BSmaster

I know it all too well...

I wonder if they tried to revive it so it didn't count against them. A laker that old can't be that good to eat even if you like lakers. Sustenance means you only take what you need. How you do it is irrellevant, however, gill nets are to fishing what chemical weapons are to warfare - kills indescriminately. Why not use dynamite? I see a potential opportunity for St.Croix.

Those are Rudd. They look like a golden shiner on steroids. invasive but i think maybe the pike keep there numbers down in Conesus. I have heard people complain in the buffalo area.

Monday I drove up 390 in the early afternoon and after passing a longbeard strutting with a bunch of hens in a field right next to the highway I say to my wife " I wonder how many guys are looking for posted signs as they drive by???" I know of one - I am sure there are more.

[4-17-17] I stopped by on my way home from Rochester and I think it is over. There are many warm water fish species up there. I counted maybe a handful of walleye and a few handfuls of pike still in the creek. It is still a nice place to visit - this is in my opinion the best time to go. Warmer weather with fewer insects.

"Don't shoot the king's deer" Haha. The evergrowing antihunting sentiment - I call it the "Disney Effect" I remind my children constantly that bears are not friends with deer in real life. 30 years ago we teased the anti hunters with bambi but I think now they have the upper hand which is why I say it is very important to do things the right way when you hunt. Lease land has been increasing for years now. Use to be you asked permission and helped the farmer out when he needed it and gave him a deer or two and it was fine but when they realize that the lease helps him take care of land that he can not watch constantly and he gets money for his land taxes. I understand it and I can't argue against it. Antler restriction is something I am against but won't piss and moan about it if it happens. Doesn't part of NY already do this? I know PA does it. It isn't the same but kinda is the way fishermen berate other fisherman for not doing what they consider ethical even though they are not breaking any laws. That is kinda how I feel when someone promotes antler restriction. The same way I feel when someone says the stream fisherman should have let the steelhead go. I let young bucks and fawns pass and also let trout go but I don't think it is bad for some to harvest these animals (legally). Hunting for trophy is not really what hunting is about or is that what we have made it. A lot of us say that these days, however, That sportsman thing happened later in our culture when we had more than enough to eat. I remember when my family had to be successful in the garden and in deer season or Christmas would suck. One of the articles they posted talks about the number of hunters who say they hunt for meat grows every year. What does antler restriction do to address this? At least the buck to doe ratio will even out because you know the doe permits will be filled now. There are still many traditionalists who don't shoot does and others who prefer not to if they can shoot a buck instead. Rant over - Don't know why I typed so much. The sun will still come up tomorrow.

I have to goto Rochester Monday so on the way back I will drive that way and check it out. I will post. A lot of years the pike make it up into the swamp. I think it would be cool if the walleye could go up in the swamp and spawn away from the alewives but I am constantly reminded it doesn't work that way. I just think it would be cool if it did. I prefer self sustaining fisheries.

It's funny because it's true. [Homer Simpson]

I am not a charter captain or Guide but this is my take on it. It only takes one government rule change to sink a charter business. I saw a lot of businesses struggle with the marine fishery and this is mostly due to regulations. I too thought about guiding, however, I know skinny water, and I also am aware that several people may want me dead if I guided these areas. Also, the pressure of success - probably would kill me. Story for thought. Several years ago, My boss's kid came and helped set up my router for me and clean up my computer and he absolutely whizzed right thru it. He looked like one of those actors on tv where you know they are just hitting random keys acting like they are experts. This young man did the whole thing in like 5 minutes. It was his part time job at college. So I say to him. "Why are you going for a chemistry degree instead of computer science? You are a natural." His reply stuck with me. "This is what I love. I do not want to mess with my passion by making it a job." My advice is to offer a ride on your boat this season to strangers on this site. See if you can handle that first. Justin invited me to fish with him and I never met him previously. So you have to get use that awkwardness of having a complete stranger on your boat. I have another friend at work and he is a fanatic as well with the knowledge and the gear and I suggested that he doesn't entertain it because of his temperment. If you have nice things and want them to stay nice then you may not want to charter. Good luck, Joe

Too many options but I will probably be river fishing for the opener and I can't even narrow that down - good luck everyone.

When I was 12 years old I made a spear and took it rabbit hunting and was successful (true story). I think there should be a spear only rabbit season because I liked the challenges of hunting with a spear and demand everyone else abide by my preferences. I am calling my assemblyman today!

Starting to look like that woodchuck was right afterall. I guess we can call that a nice February thaw now. I am getting annnnncccceee tooooooo!

Where you coming from? There are places all over the state that are good for bullhead. Ask for a good location near you and I am sure that some people could PM you. Also - noteworthy. The Conesus inlet is closed to all fishing until 1st Saturday in May. The Canal portion is open and should be a good place to fish for bullheads when the temps start to rise again. The down side to bullhead fishing the inlet is the enormous amount of dinky sunfish that are in there too.

NYS proposed bill for mandatory firearm insurance This bill would require any and all firearms owners in NY to secure and maintain $250,000 liability insurance for negligent use of a firearm before procuring and while possessing of such firearm. "FAILURE TO MAINTAIN SUCH INSURANCE SHALL RESULT IN THE IMMEDIATE REVOCATION OF SUCH OWNER'S REGISTRATION, LICENSE AND ANY OTHER PRIVILEGE TO OWN SUCH FIREARM" https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2017/A2260

Feeding Deer I know people have their own opinions. I thought I would share some ideas.

I don't ice fish so and the beagle is retired (16). I utilized my free time creating some woody browse for the deer and rabbits. I had several projects in mind. I wanted to reclaim part of a field that was being over taken for future food plot. I figured it would be better to do it sooner than later. There was some autumn olive but most was soft maple. I decided to take a walk out yesterday and even though I cut them down before the January thaw the deer have been hitting the tops pretty hard. I have more to do but we did a test sample about 8 years ago with just piling up poplar and it has revitalized that area so I made several more piles of those too. It should be good from here on out if you want to improve your hunting scenario to cut trees down -preferably non dollar varieties. The maple syrup guy I work with said this years January yield smashed previous records and he is not sure what that means overall. I think the tops should be reddening up a lot more now and deer will really like you if you drop some. It is harder for them to dig in crusty snow so a few trees/branches that are in your way anyway, this is the best time to cut them. I will be hinge cutting later on. I have a bedding area I want to make into a sanctuary. I want my brother to help me because I tend to pull muscles when I try to do it myself. I wrote a lot and I could write more than I did so you can see how I have tried to keep my mind from imploding.

Thanks for the update - been wondering what was happening with that. Cabelas was going to put a big store in down here and the town decided that their war on tall oversized signs was better for the town than all the $$ that Cabelas would bring in. Of course Cabelas walked away from that ridiculousness. Nothing was grandfathered in either. They made Churches take down there signs in front because they were deemed too big. Point being that Corporate people can be swayed away easier than they can be wooed in. A secondary point is to not overreact to minor things. It does seem that the Environmental aspect in this state is lacking in efficiency. I could make an argument that Cuomo is punishing those who didn't vote for him but we have a hotel down here that was held up because of soil testing for a very long time and to the best of my knowledge is not political for the city or the state. (Seemingly)The only corp that gets a pass with environmental delays is Walmart. They can build in any wetland they want. I think Cuomo should speed this up if he wants new development in this state.