WHO: Joe M., Butch P. and Myself.
WHAT: 2011 Pa. Deer Season
(Click on pics to enlarge)
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
JOE M. 6 PT.
Opening of the Pa. deer season was short for Joe M.
At 8:30 a.m. on opening day, this 6 pt. made the mistake of walking in
front of his cross hairs.
BUTCH P.
Butch harvested the 2nd camp buck (a 5 pt.) of the week on the 1st Wednesday of deer season.
It was the first deer he saw during the week.
CUZ CHUCK G.
My cousin Chuck harvested this beautiful 8 pt. with a 20in. spread the 1st day of the Pa. Deer season. This was the second buck he saw that day. Luckily the 1st one did not present a shot for him.
"CONGRATS CUZ"
NO BEAR YET
Doug A., Jim F., Joe M., and myself headed to camp for the Archery and Rifle Pa. bear season.
No one harvested a bear this year, but Doug did have 1 at 25 yards as he was leaving his stand with his bow. It was after legal shooting hours but it was a thrill for both the hunter and the hunted.
Doug and myself were also entertained by a nice 10 point buck that would cross the creek every morning. Doug managed to get a small video of the buck as it passed at very close range. I was hoping to get a shot at the buck during the upcoming deer season.
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Sunday, November 6, 2011
JOES'S BEAR HUNTING SPOT
A couple of weeks ago, Joe and I headed up to camp to scout for our upcoming Pa. bear season. We saw some sign and picked our spots that looked to be promising. The 1st tree on Joes right is the location that he will be placing his tree stand. Joe has harvested 2 bear in Pa. so far.
While at camp, a bear paid a visit to out feeder early Saturday morning. When I awoke in the morning, I looked out the window and watched, as he consumed
15 lbs. of shelled corn. We refilled the feeder that day and set out the trail camera to try to catch him in the act again to no avail. After we headed home, a good neighbor set his camera out and the following pic were taken. He looks like he's nice size.
TUESDAYS DAY OFF
I took a vacation day on Tuesday to try my luck. The morning was perfect and the deer were moving. I saw 5 deer and 3 of them were buck. I grunted in a shooter buck and thought for sure that I would harvest him as he was coming in and stopped at 20 yards.
Unfortunately, he stopped right behind a tree, and never did present a shot.
We have 1 more full week of archery season left. Hopefully he will show up again.
SATURDAY SUNRISE
It was a frosty morning on our Saturdays hunt.
We saw many deer this day, but only 1 buck that wandered through a thicket and would not present a shot.
YOUNG DOE
When heading out for our archery hunts, we more often then not, see this young doe as we are heading to our stands
She is like our Walmart greeter of the forest. We do have doe tags, but no way would we take this deer. I hope she wises up quickly.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
VISITOR AT CAMP
When we arrived at camp, we found that a visitor had dropped in before hand.It seems a bear had found our wildlife feeder and enjoyed a feast of 20 lbs. of shelled corn.
It also left a rude calling card.
KINZUA CR.
Ray M.On our 1st full day at camp, we headed to Kinzua Cr. to try our luck. For the amount of time we fished, we were quite successful. 5 chunky rainbow trout were brought to net.
Our mushroom picking turned into a walk in the woods. For some reason, the picking was very slim. We did manage to find a few mushrooms, but not enough to make it worth keeping.
KINZUA BRIDGE
After a successful morning of trout fishing, and a unsuccessful morning of mushroom picking, we headed to Kinzua State Park to check out the newly built Kinzua Skywalk. We were all impressed, and I would recommend that anyone in the area to stop and enjoy the view.
FLOCK OF WILD TURKEY ?
I decided to travel a mountain back road to our fishing destination in hopes of seeing some Pa. wild life. As we crested the top of the mountain, we were lucky to catch a flock of turkey crossing the road right in front of us. LOOKING FOR HAND OUTS
When I stopped the truck to get a pic, we found out it was'nt a flock of wild turkeys. It was a mixed bag of domesticated Turkey, Guinea Hens, and chickens. As soon as my vehicle stopped, they ran up looking for a free meal.
LYMAN LAKE RAINBOWS
We normaly prefer fishing streams when trout fishing, but this weekend was the exception.We were happy with the results !
LYMAN LAKE RAINBOW
RAY MWe were in no rush to get home on Saturday so we headed back to Lyman Lake State Park for a 2nd round of fishing.
It was worth the trip.
FINAL DAYS CATCH
We were all impressed with the size and quality of the fish we caught over the weekend. They ranged from 12 to 16+ inches and all were nice and plump.
Monday, September 19, 2011
67 V.W. VAN
Joe M. and myself headed to Evansville, Indiana for the weekend to visit a good friend who has a health issue. He is progressing well and we are all praying for the best.
On the way, we visited my nephew in Louisville Kentucky. It was great to get together with him and his family. A thing, we all, should all do more often.
Eric and Tracy's 13 year old boy Ethan is turning into quite the outdoors-men.
I have to get him to camp.
The weekend was very enjoying to spend with friends and family and I am elated by the progress my friend is making.
After visiting Jim F. on Friday evening he and Bob W. took us on a good 2 mile hike to there deer hunting grounds. I can see why they are so successful. Soy bean and corn fields are numerous, and the thick cover makes for prime hunting opportunities.
