Paul Czarnecki

I suppose any metal moving through water has an electrical charge associated with it. However, a little birdy told me a Tall Tail one time about shorter copper leaders . THEY WORK! I believe they work because the shorter leader prevents the bait from riding up higher in the water column thereby negating the "depth" achieved by that particular copper set up.

Just returned from my annual trip to Currituck and Hatteras NC and what a trip it was! In 20 years of hunting waterfowl in NC I would have to say that 2011 was the most impressive display of waterfowl numbers I have ever seen. We hunted Currituck Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Monday it was mostly all big ducks--pintails, gadwalls, wigeon with a couple mallards and teal mixed in. The rain and fog came in on Tuesday and the teal shoot was on! A few gadwalls and wigeon kept things interesting but we got bombed by hundreds of teal all day long. Wednesday the fog remained and the teal carnage continued. We had 20 by 8:20! Amazing! Thursday we took the trip to Hatteras to hunt "old style" out of a sink box "curtain rig". The experience alone is worth the trip. Sitting eye level with the water as pintails bomb in on you is something every waterfowler should experience at least once! Enjoy the pics!

Allow me to tell you WHY you should go alone...... --I'm selfish. When I've taken people with me I've felt compelled to "share" my good spots with them. As I get older I have gotten more selfish. I've done the work--I'm gettin' the rewards. --Going alone allows you to come and go as you please without having to answer to anyone. If you kill a deer early and want to go to another state you go. The MOST effective a new stand will EVER be is the FIRST day you hunt it. Of the last 10 out of state bucks I've killed in the last 5 years I would say 8 of them were killed the first time I hunted a particular stand and 6 of those have been the first 2 hours of the first day of the hunt. Had I gone with someone else I would have had to wait around while they hunted instead of heading to another state to hunt some more. --No matter how strong you think your friendship is with someone it WILL get strained on a limited time, out of state hunt. If you are in a good spot and your buddy isn't he will either encroach on your area or guilt you into letting him hunt near you. Before you know it he will be in your tree! It might not happen the first year but it WILL happen---especially if you are successful year after year and he isn't. --As I said earlier you MUST be flexible with your time. WEATHER is the single biggest factor in determining the success of my out of state hunts. I have some of the best spots possible in Kansas, Ohio and Illinois but if its 80 degrees and sunny those spots are gonna be worthless. I time my out of state trips to coincide with incoming fronts. If you time it right, like I did in 2008, you can follow a cold front from west to east killing bucks along the same front as you head home. I killed 5 bucks in 4 states in 14 days in 2008 and 4 of the 5 were killed on the SAME cold front. Had I been hunting with someone else I never would have had the flexibility to do what I did. There's loads of hunting opportunities in this country for hunters that don't have a lot of money to spend but are willing to work hard and do some research.

Awesome fish FHF! Take a look at my website I think I can help you out. www.tristatetaxidermy.com

Some advice from someone who has done that for 20+ years....... 1. Go alone or with only one other person that is your best friend and most trusted confidant. This kind of stuff will ruin friendships faster than anything. 2. The internet has made it easier than ever to hunt on your own. Most good buck states have good public land but you must work at it to find the best spots that no one else has found. I would never pay an outfitter to hunt whitetails unless I had to by law. 3. Be flexible. Playing the weather and timing your trip to coincide with weather fronts is the surest way to be successful. 4. Set a goal for yourself as far as antler quality and stick with it. Don't "settle". 5. Go ALONE! 6. Scout while you hunt and establish friendships with locals. It may take several years but the payoffs are huge. 7. GO ALONE! Good luck!

Bob......why don't you just call me and ask instead of starting internet rumors? The ProAM at the Oak is alive and well.

Hunters will NEVER "control" coyote populations. Man has tried to do that for decades. Predators like coyotes are controlled ONLY by food availability. If you want to eliminate coyotes---take away their food! Studies in the western states have proven that killing "excessive" numbers of coyotes results in the remaining coyotes increasing their litter sizes to compensate. The more you kill the more you will have! They are here to stay! Not doubting the OP's fact but I would like to see the actual data that states coyotes alone kill 80% of fawns. Seems very high for a state with tremendous habitat and lots of "other food".

