Early Trout Season is Looking Good!!

I recently was going thru the fishing handbook you get, trying to see what we can do in are spare time.  I noticed the early trout season.  I have never went this early for trout before but figured why not, try it out.   I called my buddy Matt told him about it and we decided to go.  Now in this early season you need to look up what places you are allowed to fish.  Mostly its just lakes and dams, so I looked and we have two.  We have twin lakes and keystone lake not to far from us. We decided to hit keystone, which we like to call in snagstone cause you get a lot of them there lol.

We went back a couple days later and hit the spot he caught that one.  It was a cold day and with the wind to help it out.  So the poles went in with excitement to try to catch more.  Not long matt got a hit on his line, after a few of them it was fish on, first strike.  So thru out the day he continue getting hits while I struggled for one.  At the end of our fishing day he ended up catching his limit.  It was a good day, cause we (he) caught some fish that day.  So off for home to hit the place the next day, but a new spot.

Matt with his limit!!!

We set out for the same lake but a different spot that Matt said was a good spot.  The poles went in again with him more excited that I was, cause I have not caught one yet this year.  It was a little warmer that day and sunny which helped out a lot.  Matt didn’t have to wait to long they started hitting is lines.  Then I got a hit and at the same time we pole grabbed the poles and jerked.  At the same time it was fish on, first strike.  Thats the first time we caught one each at the same time, so i figured it was going to be a good day for me.  Wrong again,  Matt limited again today and that one was the only one I caught.  Matt even pulled out a very nice brook trout.   Cant figure it out, using the same bait and the same location.  I think they hate me lol.  So off for home to come out another day which was suppose to be nice, yeah right

My 19 inch rainbow, a good day!!!

Today we had to make a stop at best buy to get our games we pre-ordered so we decided to hit another lake, twin lakes.  I thought a new lake a new chance.  WRONG for both of us, nothing at all, barely even a hit. so we left to get our games and go back to the spot in keystone.  The poles went in the water, the wind was blowing, and it was cold again.  Matt didnt wait long again to get a bite.  After that I started to get hits.  It was looking like a good day and it turned out pretty good.  Matt caught two, but one to small for us to really want.  I did manage to catch two rainbows, one around 12 inches, the other a 19 inch rainbow.  I finally made up for those last few days of catching nothing and sitting around.  So the fishing day was over and we plan on going back out here very soon, with hopefully a little more sun and a little less wind.  The whole time we were fishing there, he used powerbait and a nightcrawler.  They are loving that combo right now and I followed quickly when Matt found that out, we like to call it the Scout Bait….

Early Trout Season

Keystone Lake

 

Well March is here and early trout season is here.  In PA we have selected lakes that they stock up and we are allowed to fish in March.  The same regulations apply except the creel limit goes from 5 to 3.  So my buddy Matt and I loaded up and took off for keystone lake.  We arrive in the early morning and after a mile hike started fishing,  oh what a great feeling it was to get the lines into the water again.

Mostly just swung in the wind!!!

 

 

 

 

Once again we shall try it again.  Not long after we casted in, Matt started getting bites.  Then he pulled out the power bait, a garlic flavor.  So he thru that onto is line and casted away.  Not long he got a hit, and he did hesitate on it, he grab the pull and with a jerk he yelled first strike!!!, Fish On!!!!!   I was happy one of us caught at least one.  I missed a few myself, just couldn’t get the hook set.  Matt had missed a few to.  But that was about are day.  We considered it to be an extreme recon day to check out the condition lol.

My buddy Matt with the first fish of the season, 14 inch rainbow!!!

Now we will be going back on the next decent day we have.  This time we will be loaded up on different kinds of baits, so I will let you know how that goes and what was working for us.  This time the garlic power bait was doing pretty good, but we will be ready next time.  The only thing is if you go this early is patience.  It’s the number one thing you need to have in your gear.  The trout are sluggish and very slow to bite cause of the temperature of the water, which was freezing as Matt reached is hand in and found out.  So remember different kinds of baits, specially scented, and a whole lot of patience.  Good luck fellow fisherman and get out there and enjoy be out of the house…..

Late Trout Season

This is the hole we hit, its nice just not today!!!

Are late trout season here in pa ends tomorrow, so I figured I would sneak out to a hole today.  The weather hasn’t been the best lately and I was hoping that the streams would calm down.  So I pulled out the fly rod and took off for a hole we like to fish for the first day.  Now last I knew there was at least 5 trout left in there.  I was hoping to try the new fly rod out and land some trout.  But you know how that always goes.

I pulled in to see the creek was high yet, didn’t really like it.  The water was clear enough but just to fast.  I started off with the fly rod and couldn’t get anything to strike.  So I pulled out my trusty shakespear ugly stick and some spinners and trout magnets.  Started casting them out there but nothing in return.  Now with the water high and fast the way it was I couldn’t make out much in there.  Seen some smaller fish and some minnows but no trout.  I came home empty-handed.

Brown trout

So at least I got out today anyways.  Now in march we have some early season trout fishing in certain lakes.  Around us we have keystone lake along with twin lakes.  I checked them up and its a go to start early season trout fishing in them.  I texted my buddy Matt, told him whats up, and made a plan to start.  Now in the early season the creel limit drops from 5 to 3 trout a day.  I am hoping we get together early march and start fishing again.  The only trouble is the cold, and the temp of the water.  Trout are a good fish for cold water, but the only trouble is the do become sluggish in the cold.  Their bodies slow down so they don’t need to eat as much and don’t move as much.  One thing I heard is that they will either eat something little and easy, or spend the energy to eat something big.  When the eat something big they don’t need to eat for a little while.  So be prepared when you go out there and any tips you have on cold water fishing for these guys let me know, leave a comment.  Till next time…..FISH ON!!!!!