Doug and Brenda A. graciously put up with us and provided great hospitality.
Thank you very much. They are great friends.
PARTY TONIGHT
Saturday evening Doug and his wife Brenda had group of people over for an evening feast.
I'm sure none of us will forget the spread that was laid out before us.
Smoked chicken breasts, Ribs, Deer Chile, and a variety of Italian Oven Pizzas, countless delicious deserts, White Lighting soaked cherries and many other liquids of cheer.
A great time was had by all and I thank them for all they did.
THE LAST STEP
These ribs, without a doubt, were the finest ribs I have ever consumed.
All other ribs I eat will be judged against these.
No sauce required. There flavor and texture stands alone.
A semi dry rub was used before smoking them for 4 hours using pecan and other wood smoke, then wrapped in foil and cooked for another hour and a half.
I know some rib wizardry must have been involved also.
ITALIAN OVEN
2 years ago, Doug constructed an original Italian Oven.
After many hours of research and planning, he came up with this design of an oven that was popular in Italy during W.W.II.
He used records of American G.Is. that fought in Italy and used these ovens to cook up a hot meal when they had the opportunity.
There is alot more history to this style of oven and I wish I could tell you more.
YUMMM, PIZZA
This pizza oven is amazing. In the time it takes you to whip up the ingredients for a pizza, the previous one is done to perfection.
All in about 4 minutes.
Monday, August 22, 2011
NEW SHED ??
Joe and I loaded up our fishing gear and work tools and took off for an extended weekend at camp. Unfortunately, the fishing gear never got used. The creeks were still running a bit low and the work took longer then expected. We painted the shed, replaced the trim and all the hardware. We also cut the doors for a better fit.
For the rest of the year, Camp will be used for pleasure only. Late season trout fishing and fall hunting.
WILDLIFE FEEDER
I was looking for a inexpensive feeder to use at camp when I came across this while browsing the internet. I made 4 of them and put 2 out to see how they would work.
I probably should wait until the bears go into hibernation, but I'm impatient and the bears will probably wreck them before fall.
JOE AND HIS BABY
Joe and Arnell K. took a late July bike ride to camp for some site seeing and relaxation.
Joe has had a bike for years and they both enjoy there time on the road.
BRIDGE PROGRESS
Joe and Arnell only spent 1 night at camp. Joe had a fishing trip planned for the next day for Lake Erie Walleye.
They did end up taking a bike ride threw the Kinzua bridge area.
but missed the grand opening of the observation deck by 2 weeks.
I down loaded a video so they can see what they missed.
OBSERVATION DECK OPEN ON KINZUA BRIDGE
Here is a YouTube video of the recently opened observation deck on the Kinzua Bridge.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
EVICTED !
It seems we had a squatter taking residence at camp with out permission and no one else there. A kindly neighbor served an eviction notice.
Thanks Jim.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
WHATS THIS ?
Whats going on here? What a surprise this was. Just temporary though. The Marcellus gas well people must have decided to drill in the area and found the current bridge is not strong enough to handle the load of there rigs, so they are replacing it.
I'm not looking forward to this kind of progress. Hopefully we will never see another traffic light again in this area once they are done.
1 AND ONLY
Joe and I anticipated a great morning of fishing. We were very disappointed to find the River running very low and clear with extremely warm water temperatures. Trout do not tolerate water temps over 70 degrees very well. I'm afraid the trout our living on borrowed time if water temps don't cool considerably.
For the trout to survive they must find cool mountain feeder streams or a spring seep.
We need a good shot of rain in the worst way to get the streams flowing and the oxygen level up and the temps down.
I'm pretty sure this will end our trout fishing for the summer. Hopefully some trout survive for the up coming fall season.
BEE BALM
On the walk back to the vehicle from the morning fish, we ran into a patch of Bee Balm
Theis had to be 1 of the reddest reds I have ever seen.
1 JOB DONE
1 of the jobs Joe and I had lined up for the weekend was the installation of steps leading from the back door.
This chore went surprisingly well.
THANKS BILL
Joe and I were armed with a saws all and grinder to begin the job of removing the hitch from the trailer part of camp. Luckily, a good neighbor, Bill S., came along with his cutting torch and in a short time completed this task.
Thanks again Bill.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
COW ELK
Doug A. was fortunate to be working in the area in late June and decided to take advantage of a long weekend. He and 2 of our camp friends headed to camp for some relaxation, fishing and site seeing. It looks like that their goal was accomplished. The weekend started off great with sightings of a few members of the Pa. Elk herd.
Fishing was great and the relaxation came easy.
NICE LIMIT OF TROUT
Doug creeled a nice limit of trout while fishing the Allegheny River. None were under 14 in. with the largest being an 18 in. Tiger trout.
The Tiger Trout in a hybrid cross of a Brown and Brook Trout. The Fish Commish stocks very few of these, and this 1 is a real trophy.
LAST YEARS CARRYOVER
When you fillet a fish and the flesh is the color of a very ripe peach, you can be sure its a carry over from last years stocking. The fish fillet is firmer and , in my mind, tastier.
From what I hear, many of the trout that were bagged during their trip were carry overs.
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