The Outdoor Gazette January 2013

Page 2 January 2013 The Outdoor Gazette

January 2013 Page 3The Outdoor Gazette

SubmissionsDo you have an interesting story to tell? It could be about a fishing trip with

Dad or Grampa, maybe a hunting trip with some buddies or just about explor-ing nature with Grammie. We are always looking for good stories/pictures topublish in our paper. If you have a story that you think our readers might beinterested in, then give us a call at 603-989-3093 or send a copy by mail or emailto [email protected].

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On The CoverThe 2012 Trail Camera Picture of the Year submitted byMarty Wall of Randolph, Vermont.

Volume 7 Issue 1

Publisher/Editor: Fred AllardGraphic Design: Dan Millet

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TTrreeaatt yyoouurrsseellff oorr aa ffrriieenndd ttoo aa ddiiggiittaall ssuubbssccrriippttiioonn ttooTThhee OOuuttddoooorr GGaazzeettttee

TTrreeaatt yyoouurrsseellff oorr aa ffrriieenndd ttoo aa ddiiggiittaall ssuubbssccrriippttiioonn ttooTThhee OOuuttddoooorr GGaazzeettttee

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doorgazette.com, and tell mewhere you found his ugly mug.Everyone that sends me the cor-rect location will be placed in arandom drawing for an OutdoorGazette T-Shirt.

The Trail Camera Contest. Noneed to say more! This contesthas been a ton of fun, with tonsof participation. Starting in itsfourth season now, the rules willstay the same. There will be tworandom winners drawn. Yourname is entered one time foreach trail camera picture that ispublished in The OutdoorGazette. …and one TrailCamera Picture of the Year willbe selected from the best pics(selected by TOG staff) andplaced on our Face-Book pagefor you folks to vote on. ThisJanuary’s cover is the 2012 TrailCamera Picture of the year, sentin by Marty Wall of Randolph,Vermont. If you didn’t get achance to vote this year youshould go check out all the final-ists…some great shots there!

Sponsored by Chadwick’s TrailCameras

Staying with the same theme,new this year is the TrailCamera Video Contest. Thiscontest will be entirely on ourface book page. Here’s how itworks. Place you video on TheOutdoor Gazette’s FB page orsend it to me, [email protected], and I willplace it there myself. Every Sixmonths we will open voting forthe best video and award a trailcamera to the top vote getter. Sofirst camera to be given awaywill be in July, after all videossubmitted from now thru June2013 are in. The second one willbe given to the best video sent infrom July thru December2013….I’ll also try and rustle upsome more prizes from somesponsors…This should be reallyfun!

Kids Fishing Photo Contest –Send in pictures of your kids,

Continued next page

By Fred Allard

Editor’s Back

PorchHappy New Year everyone!

Hope 2013 brings you and yourfamily…you know all the goodstuff !

The Outdoor Gazette’s growthhas been steady and has beenvery pleasing to us here on thisside of things. At this point I canhonestly say we made the rightchoice by going “on-line” andwe are here to stay for a longtime to come…yeeehaaaa!

Thanks to all the readers, sub-scribers writers, web-designersand friends that have helpedmake, this somewhat stressfulchange, a huge success.

So what’s new for the OutdoorGazette come 2013? I can hearyou now. “ How is it possible tomake it any better?” (crackmyself up).

Contests are getting better andmore plentiful…Where’sRoscoe? Is a monthly contest,starting this month. Here in thisEditor’s Back Porch is a pictureof Roscoe Blaisdell. (Ain’t hepretty? Pretty ugly, and pretty

likely to stay that way! HAHA).Roscoe is the president of theNew Hampshire Antler and

Skull Trophy Club. We will placeRoscoe’s picture somewhere? Ineach issue of The OutdoorGazette. Find his picture thenemail me, fred@theout-

Where’s Roscoe and other Outdoor Gazette contests on tap for 2013

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Where's Roscoe? One of the many newcontests here at The Outdoor Gazette


from previous page

photo of shed/s you find, beforeyou pick them up. There will bea deer and a moose category.Winners of the “As They Lay”photos of the year will receive aprize package that includes acustomized jacket from TheOutdoor Gazette (one for themoose category and one for thedeer category).

The Outdoor Gazette Shed ofthe Year Award – Co-sponsoredby us, and the NH ShedHunters. The highest scoringdeer and moose shed each year,will be receive a trophy andsome other prizes plus have theirname engraved on a “huge “ tro-phy to be displayed at all theshows and events that TheOutdoor Gazette or the NHShed Hunters Clubattends/hosts. More details onthe NH Shed Hunters website.

Ok, get outside and make somememories, capture them, andthen share them with all of us.

your grandkids, your neighbor’skids and if the pic is of highquality enough we will place it inThe Outdoor Gazette. Eachchild will be awarded a “fishingtackle” prize. Age limit is 15and under.

Youth Hunting Photo Contest- Same deal as the fishing con-test!

The Trophy Spotlight. Eachmonth we will give away a copyof the NHASTC record book towhoever’s story is published inthis section. Just send in a story(doesn’t have to be long at all)and some pictures, score sheets,maps whatever you want. If it isselected to be in the Gazette,we’ll send u a copy of the recordbook. Sponsored by The NewHampshire Antler and SkullTrophy Club.

North Country BoneCollection. Here we goagain…same deal as Trophyspotlight except the “chosenone” will receive a package ofAntler Magic courtesy of theNew Hampshire Shed Hunter’sClub. Sponsored by the NHShed Hunter’s Club.

As they Lay contest. This is acontest started by the NH ShedHunters and now cosponsoredby the Outdoor Gazette. Detailsare on the NH Shed Hunter’swebsite. Briefly, you send in a

Fred Allard lives in Haverhill, NH withhis family. He is a Bowhunter EducationInstructor, a scorer for the Northeast BigBuck Club, the New Hampshire Antler andSkull Trophy Club and the Vermont BigGame Trophy Club. He is the President ofthe Montshire Traditional Bowhunters.Fred can be reached by emailing [email protected].

Check out 13 year old Tyler Tolman's 14 pt, 200 lb… first buck! Tyler is fromMattawamkeag, Maine and has hunted the past three years with his dad. After putting inmany hours of season of hunting this season, between basketball practices, Tyler was ableto kill this buck the first week of December during black-powder season. Congratulationsto Tyler and a great job to his dad for taking time to continue the family hunting tradition!


to go through what I call the” elk

hunting basics” pertaining to style ofhunting, and gear while taking phys-ical ability into account. There aremany ways to hunt elk and if you asksomebody else they will most likelygive you a different opinion thanmine. The three most often usedmethods are: hunting from the truck(no, not road hunting), hunting from

a base/spike camp, and bivouachunting or most commonly referredto as bivy hunting.

“Hunting from the truck”- a lot ofguys, especially weekend warriorswho don’t get a lot of time off, likethis method because it’s quick andclean. It consists of keeping yourextra gear at the truck, only taking aday pack, weapon, and food with theintent to return to the truck afterdark each night. There are pro’s andcon’s to this method like anythingelse such as. Cons- you are only asmobile as your supplies allow, unlessyou want to sleep on the ground with

no cover you have to walk all thosemiles back to the truck each night,and I feel it goes against the huntsmarter not harder outlook. Somepros are: if a spot isn’t good you cansimply get back to the truck withoutbreaking down a camp and leave,and you are carrying less weightthan other styles of hunting.

“Hunting from a base camp”- Ifind the more time I spend in thewoods the more often I see this style

being used. Hunting from a basecamp is real similar from huntingfrom a truck except you usually set itup a little ways from the road andhave the intent to possible not returnfor a night or two. Your base camp,or home base, is a place to harboryour extra supplies and sleep systemwhile you are out on your day trips.This allows you to be closer to theanimals than you would be if youwere hunting from the truck whilestill having a shelter to return toevery night. Base camps seem tohave more pro’s than con’s depend-

Growing up in Vermont I neverthought I would get the opportunityor privilege to chase around the wide

variety of animals that call theRocky Mountains home. I moved inMay of 2011 to LakewoodColorado, and once I got settled intomy new apartment and job I startedresearching the hunting opportuni-

ties this great state had to offer.Though there are many big gameanimals to choose from: mule deer,

whitetail deer, rocky mountainbighorn sheep, mountain goat,black bear, antelope, and mountainlion, to name a few, elk seem to bemy obsession. While I could talkabout hunting elk all day I would like

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Getting ready for a Colorado Elk adventure

Cody tries on his pack, fully loaded....

Continued next page

By Cody Covey

Life at HighAltitudeLife at HighAltitudeElk 101 for the “do it yourself ” East Coast hunter


country), some sort of medical kit,kill kit (game bags, knife, tags, etc.),good pack (day pack or bigger), goodpair of boots (this can make or breaka hunt), camo, weapon, and miscel-laneous goodies (headlamps, batter-ies, survey tape, maps, compass orgps, water pump or purifying tablets,camelback, etc.)

When it comes to buying gear Iwould really suggest doing A LOT ofresearch. Get on some onlineforums (www.rokslide.com) and seewhat other people are using, readreviews on gear before any purchase,figure out what is important to youon the hunt and what you can becheap with, and always buy the best

you can afford. I know that lastcomment may sound odd but for meit has held true. I have probablybought, sold, and bartered multipleof the items listed above and had Ijust spent a little extra money thefirst time to get what I wanted Icould have saved some cash in theprocess. You don’t have to have thebest of everything but don’t cheapout on the essential things like yoursleep system, boots, and shelter.

Hopefully this article has shed a lit-tle light on the challenges you willface when heading west for a moun-tain hunt and will save you a littletime in the planning process. Feelfree to contact me if you are think-ing of going on an elk hunt and I willdo my best to point you in the rightdirection.

ing on your physical ability: it getsyou deeper in the bush and awayfrom some of the crowds, once youget your gear there most of it staysthere allowing you to be light on daytrips, you can store a lot of extrafood at camp, and you have a shelterto fall back on when weather getsreal bad. Now, for the down side:

still less mobile than bivy hunting,more work to break down camp andmove if a spot isn’t producing, andmost people in the West aren’t bash-ful about setting up a tent close toyours.

“Bivy hunting”- While trying togive my unbiased review on style Ifeel like I should mention that this isby far my favorite way to hunt. Bivyhunting is where you carry all yourgear you will need for the length ofyour trip on your back and campwhere ever you end up each night.In my opinion, the pros to this styledrastically outweigh the cons and Ithink your odds of success willincrease two fold if done correctly.Pro’s- You are as mobile as it gets asall your gear is on your back, there isno long walk back to the truck eachnight (this is key when your dogginga heard), you don’t have to plan eachday around making it back to a basecamp, you don’t have to deal withany sort of crowd, and you are usu-ally waking up to bugling bulls nottoo far away. Con’s- physical abilityplays a huge roll depending on how

heavy your pack is, you tend to getfurther away from civilization whichcan be life threatening if your getinjured, and it is the most expensive(gear wise) than the previous two.

If you are planning a hunt outWest you should really take the timeand figure out what style fits you bestand take into account the length of

your hunt, your budget, and howgood of shape you are in. Choosewhich way you want to hunt, stickwith the plan, and always have abackup.

As mentioned before gear can playa significant role in the style youchoose to pursue in the adventure.Being light weight for long durationscan get really pricey, while huntingfrom the truck can cut the price of aDIY hunt close to in half. Whetheryou are hunting from a base camp orbivy sack you will essential have thesame amount of gear, but whenspeed and mobility play a factor thatis where the price point of any prod-uct can start to sway your originalposition. Below is an outline of whatgear you can expect to bring on aDIY hunt if planning to sleep in thewoods.

Gear list: sleeping pad, sleepingbag, shelter (bivy sack, single mantent, multiple man tent, or bivy sackand tarp combo), stove (single burn-er or jet boil type), extra base layers(merino wool or synthetic-friendsdon’t let friends wear cotton in elk

from previous page

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Cody grew up in Corinth, Vermont andwent to Vermont Techincal college where hegraduated with a bachelors degree in con-struction management. He was born into afamily of avid hunters and a love for theoutdoors was instilled in him at a youngage. After college he moved to Lakewood,Colorado to pursue a job as a FieldEngineer in commercial construction andhas lived there ever since. The rocky moun-tains are where Cody learned a love for elkhunting and the challenges of a westernmountain hunt. He can be found huntingdeer, elk and various other game in the falland skiing the fresh powder in the winter.You can reach Cody at [email protected]

equalled by my love for huntingwhitetail. The issue has always beenthat there just aren't enough vaca-

tion days in a calendar year. Facedwith this dilemma, the instant grati-fication world we live in, along witha father in his 70's, I found the needto build a place where we can sit

comfortably out of the elements,that will attract deer and wait for thedeer to come to us. So this year wefinally found the time to put in thefood plot and build the deer hut wehave been talking about at camp forthe past 5 or so years. Yes this wasgoing to be the year we build "TheHut".

We started this project about thistime last year. Called our friendChris Loomis of Green CrowForestry Co. who has been workingthe timber around camp for manyyears now. We asked Chris to give usa quote on the timber value of a 1acre piece of timber we wanted toconvert to a food plot. After Chris'svisit he determined that they wouldharvest the trees and return to usaround $500. Although I had hopedfor more I was eager to get this proj-ect rolling. We agreed to the dealand by spring we had a cleared lotand $500 in our pocket. Then wehad Chris's logger come in andstump the trees which he did for anadditional $2,500. In the end we had

a 1 acre lot cleared and stumped for$2,000. I ran a few soil samples andapplied the proper lime & fertilizer.Then in mid September we followedthis up by planting some Biologicgreen patch plus. While the seedswere taking root we needed to jumpright into the hut project. No rest forthe weary.

As mentioned previously we hadbeen talking about this for 5 yearsand I have been designing this in myhead and on paper for probably 10years. Funny things was my dad wasdoing the same. So you can beassured we had this fully analyzedbefore we started. After a few trips tothe lumber yard and a few moremeetings at my dad's diner table todiscuss the plan we were ready tostart pounding nails or in my caseshooting nails because I have an airnailer and have little time to wastedoing it the old fashion way. I maynot have mention that this camp isconveniently located a mile from anyroad and has no power or runningwater. Exactly what you want for ahunting hide a way but not so con-venient for building a food plot &elevated hut with your 70 year oldfather.

We would not let these difficultieshinder the dream of completing ourelevated Taj Mahal of a deer hutlooking out over a lush green patchplus food plot. So we started with thefirst of 4 legs protruding 10 feet outof the ground which would supportour hut. There were a few set backsand your periodic swear word fol-lowed by laughter. After each dayswork we would count our fingers toensure we had them all, pop open amuch needed cold beer, step backand admire our progress. This was

the routine for a few weeks where wewould sneak off when weather per-mitted to work on "The Hut". Ithink we at times surprised ourselvesat how well it was coming along.

Each time we would head up orreturn from camp to work on the hut


Continued next page

Although this column is usuallygeared towards the waterfowl enthu-siast. I find the urge to write thismonth about a food plot and deerhut my father and I built this pastyear. I'm not certain what gave memore pleasure, the finished productor the process that was required tocomplete it. My heart tells me it wasthe process my head tells me it wasthe finished product.

My dad, like most hunter's dads,was the person that introduced meto the sport of hunting. He wasn'tthe Daniel Boone type character.Nor did he have countless stories ofdeer he had harvested over the years.He was just a guy that was intro-duced to hunting at a young age thatwent on to marry my mom who'sfather and brothers were big hunters& trappers. This resulted in themforming the family hunting camp in1966. They have spent nearly everyopening weekend of deer season atthe family hunting camp since then.I was introduced to hunting camparound the late 1970's when I wasaround 12. It's probably only been in

the last 15-20 years that I have gonefrom the student to the teacher whenit comes to hunting. My dad now in

his early 70's is more about the timeat camp with friends & family thenhe is about bagging the big buck. Itoo am all about the time spent withfriends & family. It's just that I havegone on to hunt just about every crit-ter allowed by law with a gun, bow,muzzleloader and a trap.

My love for hunting waterfowl is

Hunting Memories - Make one and pass them along

A Waterfowler's PerspectiveA Waterfowler's PerspectiveBy Brian BouchardBy Brian Bouchard

Here I am seeding the food plot.

Dad installing lag support bolts

First leg of The Hut goes in the ground.

allowed us to build memories thatwill last a life time. We will be able tohave a place to hunt together andshare memories of future hunts. Ilook forward to being able to some-day pass this on to future familymembers who want to be make theirown memories.


from previous page

we had the chance to talk about thehut, hunting and just life in general.This time was and always will bememorable times shared with mydad. The others at camp seemed toleave us alone for this project whichwas fine and in some way appreciat-

ed. After several weeks of blood,sweat and tears we completed "TheHut".

Deer season rolled around with thestart of bow. It's just my dad and Iwho bow hunt for deer. The othersat camp stick to rifle season and

occasionally take their muzzleload-ers for a walk in the woods. Dad andI found ourselves in our new hut onseveral occasions during bow season.Despite seeing a moose and a nicedoe on our trail camera we wereunable to harvest a deer during thisfirst season. Then came rifle and ourhopes were high each time we wouldclimb up into the hut. There was onetime that I was out duck hunting onthe weekend with a client when mydad was hunting solo in the hut.Although he saw a spike it wasn't

legal to harvest. I had hoped hewould get one to make all his hardwork be rewarded. He also saw sev-eral nice Tom's that we hope will bearound this spring.

