momay4000

Viking Ship, I run a Subtroll and have had it on my current boat for the past few years and I transferred it from my previous boat after two years of use. I am on my second probe (lost one three years ago). In my opinion, the coated cable argument is a bit ridiculous - I have a few small nicks in the coating every year and it runs fine down to 150' without any issues. I have had the same COATED cable for the past three seasons. I also think the blowbacl from the coated cable is mostly from the probe itself - not the cable. I have never personally run any of the other products but I have been on other boats with a Depth Radier and it seemed to have issues picking up signal. Subtroll Pros: awesome customer service at MoorElectronics, parts and probes are easy to find, do not need to mount any tranducers on your hull, relatively inexpensive unit, installation is very easy, display is easy to read day or night Subtroll Cons: occasionally has issues with picking up signal over 150' down. Viking - any of these units will be fine - the most important thing is find what is in your budget and what you feel comfortable with. Also, even more important is understand that there can be variations in downspeed from each manufacturer (i.e. 2.4 mph on a Subtroll might not be the same as 2.4 mph on a Depth Raider). I hope you'll have fun with your purchase, but please don't discount the Subtroll or Depth Raider simply based on a coated cable argument. Good luck - just my two cents, - Chris Disclaimer - I do not have any financial or personal ties to any of these manufacturers

Two tackle boxes with various J-plugs, bucktail flies and squids - SOLD PM or call me 585-301-2197 - Chris

Abe, I second Streeter's in Ontario - rte 104 east of Tops. He is a great guy and does great work. He has done five fish and five shoulder mount deer for me and there's a reason I keep going back. He takes a little while to get things done, but the quality is awesome. I have several other fish done by two other taxidemists from Michigan and Binghamton which can't compare to Streeter's work. Good luck, - Chris disclaimer - I have no financial or personal ties to Streeter's Taxidermy

I think good rod holders are worth their weight in gold. If I were you I'd save up and buy the best quality you can, instead of settling for something cheap or a mix and match of various makes/models. I would also think through exactly where and how many rod holders would fit your fishing needs. I run Big Jon on my boat and I have two individual Heavy Duty Dipsy RH's on each side along with a double pedestal on each gunwale (see pic) Advantages of Big Jon: I don't think there is a stronger Dipsy (Heavy Duty) rod holder on the market. Easy to clean and find parts, excellent ratchet function without the need of any set screws, tools, etc. to adjust. Very easy to mount and remove each season. I also think they look cool. Disadvantages: the RH's do not "rotate" like the newer Cannon dual axis, so you basically have just a 180-degree forward and back range of motion, lack of a track system (each rod holder or base pedestal needs four holes to be drilled for the mounting plate), the caps occasionally pop off and have to be re-glued. Overall, I would buy them again in a heartbeat, especially the Dipsy holders. Good luck, - Chris

Awesome Mike - way to go!!! - Chris

Jeremy Wade of the "River Monsters" show on TV had an episode devoted to that fish..... http://animal.discovery.com/videos/rive ... rfish.html - Chris

Mike, Great pic - congrats and thanks for sharing. I'm thinking of getting into coyote hunting myself but I wondered what you do with the pelts? Do you know a trapper/furbearer who takes the animals whole or do you have to skin them for them? If not - I realize they're pests, but I cannot see myself just killing them for sport and leaving them in the woods to rot.... Thanks for any advice you have, - Chris

YT, Good point......hmmmmmm the mystery continues..... - Chris

SS Target Tip Hot Carmel - Chris

Anthony, Way to go! Awesome pics of you and your family! What a perfect way to spend a birthday...... Later bud, - Chris

Here's an interesting little article: http://www.knowhunting.com/article.html?id=199 In my opinion, I think the deer population is still very healthy and either growing slightly or stable. However, there is likely a proportionate "shift" in deer from areas where they perceive predation or low forage (i.e. vast forest land where the coyotes and other predators typically live in large numbers) to areas where the deer feel safer and have more abundant food (i.e. in small woodlots in the suburbs, neighborhoods, commercial landlots etc). Since we're hunting predominantly in these larger forested areas, I think that's why we're perceiving that we're seeing less deer. I hunted many, many days this past year and my biggest buck kill this year was a trophy in my own backyard (you guys saw my trail cam shots)..... Just my two cents, - Chris

