place to yourself. Hot afternoons are better spent with a mug of something cold and a good view for people watching lol. We are heading to Sequoia/King's Canyon next month for a week. If anybody has specific guidance, feel free to pm me.

This topic has got me on a strange train of thought. I have a 17 yr old daughter, and she has some anxiety issues. I was concerned at first, until I realized that everyone her age has anxiety issues, and that she's probably one of the most put-together young women in her peer group. So, why all these kids carrying the world on their shoulders? I think that it's because we've become a society that is dominated by rules, and every time you screw up it is immediately public via social media. They rarely have a chance to relax and, as Justin says, just have fun. Even when they're having fun, they're consumed by how what they're doing fits in with the world. We all worry to some degree about appearances. They worry to the umpteenth degree. Here, we are a group of fishermen (and women) having a friendly over rules of the road. Years ago, you would have taken a boating course, immediately forgotten it, and life would go on. Instead, we now have a thread that goes on for pages. This isn't a bad thing, but it is the sort of thing that kids do regarding their whole life: they micro-dissect ever part of it, put it out in public for debate, then spend the rest of their time worrying about what they did or didn't do. Okay, sorry to hijack this thread. It got me thinking, and that's dangerous sometimes. Tight lines.

"Pain don't hurt"...Patrick Swayze. Obviously not a fisherman.

Got to agree with Bigfoot on this one. Not that I favor an exclusively trout-centric philosophy, but that management decisions are complicated. Short term catch rate #s don't always predict long term trends, and so while it is a common metric used to assess the fishery's health, it is is also always a few years behind in terms of being predictive. It seems simple, right? You want more fish, you stock more fish. Unfortunately, if you have an imbalance in predator:prey ratio, then you may exacerbate the problem. And so on... Carpe Diem! (doesn't that mean "fish for carp"?).

Nice! I took the opportunity to work on the new property, same as yesterday. Great time to be in the woods. Great time to be on the lake, too, from the looks of it.

FYI, $90 apiece here: https://www.presleysoutdoors.com/browning-strike-force-850-trail-camera-16mp/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI042t3aD04wIVBpSzCh1xGAYfEAQYASABEgKi5fD_BwE. Full disclosure though, I've never ordered from these guys. I love the original BTC5HD from back in 2016, best camera I've ever run, but the newer BTC5HDP gives them a run for their money with an internal viewer.

I'm always glad when this thread starts...it means we're on the cusp! Last weekend was the first time we worked on treestands, and we're set to go again this weekend, too. I want to get all of the existing sets finalized so that we can begin work on: a new piece of property that we're closing on this month!!! So excited. It's a piece that I've had my eyes on for some time, close to a parcel that we lease, and it looks sweet. I'll post pics as we move forward, but for now the idea is to scout, hang a few sets, put a new floor in the elevated box blind, and think about an orchard and food plots for next year.