Quest for a King Part 2….This is Fishing?

 

Although I argue in my last post that fishing with a depth finder is part of the fun, my grandfather and I both had a good laugh over the weekend about what we consider as necessary for fishing in modern times.  This past Sunday, my dad, grandfather and I faced several hours of frustrating electrical work to wire a new depth finder to our boat.  None of us are electrical experts and it felt like we were getting this project done, one simple miracle by God at a time.   While looking at the intense mess of foreign looking wires,   I tried to add some humor to our bleak situation.

“Whatever happened to fishing with a piece of string on the end of a stick?”

My Grandfather replied, “Yea, the Indians used to catch fish on nothing but sinew and polished fish bones and you need all of this extra junk?.”

We both laughed knowing that there was some truth in his statement about how ridiculous some of this can seem at times.

I was holding my breath at every new development. From pulling the new wire through the boat on the old wire, to scrounging around for old electrical parts and pieces attaching wires to random circuits.   Somehow, after three and a half hours of the blind leading the blind, we had successfully jerry rigged our new fish finder to the main battery.   With help of about eight feet of left over electric dog fence wire, dad desperately made one last ditch effort and directly attached the dog wires to the main battery.  Remember in the Bible when God said , “Let there be light”  and there was light.  I think in our situation God said, “Let there be a fish finder.”   The screen on the Lawrence Fish finder jumped to life   and with it, my heart leapt with the feeling of victory.   We would be chasing the big fish after all.

Tomorrow, the temperatures are supposed to be in the high 80s and this incredible wind that has been gusting up to 30 mph since Sunday night is supposed to slow to a light 8-10 from the west. My grandfather has never caught a big fish on the lake and although I may not have the most experience in the world with this stuff.  I’m going to try my hardest to hook him into a monster

Two words come to mind that can summarize how I feel right about now, GAME ON

 

Where Eagles Dare, PWL.

Jason

 

 

Steelhead caught with dad last summer    ———>

Quest for a King Part 1

 

Every morning at the office, my boss makes a point to stop and give me the salmon report from the night before.   My boss picked up fishing for salmon and trout with down riggers  a few years ago and every summer ventures to distances and depths that make most shake their heads.  I’ve had the privilege of testing the waters several times over the last 3 summers.  So far the only thing I’ve caught are a few smaller trout.  I have yet to test wits with one of the giant King Salmon that patrol the depths.  My boss tell me of these tenacious King Salmon  that can spool an entire  reel on one run and give even the most fit guy a run for their money.

Last summer while staying home alone, a friend and I took my dad’s 19ft Wellcraft into the depths to try our hand at catching a lake monster.  No less than an hour into trolling our luck took a drastic turn.  While trolling between 90 and 130 feet of water,   our depth finder suddenly became unresponsive.  Unbeknownst to us, the transducer on the bottom of the boat had somehow become loose and tore off leaving us guessing as to what depth we were in.   For those who have never fished with down riggers, your depth finder is very important for adjusting lure levels, targeting fish at specific depths and just plain knowing how deep your fishing at.  Using a depth finder while in the deep water is part of the fun, it brings a different strategic level to the game that you can’t often find fishing closer to shore.

Forced to use our manual down riggers to find the depth, we  trolled in an east to west direction instead of north to south.  Frustrated but not deterred, we managed to land two small Steelhead towards the end of the night, back to back.   Despite their smallish sizes, you would have thought we had just arrowed a pair of ten points from our exuberant reactions. Although small inconveniences plagued our trip, I was totally hooked on chasing the big deep water fish.

I guess there is an element of mystery that keeps driving people like myself, my boss and countless charter captains back to fish the depths.  Although you can see shore from the boat, chasing the giant salmonoids in hundreds of feet of water and perhaps more than a mile from land is an intense adventure all its own.

Because at any moment, your reel could start screaming, the pole could bend to a dangerous angle, and your arms beg for mercy as it becomes a battle of muscle and patience against something unknown.

 

Where Eagles Dare, PWL.

Jason

Taking Care Of Your Hunting Dog

Taking care of your hunting Dog

I have had the privilege of trying out several dog products on my hunting dog, Murphy, in recent months from a company called Earth’s Balance. I tested three of their dog products that promote the health and wellness of my dog and I want to call attention to these hidden gems for canines.  Canine Solutions, Wet Dog and Skunk Free are topical probiotic sprays that I consider essential parts of my outdoor dog care kit.  These products may not look like products an outdoor dog would use, but take a closer look and these three products will become a valued part of your gear.