This season too pasted as well withno deer and soon muzzleloaderwould start with us having bothdrawn antlerless permit I figured thiswould be the season we would fillour tags. Once again several hours

spent overlooking our new food plotbut no deer.

As I reminisce this past deer hunt-ing season and the time leading upto it building the hut and putting inthe new food plot. I realize how for-tunate I am to be able to have theopportunity to experience thesetimes with family and friends, morespecifically with my dad.

This project in particular hasallowed me to spend several dayswith my dad that not only allowed usto build a Hut and food plot. It

Inside The Hut over looking the food plot during bow season.

Dad & I Fertilizing the plot.

Food Plot after seeding and fertilizer

The Hut looking out over food plot

The Hut starting to take shape

Dad & I admiring our progress

A Spike horn walking through the food plot

Dad inside The Hut filming

I have been hunting deer and predators forover 30 years. Turkey for 15 years.Waterfowl for the past 10 years. Owner ofFields Bay Outfitters. I Live in St AlbansVT with my wife Michele and our 2 sonsDillon & Kyle and our 2 labs Tyson &Remi.

Deer Camp. I was quite franklyshocked that Dean even suggestedthis, however it is one of his favoriteplaces and he knows the lay of theland there. So off we headed to thedepths of the North East Kingdom ofVermont. I have been to The DeerCamp before, but always in latespring, summertime or very early fall.Never in winter. I figured it would befun; I enjoy being outdoors androughing it a bit. The Deer Campconsists of a multipurpose room onthe main floor and a loft that folks andsometimes mice can sleep in. There isrunning water in the kitchen sink; Iam told is kind of a big deal. It is pret-ty basic and rustic so that means, out-door privy. I should probably statehere that I am not a huge fan of theprivy. This one is usually ok as far asprivies go, but in previous visits to TheDeer Camp, I have found my ownplaces to answer the call of nature.During a scouting trip one fall, therewas an incident involving a snake clev-erly disguised as a stick, as well assome foliage that may or may not havebeen poison ivy, it is hard to tell whileleaping around and trying to adjustclothing. Still I preferred a screenedarea of woods to the privy.

When we arrived at Camp with our

snowshoes, the camp and surroundingforest was sparkling with nearly twofeet of fresh snow.

Excellent conditions for snowshoe-ing and I am really looking forward toa good time. I had not been on a‘date’ with my husband since beforerifle season, which in Vermont endsthe Sunday after Thanksgiving. Thenyou have your front loader season,which ends the second Sunday inDecember. Suffice it to say, I had notspent any quality time with my hus-band since late October. So here wewere tromping through the woods,reveling in togetherness. I followedtrustingly as Dean guided me downvarious gullies and up steep hillsides,through pucker brush and across

streams. I had no idea where I was ormore importantly what was under-neath my snowshoes. I had a few inci-dents of stepping down before Ichecked with my poles only to findmyself up to my hips in snow. Yup itwas fun. I did learn to check thedepth of the snow with my poles pret-ty quickly. I also learned that boogersdo freeze, and that eyeballs can glazeover with a thin film of ice, as my dar-ling husband merrily and jauntilyplowed on ahead like some dementedwood elf, with what seemed to be asingle minded purpose. I am not sureexactly what ‘purpose’ he had in mindbut I bet it had to do with me neverasking him to go snowshoeing againor maybe he just wanted a beer. I didnot have the breath to ask, as all thatcame out of my mouth were coldpuffs of visible air. We finally arrivedback at the cabin after what seemedlike hours in the frozen north. I couldhave used a whiskey or a hot cocoa, ora hot cocoa with whiskey in it, you getthe idea, but since Dean was in chargeof the date, we had beer. The beerwas more of a beer-sicle (like aPopsicle only beer), I was cold, andthis was not turning out to be as muchfun as I thought it would be. I drankthe beer-sicle anyway. It was then

decided that since the beer was freez-ing, we should probably head home.Home being an hour and a half rideon clear roads, I figured now would bea good time to answer the call ofnature. What to do? I had no choice,three feet of snow, no friendly privacyscreen of foliage, and even if I decid-ed to hang on to the tailgate of thetruck and go, there was still three feetof snow. Fine, chin up and off to theprivy I trudged. I promise, I am not asqueamish person, you will just haveto take my word for it, raising twoactive boys has gifted me with a strongconstitution for injury and generalmayhem.

I arrived at the privy door, clearedaway snow so I could open the door,


Continued on page 13

Snowshoes that are frequently used in our lovely state parks.

Stalagmite: A cylindrical or conicalmineral deposit built up from the floorof a cave or cavern.

Several years ago, for Christmas, Iarranged for my family of four to beoutfitted with snowshoes and theproper accessories. You may be ask-ing yourself “What do snowshoeshave to do with stalagmites?” If I werenot the one writing this article, I would

be asking that very question. Trust mewe will get there.

For our first family snowshoe outing,we enjoyed some time at The GreenMountain Audubon Nature Center inHuntington Vermont. That wentwell; it was cold, snowy and actually

delightful. I spent the greater part ofa lovely winter afternoon with my hus-band and our two boys happily tramp-ing the familiar trails. We all slept wellthat night with that cozy feeling thatcomes from outdoor activity in winterand coming home to a simmeringcrock pot of venison stew, homemadebread and some hot cocoa. That day,in particular, holds a place in myheart. It was wonderful. It was somuch fun in fact, that my husband

Dean, decided that it would be reallynice to have some time to ourselvesout in the woods with the snowshoes.

So it was arranged. The boys wouldstay with their grandparents and wewould take our snowshoes, some food,and some adult beverages to: The

by Tina Coranby Tina CoranEmbrace Your Redneck TendenciesEmbrace Your Redneck Tendencies

The Pinnacle

The Privvy!



At one half hour after sunseton December 31th, will bring aclose to the entire Massachusettsdeer season. It’s finally over.Beginning on Monday October15th, and running continuouslyfor ten weeks, the carnage, orlack thereof, will finally stop.

This is a mixed blessing forthose that deer hunt and theirsupportive families. Some, likemyself, are glad that it’s finallyover. No more getting up at 5am,(wife complaining). No moremissing work, (boss complain-ing). No more sandwiches,snacks, juice, or coffee consumedin the woods or truck, (stomachcomplaining). No more climbingsteep hills or sitting in a tree-stand looking at nothing forhours, (back and confidencecomplaining).

Some though, like myself, willmiss it. The fresh air and sunris-es, the laughing with otherhunters, or complaining withsame hunters about the lack ofdeer. I’ll miss the adrenaline

rush of seeing deer, (if any), pos-sibly shooting one, and all thebragging rights, (if any) that gowith it. The challenge of thehunt, and the camaraderie aremore a part of deer hunting

than the actual kill itself.The last day of the season has

always had a mystical feelingabout it; or sometimes a feelingof desperation, like it’s the bot-tom of the ninth and this is ourlast chance. When that alarmgoes off on that final morning,it’s like getting up for the lastday of school. Sometimes on the

last day, some strange event hap-pens in the woods, like getting abig buck. This is fondly remem-bered. Whenever that story isretold, it always starts with,“remember the time on the lastday”.

This year, the last day will havea different meaning for methough. This year, I will huntlocally with my son Nate forprobably the last time, and itdoesn’t feel good. Nate is now asenior in college and his plansafter graduation is to go out westto live Missoula, Montana. “BigSky” country, where the moun-tains are taller and steeper, therivers wider and deeper, and thesky are bigger and bluer. In away, I wish I were going withhim.

Nate hasn’t hunted seriouslysince he’s been in college. Hesimply hasn’t been home. For thelast four hunting seasons, theonly chance we had to hunt wasduring Winter Break. Usually, hewould get home aroundDecember 20th, and we’d have aweek or so to do some muzzle-loader hunting. Factor in hislate-night social life and there

were very few days that we actu-ally got out. But I still cherishedevery one of them whether hewas hung-over or not.

We have been hunting togethersince he was a little boy.Massachusetts isn’t a veryfriendly state for young hunters,

so we couldn’t do any serioushunting until Nate was in middleschool. Even then I had to slow-ly temper him with short trips,so that he wouldn’t lose interestor get discouraged.

His first opening day of deerseason came when he was in sev-enth grade. We convinced momto let Nate play hooky and tryour hand at deer hunting overon Mass. Ave. She was nervousabout her son in the woods, (shecould care less about me), so Ihad to pack extra food, clothes,and gear. I almost couldn’t carrymy pack up the mountain.

We got up early and had agood breakfast, took our tenminute drive, then our thirtyminute hike and plopped our-selves down in front of a coupleof big oaks. It still wasn’t day-light yet when Nate turns to meand asks, “Dad, do you have anysnacks, I’m hungry?.” We gotlucky that day as we got a nicedoe and our hunting buddy TomKondel shot a five-pointer.

My proudest moment withNate though came a few yearslater. By now he was sixteen and

Remembering the last day

Mass MeanderingsMass MeanderingsBy David WilletteBy David Willette

Continued next page

took off my snowshoes and went onin. It wasn’t too bad, I was dark but Iwas pretty sure there were no spidershardy enough to be living in the coldand snow. They don’t really botherme anyway. I carried on with my busi-ness but as I sat down all I could think

about was the month or so that theprivy saw constant use by multiplepatrons all eating an abundance ofcamp food including pickled eggs, agreat deal of processed meat, beans,and various types of alcohol. Then myneurosis took over, I had a suddenflashback to a middle school film stripwe had to watch for science classabout how stalagmites are formed incaves (I told you we would get there)and I wondered how deep a hole wasunder that outhouse and how closemy backside was to a PINACCLE OF

POOP! I couldn’t breathe right, evenjust writing about it now my heart is inminor palpitations from the anxiety.

I have not been back to The DeerCamp in winter since that day. Mysnowshoes are used throughout theVermont winter to stomp a ‘path’ in

our back yard for my dog. FrequentlyI use the snowshoes in one of our love-ly state parks, sometimes I ask my hus-band to come along, but mostly Ibring my dog..

old enough to hunt by himself.He could sit alone, with a highpowered rifle and make his owndecisions on what to do, andwhen to do it. If he wanted toget up and move a little, hecould. If a legal deer came intohim and he wanted to try toshoot it, it was his decision onwhen to pull the trigger. Notmine.

That year we were huntingover in Prosser Hollow in NorthPetersburg, NY. It was openingday, and the woods were full ofhunters and pressured deer. Itwas a clear crisp morning. Natehad a doe permit, but I told himon the walk in that we alreadyhad a deer in the freezer, andthat he didn’t have to shoot thefirst deer that he saw.

The shooting started right atfirst light, but then it calmeddown for a while. Around 9:30 Idecided to take a walk over tosee how his morning had gone sofar. As I got closer to him, Icould see him start to smile, butI knew he hadn’t shot his rifle.

He started to tell me that at8:00 three big does came off theridge, out of the laurel andwalked right past him at thirtyyards. He said, “Dad, it waswicked cool. One of them waspretty big. I checked her outwith the scope. I knew that she

didn’t have horns right away, butI watched it with my scope any-way.” I asked him why he didn’tshoot, and he said, “We alreadyhave some deer meat, and whyshoot it if we’re not going to eatit.”

I couldn’t have been moreproud. It’s not too often aroundhere that any hunter, myselfincluded, lets a legal deer walkby. Not that Nate is wise beyondhis years, but he showed a senseof fairness that day that on somedays I don’t have.

I wish that I could remembermy last hunt with my father, butI can’t. I’m sure that it wasuneventful, most hunts are. Itwas probably a deer hunt some-where nearby, at that stage of hishunting career, he didn’t need tohunt that hard, so he didn’t govery often-usually just openingday and only if the weather wasgood.

One thing I do regret though isthat my father never got to huntwith his grandkids. That’s a lastday that I definitely would haveremembered. And he would havetoo.


Continued from page 10from previous page

David Willette is a free-lance outdoorwriter who lives in Western Massachusetts.He can be contacted through www.coyote-wars.com

Tina uses her snow shoes to break trail for her puppy

A South Burlington, Vermont resident, for-merly a “flatlander” and married to aVermonter. She and her “Vermnter” hus-band have 2 sons aged 17 and 22, as wellas a Brittany spaniel who behaves betterthan all of them. Tina was raised countryand it is in her blood. Tina can be reachedvia email at [email protected].


There are a lot of great rivers inthe state of New Hampshire, but theAndroscoggin River stands out asone of my favorites. The sectionbetween Errol and the Pontook Damis especially dear to my heart.Needless to say the fishing can bevery good and for that reason aloneI would continue to return, howeverit is the lore and the history of theriver that also brings me back eachseason. When I drive along the riverI can’t help but think of what theriver must have been like before thefirst Euro Americans arrived; it musthave been a hunter/anglers para-dise. I would guess that most people,when they think of theAndroscoggin, the logging areawould come to mind. The river alsohas a rich legacy of fly fishing andthe Brown Owl fly is born of thatlegacy.

The Brown Owl was developed byBob Broad and was named for hishunting and fishing lodge, BrownOwl Camps, which were located onthe river. The camps are gone nowand the site serves as a visitor centerfor the Umbagog National Wildlife

Refuge. Bob developed the fly as astonefly imitation for theAndroscoggin.

At first look the Brown Owl isoften mistaken for a streamer fly.The tent wing shape is indeed simi-lar to many popular NewHampshire streamer patterns suchas Joe’s Smelt and the HarrisSpecial. The Brown Owl is designedto float in the surface film or hoverslightly under the surface. Adultfemale stoneflies are often trapped inthe surface film when in the act ofegg laying. Bob, no doubt, noticedthis behavior and came up with theOwl.

Although the Brown Owl hasalways been a perennial favorite inour shop and has sold well over theyears I had never given it muchthought. A couple of years ago I wasasked to tie a dozen Owls for a cus-tomer. After completing the order Itied a few extras for myself. Not longafter I found myself fishing belowthe Pontook Dam. The fishing hadbeen fair, but nothing to write homeabout. I was rummaging through myfly box looking for something differ-

ent to try when I spied the Owl. Itied one on and a few minutes later Irealized what I had been missingand wondering out loud why I hadnever fished this pattern before.

Like a great many Androscoggin

anglers I have always considered theStimulator to be one, if not the bestimitation of an adult stonefly. Afterthat evening’s experience I am con-vinced that the Brown Owl is thebetter fly for the job. I am not givingup on “Stemis”, but when one seri-ously looks at the Owl you realize

Riverbank TalesRiverbank Talesby Bill Thompsonby Bill Thompson

The Brown Owl - Tying a New Hampshire Classic

2888 White Mountain HighwayNorth Conway, New Hampshirewww.northcountryangler.comPhone: 603-356-6000

The North Country Angler has been in the “Valley”for over thirty years. We are a full service fly shopoffering quality fly fishing gear and guiding.

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Anniversaryas owners

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how well thought out the design is.The dark teal feather wing gives theimpression of the vined wing of thereal insect and the tent shape alsomimics the shape of the real thing.The wing, most importantly, keepsthe fly from sinking. The soft grizzlyhackle represents the stonefly’s legsand gives the fly movement in thewater. The one thing I have alwaysquestioned is the gold body.Although one could make the argu-ment that it gives the fly an irides-cent look of the submerged bug? Ihave often thought of changing thebody to either foam or deer bodyhair, however, the original patternworks so well I have never taken thetime to do so.

The Brown OwlHook: Mustad 3365 or 9575 other

streamer hooks may be substituted.

Thread: Black 6/0Body: Gold oval tinselUnder wing and throat: Deer hair

from the base of the bucktail (I liketo sub moose body hair)

Wing: Two teal flank feathers tiedone on top of the other

Hackle: Soft Grizzly hen hackle,collared and trimmed on top.

from previous page

The Coolest Gift IdeaYour Picture on The Outdoor Gazette! No, not the real cover but an 8x10full color mock-up of our cover. You can put your favorite hunting, fish-ing, snowmobiling or anything you can think of, right on The NewHampshire and Vermont Outdoor Gazette cover and it will look like thereal thing. It’s the perfect gift for any outdoor enthusiast. Cover will befull color on heavy stock photo paper and will fit an 8x10 picture frame.

What do we need from you? A digital photo with at least200dpi resolution at 8x10 size or original photo mailed to

us for scanning. 4 headlines of 30 characters or lessand the month and year you would like on the cover

Want to buy one? send email to [email protected]

The Coolest Gift IdeaThe Coolest Gift Idea

Price is only $20.00 including postage

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Originally from Maine, Bill Thompson,with his wife Janet, lives in Freedom andowns North Country Angler fly shop inNorth Conway. He has been fly fishing formore than 30 years and is a licensed NHFishing Guide. He has fished all over NewEngland, in Canada and out West, butclaims the Saco as his “home river.” Healso writes a column for a local paper aswell as articles in national fly fishing mag-azines. Bill’s email is [email protected].

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capacity magazines. It includes agrandfather provision, so it says we’llbe able to keep what we have, but wewon’t ever be able to sell or buy anymore. I haven’t yet found a copy of

the proposal to see the actual details,but I’m sure it will ban every riflebased on a military design, and mostguns that take detachable maga-zines. If similar to the old law, it willnot be caliber specific, so even.22LR guns will be included.

Another proposal I just saw is evenmore frightening. It calls for thereclassification of all semi-automaticrifles as Class lll firearms, the sameas machine guns. This would meanthat every rifle would have to be reg-istered with ATF, and every ownerwould have to be fingerprinted andpurchase a $200 tax stamp for everygun owned. It would also mean thatthese guns could only be handled byClass lll dealers, a very small per-centage of licensed dealers. I can’timagine most gun owners ever beingable to comply with a law like this, sothe choice would be to turn yournow illegal gun in to the authoritiesor become an instant criminal.