As we get our sea duck killin in I thought I would share this brant I just finished for a client. It was the smallest brant I've ever seen but he presents himself pretty well in this piece.

Great advice Ray. The only thing I will add is that long range muzzy shooting, like archery, takes a LOT of practice. You need to know your gun very well and you need to have the form and discipline it takes to make long shots. Having an experienced muzzy shooter with you the first few times will take a lot out of the learning curve. Practice, practice, practice!

That story is legit. I know the Game warden holding them. It happened in southern Ohio and he says it was quite the scene. A sad way for three nice bucks to die but nature is not always kind.

Try going to the "Premium" bullets like Nosler Partition or some of the newer Barnes bullets. Remington Core lokt's are "bottom of the barrel" rounds. As you saw they work but...... Federal and Winchester both offer Premium ammo with your choice of bullets. You'll pay heavily for them but they are worth it. I shoot Federal Premium 160 gr. Nosler Partitions out of my 7 mm Mag and WILL NOT shoot anything else. At $3 a shell you won't be unloading on every deer you see either... . But, then again, you won't need to.

Brian is correct. When bucks lose their testicles or the hormones they produce, they will retain velvet. I usually see two or three a year come through the taxidermy studio from all areas of the country. I seriously doubt that deer is a doe as it has no "doe" features. Most likely a "denutted" buck and a TERRIFIC trophy! Congrats!

Hmmmmm......yet another fake! Everyone knows Ronald McDonald would never willingly sit next to a Bigfoot---he's still smiling! That pic has been photoshopped with Ronald McDonald added in place of the alien that was in the original. I KNOW because my best friend's uncle's cousin was in the military and took the actual picture! It was confiscated by the government when they raided his house in the black helicopters.

Entertaining reads Ray. It amazes me how many mountian lions are seen crossing the road yet none EVER get hit by vehicles. They also must only cross roads in the summer and hibernate in the winter since no tracks are ever found in the snow. The people seeing them must be the ONLY people in this country without cell phones or cameras because no one has EVER taken a picture. It also amazes me how many "black mountain lions" or "panthers" are spotted---especially since there is no such thing as a "black mountain lion" . Finally, it has always amazed me how easily people will buy into faked photos or embellished and "localized" stories accompanying legitimate photos---"the cougar on the porch from Hornell" which was actually taken in Colorado, the deer being dragged by the cat in front of the trail camera supposedly captured in Potter county, PA was actually taken in Texas and the snowy pic of the "three cougars sitting in the driveway in PA" was actually taken in Colorado---the CO plates can clearly be seen on the vehicles...LOL. I also continue to be amazed by the sheer number of people who zealously buy into these stories and perpetuate the rumors without questioning anything. People just "want" to believe I guess. I would LOVE to see LEGITIMATE documentation of a WILD (not a released pet) mountain lion in NY or PA but I also LOVE to debunk all the myths and rumors going around about them...

I would still LOVE to see the video Jerry. You don't have to "prove" anything to me---your word is good enough but I can explain the DEC's skepticism. They don't "want" to be able to confirm the existence of mountain lions in the state. PA is the same way. Because cougars are federally protected under the CITES treaty (and a BUNCH of other regs) if a cougar were to be confirmed in a state where there weren't any that state would have to come up with a management plan for them. Management plans, for any animal or bird, require YEARS of research and studies involving tens of thousands of man hours and hundreds of thousands of dollars. As we all know, the welfare babies in NYC and their enabling geniuses in Albany have depleted NY's funds to the point where only the absolute necessities get money. Simply put, NY (and PA) cannot AFFORD to "find" even a single cougar! That said, in talking to F & G officials in both states I can tell you that in virtually every instance of a reported cougar where the "cougar" was not a dog, coyote, housecat or bobcat, the cat turned out to be an escaped or released pet that, in a lot of cases, had been defanged and declawed. However, wild cougars seem to be migrating eastward as the metro areas in their home ranges expand. I'm sure its possible we will eventually see some wild cougars making their homes in NY and PA but we simply don't have enough "country" to support a wild breeding population. Because of that fact the DEC and the PA Game Commission will continue to deny their existence. In fact, it reminds me of a line from the best fishing movie of all time, JAWS---"You're going to continue ignoring this particular problem until it swims up and bites you on the ASS!" Gotta get some fish painted so I can sit in a tree stand this afternoon. God, I LOVE my job!