Canine Solutions

Canine Solutions first aid support is veterinarian recommended and an all-purpose cleansing spray for open wounds like cuts and hotspots.  The ingredient is a probiotic, and when applied to open wounds, it keeps the area bacteria free and promotes healing.  I really find this product useful when we take Murphy to swamps and fields for waterfowl.  I check his paws and exposed underside after every hunt to see if he stepped on or has any cuts from sticks, glass or old metals. The last thing I want is for my dog to get some sort of infection costing me hundreds of dollars in vet bills.  Canine Solutions comes in 8 oz. and 32 oz. spray bottles and is half the price of other leading brands – a small price to pay to keep my trusted hunting dog safe.

Skunk Free

Although it’s not every day that my dog has a run in with a skunk, there was one unfortunate day a few years back that my dog Murphy got a little too close to a surprised skunk.

My father and I decided to take our lab Murphy for a walk to a lake for some practice retrieves with his duck dummy.  Parking in an empty parking lot that belonged to a closed mini mart, Murphy started acting “birdy,” which I attributed to his usual excitement for walks. The second we opened the door, Murphy took off nose-to-the-ground only to reappear seconds later and jumping back into the truck whimpering. Confused, the words “what the” barely slipped from my mouth when an intense odor drilled my olfactory senses. Like a punching bag is to Mike Tyson, the powerful odor sent me sprawling a few feet just in time to watch a skunk peek out from around a trash can. We managed to get away from the skunk and continue on our walk. Murphy spent most of the walk rolling in the grass desperate to alleviate the smell and burning sensation from his face, but we had no way of getting rid of the skunk smell.  Dad’s truck and the garage reeked for several weeks and our only solution was to let the dog and everything else air out.  Shortly after, we discovered Skunk Free.

How does it work?

Skunk Free is a powerful odor extractor that harnesses a blend of probiotics, not enzymes, to work at the source of the smell.  The unique feature of Skunk Free is its ability to remove the odor from its source and not mask it. This spray is a powerful natural solution based product unlike anything I’ve ever used. I will always keep a bottle of Skunk Free on hand with my gun dog training gear. 

Wet Dog

Probably my favorite product of the three is Wet Dog because of its practicality.  Wet Dog is the perfect solution to the swampy mucky smell dogs have after getting wet. Wet Dog uses organic microbes to destroy the bacteria that cause odors.  I have used this for a while and it works.  I always keep it in the truck when I go duck hunting or when I take Murphy down to the lake for training.  Anytime I know Murphy will be swimming, I keep a 32 oz. bottle of Wet Dog handy.  I will not let him into my truck before I completely spray him down after he goes for a swim.  Not too many waterfowlers know about this product, but I consider it the hidden gem of odor solutions that every dog owner should have.

Where Eagles Dare,PWL.

Jason

All In Physical Strength?

Strength does not come from physical capability it comes from an indomitable will.

What is an indomitable will?  An indomitable will is the desire to succeed that is greater than the fear of failure  I’m sure anyone who has sat in a stand the last few bitter cold days of the season,  while wind rips  at your face as you  burrow exhausted  into your coat  understand this feeling.  Most  people would look  and ask, why the heck are you still pushing the limits?  You gave it your best shot this season and may even have a few deer in the freezer.  Yet you still drag yourself out to the stand  because you refuse to stop till every ounce of strength  in your body is gone.  It is this mental tenacity that gives us that little extra strength to complete our goals.  You could have the best fit physique in the world but physical strength does nothing if your mind is not stronger.

Check your mindset, strong mentality pushes your physical limits, Push the wild limits.

Where Eagles Dare, Pwl.

Jason

An Insult Meaning Mighty Hunter

Meaning of the word,

                                                                                Nimrod

Typically used as an insult among middle and high school students as   nothing but verbal diarrhea  flows on an unstopped line  from their under developed brains to their tongues  as they bicker to assert dominance in their so overly stressful and pressure filled worlds………  I think at one point or another we have all been called a nimrod by our peers.  Interestingly enough even though this name may sound foolish  and childlike,  its meaning is actually one of interest to us as a community of hunters.    In fact one of my back packs is made by a western company called Nimrod and its name is taken From the old testament of the Bible.   Genesis chapter10:8-10 says this.  8 “And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. 9, He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD.”  The name Nimrod was a mighty hunter in the Bible, can you believe that?  I remember being called a nimrod several times through school before my other classmates began to freely use the F-bomb.  Imagine that, people actually used a word to insult when it actually accurately described.  This really made my day, hope it makes your day a little brighter as well.

So go be a Nimrod today!

Where Eagles Dare, PWL.

Jason

Recovery Journal #3 Stepping Towards Goals

About 15 minutes before my Pt. appointment on Tuesday My brothers woke me up.  “Dude gets out of bed your appointment is like now! Ben yelled.  Grabbing my phone I saw that the time was indeed 10:45…. Vicodin is a heck of a drug let me tell you.  With no time to spare I pulled up to the PT place in town completely forgetting my wallet and any socks.  None the less the Physical Therapist ran her tests and showed me exercises.  My overall range of motion is actually very good however; my strength lacks and is very evident when I try to stick my arm out.  I told the PT lady that I had to be able to pull my bow back by August.  She just laughed, rolled her eyes and said “Oh no your one of those guys, seems like everyone around here is.”  Well I can’t help it sorry but that’s the goal, August 1st.  The small exercises have been helping my range of motion and strength; I can feel my strength and range returning every day as I continue to pursue my goal.