The gun has once again beenblamed for the actions of a single,crazed individual. The fact thatsomething like 99% of all legallyowned firearms are never used in acrime seems to have no bearing onany of these arguments. I recentlystarted several threads about theshooting on my business Facebookpage. I was somewhat taken abackby the response. Several thousandpeople viewed the threads, and sev-eral hundred posted responses.While most of the comments werepro-gun, not surprising given thefact that this was a gun store page,many were vehemently anti-gun.The anti-gun rhetoric actually got soabusive and personal at one pointthat I had to delete several com-ments and ban people who posted

them. I was accused, because I sellguns, of being “shameless” and a“mercenary who profits through thepain of others.”

There are an awful lot of peopleout there who feel that guns are theroot of all evil in this country and, ifthey were all banned, most violentcrime would go away. It is a simplis-tic and very naïve point of view, butone shared by most opponents ofprivate gun ownership.

There are some real so called“loop holes” in how guns are soldand transferred here. Some of thoseproblem areas can probably be dealtwithout having any impact on gunownership; other areas can likelynever be successfully addressedbecause of legal issues.

One area I would like to seeaddressed is the ability to searchmental health records when doing abackground check for a gun sale.Currently, those records are notavailable, either due to privacy con-cerns or poor reporting from thestates. There are some real potentialproblems here too; one being defin-ing what pre-existing conditionswould disqualify a person from buy-ing a gun. Treatment for depressionis not the same as treatment for aserious psychosis. So, who deter-mines what standards are used todisqualify an applicant?

The gun show “loop hole” isanother oft cited problem. As itstands now, anyone can sell a gun ata gun show. You don’t have to be adealer, you just have to pay the feefor a table and start selling. Theproblem with this is that many indi-viduals simply have no knowledge ofwhat constitutes a legal sale. I haveseen countless sales made at showsthat should have never taken place.Guns are sold to non-residents whowould normally not be able to buyguns out of their own states. Insome cases, sales are made to con-victed felons who know they won’thave to go through a backgroundcheck on a private sale. My ownfeeling on this is that every sale at agun show should have to go througha licensed dealer, where backgroundchecks would have to be done.

Of course the big issue is the“Assault Gun,” also known as a“Weapon of War”, or “Weapon ofMass Destruction” by the anti-gun-ners. The most common questionasked is “Why does anyone need toown an “Assault Rifle” when allthey’re designed to do is kill people?What is an ‘assault rifle” anyway?Definitions are where this wholeargument falls apart, because anygun can be called an “assaultweapon” if it’s used against another


Lock, Stock and Smoking BarrelLock, Stock and Smoking BarrelBy Stan HolzBy Stan Holz

Continued next page

I’m writing this only several daysafter the gut wrenching massacrethat took place in Newtown,Connecticut. Facts are still a bitsketchy, but we do know about thehorrible loss of lives, including somany innocent young children. Theshooter, a 20 year old man, used aBushmaster .223 semi-automaticrifle to inflict the bulk of his may-hem.

Even during the huge outpouringof grief and sympathy from thewhole world, the blame game hasalready started. People want toknow why this happened, how ithappened, and what we can do toinsure that a similar event does nothappen again.

Discussions concerning mentalhealth and screening for mentalhealth issues have permeated everytelevision, radio, and online mediaoutlet. So have discussions about theguns. In fact, much of the recentdiscourse has been directed againstguns, access to guns, and the state ofour country’s gun laws. The argu-ments are the same ones we all heard

prior to 1994, when the failed“Assault Weapons Ban” was firstenacted. New versions of that nowdefunct law have already been pro-posed and may even be on the floor

of the House by the time you readthis article.

The latest version to be introducedtotally bans the sale and possessionof “weapons of war” and all high

Yet Another Horrible School Shooting….

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Hours of operation: Tuesday to Saturday - 10am to 5pmFriday - 10am to 6:30pmStan & Sandy


from previous page

person. The 1994 ban tried todefine it, but failed miserably onevery count. Here’s basically whatthey used as definitions: a semi-automatic gun can’t have a certainname (like AK-47 or AR-15), it can’thave a stock that folds or collapses, itcan’t have a muzzle brake/flash sup-pressor, it can’t have a bayonet lug,and no gun can have a magazinethat holds more than 10 rounds.This affected rifles, shotguns, andhandguns. The law was, thankfully,allowed to “sunset” in 2004 becauseit had no effect on crime or the useof “assault” style guns in crime. TheFBI later noted that this type of gunwas used in less than 2% of allcrimes, so the law never could havehad an impact on crime anyway.

Now, the same legislators are call-ing for the same types of laws thatfailed in past years. We have toadmit that high capacity semi-auto-matic guns are attractive to thosesick minded people who want to kill.That’s true, sadly. These guns canfire quickly and often, they are easyto hold on target, and they areincredibly accurate. All the traitsthat make them attractive to targetshooters and hunters also makethem attractive to homicidal mani-acs. Guns built on what is called the“AR platform” are among the mostpopular rifles on the market. Howdo we keep these guns, or any gunfor that matter, out of the hands ofthose bent on destruction? Here’sthe answer: I don’t know. I do knowthat trying to ban them would have

no effect at all on their availability tothose who shouldn’t own them. Iknow that trying to turn them intoClass lll firearms would instantlycriminalize a large portion of ourpopulation.

There are over 350 million gunslegally owned in this country. A verysmall percentage of those guns willalways be misused by unstable indi-viduals. Although something like99.9% of legal gun owners wouldnever misuse their guns, that 0.01%is what raises havoc with all of us.There are no easy solutions to this,but I do know that the majority willalways pay for the abuses of that tinyminority.

The gun debate has often beenemotional and irrational, with wildclaims and accusations coming fromboth sides of the issue. I can onlyhope that cooler heads will prevail,that a true dialog will start, and thatthe most extreme and objectionableproposals will be quickly discarded.I also hope we never have to witnessanother massacre like the one thathappened to the poor souls ofNewtown.

Stan Holz lives in Whitefield, NH and,with his wife Sandy, has owned and oper-ated Village Gun Store there since 1974.He invites everyone to stop and visit. Asidefrom his interest in firearms and shooting,Stan is also involved in amateur astronomy,photo-graphy, ham radio and scuba diving.He can be contacted by emailing him [email protected].

Maine is the only state in theNortheast with a known breedingpopulation of lynx, comprising thesouthern edge of a larger lynx popu-lation that extends into Quebec andNew Brunswick.

Canada lynx were federally listedas threatened in 2000 by the US Fishand Wildlife Service (USFWS), andalthough not known at the time, theywere approaching peak numbers inMaine.

A joint eleven-year study of lynxrevealed that the extensive cutting ofspruce and fir in the 1970s and1980s following an insect outbreakbenefited lynx 30 years later. Theabundance of young dense coniferforest became ideal habitat for snow-shoe hare, the principal food sourcefor lynx, and subsequently supportedlarger numbers of both populations.

As the forest matures, its value forsnowshoe hare and lynx will decline,but may be sufficient for lynx to per-sist. MDIFW, USFWS and theUniversity of Maine are assessingthe types and amount of habitatneeded for lynx in Maine.

Furbearer Trapping and LynxLynx have been protected from

harvest in Maine since 1967, but are

sometimes caught in traps set legallyfor other furbearing species. Since2000, one lynx was illegally shot in afoothold trap and four lynx died inconibear traps. Maine’s trappingregulations were modified followingthe death of these lynx. No lynxhave died in traps set under current

regulations.Maine’s lynx population grew

when regulated trapping occurred.MDIFW’s information shows inci-dental trapping of lynx does notpose a threat to the sustainability ofMaine’s 600 to 1,200+ lynx.However, captures of lynx in trapsare considered “take” under the fed-eral ESA. MDIFW has submitted anincidental take plan to USFWS that

minimizes and mitigates risk to lynxfrom trapping.

Explore the navigation to the rightto learn more about the natural his-tory of lynx, what our research hasrevealed, or trapping informationconcerning lynx in Maine.

You can also go to Off-siteresources to view and comment onthe recently submitted IncidentalTake Plan.

Lynx - The Maine Story

calmly turning away from me backtoward the front of the tractor,which kept rumbling on obediently.

I then stood up, trying not to stepon any toddlers by my feet in theswaying wagon, waved both armsand yelled again “heelllooooo!” Mywife tried to be more polite andyelled “excuse me!”, but when thatphrase is yelled over the roar of a

diesel engine is looses most of itspoliteness and just sounds demand-ing. However it came across, itworked because the wagon lurchedto a stop as the driver just about felloff of his seat when he finally turnedand saw me standing waving myarms. Everyone else kind of laughedas we climbed off, probably thinkingwe were nuts to make such a fussabout needing to get off there.Maybe we were.

We immediately found a tree weliked. Every year we seem to like oneright away, look all through the restand then come back to the first one.So again we continued on, lookingfor the perfect tree although none ofthem are, but most of them are pret-ty nice. Megan and Ben ran up anddown the rows yelling “this one, thisone” almost constantly.

The tall brown grass hid someholes where trees used to be and onone of Ben’s high speed chargesdown a row he fell in one and justabout disappeared. We wanderedslowly down the field back towardthe car. The field was bordered onone side by the Connecticut Riverand some high, steep cliffs toweredabove on the other. I wore nothing

but a baseball cap and no gloves.We had almost gone all the way

back to the car, when we finally hadit narrowed down to two trees, rightnext to each other, this year wewould not go back to our first tree.Letting the kids have the final vote, Igot down and started cutting whileMeg and Ben chanted “cut it, cut it!”and Michelle still stood locked in

indecision. Too late now!The selection process over, we

loaded our cut tree into anothersmaller wagon driving by thatbrought it right to our vehicle. Afterloading it up, we made our way tothe free hot chocolate and SantaClause. We hung out a few minutesby the smoky fire with some treatsand watched some more familiesclimb into the back of the big yellowwagon. I hoped they didn’t reallycare where they got off, because thestops are kind of tricky.

We headed home thinking of thenext step. All we had left to do wasunload it, trim it, get it inside, put itup so it looks straight, then get thelights on, and decorate it. Easy, I’dhave it no other way.


Our light sport utility vehiclebounced and weaved through themuddy ruts of the field. At 45degrees, the weather was less like theholiday season and much more likemud season. We reached the centerof the field and parked in a lot withmany other cars.

Climbing out into the sun, welooked around at the expanse ofChristmas trees lined up in long per-fect rows down the field. Smokefrom an outside fire burning pinelogs made me think of sugaring sea-son. In fact, nothing at all seemedlike Christmas until we got closer tothe buildings at the heart of theChristmas tree farm, where therewas Christmas music, decorationsand even Santa himself.

We made our way to the back of awagon being pulled behind a tractor,clutching the handle of a bow sawprovided by the farm which alsohelped provide Ben a valuable lessonas to what part of a saw is the han-dle and which is the blade. Thewagon was built to look like a rail-road car and painted bright red,green and yellow. The driver told us

he would drive down the field, and ifwe spotted the perfect tree and hadto get out we would have to holler athim loudly to stop.

My family has always gotten realChristmas trees. Yes, it’s messy, a lotof work, and can be more expensive.But the unique, natural beauty ofeach individual tree and the wonder-ful smell makes it worth it for us.How so much more special an eventit is when instead of dragging a bor-ing old plastic tree out of a rottencardboard box, you go outside, cutdown a real tree, and drag it fitfullythrough the front door and throughthe house scratching the walls andleaving a trail of fallen needles onthe floor that you will be sweepingup for weeks after Christmas. Nowthat’s memorable.

We bumped along on the wagon tothe end of the field, and decided onan area to choose a tree. I waved myarms at the driver. He was not look-ing at me, but I should have been inhis peripheral vision as he lookedsideways at the trees going by. Noresponse. I waved again, both hands,and yelled “hello!” He replied by

Family TracksBy Brian Lang

Megan finding the 'perfect' Tree

A Season to Choose

By Brian Lang

Family Tracks

Brian Lang lives with his wife, Michelleand two children Megan and Ben inReading, VT. Brian grew up in VT andstarted enjoying his outdoor pursuits at avery young age. He is an avid hunter, fish-erman, camper, and hiker and hopes to givehis kids the same wholesome upbringing heenjoyed in the New England outdoors.When he's not outside, he works as anMRI Technologist. He can be reached [email protected].


CONCORD, N.H. – As the newyear approaches, a statewidecoalition hopes parents and childcaregivers think about this as aresolution: Connect children withthe great outdoors in 2013.They’ll love it and it’s great forthem!

The NH Children in NatureCoalition has released a newreport, Opening Doors toHappier, Healthier Lives, whichoutlines recommendations forconnecting kids with nature inNew Hampshire. The coalition’sseven goals – starting with gettingkids outside to enjoy the great out-doors – are endorsed and wel-comed by Susan E. Lynch, MD,New Hampshire’s First Lady.

“As a pediatric lipid specialistand as New Hampshire’s FirstLady, I am very interested inworking to encourage children tolead a healthy, active lifestyle as apreventative measure againstchildhood obesity,” Lynch said.“This emphasis on the importanceof the health and physical activityof our children is equally repre-sented and championed by thegreat work of the NH Children inNature Coalition. This coalitiondemonstrates the importance ofoutdoor activities and learningexperiences while utilizing NewHampshire’s rich and diverse nat-ural resources.”

This is a great time to make aresolution for children, accordingto Marilyn Wyzga of the NHChildren in Nature Coalition andthe NH Fish and GameDepartment. “Looking ahead toall the possibilities of a new year,let’s make a resolution for ourchildren,” Wyzga said. “Whetheryou’re a parent, grandparent,aunt, uncle, teacher or any care-giver for kids: Encourage yourchildren to play outside. Let themexplore. Let them play in thesnow, jump over a log, build a fort.It doesn’t have to be a formalactivity; just enjoy a little time outeach day. Open the door and letthem play.”

With today’s children watchingscreens an average of 54 hours aweek, the consequences are obesi-ty and sedentary lifestyles, deep-ening misconceptions about thenatural world, and less emphasison unstructured time outdoors,according to the Coalition’sreport. “The price of continuingthese trends is serious, not only forchildren and their families, but forour communities, our schools, ourculture, our economy, and theidentity of the Granite State.”

In New Hampshire, 71 percent

of children ages 6 to 17 and 53percent of high school students donot get enough physical activity,according to the NH Departmentof Health and Human Services.And it’s no coincidence that 32percent of children ages 6 to 12are overweight or obese.Combined, excess weight and lackof physical activity are risk factorsfor asthma, diabetes, hypertensionand other chronic illnesses thatburden the state’s health care sys-tem and lead to lost productivity.

Nationally, the amount of out-side space where children areallowed to roam free around theirhomes is one-ninth what it was in1970.

Yet, research shows that the ben-efits of embracing an active, out-door lifestyle are many, and thatchildren who spend time outdoorsare healthier and more creative,have better concentration, andeven get better grades.

The good news is that this canbe done easily in New Hampshire,and at little cost. In fact, NewHampshire is well positioned tolead the nation in promoting ahealthy, active lifestyle that takesadvantage of all the natural beau-ty, outdoor opportunities, andfacilities our state offers – attrib-utes that already help maketourism one of the state’s mostimportant economic engines.

The coalition – representingagencies and organizations fromdiverse health, education and con-servation disciplines – supportsseven goals:

1. Increase participation in out-door learning experiences for chil-dren and families.

2. Urge more children and fam-ilies to get outside on a regularbasis.

3. Ensure that every child hasthe opportunity to experiencenature in his or her local commu-nity.

4. Provide children with moretime for free play outdoors.

5. Increase appreciation andcare of the outdoors throughorganized activities and groups.

6. Improve the health, fitness,and well-being of NewHampshire children.

7. Deepen the understanding ofthe natural world among childrenand youth.

For more information about theN.H. Children in NatureCoalition and how you can makea resolution to reconnect children,youth and families with nature,visit www.nhchildreninnature.org..

Sturtevant Pond CampsOn 580 acre Sturtevant Pond

Magalloway, Maine

Three fully equipped housekeeping cabinsBoat rentals — Guide service

• Four pound smallmouth bass are not uncommon• Fly fish the Magalloway River or the Androscoggin

with numerous backcountry trout ponds and troutstreams for the adventurous angler

• Fantastic grouse and woodcock hunting• Challenging trophy white-tailed deer hunting

For rates and information call 207-486-9308 email: [email protected]

www.sturtevantpondcamps.comand on Facebook

Sturtevant Pond CampsPO Box 32

Errol, NH 03579

RESOLUTION FOR 2013Open the Door and Connect Kids and Families with Nature


tent. As is normal, I couldn’t wait toget back to camp to hear the storiesabout the evening hunt. It’s alwaysfun to discuss everything going on

and to listen to each other beforedeciding on a plan for the next day.

After Jeff and I got back to the tentand turned the light on it seemed likea long time had passed before myfather showed up. As we joked back inforth he slowly walked in the door.Cussing under his breath none of usknew what he was saying until heblurted out, “Great, I don’t have abow to hunt with now.”

Looking at the bow in his hands Icould easily see the top limb was cutin half and the cam was dangling offfrom it. I couldn’t imagine what hecould have done to make the bowlook like it did, so I asked.

Irritated, he told me he had deeraround him so he waited until it wasdark to let his bow down with therope and descend with his climbingtree stand. When he got near the bot-tom he heard a loud cracking noise,but didn’t know what it was from, buta few seconds later he figured it out.

