chowder

I've got this new Savage Long Range Hunter 308 out to 200 w/ close to 1 1/2" groups. I really, really like the muzzle brake it cuts the felt recoil down to near the equivalent of my 22-250 which, truth be told, was a major reason to look at a new rifle- my 7mm mag was just starting to create issues for my shoulder after coming home from the range. Next step will be to start working on the 300-400 yard scope adjustments.

Nice going guys! That's a real good one

Glen, give Scott a call he's a way better Cayuga weather forecaster than I could ever be. The picture seems to be changing a bit for the better but Sat still looks pretty rugged to me. -Andy

NOAA , Ithaca - Friday: A chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 56. Southwest wind between 8 and 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. At this point it looks feasible for a Fri morning outing, anybody looking for something to do? -Andy

Stan, you are welcome out here any time but keep your snow out there, we have enough here all ready. -Andy P.S. Great pix as always!

I was planning on finally getting out Fri, but I'm not too keen on the wind forecast (14-16 SW). Probably be all right 1st thing for a while anyway. -Andy

Glen, try the super 8 in Ithaca. http://www.super8.com/Super8/control/Bo ... tyId=03717 It's not high cotton but it's a decent place & you can shoot right up the west side to T-falls or right on over to Watkins (village launch). Give me a shout if & when you head out ( that way I'll know we've got some serious snow on the way ). -Andy

To be more specific I've got a few of Dave's older spoons that I've have caught some fish on and I guess they are all right (still think DW,Warriors, Honeybees,yecks,stingers,etc are much more consistent producers) but I can't say I have had much success w/ these 'razors' that everybody seems so excited about. Again maybe it's just me but I've given them a pretty good try & mostly they just pick up the same small LLs on the cheaters that everything else does. Just my 2 cents...

Maybe it's just me but I don't catch a lot of decent size fish on the R&Rs. Sorry for bogarting the thread.

Here's a few suggestions; Spin Doc/fly combos: chrome green dolphin spinny w/proctolologist or pole dancer fly (big weenie) innovator spinny w/Mtn Dew pulse fly (Siggs) bloody death spinny w/ bloody death fly(atomik) white w/ green dot spinny w/ proctologist or pole dancer fly (bw) or green crinkle fly(atomik) spoons: For cheater spoons; look at the honey bees http://tamiron.com/main/HB-LerAvailability.htm (too many favs too list) and look at the small Yecks and or Stinger scorpion size (a few favs are chicken wing,boy/girl,nascar) deep spoons; DW super slims (gator,diehard,salmon slayer,feelin irie,etc) Stick baits: don't be afraid to try stix & crank baits on deeper presentations after the spring brown deal is over! I'm just scratching the surface here. One thing that might give you some good ideas is to search back thru a few years of FLX threads that look like reports of a days fishing and see what product names keep coming up. Good luck & see ya on the water. -Andy (Blue/white Starcraft Islander)

Have a good one John! -Andy

I haven't been able to escape the joys of 'winter time' dairy farming except for some Sunday afternoon ice fishing sessions but I have been able to fit in quite a few shooting sessions on my back forty range. I'm now breaking in one of these new Savage model 11 Long Range Hunting rifles in 308. This new bolt action setup has caused quite a stir in the rifle world with it's adjustable cheek piece, muzzle brake, amazing accuracy and affordable price! I broke down and put some serious glass on this baby so if any body is interested in a real world review of one of these things, let me know. -Andy

Ken, we'll make a 'junk rod junkie' out of you yet! -Andy

Nice job Ken! some good looking silvers you got there. Were you running a full core w spoons ? -Andy

The accutips are all I'm shooting now Pete, thanks for putting me onto them! Now I just need a coyote out there at 375 instead of a crow. -Andy

My county's seat, the town of Norwich, has been plagued w/ crow issues for years (much like some others-Auburn,etc). I live far outside of town but have seen great flocks of these birds at different times when I've been running errands from time to time but I've never seen large numbers of them out here at the farm till last weekend when they descended en mass on my corn silage bunker. It was bad enough when they were feeding on the spillage and the exposed face of the bunk but when they started poking holes in the top cover to get at the unexposed feed I was forced into action. My son & I quickly dispatched a large number of them last weekend using a pair of trusty 1100s and it seemed as if the massive numbers of dead ( being picked over by the barn cats, who quickly grasped that a shotgun blast meant a fresh meal) caused the crows to disperse and they were not here all week till yesterday. Yesterday they were back again in epic proportions, and again I went out with my auto loader to mete out some death. This time though, the minute the crows saw me with the shotgun they dispersed back to about 100 yds, blackening the trees with they're massive numbers and cawed raucously. "OK you s.o.b.s", I thought, as I went back in & grabbed my Savage 22mag heavy. Using my camper as a rest for the bipod equipped rifle I cranked the scope up to 16, pulled myself together, and picked my bird. At the sound of the shot mayhem ensued as the dead crow pitched into the snow. "Ha", I thought, that will teach you to mess w/ me! The birds moved back to about 375 yards and again began to mass up, blackening the trees. Back into the house I went. As I passed thru the kitchen with my 22-250 long range predator rig my wife looked up with alarm and said "what on earth is it that's going on out there?". "WAR!", I declared! Leaving nothing to chance, I quickly set up my swiveling shooting bench using the corner of the calf barn for cover and set up my rifle on two shooting bags. I did my 'breathing thing' and broke the 1.5lb trigger. The shot was good but there was no opportunity for a follow up as the gigantic flock flew, swirling high up into the sky. They haven't been back, but I'm ready...

I have relations who are grain growers around Canandaigua that hate them, they say that when they move into their winter wheat its like seeing an apocalyptical swarm of white locusts. They are always after me to come out & hunt but thus far I haven't made it happen.

I doubt the flats will hold many LLs right now, the alewives are not stong swimmers & they are locked up most of the winter in deep water. Should start to see some browns down on the southern shelf and also over on the east side off of the cliffs. Hoping to get over there next week & will report. -Andy

When did this law get passed limiting us to 3 rods each?

Back when I lived in Belchertown I used to fish the Quabbin but that was back in the eighties! Hey Glen when are you gonna be out here? -Andy

Nice going guys! -Andy

Oh Yar!

I'm figuring you know this but browns can be pretty spooky in shallow water so you want to be set up to run most of your stix on light line 100' back, off board lines (running board lines will probably be new so leave some time for getting this program into gear) and don't do much thumping around on the bottom of the boat.By the same token you don't want to be the 15th boat thru the shallows cuz those fish are gonna scatter - 'the early bird gets the worm'. You will also want to play around w/ slower speeds in the early cold water. Oh yeah and it's a good idea to have some smaller stix to try sometimes in the early going too.

Lose the swim platform & seal up the transom holes w SS thru bolts ,fender washers & "life caulk".But B4 you get too carried away w/ this project make sure you get some competent advice from a professional marine expert w/ a lot of experience mounting kickers! There are a lot of factors involved w/ this project and some of them might only become obvious after you have made a FUBAR out of the job. Remember a stitch in time saves 9. For what it's worth I sent you a PM detailing some of the issues you are gonna face. Cheers, -Andy