Speaking of goals, yesterday I connected with WHFO Field Testers.  After a 20 minute conversation with the owner Doug, I am proud to announce that I will be writing gear reviews for http://www.field-testers.com/.   Reviews will be featured on this site as well as field-testers.com. I am Humbled and excited by this new opportunity and pledge to work as hard as possible finding and writing about the little things that make products successful or unsuccessful.

http://www.field-testers.com/

Where Eagles Dare, PWL,

Jason

The One Armed Fisherman

The tale of the one armed fisherman

Ever hear the story of the one armed fisherman?

He caught a fish this big

Casting left handed was proving much harder than I expected.   Feeling very un-natural, I looked like a little kid again  either violently slamming my bait into the water directly  in front of the boat or casting nowhere near my target.   My right arm is still in a sling yet that had little to do with whether or not I decided to go fishing.  With temperatures in the mid-eighties and hardly a cloud, days don’t get much better than this in upstate NY.  Intending on making the best of the day, my brother managed to hoist our canoe onto the 4Runner by himself which is surprising considering his lean stature.    Driving to a local bay we launched off the side of some random road through a very disgusting muck of seaweed .  The water however was, refreshing.   Several groups of long nose gar and carp scurried out of our way and into the depths as we began to fight a steady head wind.  The carp looked like they may have gland problems, they were enormous.   Since I could not paddle Austen hauled his trolling motor with us and a spare car battery to help himself in pushing my sorry  butt around the bay.   A worthy assistant in place of gimpy here.  Although casting was a bit uncomfortable at first, what I was more concerned about was my ability to reel.

 

 

In order meet the challenge I simply switched my reel handle to the right side of the reel and held the pole in my left hand then pulled it close to my body to reach my right hand due to the limited range of motion.  One positive to holding the pole in my left hand was the amount of time it took to reel my slack to create enough tension to set the hook.  In the past when fishing normally, I have a tendency to try and set the hook a bit too early.  The few extra seconds I used to pull the rod towards my hand gave a few bass enough time to get a better bite on my  five inch green and brown worm. Austen maneuvered us in and around boat docks and shallow weedy areas as I tried to prefect my newfound tactics of gimpy fishing.  The best fish of the day came from cast that I  violently slammed into the water nowhere close to my intended target.  I wasn’t overly thrilled with the cast but I suppose it was irrelevant to the bass.  Moments after destroying the peaceful surface tension of the water, my pole bent over.  Setting the hook left handed got the job done very well punching the size 5 Eagle Claw blood red hook through the mouth a decent large mouth with no problem.  My first reaction was too instantly start reeling but I remembered to be careful.  I eased my right hand to the reel and cautiously began reeling, trying my best not to jostle the arm.  The fish dove hard a few times until I was able to bring it close enough to yank into the boat.   Unable to grab the hook I handed the fish over to my caretaker to unhook.   I haven’t need to get someone else unhook my fish for me since I was like 4, such a weird feeling.

The rest of the afternoon resulted in a few more decent large mouth and a great sun burn.  As the saying goes, you cant catch a fish sitting on the couch, great way to spend the day with my brother

 

Cant Keep Me Down For Long.                                      

Where Eagles Dare,PWL,

Jason

Old Faithful

“After missing a second deer with that Mossberg 500 I was disgusted” Dad Recounted.  “I knew that something was wrong with the gun and not me and I just couldn’t figure out the problem.”  Trading in his Mossberg 500 nearly 20 years ago was one of the best moves I think my Dad ever made.  In its place, He brought home a gun so accurate, so deadly, and so reliable, it has become a legend.  This slug gun has hung more deer in our garage and sent more to the freezer than I can count.  Scary accurate, when that gun barks, something is dead, no question.  The wooden stock is slightly worn and faded, the barrel is actually a smooth bore hosting a fixed scope that hasn’t needed adjustment in years. Like mans best friend, it hangs by your side held by a safari sling, always ready for action.  Having proven itself time and time again, Dad’s 12ga. 870 Remington Express Magnum has earned the name Old Faithful.  Since I was a young boy, I grew up witnessing faithfulness of this gun.   My eyes would grow wide, and I would step back as if a sign of respect each season when dad would pull it out of the cabinet.  Dad handled Old Faithful with such  care and respect that these non-verbal actions partially taught me that  hunting is much more than just about the killing of an animal.    As we packed the gun in his car for every opening day, I would smile with excitement in the cool November breeze knowing Dad was about to deliver the goods.  This stirred my excitement and often caused me to painfully dream about the day I could tote my own.  As dad was away at deer camp every year for opening weekend, my brothers and I would wait anxiously for that one phone call, we knew it was just a matter of time, we knew the gun couldn’t miss.   Even as youngsters, any shot that dad took with that gun meant success, and we knew it.