The bow was leaning against the

tree and as he took the last hitch withthe base of the stand, the V in it duginto the top limb and cut it right inhalf. The bow was instantly useless.

Since they were taking me to meetmy friend after dinner, I quickly gotmy spare bow out of the case so hecould use it for the rest of the week.Luckily we have the same draw lengthand shooting style.

After they dropped me off he gotback to camp and sighted the bow inwith the headlights of the truck. Hegot it shooting accurately out to 30yards and called it a night.

Most people would feel uncomfort-able switching equipment at 11pm inthe dark the night before going hunt-ing, but my father has always beengood at adapting to bad situations.When he got in the tree the nextmorning he visualized himself shoot-ing deer with my bow. He mentallyprepared himself in case an opportu-nity presented itself.

Within minutes a really good buckappeared. My father had laid down ascent trail in front of his stand beforeclimbing the tree. The buck had hisnose right on the ground and wasgrunting like a pig. When the deer gotclose enough my dad slowly drew thebow, anchored, and released thearrow.

After a short tracking job he wasstanding over a really good 8-pointer.He killed it with a bow that he wasunfamiliar with, but he adapted to abad situation and made the most ofit.

Sometimes we have to put the neg-ativity aside when bad things happen.We have to move forward, have a pos-itive attitude, and know we can suc-ceed with any equipment as long aswe are mentally prepared.

I quickly rushed around the houseto finish packing my gear for myannual trip to the Midwest a fewmonths ago. Instead of throwingeverything in a heap as I usually do, Itook my time because I knew I would-n’t be with my father for the first weekof hunting. I would ride with him toOhio, meet a friend there, and con-tinue on to Illinois to spend a weekhunting with friends out there. Myfather would meet me in Illinois aweek later and we would go toKansas from there.

When we arrived in Ohio I helpedmy dad and friends set their campsiteup since I wasn’t meeting my buddyuntil later that night. We made quickwork of the task, even with ourfriends from nearby towns stopping into see us as we worked.

Before long everyone was ready togo hunting. My father unpacked hisbow, attached the quiver, and lookedfor arrows. After a few minutes hestarted cussing and throwing thingsaround. It was quickly evident that heforgot his arrows at home.

Fortunately, we shoot the samelength shafts but different sizes. Iknew I had packed extra arrows Iwouldn’t be using. I opened my arrowcase and fumbled through them to seeif I could locate enough to last himfor a week. After all, he has a habit oflosing a few arrows every week ofhunting. I’m not sure how someonecan lose so many arrows, but hemakes a habit of it. The sad part is hedoesn’t even shoot them at anythinghe just loses them in the woods.

Within a couple of minutes he wasshooting at the target with my arrows.The point of impact was extremelyclose to that of his arrows, so the sightpins needed very little adjustment.When he shot enough arrows to beconfident he loaded his bow into theback of the truck and headed downthe road. He planned on checking out

one of his favorite places where hehad taken a few good deer in the past.

My buddy Jeff had never hunted inOhio with us before, so I decided toshow him some of my favorite standlocations since I wouldn’t be huntingwith them for the week. I joked andtold him to make sure he found hisown spots because I would be huntingwith them again next year.

It was fairly chilly and I expecteddeer to be on the move. As we walkedthrough the woods I was disappointedI wouldn’t be staying with my friends,even though I was headed to theGolden Triangle in Illinois, which isnoted as one of the best places to bowhunt trophy whitetails in the country.

Jeff and I covered some groundbefore we decided to hang out on theedge of a logged off area with somebig oak trees. There was a fairamount of buck sign and we couldsee where a lot of deer had been feed-ing.

Before long darkness consumed thenight sky, so we headed back to the

Anchor PointsBy Todd Mead

Adapting When Bad Things Happen

By Todd Mead

Anchor Points

Here's the buck my dad killed with my bow after he cut the limb in half on his.

Todd is the author of Backcountry Bucksand A Lifetime of Big Woods HuntingMemories. You can catch up with him onhis website: www.toddmead.comHe resides in Queensbury, NY.


The Gazette’s Hunting and Fishing Solunar Tables

Send us yourpictures

so all our readers

can enjoythem

Email jpg’s tofred@the

outdoorgazette.comDon’t forget to write

down your names andages, where you werefishing, hunting etc...

and where you live.Thank You.. Fred


Lake Winnipesaukee, along withother short, full-screen video sto-

ries on ice-fishing, on the Fishand Game website at

fishnh.com/Media/video_ice-fishing.html.

Buy your fishing license online,download the new 2013 New

Hampshire Freshwater FishingDigest, see lists of ice fishingtournaments and more atfishnh.com.

CONCORD, N.H. — Meet theGodfather of the Modern IceFishing Revolution, Dave Genz,at a free ice fishing seminar onWednesday, January 16, 2013, at7:00 p.m. at the State PoliceStandards and TrainingBuilding, 17 Institute DriveConcord, N.H. (watch for “icefishing seminar” signs as youenter the N.H. TechnicalInstitute campus). No pre-regis-tration required. For more infor-mation, contact MarkBeauchesne at 603-271-6355.

Dave Genz is legendary in theworld of ice angling – an ice fish-ing expert who has taught tech-niques to thousands of anglers.He is credited with many innova-tions in ice fishing, including theportable ice fishing shelter. Anative of Minnesota, Genz hasbecome a big fan of NewHampshire’s ice fisheries. Thiswill be his fourth trip to fish inthe Granite State. “The ice fish-ing is so good in NewHampshire, I just had to comeback for more,” Genz says.

At the free seminar, Genz willexplain his “Modern Ice FishingSystem” – strategies he devel-

oped to increase angler successon any species fished for throughthe ice. He will talk about manyhelpful tools and tactics, includ-ing the vital role electronics playsin modern ice fishing. Mostimportant — getting the mostout of your fish finder! “Usingthe right equipment, you coulddouble your success,” says Genz.

Genz has been called “Mr. BlueGill” for his love of this fightingpanfish, but his seminar is wide-ranging. From trout to crappies,Genz will take you through hisjigging techniques and tactics.He will also discuss proper jigselection, tipping jigs with livebait or the exciting new soft plas-tics that are gaining in populari-ty with ice anglers.

“If you are looking to step upyour ice fishing game, this is amust-attend seminar. Fishingwith Dave has helped me bringmy ice fishing to a whole newlevel,” says Mark Beauchesne, anavid ice angler and marketingand promotions coordinator forN.H. Fish and Game

See a video of Dave Genz andMark Beauchense as they redis-cover the thrill of ice fishing on

Official MeasurerBoone & Crockett Club

Pope & Young ClubNH Antler & Skull Trophy Club

Maine Antler & Skull Trophy Club

22 Scribner Road, Raymond, NH [email protected] 603-895-9947

ROSCOE BLAISDELL

Free Ice Fishing Seminar on January 16, 2013The Modern Ice Fishing System with Dave Genz


North Country BoneCollections is now sponsoredby the New Hampshire ShedAntler Club. Submit your collec-tion or a picture of someoneelse’s (with permission of course)and if it makes it in to the gazetteyou will receive a package ofAntler Magic. At the end of the year, one entrywill be drawn to win T-shirtsfrom the NH Shed Hunters Cluband The Outdoor Gazette and acopy of the NH Antler SkullTrophy Clubs record book. Toenter just email a photo of any-thing to do with antlers [email protected] the subject “bone collec-tion” . Good luck, let’s see someBONE!

-


Happy New Year every one! TheHolidays have come & gone with amix of emotions & concerns thisyear. I always look forward to catch-ing up with family & friends to enjoythe holiday spirit; unfortunately ithas been over shadowed by twotragedies that have touched so manyof us here in the Northeast & acrossthe country. The senseless loss of somany young lives in the CT schoolshooting, & then on Christmas Eveof all days an incident that hit closeto home in a couple different ways astwo firefighters lost their lives whileresponding to a fire in Webster NYon Lake Ontario.

I have been in the fire service for24 yrs & in the career service for 16yrs, this scenario is one that we alltrain for but hope we neverencounter. These tragedies have hitthe bitter nerve of so many, but theunfortunate side effect of these twoincidents is the back lash of gun con-trol. We all have our opinions oneach person’s interpretation of thesecond amendment, there is nodoubt we will see heated discussions& some intense debates on where

our country will head in the months& years to come. This I know forsure, we all need to stand together tomake an attempt to limit the numberincidents that take place in thefuture, but also make sure that our

rights that we enjoy by being anAmerican Citizen are not infringedupon. Thoughts & prayers to all ofthose involved in these tragedies,may peace find them in the days

ahead.On a much brighter note, we have

some wonderful changes coming forus in our charter & guide business,with the addition of our “New” 17ftSmokercraft Drift Boat! The latestaddition will allow us to add a sec-ond option to our summer charters,

with Bass & Pike trips to the Bays ofLake Champlain & the lakes &Ponds of Rutland & Addison coun-ties in western Vermont. But withher new paint scheme she will alsodo double duty in the fall for water-fowling, along with its top tacticaluse of float trips on the famedSalmon River on the east end ofLake Ontario & Pulaski NY!Smokercraft is one of only two man-

ufactures that specially designed adrift boat with a special motor wellin the stern of the boat that allowsan outboard to be added and use instill water or deeper moving wateron river systems. This will work invery nicely for the Bass trips, water-fowling & early fall Salmon Trips oninshore Lake Ontario & the SalmonRiver estuary. Once late fall sets in &we are in full drift mode the motorcan be removed & a speciallydesigned fish box fits nicely in thespot designed for the motor! We are

very proud of our latest investmentin our business, her latest paint job &the addition of a new high viscosityplastic bottom next spring will makeher the ultimate drifter & multi sea-son vessel!

I had the delight of getting toindulge myself in three different out-door activities in the days surround-ing the holidays. A trip over to theSalmon River to chase the everaddictive, arm bending runs of dimebright Steelhead. These two daysfound me in between two differentwater flows on the river , the first at750 CFS (which I was hoping wouldstay at ) the later 900 CFS. While Iwas there the power authority justhappen to drop it to 335 CFS whichmade the fish a bit moody.

The system is LOADED withSteelhead, but with the river watertemp hovering in the high 30’s thefish aren’t supper active & thesewater flow fluctuations can makesthem even more finicky. Now I didtie into a few my first morning go 3for 5 by myself before noon.

These all on spinning tackle run-ning floats & egg imitations. Later inthe day the action slowed, causing achange to a more subtle approach.Longer & smaller leaders with stonefly imitations were able to pick awayat some of the fish in the slower runs& outside of the pool seems. GuidesI spoke with found the same with thefloat bite, but said that back trolling

with small plugs still producingaction! (More on these tactics in nextmonth’s column) The water flowadjustments were caused by a lowpressure system that was developingwhile I was there, later dropped closeto 2 inches of rain on the area. Nowif anyone in September had said thatby mid-December we would have afull resivouire to work with I wouldhave said they were nuts! The areawas experiencing one of the worstdroughts in years and the “Res” was

Continued next page

New Year & New Beginnings!

The boys with Lucy just after our rabbit hunt.

The Captain’s CornerThe Captain’s CornerBy Matthew TrombleyBy Matthew Trombley

New Smokercraft drift boat waiting & ready.

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from previous pagedown over 14 ft.!! But a full “res” wehave now & will ensure great fishingthough out the rest of the winter!

My second outdoor activity was beable to enjoy a day of small gamehunting with my son & his bestfriend Grant on Christmas Eve! Ourfour year old Beagle “Lucy” hadn’thad a chance to run since last Marchbut she hadn’t lost her touch! We ranthree cottontails & flushed twogrouse by noon….some fun actionwith a fresh 2 inch blanket of snowfrom the night before! Now our shotpercentage’s weren’t the best withtwo ten year old beginning Rabbithunters along, but the chance tohear Lucy’s voice as she trailedthrough the Bramble & Juniper isalways music to my years.

I had done a fair share of rabbithunting in my teenage years buy outsnowshoe hair numbers havedropped in most areas. The cotton-tails seem to be holding out ok ( ifthe coyotes don’t obliterate them),hoping to be able to make a few tripsto the north country this winter &get some snowshoe hair trips in aswell! The “White Rabbits” tend torun longer with bigger loops & don’tlike to hole up such as Cottontails.Nothing like beating cabin fever &getting to listen to the “music” ofBeagles on a hot trail on a cool win-ter day!

Our last trip was just a few daysafter Christmas, getting in some lateseason waterfowling on the coast for

Scoters, Old Squaw & Eiderswith good friend Jack Renfrew out

of Plymouth Mass. His 21ftDuckwater boat is specially designed

for big water hunting & made lightwork of the rough seas the NorthAtlantic throw at us this time of year.Going out at first light & gettingthree strings of long line decoys hadus waiting & ready!

The action wasn’t fast & furious,but steady as scoters zoomed ourspread with an occasional brightwhite drake Eider eyeing us as well!White wing, Common & SurfScoters can all be found down on thecoast & we were fortunate to take the“Trifecta” on this day as well! Justtwo weeks prior Logan & I had takenin some big water gunning onNorthern Lake Champlain forWhistlers & Buffleheads with a fel-low firefighter Tom Critchlow fromBurlington, so we were prepared forthe fast fly by action the Sea Ducksare known for!

One thing is for sure….we are def-initely hooked on big water, late sea-son water fowling, something not forthe faint of heart but something anywaterfowl enthusiast should try atleast once! I know we will be gettingplenty of it in the future for years tocome!

Logan & Tom haming it up on Lake Champlain!

Matt Trombley is a career firefighter, resid-ing with his wife & son in FlorenceVermont. He is a U.S.C.G licensed Mastercaptain, guiding & chartering fishing tripsthrough out Vermont & New York. Hischarter business, 3rd Alarm Charters canbe viewed at www.3rdalarmcharters.com


Otters are aquatic animals thatare most happy in water. Howeverthey are pretty good on land also.Otters have short legs and are teninches in height and including tailcan grow four to five feet in length.Their range extends all over theUnited States and Canada andparts of Alaska. Otters don’t carefor humans and tend to stay inplaces where human activity is low.

Otters mate for life and usuallybreed by the end of March. Theiryoung are born sixty days later andnumber up to three. The youngnurse until four months old and willstay together up to a year. Otterslive in dens, old beaver houses andhollow logs. Their main food is fishwith trout being their favorite. Theywill also eat a duck or a muskrat ifthe opportunity arises. The Otter’shome range is up to fifty squaremiles.

As with anything you trap youhave to scout to find otter sign.Otters love to climb banks and slideback down into the water. If youfind such slides set traps on the

bank adjacent to the slide and spiceit up with a dab of beaver castor. Anumber two anchored in deepwater will do the job for you.

Otter toilets are great spots to trapalso. Toilets are an otter’s way of

keeping track who is in the neigh-borhood and are usually easy tofind as otters use these for disposaland you will find fish bones andother items deemed unusable. Setnumber two traps submerged where

the otters enter and leave the bankin about two inches of water andyou should score. Remember ottersmate for life so if you set two trapsat every set up you can double yourchances.

Otter are similar to muskrats andmink as when they travel and searchevery nook and cranny looking for abite to eat. Any hollow log, hole inthe bank, whether man made ornatural have potential. Before iceup a sure fire set is to drive a stoutstick in the mud of a stream. At thetop of the stick tie a dead or alivefish to the stick. A otter swimmingby will stop to dine and with a trapset at the foot of the stick will snapon its toes when he tries to eat. Besure the water is at least three feetdeep at these locations to ensure afast dispatch.

Otter are plentiful around beaver

dams as most active dams harborsome type of fish life. Dams alsoprovide tons of slides which otterwill play on all day. Traps placedbetween dams just need a few dropsof lure to get their attention. Otterhate mink and will investigate everytime they wind one.

Once the catch is made they arecase skinned after being cleanedand semi dried. Otter shouldremain damp to avoid singing orcurling of the guard hairs. Cleaningis best done at the catch site remov-ing any mud and debris that doesnot belong. Once at home the ottershould be hung under the cabindeck roof or in a shed. Be sure thefur is nearly dry before putting on astretcher and use the right sizestretcher for the job. The easiestone to use is the wire stretchers butI like wooden ones. Be sure the peltis properly fleshed before it is put onthe stretcher to dry.

Once dried it is off to the furbuyer or wrapped in newsprint andstuck in the freezer until you decideto part with it. Otter are not goodtable fare at least not to my knowl-edge.

In Vermont otter needs to betagged by a wildlife Warden and thecarcass needs to be given to thewarden for research purposes.

In part two I have a confession tomake and I will tell you all aboutbear trapping too. Keep yourwaders patched; your lures in theshed and take a kid along with you.

By Randy BarrowsBy Randy Barrows

The Trap LineThe Trap Line

Otters (and bear?)

Randy lives in Milton, Vermont, hastrapped in Vermont for 43 years, is a hunterEd Instructor and an Advanced TrapperInstructor for the Vermont Fish & WildlifeDepartment. Randy and wife, Diane &their family, own and operate ArrowheadTrapping Supply. Randy is also a VermontState Licensed Fur Dealer. They can bereached at [email protected] or 802-355-7496, on facebook or at www.arrow-headtrappingsupply.com.

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“The Outdoor Gazette”



By Charlie ChalkBy Charlie Chalk

Behind the SightsBehind the Sights

Maybe it came from an auction, ormaybe it came from the attic, but nomatter how you obtained it, youfinally own an original muzzleloader.What you now have is a piece of his-tory. Maybe it defended a frontierhome, put meat on the table orfought a war for freedom.