I "might" believe it Jerry, IF I could see the video myself and I would LOVE to see the track imprint so that I could cast it. Any chance you could post it here?

Just PLEASE don't tell us the story about a friend's uncle's cousin who saw the DEC stocking them. That story is going around again......why does it always seem to involve an "uncle" and/or a "cousin"?

Agreed! In fact, now that I think of it I have some late season goose breasts still in the freezer. Corned goose shredded on rye bread with some horseradish.....OMG!

OK....I'll play. Red Fox (doubt the peeing part---camera caught it in mid stride) Wood chuck Dove Ugly jake turkey Opossum Raccoon Skunk (rear view--lookin down the barrels) Screech owl Red tailed hawk House cat (no doubt set out as bait for the above) Flicker and friend Gracious landowner fertilizing his food plot for the individual lucky enough to win this contest to hunt over. I'll be free before Nov 2nd and after Nov. 15th when I get back from kansas and Ohio....

Definitely a coyote in the first pic Jerry. Ear shape and length, the black tip on the tail and no black on the legs indicates 100% coyote. Put that pic in your coyote file or, like Ray said, date it if you want!

Sorry Bud....but I'm gonna beg to differ on that being a brown. It is a "precocious" 2 year old male king that is (was) going to spawn this year. And a wild one at that (adipose present). That fish has NO brown trout characteristics---large, haloed spots on head and sides, square tail spotted ONLY on the top half, etc.. That fish has large spots covering most of its FORKED tail and even its kype shows a salmon appearance---a spawning male brown at this time of year would display a much sharper, pointed kype. FWI...we caught quite a few of those 2 year old spawning kings this August and September and a fair number were wild fish. Some biologists contend its the sign of a healthy population and a well balanced ecosytem. Nice catch though-----now you CAN say you've caught your first slamon out of your kayak!

Bob deserves to place higher Vince----his inexperience at the Oak and inability to drive his boat, set lines and pay attention to his graph all at the same time cost him a flasher/fly rig and 2 J-plugs.... In fact, I believe he "doubled up" on the sandbar to the northeast of the Wall..... Seriously, this tournament is one of the greatest we have ever come up with. You have NO ONE to blame for your score but YOU and it allows for some great heckling, comraderie and carefree information sharing----not to mention that the winner buys everyone lunch at the North afterwards. As to defending my own dismal performance in the One Man this year all I have to say is......after winning it TWO YEARS IN A ROW I was sick and tired of feeding my "collegues" and decided to let Butch pick up the tab this year! CONGRATS Butch and THANKS FOR LUNCH! Already can't wait for next year!

This is exactly how I am setting up our next ride! It killed me to only have 3 riggers this summer fishing BT down East. Could have used another rod in the water. Oh c'mon Rick......one rigger wouldn't have made a lick of difference. 3 riggers, 2 divers, 2 leadcores on inlines and a copper down the chute----no problem!

I own/run a 10 meter trojan with a 13 1/2 ft beam. I could put a half dozen riggers on it if I wanted but 3 is all I need. I can do anything I need to do with those 3 riggers and my divers and multiple junk lines. I would be lost without my junk lines and divers. [ Post made via Mobile Device ]

Erie PA or Dunkirk NY.........or the niagara river. [ Post made via Mobile Device ]