chowder

Ol' 'Tracker Greg', way to go Like I always tell people; when we find the deer , I'll tell you what happened w/ the arrow because for better or for worse 'just about anything is possible'.

We live near Solon (Cincinnatus). Drop me a pm & I'll email or call ya. To get there you just keep going on RT 41 out of Cincy http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/8180.html -Andy

Read this! http://www.amazon.com/Great-Lakes-Salmo ... 796&sr=8-7

Sorry, I thought you were asking about the DEC pheasant management area in Smithville, known as 'Long Pond State Forest' (or Tarbell Farms to us locals).The Whitney Point MU, is actually in Triangle, & I stopped going there b/c it felt like the hunting pressure was pretty high. The open acreage associated with Tarbell Farms was acquired by the state many years ago. Long Pond is also adjacent to most of the open acreage.

Took a doe @ 30 yds w/ the ST mag 1 1/8. The shot was double lung, she went about 90 yds w/ an easy to follow blood trail. So far so good!

We've been reasonably successful so far at Tarbell Farms (Whitney Point). My buddy & I & his dog have been 3 times & gotten at least a bird apiece each time. Key to hunting Tarbell is a dog that likes to cover a lot of ground. PM sent. -Andy

Great pics, nice buck -Andy

If you could fill the cooler every time you go we'd have to stop calling it fishing & start callingl it 'shopping'! Hey, it was still a gorgeous fall day on the water -Andy

OK, made the mistake of waiting at the archery shop for a new batch of arrows to be made and of course I had my wallet w/ me so I wound up buying a package of G5 Small Game Heads ($19/3 heads). They get pretty good reviews on Archery talk. I'll post my opinion after I've tried em' on some birds or squirrels. -Andy

The heck w/ the trolling & bow hunting, I'm heading down to the lake w/ my Hobie Cat and my wet suit! 32 out of the west & I can go from one end of the lake to the other in no time, anybody up for a quick rip?

Although I've solved most of the issues of predicting when the optimal time to bow hunt is by just hunting every afternoon that I'm not fishing , here's some more food for thought; http://bowsite.com/BOWSITE/features/art ... oontheory/ -Andy

Pm sent

Happy belated Birthday Rod & don't mix beer & refinishing fumes -Andy

With the way you are set up now you might want to try jigging b/c you would need to make some pretty serious purchases in order to get trolling. I have some spinning combos set up for jigging that the kids use and they are are ok( I much prefer a good baitcasting reel but that can wait till after you get a decent sonar unit). Use the closest thing you have to med heavy rod w/ fast action b/c you need to set the hook w/ authority! You will want to spool up w/ 12lb super braid (power pro, spider wire,etc) and then tie on a 7-10' 10-12lb flourocarbon leader. you will want to order some jig heads immediately b/c they are a speciality item and you do not want to be w/ out them.I get 1 1/2 oz heads for 80 FOW+ from Bill Alexander http://www.billysmtolures.com/ and the Gamma Ball Jig 4/0 BN 1 oz for 60-80 FOW from Schuberts & Laketown http://terrystackle.com/cart/index.php? ... 20a&page=7. The lighter the jig you can use the better feel you will have for the strike.You can usually get Zoom super flukes and other plastics at Wally World or Gander, you want some white, some blk/silver, and some chartreuse stuff. W/ out a decent fish finder you will want to work an area that another reliable jigger points you to. I and others have posted some very detailed instructions for this technique, search back and check this out.I think you will find that it is much better to control the boat and make your jig drops w/ out a lot of line angle than to attempt to get to bottom and drift along trying to jig as you go. Although this technique can appear to be simple and easy to pick up, it is not quite that easy. With the right basic equipment , attention to proper technique, and some time you will pick it up and learn to have fun w/ it. As far as trolling goes (and probably the jigging too) best thing to do is get to know some of the guys on here & get a trip on a boat that is set up to troll and check it out.There are a number of qualified guides and charter captains that also would be well worth while spending a few bucks on b/c they could probably save you what you spend 10 times over in poor choices on gear and technology! -Andy

When are you going again? -Andy

Lakers are spawning. DEC is netting lakers off T-Falls for mature eggs or they may even be done.

No comments on the Guillotine heads, don't know anything about them (I try pretty hard to stay away from stores when I'm carrying my wallet) for the past 6 years I've hunted turkey using banged up 1" Rocket aeroheads that I've accumulated from using them for deer, b4 that I used banged up Muzzy's.

Ray's 'trim indicator stop limit' is when Musky's coffee cup slides off the motor cover towards the bow but stops just short of the wheel!

Thanks for the info Jason

Thanks Ray, but I'm only 210 lbs Actually it's real common to zip an arrow thru a turkey's vitals and have it fly away! For one thing a turkey's respiratory system is very different from deer,elk,etc so they can sustain a lot of damage and still breath effectively also, they just don't go into shock like more complex animals (hence the phrase; 'running around like a chicken with it's head cut off') Birds hit in the vitals don't live but ya can't find it (usually) and you often lose the arrow too. Best shot for me is in the lower part of the back, thru the spine & pin it to the ground, but it's tough to get them to hold that pose -Andy

Greg, scrape activity seems normal to me, typical pattern w/ separate dominant & young buck scrapes both interacting w/ the breeding group. Clue me in here on this 'dual rut ' concept though b/c I must be outa the loop on this! -Andy

Nice fish, the pic say's it all. WTG guys -Andy

I've used the 1" Rockets for years w/ no issues & lots of kills. I got the 1 1/8" STs for this year and they are much easier to put together & I can see they will be easier to replace blades on, etc. Thanks everybody for pointing me towards the STs I really think I'm liking them! -Andy

Nice pics, it sure was a super nice day to be out! P.S. I've got the same attachment for my Vex that I see you have in the first pic -Andy

I've taken numerous turkeys over the years w/ both recurves and compounds and have yet to figure out a fool proof way to keep from losing arrows & birds due to pass thru. This is much more of a problem for me when I stalk the birds and draw on them from a kneeling position. I've used 2 different kinds of older generation 'keepers' or arrow stoppers & not real happy w/ either. Back when I was using a recurve a fair amount I lost very few arrows & birds b/c the considerably lower poundage of the bow greatly decreased pass thru but sadly I really just don't have the time anymore to keep up my instinctive archery skills and I basically just use my compound now days. Anybody got something that's really worked well for them w/ a 55lb compound & carbon arrows that's relatively inexpensive? Thanks, -Andy