This month, I'll share some of thebest tips I know for antique restora-tion. Most are a collection of thingsothers have shared; some are com-mon sense, while others involve timeand effort. One thing I will try to dois keep it within the realm of thehome workshop. If you read thiscolumn often, you know I work withsimple tools, not unlike our forefa-thers. Sometimes the old ways arethe best ways.

When you first get any firearmhome you should check to be sure itis unloaded. Dropping the ramroddown a bore will give a quick checkbut you may also find that there arethings like marbles, sticks and evenbees nests. A good ball puller andsome oil will clear most of the prob-lems.

Once the bore is clear, you cancheck its condition. Swab the borewith fine steel wool dipped in rustpenetrate oil. After about 25 passes

from end to end, you can begin tosee the true condition. This is done,not to put the gun in shooting condi-tion, but to stop further decay.

Now you are at a cross road. Ifyou have a good bore and all theother parts of the gun are function-al, you may decide to put the gun inshooting condition. Certainly, you

need to forget such an idea on gunsof the 1700's and 1800's, but turn ofthe century guns that lack collectorvalue, and are judged to be safe by aqualified gunsmith, may be consid-ered. Make such decisions after it

passes all the above tests.Now, let's get into some of the

common gun problems you canrepair. I will begin with metal workand move to wood. The commonproblem is missing parts. If you aremissing the lock, yet you have a niceclean mortise in the wood, you mightconsider a modern replacementfrom someone like "Track of theWolf" of Minnesota. Their full sizephotos make measurement easy."Dixie Gun Works" of Tennessee inone other source and perhaps thebest source of internal lock parts(even some original). Slightly largerlocks can sometimes be fitted toreplace missing parts. Most of theoriginal locks are missing becausethe removal of the lock when thegun was stored, assured that childrencould not fire the guns. In time, thelock was lost in storage.

Another lock problem that is easilyrepairable is a loose hammer. Iftightening the tumbler or hammerscrew does not help, remove thescrew and check the tightness of thehammer on the tumbler square. Youcan tighten the hammer by remov-ing it and use a punch or chisel onthe backside to force metal into thehole. Just a few taps should help.Shims can also help in extremecases.

Missing sights are another problemthat can easily be repaired. Mostblackpowder dealers carry sightsthat can be filed and fitted easily.

But what if the sight is only loose?Simply slide it out and use a cornerof a small chisel to "upset" little teethon the barrel surface in the dove tail.If you still have looseness when thesight is back in place, just peen overthe edges of the dove tail at the frontand rear of the sight.

Other missing parts are inlays, buttplates and trigger guards. Triggerguards are often there, but broken.Silver solder can be used to fix suchbreaks and filed to an undetectableseam. All missing parts can be cutfrom sheet stock or check supply cat-alogs. If you find a gun that is miss-ing all its inlays, you can be sure thatthe inlays were probably silver. Youcan replace them with German sil-ver, which is not very expensive.

Another often asked question ishow to remove rust. Your goal is toremove surface rust and scale with-out removing the original finish orpatina. I find that any of the rustremoving penetrating oils and veryfine steel wool work well. Scale rustcan be scraped with a tool madefrom sheet brass or aluminum. Thetrick in rust removal is to go slowlyand gently. It may take a long time,so be patient.

Now, on to the stock where clean-ing is the first order of business.Start with “Murphys' Oil Soap” orsimilar. Try not to soak the woodwith water, just remove the dirt witha damp cloth. Ammonia helps insome difficult spots. Your goal is toclean the finish, saving as much aspossible. You can reseal the woodwith paste floor was, for a good fin-ish.

You may have noticed some dentsthat were caused by careless han-dling. To remove large dents, I use awet rag to soak the dent only andthen place a hot soldering iron onthe rag while it is still in the dent.The rag should sizzle and steam.When it stops, lift the rag and thedent should have been drawn out.The principle is that the wood fibersare compressed in the dent andsteam from the water will swell themback to shape.

Missing pieces of wood are simpleto patch and glue but what if youhave a gun with a cracked wrist? If

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Continued next page

from previous page

Vermont offers great ice fishingon lakes throughout the state whenice conditions are safe. VermontFish & Wildlife recommends atleast six inches of solid ice for safeice fishing.

Vermont’s premier fishing desti-nation, Lake Champlain, offersmany ice fishing opportunities.According to the Vermont Fish &Wildlife Department, ice anglerscan find quality fishing for manyspecies on this 120-mile long lake,including landlocked salmon, laketrout, northern pike, yellow perch,white perch, walleye, crappie, andsmelt.

“Lake Champlain attracts twiceas much fishing activity during thewinter as during the summer, par-ticularly in the northern third ofthe lake,” said State FisheriesBiologist Brian Chipman. “Theplentiful yellow perch is the main-stay of the winter fishery, butmany ice anglers also find goodfishing for other species.”

Traditional northern pikehotspots include LakeChamplain’s Kelley Bay,Missisquoi Bay, Dillenbeck Bay,Carry Bay, Keeler Bay, St. AlbansBay, the shallow flats south of theSandbar Causeway betweenMilton and South Hero, and thearea south of the ChamplainBridge from Addison to Benson.

Later, as more ice forms, land-locked salmon and smelt can becaught in the Inland Sea north ofthe Sandbar Causeway. There isno closed season for trout and

salmon on Lake Champlain. If cold weather provides good

ice on the deep-water areas of thelake, lake trout will be found offthe west shore of Grand Isle andin Outer Mallets Bay, ShelburneBay, Converse Bay, and ButtonBay south to the ChamplainBridge. Smelt can be caught inseveral of these areas, as well as atother sites between ThompsonsPoint and Button Bay. Whilewalleyes can show up anywhere inLake Champlain, the most consis-tent winter action can be found inthe southern end of the lake offBenson and Orwell, as well as thenorthern end in Swanton andAlburg.

Yellow perch and other panfishare being caught at sheltered LakeChamplain bays and shallows aswell as on some other Vermontwaters.

Vermont’s ice fishing season fortrout, salmon and bass startsJanuary 19 and continues throughMarch 15 on 40 large Vermontlakes. For a list of those lakes, goto page 55 of the 2013 VermontGuide to Hunting, Fishing andTrapping, available where licensesare sold and at www.vtfishand-wildlife.com.

To locate places to stay and helpon the latest fishing activity, go tothe Vermont Outdoor GuidesAssociation website(www.voga.org) and click on “icefishing.”

An Internet search for “Vermontice fishing” also will yield helpful

you have all the parts and they lineup cleanly, you can fix it to almostnew. Simply remove the barrel, drillthrough the wrist toward the buttplate. This may require a long drillbit of three-eighths size. Glue thebreak then take a steel rod coatedwith epoxy and tap it into the hole.When set, you can refinish and youwill have as strong a repair as possi-ble.

That's all for now. If you have a

particular problem drop me a lineand I will try to find an answer [email protected] .

VT Fish & Wildlife photo-Ice fishing in Vermont can produce big fish like this northernpike as well as fun-filled memories to last a lifetime.


Charlie Chalk is an outdoor writer and hasa background as a professional Firefighterand is a member of the AmericanMountain Men, an organization that emu-lates the life of the fur trappers of the1800's and their survival on the land.

Ice Fishing Opportunities are Great Where Ice is Safe

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tered over the slick and a fishsucked it under wrapping the linearound one of the exposed rocks.The angler turned his chair side-ways and threw a large up streammend trying to get the line off the

rock. Unsuccessful and with linescreaming off the reel he stood upand tried to throw another mend.The guide yelled SIT DOWN; theangler lost his balance and fellbackwards onto the guides left armbreaking his grip on the oar. Theangler in the back stood up andtried to catch the falling angler.With two people on the left sidethe boat tittered down and theright side rolled up on the boulder.Water poured into the boat as bothanglers fell out. As the boat rolledthe left oar wedged then sprangforward hitting the guides headwith a crack that echoed over therapids as the boat flipped.

Every thing was pitch black.Hank was reaching for somethingto hold onto. Images racedthrough his mind along with thefeeling of helplessness he hadexperienced when the raft he wasin flipped on the Big Hole River inMontana. The sensation of tum-bling over boulders and beingsucked down as hat, glasses androd were torn away. Trying toswim to the surface with the feel-ing he wouldn’t make it. Finallybreaking through with just enoughenergy to swim to shore and crawlup on the bank battered, bruisedand totally exhausted.

There was no sensation of tum-bling or problems breathingalthough he could hear water over-head. Had he popped up underthe boat? There was a red glowseveral feet away; was it a flare?Hank tried to focus on the glow; itbecame clearer; 3:30, it was hisclock. Hank’s breathing returnedto normal; rain was pounding

down on the metal roof of hiscabin. Soaked from sweat hecursed the reoccurring nightmare.Crawling out of bed he made hisway to the porch and sat down. Itwas the last week of June; almostfive years to the day when the boathad flipped.

It felt like the same kind of nightwhen it had all started. It had beena hot humid day with clouds build-ing and thunder rumbling up anddown the valley. Just about dark itbroke with a torrential downpourlasting about thirty minutes. It wasa nice evening and Hank was set-ting out on the porch listening tothe sound of hundreds of mosqui-toes on the other side of thescreens. Hank usually turned in by10pm but he lingered for an houror so knowing that soon the warmdays of summer would give way tothe cool crisp nights. Duchess,Hanks setter was conked outbeside the chair seemingly dead tothe world when she bounced upwith her paws on the railing bark-ing. It wasn’t unusual for moose,deer or even bear to cross themeadow between the cabin andthe West Branch of theMagalloway. A light flickeredacross the meadow and Hankknew someone was coming downthe driveway.

When the door to the truckopened Hank recognized LeonClermont. The Clermont’s werelegends in the North Country andCanada as hockey players andguides. Berlin once a thriving milltown north of the notches in NHwas known as the city that logsbuilt. If logs built the city theMaroons often referred to as theFlying Frenchmen made Berlinhockey town USA, eventually win-ning the national amateur champi-onship. Leon’s father Andre hadmoved from Canada to work inBerlin in the late 30’s. Everyonethought hockey was his ticket toBerlin; if it was he made the bestof it playing for the BerlinMaroons in the 30’s and 40’s, asthe Flying Frenchmen becamefamous. Leon played for NotreDame High School in Berlin andBoston College as did his son Kenwho played a few years in theAmerican Hockey League with ateam that won the Calder Cup.

Andre’s other love besides hock-ey was fishing which he passed onto his son. Leon and Ken bothbecame guides at eighteen. Leonwas one of the first guides to use adrift boat on the AndroscogginRiver.


Continued next page

The Androscoggin, Maine’sthird largest river has the largestvertical drop of any river in thestate. A good portion of the dropoccurs as the river flows throughNew Hampshire. Dams to drivelogs were constructed in theRangeley Lakes area of Mainestarting in the 1830’s. TheAziscohas Dam completed in 1911was the largest dam in the world.Built on the Magalloway River itincreased the flow on theAndroscoggin by twenty percent.The dam was just one step in cen-turies of misuse harnessing theAndroscoggin for driving logs,pulp mills, manufacturing andpower generation.

The river along the thirteen milewoods below Errol NewHampshire is a popular spot forcanoeing, kayaking and fishing.There are class I, II and III rapids;most of the rocks have beenrounded from thousands of yearsof ice pounding down the riverduring spring breakup giving afalse sense of security to peoplerunning the river and their abilityto handle white water. Rocks thatconstituted obstacles for log driveswere blasted out decades ago.There’s a few challenging rapids;flows can increase or decrease thedifficulty of any rapid and thesteepest drop on the river is moredifficult under low flow conditions.Below 1500 cubic feet per secondalmost the left two thirds of theriver has exposed rocks. Running aboat over the rocks can result in alot of damage with the potential toflip. A lot of canoes and kayakshave been totaled on the drop. Theedge on the right side is comprisedof large boulders leaving a chute afew feet wider than a drift boat todrop through. A bolder the size

and shape of a Volkswagen Beetleis at the bottom of the drop on theright side; submerged to aboutwindow height with water runningover it. Go too far to the right anda boat can roll up on the bolder.

There’s a story of a guide ridingup on the rock and getting theback sucked under pinning theboat to the rock and ejecting theclients and guide. Supposedly acable had to be run to winch theboat off.

The drift boat was lined up per-fectly for the drop. The clientswere setting down; the angler infront was wearing a life preserverand casting an Alderfly. The onlyway to fish the slick before thedrop was from a boat and guidescouldn’t hold in the slick very long.There’s always the thought thatsomeone will drop an anchor andget a boat sucked under; it hadn’toccurred yet but like all things itwas just a question of time. If hap-pened as if it were in slow motion.Just as the boat dropped into thechute the angler in the bow madea long cast to the left; the fly skit-

The Drop

By Jim Norton By Jim Norton

From the back of a canoe

From the back of a canoe


from previous page

Hank knew there had to be aproblem for Leon to be calling thatlate at night and Leon in his usual-ly direct approach got right to thepoint. The fire department inErrol is comprised of volunteers;with a town population of aroundthree hundred almost everythingis. Leon had responded to a 911call a little after 9PM. A six yearold boy was missing and presumedlost at MollidgewockCampground. Leon was the firstone to respond followed shortlyafter by Tom Jennings the localconservation officer. Three fami-lies were on a camping trip whenthe thunder storm hit; they werearound the campfire and scatteredfor their tents as the storm rolledin. One couple had three childrenthe youngest a boy six. The par-ents thought the boy was in a tentthe kids were using; when they dis-covered he wasn’t they checked theimmediate area and the river andmade the call. Tom realizing theseriousness of the situation wascoordinating a search and rescuemission with the New HampshireFish and Game Department. Littlecould be done during the evening;a tracking dog had been broughtin but with the rain the dog wasunable to pick up a scent. Planswere under way to have theNational Guard helicopter avail-able in the morning with enoughvolunteers to conduct an intensivesearch.

Part of the plan was to search theriver. If the boy was in the riverthere was little chance of survivalwith heavy rapids extending down-river. Leon and Ken were going todrift the river at daylight alongwith a few instructors in kayaksfrom Northern White Waters,Leon asked Hank to join them.They were on the water at 4:45 thenext morning lined up at what wascalled the beach area of the camp-ground. It was a clear day with nofog hanging over the river; unusualand a welcome relief providinggood visibility. A conservation offi-cer was in each drift boat acting asspotters. There was no cell phonecoverage in the valley; with radiosthe officers were able to communi-cate with other members of thesearch team.

With a drift boat in the middleand one on each side as close asthey could work to the bank theystarted down river. The kayakstried to work the area between thebank and the drift boats. Whenthey made it to the drop the driftboats and kayaks had to gothrough single file. Ken was thefirst boat through and worked hisboat into the eddy on the rightside. The officer had spotted some-thing white moving at the bottomof the eddy. The kayak instructorswere wearing wet suits and one ofthem was in the water in a flash.He came up with a white sweat-

shirt. It was a large adult size. Acall to the campground confirmedno one in the group had a whitesweatshirt; a welcome relief. Evenwhile scanning the water for anytrace of the boy it was hard not tonotice where the fish were risingand what they were taking; toomany years of conditioning. Theymade the five miles to the SevenIslands Bridge in two hours. TheFish and Game dive team waschecking the deep pools on theriver. They could have missed theboy but there was optimism hemay not have fallen in the river. Ahelicopter had checked the slowersections of the river below thebridge along with a search team jetboat. Leon, Ken and Hank loadedtheir boats and headed back upriver to meet the clients they hadcontacted to start an hour laterthan normal.

“Sucking hind tit” takes on dif-ferent perspective when you’rebehind six other boats on the river.Ken and Hank put in a few milesabove the campground; Leon putin about a mile up. The good newswas there were no boats betweenthem and the campground. Thebetter news was the Alderfly hatchwas in full swing and it looked likeit was going to be the day. Ken wason the right side and Hank the leftas they started down river. Theywere on a flat section of river thatusually didn’t hold a lot of troutbut with the hatch on and with thefish feeding they had more thanenough activity. Brookies wereholding up underneath the aldersin the shade; working the boat sideabout twenty five feet from thebank made for easy casting. TheClermont’s had a lot of clientswho were sports buffs and athletes.Several of Ken’s team mates hadmade the NHL; between highschool and college and Leon andKen coaching college hockey inMaine they were always booked.They had been featured on severalfly fishing shows; all generatingadditional clients. Today was noexception; a father; his two sonsand a grandson who was fifteen allhad played hockey and the grand-son was regarded as the best highschool hockey player inMassachusetts and was only asophomore.

They were a few hours behindschedule when they pulled over atthe campground for a pit stop.Normally deserted with the searchand rescue operation underway itwas a bee hive of activity. Theyhad a brief conversation with TomJennings who thanked them forsweeping the river in the morning.The missing boy was featured onthe morning news. An older cou-ple who lived in Errol had beentraveling north on Route 16 in thevicinity of the campground theprevious night and had seen some-thing go into the woods. They

couldn’t decide on what it was buthaving spent a lifetime in the areait was unusual they couldn’t identi-fy anything they saw. The couplehad a good idea of exactly where itwas; near the crest of the hillabout a quarter of a mile throughthe woods from the campground.A search was being organized tocomb the area. That was the goodnews; the bad news was there wereabout twenty miles of woods.While they were waiting for theclients Ken said his youngestdaughter was six and he couldn’timagine what the parents weregoing through. Hank knew theClermont’s pretty well; in the sum-mer the entire family stayed atwhat they called the homestead; anold farm house at the end of themeadows a half mile from Hankscabin. Andre had purchased it inthe 40’s and lived there until hedied a few years earlier.

