Reel Doc

Glad to know the downhill horn is not unique to our area. We are about 8 miles from the old Seneca Army Depot site in Seneca county and I would hate to think some radioactive fallout might be altering horn growth. Also glad to know he is out of the gene pool now just in case it is a heritable trait. Greg

I have to admit, I did not expect it to be the way the horn grew in. The way he responded to the rattle made me think he broke that side fighting. His teeth said he has a 2009 birthday, so I wonder what he looked like last year. Greg

Sunday morning was my first chance out this season so hit the treestand well before first light. Always good to have a single doe meandering in the area when the rut should be starting. Was not long before the action started with grunts nearby and the buck in the photos moved through in view but out of range. By 8 am the doe scooted to my right on the edge of some really thick cover about 20 yards off, and a minute later a nice rack was on her trail, but on the wrong side of the cover for me. Decided to try some rattling as it was a hot topic on the site here recently, and many of you said early rut is the time to try it. Well, I was still in a short sequence when one of the bucks came in right behind my tree no morre than 10 yards away. Tried to sneak a peak and he busted me before I could barely turn. All I saw was the white flag. Well, all the deer were headed South into the wind which also had them heading into a bottleneck of good cover on our land. I decided to try moving that way as the wind was good and I could slip out into an open field and move to another stand 500 yards South. Barely in the tree and the doe in heat came by, and the bigger buck intercepted her on the far side of a pond on the edge of the woods. I doubted I could turn him, but tried the grunt call and some rattling anyway. Well, who comes zooming right in but Mr. Funky horn here. At 10 yards and with such a great response to the rattling, I had to put him down. History has taught me not to pass on a perfect setup for success, and he has plenty for the freezer despite the strange rack. He must have damaged the horn bud at some point. The side growing down iwas right next to his face, but not touching it. Will never forget him for that and the rattle response. Greg

Congrats. I hope to share similar moments with my kids as they reach hunting age in the near future. Put out a blind this year as they have expressed an interest in sitting out there with me. We'll give it a try when gun season opens. Greg

WTG. We all know the feeling & the best part is you feel the same way every time with a successful bow hunt. Enjoy the rest of the season. Greg [ Post made via Android ]

Those boys have that look in their eyes that they were ready to have a good time. As we would expect you delivered for them Sean....wtg ....& thanks for the report. Greg [ Post made via Android ]

I agree with the farm scent but only if you hunt the farmland. Take the cow smell into deep woods & the deer will get one whiff & be gone. With any animals that rely on their nose you do not want them saying "What is that smell?" Greg [ Post made via Android ]

I agree with the farm scent but only if you hunt the farmland. Take the cow smell into deep woods & the deer will get one whiff & be gone. With any animals that rely on their nose you do not want them saying "What is that smell?" Greg [ Post made via Android ]

For breath odor control I always take some apple slices to suck on. Maybe it helps but in cold weather when you see your breath I think you may be busted downwind by an alert deer [ Post made via Android ]

The big question is did that big 7 incher try eating a lure bigger than him. Greg [ Post made via Android ]

Really nice fish! [ Post made via Android ]

So now the question changes to leader length.......you fellas have narrowed it down to between 5 & 40 feet. Hmmm. When I purchased the setup from ATomik last year it had about 25 feet of leader....looked to be 20-30 lb test. Most of you seem nervous below 20. What are you using for leaders on rigger & planer rods. Greg [ Post made via Android ]

Electrical properties of the copper? Have not heard of that before. Is there some thought that some current is generated along the line caused by the friction of it moving in the water? Would like more comments on that and only the 5 foot leader.....sounds short Greg

So the spin doctor is causing the twist then. Changed the leader after each trip which is probably why no breaks. Is a 20 + foot leader considered the norm & if so what ties to use so the leader can run the rod guides. I've been using a ball swivel that bangs & clangs up the rod....afraid it might let go before the fish lands in the net Greg [ Post made via Android ]

Running copper with a flasher/fly in Cayuga lake recently & my leader is 6lb test mono. The line has not broken but really twists up badly. Any recommends on something tougher but maintains the stealth? Greg [ Post made via Android ]

With my ten year old Spencer as copilot we left Deans at sunup. The master plan was to go South of AES a ways then troll North until 10. The chop during the ride South gave me a sore butt & my copilot a sore gut so to keep the deck clean we started a Northern troll around Kidders. Put 4 lakers in the box, the biggest hit 7 lb. All hit flies & 3 of 4 went after the copper parked out 400. Only a couple skippies liked the spoons. Once we passed North of Sheldrake the screen had only a rare fish so we quit early at 9:30. Perhaps the Fall southern migration has started? Weeds were a little heavy as 1dogshy noted. Sorry no pics, but must have been a good time as Spencer wants to go again this weekend......he might just be getting hooked on fishing!! Greg [ Post made via Android ]

Very nice!! Greg [ Post made via Android ]