I usually squeeze the air bladder for lake trout and it seems to work, but for salmon and steelhead I've never given it a try. In my experience, most of the fish we unsuccessfully release are just plain worn out (possibly build up of lactic acid from all the fighting) and we wind up going back to net them. Usually the salmon are just floating on the surface without much movement, whereas the lake trout are usually flopping a bit and just can't go down b/c they're too bouyant from a full air bladder. I've never tried an air bleeding needle. - Chris

Big Water, It sounds like you already have a really good feel for things after just one year. Roughy 75% of the time, I'm fishing a two man spread of four rods so I'll give you what usually works for me. I don't target browns much, so here's my take for salmon, steelhead and lake trout : In the early Spring I usually fish two riggers with long leads and usually one shallow wire diver and a junk rod somewhere between three and seven color lead core off an in-line planer. I am a fanatic with down speed and if I'm not getting hits yet there's fish on my graph, I'll play with speed most of the time before I'll change anything in my spread. That being said, this time of year, the fish are scattered in the water column and seem to be more "boat shy" if the water is clear, so I like to run longer leads at shallower depths. If the fish seem to be coming off mostly high hits, I may change the shallow wire to another shallow lead core, or a flat-lined mono rod fished with a 5/8 ounce keel weight, on an in-line planer board. This time of year, I'm fishing 75% spoons, although I usually like to run one flasher on my wire rod to act as an attractor to get 'em into my spread. This past year the fishing in front of my home port of Irondequoit Bay was very tough in the early Spring so I focused most of my efforts on lake trout stuck to the bottom. I fished with cowbells and peanuts and it made the difference between catching one silver fish vs. 20 of the mud pigs (if I can catch lakers - you can catch lakers). I find things a little easier as summer approaches as the water column sets up and thermocline takes shape. This time of year I usually start with two riggers with spoons and free sliders, putting my deepest rigger in 42-44 degree water and working up from there. I also start with two wire divers, usually both with flasher/fly combos. The past two years I have gone to my copper set-up ( 400'-600' )many times and once it hits (even small fish) I can't put it away. If the wire divers are slow, I usually swap one out for the copper. If I notice my free sliders on the riggers are hitting, but nothing else, I'll usually try a stealthy rod such as lead core fished at the same depth as the free slider which is usually about 1/2 the depth as the rigger it's on, or I'll change the flasher on the wire to a spoon and fish it at the same depth as the slider. This year, the spoons on high wires in the summer usually translated into lots of steelhead bites. Keep in mind, it's not only the depth that each type of presentation can achieve, but it's also the "signature" that each presentation has in the water. Certainly a flasher/fly fished 10' off a down rigger ball has a much different look to a salmon than the same combo fished off wire or the 600' copper. Finally, Capt. Vince has a great point - keep in mind sometimes less is more. Some of my best fishing the past few years has been solo with only one rigger and usually one wire and many times those solo days have outfished my days with three guys on my boat and six rods. Keep it simple, keep it fun and try and learn something every day you are out there. Good luck, - Chris

Awesome picture - "Goin deep" is correct, Shedding of the velvet is dependent on testosterone levels - consequently when a buck's testosterone level starts to rise in the early summer, it will shed the velvet very fast. If it never rises and remains very low, it will always retains its velvet. My guess is he damaged his testicles or they never developed right to begin with, thus he has a low testosterone level. If he has a sack - he's a buck, but maybe his beans were damaged or really small....... Awesome deer!!! - Chris

My buddy took this really nice 6 point buck last night on one of the properties I own. It was an absolute monster deer - honestly it's one of the largest bodies I've seen for this area. It has a very unique snout - either a cleft pallate or it broke its nose when it was younger thus we think this is the same buck seen in the trail cam pic the year before b/c of the deformity of the snout (albeit the rack the year before was a seven, this deer still has many of the same characteristics of the trail cam shot). This gives you an idea of how genetics and food source can really affect rack development - nonetheless it really was a great deer. Thanks for looking! - Chris

Clarke, Absolutely you can - but just as rshubuck said, add liquid smoke to the recipe (probably no more than 1 or 2 tsp. for a 2 or 2 1/2 lb. backstrap). Also, I do not use Morton's TenderQuick in my recipes b/c I'm worried nitrites can cause cancer (it's a salty curing agent which contains nitrites to help in the curing process) so I always store my jerky in the fridge or freeze it to prevent spoilage. Honestly, a batch lasts no more than a week or so at my house so it's not really an issue. However, I'm not sure I'd feel comfortable leaving it at room temp. for a month like you can with store bought jerky. Good luck - if you don't like the recipe as sweet, use less brown sugar. For my next batch I'm going to try adding a little Worchestershire sauce to the marinade...... - Chris