Back on the water the fishing gotbetter; it was turning out to be aphenomenal fishing day. Ken andHank hop scotched down theriver; sometimes they would get aglimpse of Leon’s boat down river.Hank had two older firemen fromMassachusetts; more or less regu-lar clients. They were part of agroup that stayed at the camp-ground the last week of June.Hank could remember when hestarted guiding the group was

much larger; maybe fifteen or so.It had dwindled down to fewerthan five; another sign of changingtimes.

The Clermont’s usually stoppedfor lunch at the Wayside picnicarea. One of both of the wiveswould be at the area with lunchwhich varied depending on thegroup from sandwiches to cook-outs. Today they were having acookout. Leon had pulled anchorand was heading down riverthrough the last set of rapidsbefore the picnic area several hun-dred yards ahead of Hank andKen. Hank liked to stop at the onlysandy spot on the river but therewere two boats from one of thePittsburg lodges already there.Hank went through the drop andpulled over to the left to trynymphing for one of the largertrout that sometimes could beenticed to take a big stoneflynymph. Anchored about twentyfeet from the bolder Hank watchedas Ken positioned his boat in theslick above the drop.

Sometimes on the river youroblivious to everything going onaround you but Hank becameaware of the honking as cars andtrucks passed by on the road aboutthirty yards above the river. Therewas only a small window to see theroad through the heavy foliage and



when we spotted the dogs in a clear-ing. Here was my chance to see thebig bear I’d dreamt of. Next thing Iknew we were running. Really, morerunning?? Fortunately it wasn’t forour lives! We were jumping back into

the truck and moving locations. Iguess I’d better follow; these guysknow what they are doing – I don’t! Here we are now, two trucks racingdown the road jockeying for positionto turn around. Don’t lose them now;this is getting good.I guess the bear must have eluded us;was that because of my ElusionCamo? But the hounds were hot oncoyotes. I needed to get my gunready! Wait a minute. Why wasn’t Iallowed to shoulder the rifle? TheMulready boys (boys to me – I’molder) probably didn’t trust someMidwestern gal with a gun. Well, lit-tle did they know, I hadn’t shot a gunin a year and harvested a pheasant.How’s that for skill? I really don’tattribute it to skill, but more of rightplace right time! I wasn’t allowed totouch the gun; I wasn’t allowed totouch the GPS and I wasn’t allowedto communicate over the walkietalkie. Why were they being so self-ish? Didn’t their mother teach themto share? Well I am extremely confi-dent that had I asked to do any ofthese things they would have beenmore than willing to oblige! I washaving a blast (rifle pun) experiencingthe process. Besides, did I really wantto be the reason the coyote got away?I’m not that confident in my gun skills– yet! With practice that will change. The guys kept talking about how hotit was. I was wearing gloves and obvi-ously did not agree. But they werelooking at it from the dog’s perspec-tive. These animals covered a lot ofground. We did a lot of standing.

They had a bead on 3 of the 4 dogs,but I believe it was Speedy still on themove. Over the river and throughthe woods, but not to grandmother’shouse we went. Speedy had the coy-ote cornered, but we’d now have tobe on private property. Those folkswere more than happy to complyknowing the dog had cornered ourprey. They even offered the use of a 4wheeler. I was glad I was with JeffMulready because Lee Dufresne tookoff running up the mountain! Boythat guy loves to run! Jeff could tellfrom his GPS that the coyote washeading our way. We made our wayin to the woods and got set. Closerand closer, but no visual yet. You’dthink sitting and waiting would beboring, but it’s anything but. It wasclose to an hour and word camedown the mountain that they had thedog but not the coyote. The landowners visited with us andprovided water all around. I was curi-ous how much territory the dogs hadcovered. At times during our outingthe dogs were off the GPS, but theleast traveled dog did 19 miles withthe winner coming in at 33. Thirty-three miles running, and chasing, upand down the mountains and in andout of the woods. I sure couldn’t dothat. I couldn’t do 3 miles, probablynot even 3 feet! Remember, I haterunning. Lee had Elusion Camo t-shirts in his truck and gave handedthem out as a thank you. These peo-ple did not have to allow us on theirproperty. They also gave permissionto come back whenever.We wrapped up the day with pictures.I happily posed with my new huntingbuddies and I absolutely love the pic-tures. I was one accepted as one ofthe guys. I’m sure they looked at methat morning and wondered was thisgoing to be. I proved I could keep upwith the best of them. Little did theyknow though, I was holding back. Icould have run alongside the dogs,but I didn’t want to put the men toshame. Right, dream on! I could nothave been more pleased to be includ-ed in this guys club. I know I would-n’t be able to do it on my own, anddon’t have the stuff it takes. It was a great day and in addition togreat memories I’ve made some life-long friends!

Exhilarating! I am now a gun toting,card carrying, GPS reading memberof the Coyote Patrol! There wasn’tan official ceremony or even a cele-bratory cake, but I know the NewYork Mulready brothers, Jeff andTim and Donny, along with JayWilliams, want me as part of theirgroup. They didn’t say this to me butI just know!I was off to New York for a houndhunt. I’ve heard of fox hunts con-ducted with dogs, but these dogs weretrained for coyotes. So, after ourhunting party reached the desireddestination, the dogs were uncratedand readied. They were more thanready to go. I can only assume theywere already on the scent. Glad I leftthe perfume off my beauty regimenthat morning or I would they’d behowling at me!The dogs used were treeing walkersand an American hound. The tree-ing walker starts the hunt because ofbetter tracking abilities. The purposeof dogs on this type of hunt is due tothe mountainous terrain. I was gladas the “newbie” they didn’t make mefollow the dogs. I think I would havehad a heart attack. Lee Dufresnemade me RUN the prior 2 days afterturkeys and that was enough! Themountains are very deceiving. Theydo not look as steep as they truly are,and I DO NOT like to run! Being that I was the novice of thegroup I asked plenty of questions. Itwas natural curiosity but mostly fasci-nation. The dogs were unleashedand they eagerly took off. I skulkedthrough the woods with JeffMulready while the others in thegroup got back into their trucks andleft. Or did they? I thought this wassome survival exercise they were put-ting me through. I wasn’t prepared

for this; I had no water or rations. Ibarely knew these guys and they weregoing to play it like this?! Well, theyweren’t leaving me; they were off to

“protect” their dogs. The guys eachhad a GPS to track the hounds andwalkie talkies to keep in touch witheach other. The guys in the trucksposition themselves around thefields/mountains to be covered. Withlots of country roads we wanted to besure the dogs would be safe.When I arrived at the beginning ofthe week I asked if I’d see any bears.I don’t know why, but I really wantedto. Imagine my excitement when Jeffsaid the dogs were on a bear! Hecould tell by the bark. So far the onlybear I’d seen were bear claws – in thebakery case! These animals have abark that distinguishes what they arescenting. I was dumbfounded. But Ican relate it to babies. As a mom youinstinctively know if it’s a cry of feed-ing or changing. Ok, I was starting toget it. My heart really got racing

By Mary KayBy Mary Kay

Reflections of the Outdoor AngelReflections of the Outdoor Angel

Hound hunting for fox and coyte

Mary is the host of “The OutdoorAngel”. This is an Outdoors show thatfeatures a novice woman out hunting andfishing with the industries top pros.. MaryKay will inspire the uninspired to enjoy thegreat outdoors


Hank noticed Steve Casper theofficer that had been in his boat inthe morning standing by the guardrail giving the thumbs up signal.That was just a second beforeKen’s boat entered the chute.Hank watched in horror as he sawthe angler stand up and try tothrow a mend. By the time theboat rolled Hank had the anchorup and was on the oars. In a fewstrokes he was beside the over-turned boat; both firemen wentover the side and under Ken’s boatjoined by the fifteen year old whohad stood up. A few seconds laterall three popped out from underthe boat holding Ken. Thereseemed to be blood everywhere.They grabbed the bowline Hanktossed out and Hank rowed back-wards to the eddy. Steve was thereto grab the boat and Hank brokeout the first aid kit as the firemenapplied a compress to the headwound. Ken was unconscious asthe five of them carried Ken upthe bank holding only a rope Stevehad the foresight to throw downthe embankment. It was only min-utes but it seemed like hours. TheFiremen loaded Ken into the backof the truck as Steve sped off inthe direction of the campground.

The kid was hysterical and cry-ing saying that he had probablykilled Ken. All Hank knew wasthat Ken was breathing and thatwas a good sign. Hank told him

accidents happen; it only takes asplit second. Ken was alive and tostay positive and that he hadhelped save Ken’s life. One of theclients from the Pittsburg boatshad walked along the shore to takepictures of the rapids and sawwhat happened. By the time Hankgot back to his boat the guideswere there collecting equipmentdrifting in the eddy from Ken’sboat. They managed to flip Ken’sboat over. With the boats securedHank went back up to the roadand hitched a ride to the picnicarea to tell Leon what happened.Leon and his wife were gone inseconds and Hank rowed Leon’sclients down river to the takeoutand loaded the boat on the trailer.Fortunately Hank knew where thekeys were to Leon’s and Ken’strucks. Hank repeated the processwith Ken’s boat and then his own.The clients drove the trucks andfollowed Hank back to the home-stead. It was late afternoon and noone was there. Hank called TomJennings to get an update.

Sometimes shit happens andonce in a while it’s in your favor.The boy had been found two milesfrom the campground. He hadgone to use the outhouse andthrough he saw a bear and startedrunning just as the storm struck.At six you can imagine a lot ofthings and he may have seen abear. He ran until he was exhaust-

ed. The rain had stopped and hefell asleep under a hemlock; he waspretty good at identifying trees aswell as remembering what his par-ents had told him. If you get loststay put; someone will find youand they did. Steve Casper hadcalled ahead as he drove to thecampground. The helicopter wasjust about ready to return to itsbase. There was a doctor with thesearch and rescue team that wasalso getting ready to leave. Heexamined Ken and made the deci-sion to fly him directly to MaineMedical Center. The doctor wason the flight to Portland and whenthe helicopter arrived Ken was inthe operating room within min-utes.

It was touch and go for days aftermajor surgery to relieve theswelling on Ken’s brain.

Rehab took the better part of ayear. It was months before Kenwas able to carry on a conversationand a few more before he was ableto walk using a walker. Ken want-ed to thank everyone involved forhelping to save his life and henever talked to anyone involvedwithout thanking them again.

Hank visited Ken several times athis home in Gorham Maine thewinter after the accident. Hankknew Ken was a realist. He hadtwo passions in life hockey andfishing. Ken realized that althoughhe was an outstanding college

player; he was just a good AmericaHockey League player on a greatteam. Guiding gave Ken thechance to supplement his incomefrom teaching and coaching todoing what he loved and spendingthe summer with his father. Leonretired the summer after Ken’saccident. Everyone thought Kenwould be back on the water but itnever happened. Ken gave upcoaching and started working onhis masters and then his doctoratedegree; something his wife hadalready accomplished. Ken’s wifehad a chance to become a profes-sor in West Virginia; they madethe move but always returned toErrol to summer at the homesteadalong with Leon and his wife.Ken’s passion had changed to hiswife and children; he said he nevermissed guiding. Leon made themove to West Virginia a year afterKen. Ken had not fished theAndroscoggin since the accident.That was about to change; Kenhad called Hank and booked a tripfor Leon and himself. The tripwas in the morning. Hank won-dered what they would be thinkingwhen they ran the drop.

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Sponsored byGreen Mt. Marinades

Pop’s KitchenPop’s Kitchen

Bill "Pop" Burke, resides in Claremont, NH. If you would like to contact Pop send an email to: [email protected] "Pop" Burke, resides in Claremont, NH. If you would like to contact Pop send an email to: [email protected]

BAKED FISH3/4 cup milk 3/4 cup bread crumbs 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese 1/4 teaspoon ground dried thyme 4 Fish fillets of choice1/4 cup butter, melted

Preheat oven to 500 degrees F (260 degrees C). Placethe milk in a small bowl In a separate bowl, mix togeth-er the bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, and thyme.Dip the haddock fillets in the milk, then press into thecrumb mixture to coat. Place haddock fillets in a glassbaking dish, and drizzle with melted butter. Bake onthe top rack of the preheated oven until the fish flakeseasily, about 15 minutes.

BAKED FISH3/4 cup milk 3/4 cup bread crumbs 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese 1/4 teaspoon ground dried thyme 4 Fish fillets of choice1/4 cup butter, melted

Preheat oven to 500 degrees F (260 degrees C). Placethe milk in a small bowl In a separate bowl, mix togeth-er the bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, and thyme.Dip the haddock fillets in the milk, then press into thecrumb mixture to coat. Place haddock fillets in a glassbaking dish, and drizzle with melted butter. Bake onthe top rack of the preheated oven until the fish flakeseasily, about 15 minutes.

Jim a native of New Hampshire enjoysfly-fishing & tying, bird hunting and avariety of other outdoor activities and is aregistered NH fishing Guidewww.nhriversguide.com and author of thebook Granite Lines.

Continued from page 31


wildlife watching did not signifi-cantly change from 2006 to 2011.About two-thirds of all wildlife-related recreation expenditurescome from hunting and/or fishing,2006 (63%) and 2011 (62%).Sportspersons spent $90 billionand wildlife watchers spent $55billion in 2011.

The average angler spent $1,262in 2011. The average in-stateexpenditures by anglers rangedfrom $441 in Pennsylvania to$1,546 in Minnesota. Total expen-ditures ranged from $71million inNorth Dakota to $4.6 billion inFlorida.

The average hunter spent $2,484in 2011. Total expendituresranged from $18 million in RhodeIsland to $2.5 billion in Wisconsin.

The average wildlife watcherspent $765 in 2011. The averagein-state expenditures by wildlifewatchers ranged from $233 inOhio to $3,300 in Alaska. Totalexpenditures ranged from $130million in North Dakota to $4.2billion in New York.

The following tables provide afew comparisons among the resultsfor Maine, New Hampshire andVermont. There are differences inparticipation in wildlife relatedrecreation among the states.Vermont has the highest popula-tion percentage involved inwildlife associated recreation with62% of all residents beinginvolved.

New Hampshire has the highestpercentage of Wildlife Watcherswith 80% of residents and nonres-idents who participate in wildlife-

associated recreation beingWildlife Watchers. On the otherhand, Vermont has the highestpercentage participation bySportspersons at 50%.

Wildlife-Related Recreation is animportant part of the economyand growing in northeastern stateswith over a billion dollars beingspent in Maine and Vermont in2011 pursuing fish and wildlife.

Fish and Wildlife Management isone element of state and federalgovernment that actually providesa return on the investment madevia our tax and license dollars.This return is actually in “dollars.”

But, the much bigger return oninvestment may come by way ofenjoyment that participants gainfrom their pursuits.

These are things that somepoliticians and nonparticipantswould choose to ignore. We needto make sure that these are thingsthat they can’t ignore. Ask yourstate and federal representatives tosupport fish and wildlife manage-ment. Take a moment to send anemail or make a call to them.Happy New Year!

About every five years the U.S.Fish and Wildlife Service coordi-nates a nationwide survey ofFishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation which theU.S. Census Bureau carries out. Apreliminary summary of results ofthe 2011 survey were released inSeptember 2011.

The results reveal that wildlife-related recreation increased in thelast five years across the UnitedStates, from $122 billion ($137 bil-lion in inflation-adjusted dollars)in 2006 to $145 billion in 2011,1% of the nation’s gross domesticproduct. The survey found that91.1 million U.S. residents aged 16and older participated in someform of wildlife-related activity in2011 compared to 87.5 million in2006. This is an increase of 3 per-cent during a time when the U.S.has experienced a recession.

This survey is arguably the mostcomprehensive and importantsource of fish and wildlife recre-ational information for the UnitedStates. It quantifies and demon-strates the social and economicimportance that wildlife-basedrecreation has within the UnitedStates. It is particularly importantthat the survey is conducted by theU.S. Census Bureau whose surveysare respected and relied uponsources of information used byFederal, State, and private organi-zations in the process of makinglegislative, management and mar-keting decisions. Those that wouldlike to diminish the importance ofhunting and fishing and its socio-economic benefits find it difficultto challenge Census Bureaureports. This Survey is the twelfthin a series of surveys conductedabout every 5 years since 1955.

The state overview http://digi-talmedia.fws.gov/cdm/ref/collec-

t i o n / d o c u m e n t / i d / 8 5 8 "http://digitalmedia.fws.gov/cdm/ref/collection/document/id/858)of the survey provides data onnumber of anglers, hunters, andwildlife-watching participants, bytype of activity; trips and daysspent on different types of activi-ties; expenditures (trip, equipment,etc.) by type of fishing and hunt-ing and wildlife-watching activity;number of participants and daysof participation by animal sought;and demographic characteristicsof participants (including age,

income, sex, race, and education).Nationally there was an 11%

increase in anglers from 2006 to2011 and a 9% increase inhunters. Nationally the number ofpeople participating in around-the-home and away-from-home

By Wayne A. LarocheBy Wayne A. Laroche

Fish & Wildlife ManagementFish & Wildlife Management

Hunters and Angler Numbers Increase

Participants in Wildlife-Associated Recreation by State Residents Both Inside and Outside TheirResident State: 2011 (Age 16 and older) from Table 1 of survey overview.