Bad cow karma this morning as a prolapse call came in at 3:30, (ask Chowder to explain) but took the boys out of Deans and had wet lines about 7. Ran the west side south from Kidders. For some reason the GPS would not give boat speed even though had 5 satellites on line. We guessed speed.....the wrong speed until it came on a little after 8. Marked loads of fish and bait from 55-85 down. Had a light bite from 8 till we quit at 11. Good eating lakers in the 3-4 lb size one nice 5 lb salmon who made my son Henry work a little and a few skippies. Most including the salmon at 10:30, came off the copper out 400 with a mountain dew colored flasher/fly. One good salmon hit a spoon on a rigger. He spit it at my other son Spencer from 20 feet behind the boat when he came up for air. Had a spoon hanging off his hat in a blink. All in all a beautiful morning to be out. If I'm fortunate enough to stay healthy into old age I'll be out there 8 days a week. Greg [ Post made via Android ]

Bringing back memories of our maiden voyage 2 years ago. What stinks is the kids getting a little older now and active in athletics so the taxi drivers Mom & Dad lose out on some of the things we enjoy. I can count my times on the water this year with one hand but no regrets as the tribe is growing up fast. For the record, I did not know the lingo back then so when I said we lost a rig I misspoke. Just lost a flasher/fly & dipsey. That felt bad enough but seems minimal now after reading how some others here lost rod/reels and even a downrigger?! Greg [ Post made via Android ]

WTG. The smile in that photo is what it's all about. Greg

Beautiful pictures. Thanks for the show. Some of those fish are monsters. What gave the best fight? Greg [ Post made via Android ]

Just on FYI that Saturday there is a big bass tourney on Cayuga. They are expecting over 400 boats. Home base is Cayuga state park but typically there is plenty of traffic at Deans. Please leave your 44 magnums at home and be patient with the bass boys, they keep my taxes down a little! Greg [ Post made via Android ]

Hannah Marie you made me laugh....try fitting fishing into the schedules of a 13, 10, & 8 year old. The 10 year olds baseball tourney team keeps winning so spent last week close to the water at Frontenac park. Our first family trip left Deans at 5 and after a swim and dinner wet lines at 7. Took a few minutes to play with speed as 1,7-1,8 did nothing. 2.2-2.3 sparked an 8 lb laker off a dypsey at 240 sporting green/white fly. Reset and white f/f on other side fired with a 23 inch ll then the first dypsey again with an angry 6 lb laker. 3 for 3 in an hour worked ok as wife and daughter had crashed in the cabin so the boys and I had all we could do when the double hit. Never had time to tie sliders on the riggers. From other reports thinking I had them too deep at 60 & 80. Will adjust next time. The gang likes success and tonights fish dinner so we'll be getting out some more soon. Greg [ Post made via Android ]

Gator, Hope you got him yesterday as today is twice the wind of yesterday! No doubt older bucks are savvy, but once gun season opens, all deer are pretty savvy, but sometimes at least around here they follow common sense. Since large tracts of farmland around our property are hunted by a hunting club, I think the deer figure out pretty quickly to hole up in little patches until the dust settles. Neighbors of ours who live on Route 89 along the West side of Cayuga Lake talk of deer in their backyards frequently this time of year. My gun hunting tactics are based on the hunting club boys continually stirring up the deer with drives so they head to the "sanctuaries" around which includes our patch of ground provided we don't overhunt it. Stealth in and out of stand is key, and if I have a DMP left after bow, (like this year), I'll wait to fill it hoping to keep the commotion down and maybe get a big boy to come through. It has worked a couple times over the years, but if it were too easy I guess it wouldn't be as much fun. Yesterday at about 11:00 am I get home from the office for an early lunch with the family and 6-7 doe meandered through the cut corn on our hillside. Sure enough glassed a buck a few minutes later. They did not act spooked, but certainly they were being pushed as half a dozen vehicles were parked around the club hunting grounds. The funny thing is, some of the land that the hunting club works is textbook for setting up stands and sitting tight. There are some great wooded areas that are natural funnels with open cropland in between. If those club boys would sit still instead of walking around all the time they would have much better success for sure. I'm not in a hurry to tell them as I'm sure the deer numbers around here would drop. Greg

We talked about the rutting moons last month and how Alsheimer said it could be an odd year as the full moon landed on the autumn equinox. Could there be a "Double Rut" this year with a group of does starting late October early November and a second group starting to cycle now? My little patch of woods says that may be so. Active chase/breeding as early as October 28th, but throughout have glassed groups of does in the fields below our house that have no buck near them 6 out of 7 days. If I'm home at odd times midday, will see deer activity, but it has always been that way in the 15 years we have lived here. I expect with all the deer drives this week on land next to us that the does will "hole up" on our land as they have in years past. The question is will any be cycling to attract a bigger buck into the area. Unlike the many reports posted of bigger bucks this year, I'm not seeing them or sign of them, but my sample size (88 acres) is not very large. Still plenty of good hunting time here, if as noted, the wind dies down. Happy Thanksgiving to you. Greg