As I became of age, the special meaning that this gun once held to me grew deeper and deeper. My father wasn’t the only one to deliver the goods with Old Faithful.  Old Faithful has helped me tag several dandy bucks of my own. During the moment of truth, sliding my finger over  Old Faithful’s trigger there is an eerie sense of calm that allows me to focus unlike any other weapon I’ve ever shot.   I know that whatever I aim at with that gun I had better mean it, there is no chance at missing.  Currently five bucks have their final resting place on my bed room walls, four of these brutes have been taken between Dad and I with Old Faithful.  Three respectable eight points and a nine flood my room with stories and laughter .   Each of their frozen gazes seems to stare past the clock and into the timeless memories and bonds forged because of that gun.  I love to share with everyone that sees these mounts that not only have all four of these bucks been killed with the same gun.  In fact, two bucks of the bucks where shot in the same woods.  If that isn’t interesting enough, all four wall hangers have been killed the week of Thanksgiving   over the past eleven years.     Old’ Faithful has become more than just a gun or a legend in our family, it has become a symbol.

family heirlooms, special family guns, outdoor memories, deer hunting , Remington 12gauge, 870 express

Take a moment and reflect.

Where Eagles Dare, PWL,

Jason

Recovery Journal Day 2

Mom and Dad told me I said some pretty outrageous stuff while slipping under the influence of drugs. I don’t think repeating what was said in that surgery holding room would be appropriate to relay to readers.  The last thing I remember was breathing into the oxygen mask then BAM! I was waking up in the recovery room still loopy from the drugs.   Although my brain was still groggy from the drugs, my heart skipped a beat in a anticipation as the doctor approached my parents and I in recovery to give us the news of the damage in my shoulder.   What the doctor told us took a few seconds to sink in but the news was an answer to much prayer.  Originally the doctors though my labrum was torn and would need to be sown together.  Recovery time for something like this put my bow season in question not to mention playing baseball again.  My doctor delivered the early Christmas telling me my labrum was completely healthy and strong.   What was found, inflammation, scar tissue and impingement that were acting like a layer of sand rubbing against the muscles of my shoulder.   No reconstruction or suturing in my shoulder.  This means one thing; I will be able to pull a bow back this fall.    This morning, the pain blockers have worn off but my shoulder isn’t in a ton pain, just extremely stiff.   Needless to say I am very relieved and thankful.   God is good.

On the flip side I’ll also get to play baseball again.

Where Eagles Dare, PWL,

Jason

Leupold Arcadia

Not all Optics are created equal and Im sure that any outdoorsman understands that.  Yes we all know that you get what you pay for low cost is usally going to be lower quality and the expensive stuff well, you get it.  That being said Here is a quick honest review of  my new pair of binoculars, the Leupold Arcadia,

Quick Things I  Noticed

• 100% Waterproof

Water penetrating your optics really screws up the lenses and creates major problems.   Im reasonably sure most outdoorsmen have had that happen a time or two and can appreciate a waterproof laiden set of bins.  I am not a fair weather hunter,  the cruddier the better I say.  Having the water Proof protection is reassuring to keep these babies safe.

• Compact

Another commonality us hunters and outdoorsmen share is our displeasure for  heavy or bluky items.  Sitting in a deer stand or hunting the high country everyone hates to carry cumbersome equipment.  I find that the Arcadia fits comfortably around my neck and stores well in my pack not taking too much space.  The arcadia weighs in at 23 ounces (1pound 7 ounces) which I like especially for western hunts when gear weight is crucial.   Western hunters will attest to this.

See the picture below, they fit in my hand!

• View

10X42, FOV 6.0

One of the benefits of the Arcadia, Stability, I find them very stable especially when focusing in on objects far away.  Nothing is worse than zooming in on a target only to not be able to see the target clearly because your bins aren’t balanced well.  The view itself, one word, CRISP!  The  clarity of my picture compared to others in my Ornithology class was incredible(I tried several older sets of bins)  By far my Arcadia was able to give me a very clear  detailed view of  tiny little tweedy birds even at distance over others.  I also found these to work well in low light conditions.  Can’t wait to see the details that I can pick up looking at deer this fall

• Grip/protection

The phase coat feels smooth in my hand and can take a beating if need be.

Leupold  backs their products for life so you know they have to confidence to stand behind what they make.

If you wish to buy a pair of these I say go for it! Here is a link

http://locator.leupold.com/leupold_onlineretailers.html

Where Eagles Dare,PWL,

Jason