Participation in Wildlife-Associated Recreation in Each State by Both Residents and Nonresidentsof the State: 2011 (Age 16 and older) from Table 2 of survey overview.

Expenditures for Wildlife-Related Recreation by State Where Spending Took Place: 2011 (Age 16and older) from Table 3 of survey overview.

* These values are corrected from preliminary survey results.

Wayne Laroche directed Vermont’sDepartment of Fish and Wildlife from2003 until 2011 serving as theCommissioner. He holds degrees in bothfisheries and wildlife management from theUniv. of Maine and California StateUniv. Wayne is a native Vermonter andcurrently resides in Franklin, VT. Heenjoys tracking whitetails in the big woodsof Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.Wayne can be reached by emailing [email protected].


twelve feet of water up to the bottomof the ice. On this day, the fish weresuspending a little deeper than nor-mal. They were either in the top few

feet of the water column right belowthe ice or well into the usual inactivezone of 14’+. This may have had

Christmas parties and work, ourholiday season this year was on apretty tight schedule. We did findone morning to squeeze in a fishingtrip to search for some crappie in aspot that we had no reports of iceconditions. The weather forecastersaid we would endure a morning ofbluebird skies with temperatures inthe mid to high 20’s with a slightchance of snow in the late morning.We figured, with the change in theatmosphere coming, the fish wouldbe feeding hard.

The long ride to the fishing hole

was nervously paired with anticipa-tion of whether or not the ice wouldhold our weight. We knew if it wouldallow us on, we would be able to findthe fish. Upon our arrival, we founda group of tip-up fishermen hadalready set up their pop-up shelterand tip-ups. Inching out to our desti-nation in the opposite direction, ourauger revealed a solid 4” of hardblack ice the entire way.

We began our day by punchingholes in a grid formation over a largearea. This allows us to cover a bigarea and quickly find what depthcontour the fish are running at. In

this body of water, the crappie seemto have a structured size separation.When you find them usually thebiggest fish are leading the way. Justabout every trip, we have been ableto locate the front of the school andfollow the slabs around the basinwith small yearling fish being theindicator to move.

As we worked our way through thegrid we had drilled, there were fishin just about every hole. We werelooking for big marks on our elec-tronics, trying to determine wherethe larger fish were holding. On this

day, our theory that the big fish leadthe way didn’t play in our favor. Wefound that the fish were spread outand roaming independently of eachother. On a normal trip, you cancatch several fish out of one holepretty easy before having to move. Ifwe were lucky we would get two fishbefore they had a tight lip.

Most times while fishing suspend-ed crappie, there is an active feedingzone in which only aggressive fishwill be located. Outside this zone,the fish will hardly even react to any-thing that is put in front of them.Typically, the zone for this pond is

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Hard Water FishingHard Water FishingBy D & B Ice AdventuresBy D & B Ice Adventures


Christmas Eve Crappie


came across a standard bullhorn thatoperated on batteries. I paid $30 andfound a 50-watt bullhorn, which isplenty loud enough; I think the 30watt ones would be lighter and plen-ty of volume! See Photo: A couple ofsnips and a soldering gun and you

have a ready made electronic call!I removed a couple housing

screws, and located inside the micro-phone the two wires that came fromthe microphone and leads to theamplifier. I cut these two wires andthen found an old set of headphoneswith a 1/8 male radio plug and cutthe wire off near the headphonesand threw out the headphones! Ithen drilled a hole through themicrophone housing and insertedthe wire into where I soldered thetwo leads to the ends of the cut wiresinside the megaphones, microphoneenclosure. After re-assembling themicrophone enclosure I used ducttape to secure the new wire to themicrophone housing, to preventaccidental pulling on the wire in thefield.

I added 50 feet of speaker wire to

my head phone cord, so I couldplace the speaker/megaphone awayfrom my calling area. With the 1/8wire plug in your MP3 player all youhave to do is turn on the megaphonepower switch and turn up the vol-ume to half way and then adjustsound volume with your MP3 playerin your hand. With sound filesloaded into your MP3 player, simplyselect the sound and hit play!

I now have an portable electroniccaller for $30 and using either my I-phone or my I-pod to store the mp3sounds, my sound play list is as largeas I want it! But as I have done, youwill find sounds that work well andsounds that don’t work at all, a sim-ple delete and they are off your playlist. The beauty of the MP3 player isthat you can index sounds by cate-gories keeping your coyote calls in aseparate file folder then your turkeycalls or deer calls! If you get luckyand get to go on a moose hunt inyour State, you already have yourmoose call! Just download the moosesounds you want and head out!

If you need more help with settingup a megaphone electronic MP3 sys-tem, you can always check on web-sites like YouTube.com for otherideas and probably find a video tuto-rial on this type call too!

Happy Hunting!

A couple of snips and a solderinggun and you have a ready made elec-tronic call!

I have had and use many differenttypes of calls to imitate critters, froma rubber band deer call to a custommade mouth operated squirrel callfor red squirrels to animals as largeas a moose! There are many reasonswhy electronic calls have their placein your call arsenal! Always checkwith your State Game laws beforeheading out in the field with anycalling device. Some states and Iwon’t mention any names, do notallow electronic calls for somespecies but allows them for others!

Having purchased many, manytypes of critter calls over the years, Ihave spent quite a bit of hard earnedmoney on some electronic devicesthat left me short, when I needed tochange the call for the time of yearor the intended wildlife. Some ofthese calls have individual chips witha just a few sequences built into themfor each specie, they are often cum-bersome in design and cost extra foradded sound modules. Some workgood, some barely worked, and somedidn’t even begin to replicate theintended sound described on thepackage! After spending a lot ofmoney and still not being satisfiedwith the end results, I started lookingat some of the newer calling deviceson the market today. One in particu-lar allows the downloading of MP3files, which can be installed into theircalling box with amplification. It isprobably the best-packaged elec-tronic caller on the market and ifyou want to spend the money for afactory produced portable electroniccall, then do a search online and youwill easily find the company I amreferring too, it is named after a foxand they are the pros!

I primarily use electronic calls for

predator hunting, these calls helpcreate the true natural sounds thatare needed to trick an old coyote intorange. My favorite sound is thejackrabbit (Snowshoe Hare) distresscall. It probably works so well, sim-ply because in our area it is the loud-

est critter that naturally sends a dis-tress when attacked by a predator. Itis a noise that coyotes and fox knowvery well in their natural surround-ings and travel long distances to getin on the free meal when sounded.

I decided to set out to create myown amplification system to use as acoyote-calling device. I wanted to beable to use MP3 and .WAV soundsand could find many online for free,simply by doing a search on Googlefor downloadable mp3 animalsounds. In my case I all already hadtwo different MP3 playing devices, Iowned a I-pod as well as an I-phone,both allow storage of music or MP3or .WAV files, and either can beused. You can also buy a simpleMP3 player stick from stores likeWal-Mart. I then set out on eBay tolocate an amplification device and I

Inexpensive Mega-Phone MP3 Electronic Call

By Steve BeckwithThe Maine Hunter

Steve Beckwith is a Registered MaineGuide, ThermaCELL Pro Staff, andowns these owns these websites:• MaineGuideCourse.com• MaineHunters.com• CoyoteCrosshairs.com• MoosePermit.com• MaineGuidedHunts.comHe is a life member, editor and webmasterof the North Berwick Rod and Gun Club.A videographer, website designer and inter-net entrepreneur with his online portfoliolocated at MultitaskWebsites.com, Stevecan be reached through any of his websites.

The Maine HunterBy Steve Beckwith


Continued from page 35

and helped me (Bobby) win a tour-nament by catching the largest crap-pie and heaviest bag for the day. Mygo to bait for this situation is theSpiiki by Maki Plastics.

Close to 11 am, the weatherman’sforecast came full circle. A snowsquall rolled in and the fish seemedto almost disappear from the area.We went from hole to hole scratch-ing our heads wondering where theywent. After a bit of frustration, wedecided our best bet was to call thetrip a success and head home forsome family time.

Overall, teamwork paid off for uson this trip. While the fish were rela-tively lethargic, they were still cruis-ing looking for pods of bait. Withsuch a large area drilled out, we wereable to spread out and stay on theareas that the large fish were cruising

through. At one point, we found aseries of three consecutive holes thathad many active, aggressive fish. Weactually took turns catching them,while the other video taped and tookpictures.

something to do with the full moonthat was only a few days away.

This pond is usually one where youcan drop your bait down and the fishdo the rest, but the Christmas Evecrappie made us work for them. Weboth like using a soft but fast jiggingmotion. To achieve this, we slowlybounce the tip of the rod, trying to

move our heavy tungsten jigs ever soslightly causing our small micro plas-tic quiver in the water column. Aspring bobber often times enhances

the technique giving you much moreof a finesse presentation as it willslow your presentation down evenwhen fished aggressively.

One other effective method toselect for larger fish is to presentthem with a bigger bait. Crappie,even small crappie, have largemouths which makes it easy for them

to feed on larger sized pray. We haveused this trick a few times when thefish were feeding on minnows. Lastyear that move made the difference

D & B Ice Adventures is based out ofBarre, Vermont and composed of two fish-ing fanatics: Dylan Smith and RobertBooth. With an equal drive time to theConnecticut River and Lake Champlain,the hardest decision is whether they want tocatch giant bluegill on the river or hugepumpkinseed on the lake with crappie in themix at both. These decisions have beenlogged through their blog www.dbiceadven-tures.wordpress.com which gives details onwhat they have to endure to be successful.You can checck them on facebook too atwww.facebook.com/DBIceAdventures.

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happened. The deer had wandereddown off the mountain is search oflove, perhaps found what he wantedand headed back to the high groundand his safety niche. I told Laura mysuspicions. I then showed her by theway the deer was walking why Ithought it was a buck. We didn’t go

much further and we found wherehe had stopped to rub a tree! It hadthe appearance of being a decentdeer, no monster, but a nice buck. Ialso pointed out to her that he wasavoiding certain spots because of hisrack. It was nice to be able to sharemy knowledge with her. We foundwhere the deer had bedded severaltimes. The tracks had snow in them,so I was reasonably sure we hadn’tbumped the deer.

I remember telling Laura that wehad a pretty good chance on catch-ing up to this buck. He hadn’tstopped to feed yet and we had beenon him for several hours. Shortlyafter that, we came to a reasonablyfresh bed, one that was much fresherthan any we had seen before. Wewent maybe 100 yards and foundanother bed, this one still had softsnow in it and the exit tracks weresnowless! The tracks were wander-ing now, not making a beeline toparts unknown. The buck was upand feeding! We honestly didn’t go40 yards and there he was, broadsideat maybe 35 yards, head down feed-ing not a twig between us! “Shoot,Shoot”, I hissed to Laura!” I can’tsee his rack”, she said. As if on cue,he picked his head up and was look-ing away from us.

She eased up the rifle, settled in onhis mid section and pulled the trig-ger, or at least tried to! It was apump rifle, when she loaded it at thetruck, she hadn’t pushed the pumpall the way up rendering the riflebasically useless! Not her fault, Ishould have checked! The deerturned and looked in our direction,not really alarmed, and he wentback to feeding. She looked towards

me and I told her to give me the rifle,I’d shoot him! Her response?%##@ you, you already shot yourdeer! At that, the buck headed forTimbuktu! We never saw him again.

At some point during most huntingseasons since, that event comes up inconversations, I was proud of herthen and I am proud of her now.She did a great job tracking thatbuck and sticking with him. Right tothe end, and in the end she held herground, it was her deer to shoot notmine!

She was right, I had already shotmy deer. This year was no different,it has come up in conversation espe-cially with me filling my rifle tagearly on with a nice fat spike a cou-ple of days into muzzleloader sea-son. She was actually guided byLittle Alex whom also filled his tagyouth weekend with a great deer!The two of them had a great timetogether. They didn’t see any deerbut heard some and heard a buckgrunting just out of their sight.

I had been bow hunting almostevery evening and some mornings astime allowed. I found a spot thatshowed some promise and thinkingmore of next season, moved in astand. I also set up a camera. I wassomewhat amaze to see deer on thecamera almost right away! After thelane clearing and walking around Ihad done. So, I went one step fur-ther.

I set up there because of theamount of buck sign in the area. Itis thick in there around the edges butopened up for 100 yards or so ineach direction in the middle of thewoods. This being from a ten yearold logging operation. I created twomock scrapes with Northwood’sCommon Scents doe in heat. I usedsome scent drippers that I had in thegarage for years. Then in anattempt to really get under the skinof the buck that had made the origi-nal scrapes, hit the area several timeswith buck urine using theNorthwood’s handy spray applica-tors. I had several pictures of thebuck, Laura and I had hunted in thegeneral area over the longThanksgiving weekend and I hadfound fresh scrapes not to far awayso I was reasonably sure that therewas in fact a buck in the area still, Iopted to see what would happen.

I left the spot alone for a few daysallowing it to settle down. We hadsome light rain so I was in hopes thatany scent left behind would bewashed away. Upon entering thearea, there was fresh buck sign! Thescrapes that I had made had also infact shown signs of visitation! I

It might have been the fall of1997? Not to sure exactly, maybe1998? Well anyway, I had taken adeer in the southern part of thestate. My wife wasn’t my wife yetand she was intrigued by the amountof deer my nephews and I spoke ofseeing in the North Country. So, along weekend was planned for her tojoin us up at camp for a deer hunt.This being the old camp, the onewhile you were in your sleeping bag,you could feel the mice scamperingback fourth most of the night.Thisact alone showed a lot of characteron her part! Anyway, the fact thatshe was staying in that camp and thefact that she wanted to deer hunt,sold me!

The first morning there, she and Itook off looking for a set of deertracks that maybe we could catch upto. We were off the main loggingroads onto some of the secondaryroads. We found several sets oftracks, but nothing any fresher thanprobably the day before. Then itstarted to snow again. After maybean hour, it had snowed enough to

completely cover everything old. Wecame to a long straightaway and atthe start, found tracks maybe, full ofsnow. At the other end, we found asecond set going in the oppositedirection maybe, again full.Quizzing Laura, I asked her whichtrack was fresher. She wasn’t sure so

I explained it to her. We pulled offthe road and took the track headingup the mountain.

To me, it was pretty plain what had

Deer Tags

Southern Side UpBy Alex Cote

Southern Side UpBy Alex Cote

Continued next page


from previous page

towards my stand at about 40 yards!I slowly stood up and watched himsway his head from side to side. Atone point, he threw his head in theair just smelling things. He contin-ued on, stopping behind a largerhemlock tree leaving only his backside exposed. I took my bow fromthe hanger, attached my release andmade ready to draw. He stepped outand directly onto an old skidder trailnot 15 yards from the base of mystand. I came to full draw, settled thepin behind his shoulder and sent thearrow on its way. I heard that allfamiliar thud of an arrow when ithits home. He was out of sight intwo massive bounds then one morerustle of leaves and the woods wereonce again silent.

I wished that I could say that I wascalm cool and collected, I can’t, Iwasn’t! I couldn’t catch my breath. Icalled my wife, told her that I didn’tneed her or her tag after all, I hadjust shot the buck! I developed theworst case of after buck fever I couldfind conceivable complete with thedry heaves and all! I didn’t wait thetaught ? hour to get out of the stand,hell I don’t think that I waited 10minutes. I got to the spot where hehad been standing expecting thatthere would be blood from the RageBroad head like the deer that I hadtaken last fall. There was nothing,no blood, no hair, NOTHING.

Panic set in, I was beside myself. Ilooked for the arrow, no arrow. I wasaware enough that I knew that Ineeded to leave. I went home for aflashlight, hunting knife and flaggingtape. I made a call to a friend whomis the chief archery educationinstructor for fish and game,Richard Tracey for his assistance.We went, we found, and I had con-quered! The deer had gone less than50 yards! The rage had done its joband that last rustling of leaves that Iheard was the deer going down forthe count! Because the arrowstayed in the deer, there was noblood for the first 20 yards or so,after that, it was like someone hadsprayed the woods! I was just toohyped up to figure it out on my ownaccord.

I have concluded that mockscrapes do in fact work! I will bemore forth coming in their use fromthis point forward! I will also beworking on my self control from thispoint forward and will be doing lesstexting from my tree stands! At leastlooking for the sympathy of the wifeanyway!

sprayed more buck urine, changedthe SD card in the camera and beatfeet home to have a peek at the pic-tures. Sure enough, I had a visitor inthe form of a decent racked 8 point-er and several does! Life was goodand I was back in business.

I was a couple of days out in workcommitments, meetings and such soI wouldn’t be able to get out. Theweekend came and Saturday morn-ing found me shutting off the alarmand rolling over. Mistake #1, thedeer were at the camera at 8:30 thatmorning just milling around in theacorns! Mistake #2, I had made apromise and couldn’t get outSaturday evening! But Sundaymorning would be different. We hada front moving in that was calling fora cold snap, hopefully the deerwould be on the move. And, theywere setting me up for mistake #3! Isat until it was dark just to see whatwas up. As I stood up in the stand, aheavy deer took off from behind my15 foot perch!