Scott, I was just there tonight and dropped off 35# of venison. You pay for the FINISHED product not what you drop off. Take a look at his online link and he'll tell you the minimum weights you need to bring in to make each product: http://www.costanzasausage.com/home.htm Slims: Cheddar slims - $10.09/lb, insanity $10.09/lb, mild, hot $9/lb (3 lbs. venison yields 3.4 lbs. of sticks) Hot dogs range from $2.89/lb. to $3.78/lb. depending on if you want them vacuum sealed (usually 8-10 per package) (3 lbs. of venison yields 7.5 lbs. of dogs) Put it this way - make sure you bring cash (no checks or charge)......I spent 400 bones last year and my wife wanted my A$$.... Tony makes some great stuff though (make sure you try his maple breakfast sausage too - it's great stuff) Later bud, - Chris

Here's my easy gluten free venison jerky recipe - I just made another batch and it reminded me to share it this year with you all. I am allergic to gluten, so this recipe is gluten free, but certainly regular soy sauce can be substituted for the gluten free soy sauce and it'll taste the same: - 2 to 2 1/2 pounds of venison cut WITH the grain in strips 1/4" in thickness (I use backstrap, but any cut can be used). Make sure all silver skin, fat, sinew, etc. is removed otherwise the meat will retain a "gamey" taste Marinade: - roughly 8-10 ounces of gluten free soy sauce (I use gluten free San-J) - 3/4 cup dark brown sugar - 1 tsp. black pepper - 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes - 1/2 tsp. onion powder - 3/4 tsp. garlic powder - one cup dry red wine (I use a good pinot noir or cabernet) - do not use a cheaper sweet red wine or the taste will be way too sweet. Mix all the ingredients, add to the venison strips and soak 24-48 hrs. before smoking - Smoke for 2-3 hrs. using ONE generous handful of hickory or apple wood chips. I I have found that adding too much wood makes the meat taste too bitter.I also like to smoke the meat on a cooler day b/c my Brinkman Electric does not have a thermostat control and otherwise gets a bit too hot. Enjoy and good luck, - Chris

Ray, I would have thought the same thing that you did - leave the "game" violation stuff to the DEC and the law violations such as trespassing to the police - until my experience today. You may also be correct that the tresstand situation might be different than a person actually caught trespassing on your property. Honestly, I didn't even know a Law Enforcement Divison existed within the DEC, but I was really impressed with what I saw. Later bud, - Chris

Ray - with all due respect you are not correct with your comment about the "DEC are only to be called for a (sic) actual game violation..." Just today I had to deal with the DEC (law enforcement division) who we called after we were given his number by the 911 service in Genesee County. Essentially we have had a "local" tresspassing on my uncle's property for the past few years and this year we found his climbing treestand in the center of our woods. The DEC officer was dispatched to our property - not the state or local police - and he confiscated the stand, put a card on the tree where it was found, and if the knucklehead calls the number to retrieve the stand he will be given a ticket for tresspassing. This was new to us (we also thought the DEC was only for "game" related problems) but he explained he is part of the Law Enforcement Division. He was tremendous and will be looking out for us from now on. He also mentioned that most of his calls are for trespassing. Just my 2 cents, - Chris

Gentlemen, I replaced my recalled X-5 this past spring after I received a "special" unit from Raymarine and was told it was the last unit in North America until possibly January 2011!!! I sent in the old recalled unit in October of 2009 and didn't receive my new unit until April of 2010 and at that time they said they didn't plan on having any more units for sale (they were replacing the recalls first) until 2011..... Good luck, - Chris

Hey Scott, WTG buddy!!! That's a great deer - I'm glad Cole got to enjoy it, too!!!! - Chris

Great pics - T_Barb hit the nail on the head..... Thanks for sharing, - Chris

Awesome story and absolutely awesome palmate rack (I've never seen one so funky like that around here)! Thanks for sharing your success! - Chris

T_barb, No - I wish. I shot a smaller buck on my property in Wolcott so now I just get to enjoy the "pictures" of a few of these big guys at night until at least gun season..... Thanks - Chris