I still put in my time, I was gettingrandom pictures and my scrapeswere still being the object of hisaffection! I saw two other deer, onea doe the second being undeter-mined. The wife’s schedule wasn’tgiving her much time. The time thatshe was getting was being dedicatedto her sleep and making a greatChristmas for the Cote Family, so,hunting was not even remotely onher radar. It was in her mind but shejust wasn’t in that slow down andtake it easy frame of mind. But itwas certainly getting back in mymind! The weather was mild, AlexII was watching the outdoor channelon a regular schedule, they wereshooting some late season bucks, sowhy in the hell couldn’t I? I hadn’tbeen out that much, for that matter,I hadn’t been even checking thecamera. Time to get to it and payattention, if I gave up now, it wouldbe a long time until next September.I hadn’t been seeing lots of deerbefore, so why bother? For the firsttime in a lot of years, I actually hadto convince myself that I wanted toget out and hunt!

Well, the first time in maybe 5days, I checked the SD card! Thedeer were there at all hours and themock scrapes that I had created wereliterally torn up! Even the lickingbranches that I had added were tornto shreds! There was one ticked offdeer hanging around for sure. I nowhad a rekindled hope of taking adeer from this stand. There were 6different deer coming and goingthrough the funnel in both direc-tions. I had pictures of 2 bucks and 4does. I figured that with the mockscrapes working so well, I’d add agrunt tube to the game. Havinggrunted in a buck early on in themuzzleloader season, it certainly wasworth trying now. And work it did!I was able to get a doe to come peek-ing around. There was something

that she didn’t like, she came in allstiff legged and was thumping theground with her front legs all theway. She caught scent of something,detected some movement, some-thing was amiss and she turned andbolted back from where she hadcome. A close encounter of the deerkind, maybe! The grunt tube workedagain just the same, I think! I spentthe next few days morning and after-noon in the tree stand, NOTHING!Was I wasting my time? Why shouldI even bother this foolishness? AlexII gave me the shot in the arm that Ineeded, he asked me if I was readyto give up yet! It was the way that heasked it, he was making a challengein his own way! I opted to sit on theground, in the rain with a bow? Imust have been out of my mind, butit was Sunday, reason’s beyond mycontrol would keep me out of thewoods until Wednesday or Thursdayso what the hey! Like the timesbefore, nothing but wet and reallycold!

Thursday came, Alex II had bas-ketball practice at 6, he was workingon homework, and said” Dad, youshould sit in the stand tonight”. So,I did! I got out around 3:10 or thereabouts. Settled in and waiting, Ithought that it would be pretty easyto nod off for a bit. I’m not to surebut I just may have. When I cameto, the sun was setting and it wascooling off. I focused on the tree linein front of the stand and caughtmovement. It was a deer! It was thewide racked 8 that we had been get-ting pictures of. I snapped a pictureof the buck and sent a text of it tomy wife! I told her that I wished thatshe was there, it was the wide 8pointer that we had pictures of. Herimmediate response was simply“Shoot it”! The rest of the text mes-sages were something on the lines of:

Her: What am I looking at hereagain?

Me: A deer!Her: I told you , shoot it! Me: Can’t too far, need a rifle you

have the only gun tag.Her: Sorry!Me: That’s why I wish you were

here!Her: Oh, just for my deer tag?Me: No.Her: OOOOOOOOOOOHHH-

HHHHH now I see I have a deertag for a gun and you don’t! That’sfunny, ha, ha, ha. SoooooooooooSooooorry for you!

Looking for sympathy, I sent thetext picture of the deer to my daugh-ter. I simply said, see the deer here?Her reply was a simple, ”No”! Shemust have been having a bad day Iguess! I wasn’t getting anywhere atall, I slipped the phone into my backinto my shirt pocket.

I sat for maybe 15, no more that 20minutes. I heard a noise directlybehind me. I turned and wasshocked! The deer had made a large? circle and was coming right

Alex Cote resides in Deerfield NewHampshire. He is on the Pro Staff forNorthwood's Common Scents! He is also ascorer for the NHASTC. Alex and his sonspend as much time outdoors as possibleand he only works when he has to.


By Captian John CurryBy Captain John Curry

The Coastal ZoneThe Coastal Zone

around May and leave just beforeHalloween with the best actionoccurring from mid May to theend of July. The bigger spawning

fish start to leave when the waterstemperature gets above 72 degreeson the surface.

The Mass State regulations forscup have been very liberal as thespecies is in abundance. The sizelimits in 2012 were 11” minimumand anglers could keep up to 45

fish per trip during the “for-hire”vessel bonus period. Scup areexcellent eating and sold commer-cially all over the world so you canimagine the party boats are verybusy catering to scup fisherman allsummer. Most sport fishing guides

don’t even advertise that scup maybe part of the plan when hittingthe water. I am proud to let myclients know that if they want tobring home some very tasty filletswe can certainly target scup mostanytime during the season. It’s aperfect balance to the day.

We start out early after top waterstripers and blues then take a midday break and bottom bounce forscup and maybe black sea bass.Most of my clients are avid icefisherman and really appreciatethe opportunity to get back to thebasics and hey, pan fishing is funno matter how you do it in myopinion. Don’t get me wrong onthis, the feel of a powerful 40 lbstriper is what I’m after most days,but when you can mix things up itmakes for a great day.

The past few seasons havebrought in some monster sizedscup to Buzzards Bay and we evencaught them on the flats using flyrods. What a blast! This is theocean so a 3 lb scup is going to tearyou up trust me. No freshwater

pan fish even comes close to thefight of a fish that lives in constantcurrents and is chased by every-thing with fins and teeth.

Last May Charlie Bell fromMiddleboro, MA and his brother

Well since it’s that time of yearwhen many of you are hitting thehard water in pursuit of yourfavorite pan fish, I thought it wouldbe fitting to write about what I call“the pan fish of the sea” or Scup asthey are known in New Englandwaters. The actual name is Porgy,but they are called many differentnames throughout their range.

The Native Americans gave themthe name porgy which I’m toldtranslates into “fertilizer”. Whythey would use these tasty whitefleshed fish as fertilizer is besidesme, but hey, they also used lobstersin the same manner so I guess it’strue. Scup are a blast to fish for asthey are very willing biters and canconcentrate in huge schools whenthey are feeding on young of theyear bait such as juvenile greencrabs, squid, spearing and themany crustaceans that litter the seafloor in our New England Waters.

The traditional method is to usea medium action conventional out-fit with 20lb test (you never knowwhen a big striper will hit so it’sbest to be prepared) and a two way

rig as we call them. It’s a simpleset up where a 2 or 3 ounce sinker

is attached to a bottom surgeon’sloop and two hooks are a foot apartfrom each other up the leader.

The hooks are then baited witheither squid or clams and droppedinto the waiting school. Early inthe season it’s fairly easy to hookscup as they lightly peck at yourofferings, but as the season contin-ues they become notorious baitstealers. Scup enter our waters

Scup/porgy image courtesy of Mass State Saltwater Fishing Guide.

Bill from upstate NY holding a 4lb scup.

Fish box filled to the rim with scup.

Species Spotlight: Scup ( Porgy)

Continued next page

Bill from upstate NY hired me fora typical spring day on the water.We started out on the MashneeFlats in Buzzards Bay chasingsome decent sized stripers andblues. Now these two gentlemenare serious fisherman and they loveto eat fish.

I had purposely moved their tripdate to coincide with the black seabass opener as Charlie mentionedthey have never caught black seabass before. We weren’t out anhour when Bill asked “when are wegoing to try for some of those seabass you were telling us about?”We have a saying in the business,“never leave fish to find fish”. Toleave a school of stripers on theflats to bottom fish, we must benuts right?

Well these guys are true meatfisherman as we say and weabsolutely slammed the black seabass and after they caught theirlimit with a few scup mixed in wehit the flats again on the way backto the dock. Some birds were

working and the tide was droppingso I thought heck we can havesome fun with a few schooliestripers before we call it a day.

On the first cast with a white 6”Slugo, Charlie nailed a fish. Muchto my surprise it was a 22” scup!The flats were loaded with juvenilegreen crabs and the giant scupwere everywhere.

I have never filleted so muchscup in one day, but when the limitis 20 fish each you can see how wecould hardly close the lid on thefish box. Yes the scup is consideredby most to be a pan fish, but onsome days they make for a lot ofsport and some great eating.


Capt. John Curry grew up in Rehobeth, MAand summered on the Cape mainly in theBass River area. He has over 30 years offishing and boating on Cape Cod and RhodeIsland waters. Currently living in W.Yarmouth and summers in Bourne. He runsa sportfishing business on tha Cape, visit hiswebsite www.capefishing.net.

from previous page

entered our favorite pastime withnew eyes?

Would we be changed? Wouldwe be kids again in a all newworld? Would those who look upto us, think different? You bet!

New thoughts must be inspired,

so give it a try! Trust me changecomes hard. Especially after thecrow awoke you at 5:00am onSaturday! Or the sea gullcrapped on your arm at thebeach!

The deer pounded the greenbeans and the wife's pulling atyour hair to do something! Theankle is still sore from the wood-chuck hole and that damn squir-rel chewed your moose horn!BUT! Maybe less animals willstarve to death after someonehas moved them away fromhome in a havahart trap. Someof our bears will have a lowerlead content while still alive. Wewill save a few bullets, animalsand fish waisted on some need-less deaths or guilts, and not sayto our friends who ask if you gotone, " Yea.. Just a Doe..." Death,,, Taxes,,, Change.

She sounded shocked. "Theymake anti-squirrel bird seed"!(The wife) "Well dear, you knowpeople. It's a love-hate thing."They like what they like and hatewhat they hate.

We DO! When turkey's firstshowed up in Vermont, ah...!Now those same people, eventhose who love to hunt them, sayget rid of them they are eatingall the deer food! How about theBlue jays? You most likely don'tcare for them, would rather seechickadees or cardinals probably.No good fishers, smelly skunks,terrible rats, chicken thievingmangy foxes, scolding red squir-rels, trash scattering coons, treechewing , dam building, waterslapping beavers that scared youwhen you were fishing! Thosebaby eating crows! Seed lappingbears that deserve a round ofbird shot in the back side toteach them a lesson! (Very sadand does happen a lot! I know! )

How about the swimming fishstealer the Otter, or the flyingone, the Heron? OH... the vetbills, for quills! Do these samepeople ask for doe's protection atdeer meetings and then com-plain that's all they saw duringdeer season? Sometimes.Sometimes they see things theywant to or what they don't. Theyusually love baby anythings.Fawns, cubs, chicks and the like.

Moose , deer , big cats, rabbitsand grouse are safe from most ofthe hater's. Good to eat and thatmakes sense, to our benefit I

guess. I must admit and so must you,

we are all a little guilty I sup-pose. Mostly a product of pro-graming. Like most feelings ,taught by someone we looked upto at the time, or could sympa-thize with.

BUT!, as my mother would say,telling me it was time for somereflection. What would the out-door world be like for us, if weleft those feelings home? If we

By Rodney ElmerBy Rodney Elmer

Taxidermy TrailsTaxidermy Trails

Rodney Elmer and his wife Theresa ownand operate Mountain deer taxidermy inNorthfield,Vermont.

Are you wildlife prejudice?


Trail Camera Photo Contest

22001122 TTrraaiill CCaammeerraa PPhhoottoo CCoonntteesstt

22001122 TTrraaiill CCaammeerraa PPhhoottoo CCoonntteesstt

SSppoonnssoorreedd bbyy CChhaaddwwiicckkssTTrraaiillccaammss..ccoommSSppoonnssoorreedd bbyy CChhaaddwwiicckkssTTrraaiillccaammss..ccoomm

22001111 TTrraaiill CCaammeerraa PPhhoottoo CCoonntteesstt WWiinnnneerrss ;;

Two (2) Winners will be drawn randomly andannounced in the January 2013 issue. PlusOne (1) Winner/Owner of “The Trail CameraPicture of the Year”, will be chosen by theOutdoor Gazette staff and folks on ourFacebook page. The “Pic of the Year” will beon the cover of the Jan. 2013 issue!

Send photos to: [email protected] with the subject line “TC Photo Contest 2012”

Send in your trail camera pics, and for every picturethat is published in The Outdoor Gazette you will get

one chance to win one of three Trail Cameras.

AArree yyoouu wwoorrrriieedd bbyy sseennddiinngg iinn yyoouurr ppiicc ooff tthhaatt ttrroopphhyy bbuucckk oorr hhuuggee bbuullll mmoooossee,, wwiillll ggiivvee aawwaayy

yyoouurr sseeccrreett llooccaattiioonn?? NNoo nneeeedd ttoo wwoorrrryy!! WWee wwiillll ppoosstt yyoouurr ppiiccss aannoonnyymmoouussllyy,, wwiitthh aass lliittttllee

iinnffoo aass yyoouu lliikkee.. YYoouurr sseeccrreett iiss ssaaffee wwiitthh uuss!!

AArree yyoouu wwoorrrriieedd bbyy sseennddiinngg iinn yyoouurr ppiicc ooff tthhaatt ttrroopphhyy bbuucckk oorr hhuuggee bbuullll mmoooossee,, wwiillll ggiivvee aawwaayy

yyoouurr sseeccrreett llooccaattiioonn?? NNoo nneeeedd ttoo wwoorrrryy!! WWee wwiillll ppoosstt yyoouurr ppiiccss aannoonnyymmoouussllyy,, wwiitthh aass lliittttllee

iinnffoo aass yyoouu lliikkee.. YYoouurr sseeccrreett iiss ssaaffee wwiitthh uuss!!

Trail Camera Picture of the Year is Dan Green from Lyme, NHRandom Winners - Thomas Flynn from Holderness, NH

and Mary Emery from Enfield, NHIt’s a Granite State Sweep!

Sponsored by Chadwick’s Trail-Cams

Nick Atwood of - “Team Nockout”




This little buck resides in Hanover, New Hampshire




words, “A Hunter’s Confession isa serious book about hunting inNorth America.” He wanted hisexperiences and those of peopleclose to him to add something tothe all to frequent discussionsabout hunting today. Carpenter’shunting adventures provide acontext for the broader, moreintellectual hunting debates. Ashe says, “We need historicalbenchmarks to keep us honest.”

A Hunter’s Confession addsmuch to any verbal sparringmatch about blood sports.However, it is anything butanother dry, stilted, academicargument. This is a debateframed by the experiences of oneman and his wide circle offriends and relations with a stakein those same experiences. Thesememories of shared huntingexperiences add wit and toneand color and most importantlyhumanity to any discussionsabout hunting from this point on.

This is a book for all of NorthAmerica. However, readers inthe United States will need toread it closely and pay attention,for some of the Canadian refer-ences may seem a bit foreign. Butthis is just another reason to readthis book: the commonality ofour hunting cultures across theshared boundary. Otherwise, thisbook reads easily. Carpenter’s

prose has a gentle flow, but afirm command of the language.

In our ever more feminizedcontemporary society,Carpenter’s chapter “TheReturn of Artemis,” about hiswife’s hunting experience, maybe the most important chapter inthe book. Certainly it can beapplied in many a household onthis side of the border, as thefeminine perspective is now asignificant component of anyhunting discussion, and women’sperceptions and opinions ofhunting will determine much ofhunting’s future on this conti-nent.

A Hunter’s Confession ought tomake any outdoorsman’s shortlist of vital, important and enjoy-able reading. Whether read bythe fireside on a cold January dayor in the hammock after lawnmowing in July, this is one of thebest books on hunting to comealong this decade. Once read, itneeds to be shared with veteransof past hunts, those who huntnow, or those who aspire to takeup hunting in the future.

A Hunter’s ConfessionBy David CarpenterGreystone Books 2010243 pages, $17.95ISBN: 978-1-55365-825-2

January is a time for stories –deep, compelling, evocative sto-ries, best read by a warm firewhile frost crystals sprout on thewindows. Winter is a fine timefor perusing how-to books ofbeloved field sports, but there issomething very satisfying about agood, robust narrative.

In 2010, award-winningCanadian author DavidCarpenter produced just such aninteresting and compelling nar-rative. After penning seven fic-tion books, three of nonfiction,and one volume of poetry,Carpenter succumbed to the urg-ing of friends to produce a mem-oir.

Instead of a memoir of his lifeas a writer, Carpenter chose towrite of his life as a hunter. Theresult is A Hunter’s Confession, afresh, interesting work with apowerful perspective.

Its pages reveal a story told

with humor, wisdom and a pro-found but never fawning sense ofreverence. This is the story of asport as old as our landscape andthe people associated with it. Itis a stark link both to the primor-dial past and the emotionallycomplex present.

Carpenter intended A Hunter’sConfession to be more than thememoir his friends wanted himto write, and it is. In the author’s

The Gazette’s Book ReviewBy Colonel J.C. Allard

Col. J.C. Allard lives in Pittsfield, NHabout 20 miles north by east of Concord.“We're in the shadow of the Belknapmountains here, but we can see Mt.Washington on a clear day”.

Do you have a recreational campor property? An outboard motor,ATV or snowmobile? Why don’tyou try placing an ad in the NH

Outdoor Gazette? You’d be surprized by the results.

FOR MORE INFORMATION EMAIL:[email protected]

FOR SALE

Quality Eyewear


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Pictures Gone WildPictures Gone WildOur reader submitted photosOur reader submitted photos

Marjie Blanchard of Bridgewater, Vermont, sent in this photo of her grandson,Gianni Blanchard. He is 4 yrs old "his first fish." A 13 1/2 inch rainbow troutcaught at Kent Pond in Plymouth, Vermont. “I don’t know if it is trophy status but itsure was for him!”… Gianna will receive a “fishing tackle prize” for sharing hismemory with us.

Josh Allard, “First fish of the Season”- A chain pickerel, caught ice fishing at Hall’sPond in Newbury, Vermont.

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The Outdoor Gazette January 2013

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