Hunting Season Over, Fishing Season Coming!!!!

I always hate when hunting season is over and fishing season isn’t here yet.  There just isn’t anything to do, nothing but shovel snow.  We do plan on doing some fishing season here soon, trying to catch some walleye, or anything for that matter.  Once the weather clears up my buddy matt and I are going to finally get out of our houses and hit the waters.

I got my license already and I’m hoping to get out before the trout extended season is over which is at the end of this month.  I got a stream we caught the trout last year in, still has some trout left, not much but some.  I bought a fly rod to I want to try out there and see how it goes.  We will do some trout at first but im sure it wont be long before we start hitting the night fishing again for carp and catfish.

This year we plan on catching and trying to eat a carp.  We are going to catch more frogs and turtles this year to eat.  Who knows what else we may come across we might try so keep an eye out.  I will have photos of what we are doing when we get out there, and I think im going to add a cooking page on here to see what and how we are cooking things.  Fishing season is going to be fun this year I can’t wait for it….FISH ON!!!!!!!

Trail Cameras

I got two trail cameras for christmas this year and I always wanted a few to have.  After hunting season was over I decided to put the out, and then my buddy got one of his own.  This was the first time we ever had them and was excited to see what we would get.  We set up a pile of corn, hay, and some acorn rage to bring them in.  Now we had no pictures during the day all were at night, we even had some video with them.  I cannot wait to use them next season be nice to see whats coming thru without having to be out there waiting.

Wonder where he was hiding

 

 

 

They just kept coming every night!

I do recommend looking into them before you buy.  There are a lot out there that do all sorts of things.  But most important check reviews on them, some of them may sound good but the people who left the reviews could say different.  They are a good investment, I seen that from the first night we put them out and got pictures.  If I would have had them earlier I would have known that buck I waited for wasnt legal and I wouldn’t have wasted a couple of weeks there waiting for him.  So do yourself a favor and get one, you wont be disappointed.

Fall Turkey

Can’t forget about them dang turkeys.  I have not yet gotten one and hope this year would be different.  Last year we had them fly over and when I went to load the gun, I found out I had the 4-10 and 20 gauge shells, wasnt a good day after that.  This year was going to be different.  From out of my tree stand in archery I kept seeing this flock of turkey every evening and I knew where to hunt them when it was time.  I have caught them there in the morning also so I figured I would bag one this year without a problem.  Again so I thought I would.

The season finally opened up and I grab my 12 gauge with extended choke on it.  I knew this year was the year, oops.  I got to the woods as it was getting light out.  Made my way past my stand to set up looking over the hill.  We had some rain that night so it was quiet moving around which is always good.  I got close to looking down the hill when I heard some brush getting kicked up.  I got closer trying to keep as quiet as I could.  Then suddenly I saw a head of one peek up then down.  So I took the orange off and threw the camo up and crawled toward the hill.  I could see another one when I would stand so I aim the gun and waited for the next one to come thru, not knowing how many there was there.

Someday one will be mine.....someday

There came another all I could see was its head, I thought this is it.  It was only about a 15 yard shot and I fired.  Turkeys flew everywhere and just kept coming.  After they had taken off I went for my bird which wasnt there.  I swear I saw the wings come up like it was hit and all I had was a head shot.  I walked over the hill where it was at and not even a feather, somehow i missed that bird.  All i could come up with was that I aimed right at the head instead of resting its head on the sight.  I just cant figure out how I missed.  I hunted there after and never say another bird again.  So again maybe next year I will get my bird, maybe…..

Muzzleloader Late Season

I use a Thompson Centerfire, never ever had a problem with it.... love it

 

I always love this season, the deer start calming down and not really anybody else out there.  The muzzleloader was ready and so was I.  We have about 3 weeks of it here in pa, and I thought it wouldn’t take them all.  Well nothing ever happens like you want.  I went out almost every day at my buddy’s farm only to find that there just wasnt any deer around.  Couldnt figure out why till we got the game cameras out and then found the reason why.  The deer went nocturnal, all of them.  We had no pictures in the day but at night we would have like 200 a night.

So I went walking around everywhere to see if I could find any at all, and I found nothing.  I figured ok they are scared yet they will come out of it, but again I was wrong.  The whole season those deer stayed nocturnal, never could find one during the day to save my life.  Muzzleloader was just not working out like I thought.  There was plenty of tracks and signs from them but it was like they were invisible.  I did kick up a couple but nothing I could get a shot at.  I was very disappointed, but there is always next year and we will be better prepared for it.  We have bait piles set up to try to keep them in the area for the year, and we have attractants, like acorn rage, and even some hay.  I even bought some food plot seeds to test out this year.  So if anybody has any ideas that could help let me know.  Next year shall be different, we will be ready…….

Rifle Season!

I been waiting all year for this season, I bought a new rifle a 30-30 and have never shot it yet.  I thought it would be an easy time with all the deer running around during archery,  I was wrong.  Gwen and I started off on the other side of the property only to find nothing but hunters walking around everywhere.  My buddy ended up shooting an eight point to only find out it had previous wounds to it and was festered.  He didn’t make it out much after that to get any more.  Our first day was terrible, nice to get out there but just nothing coming around.

I started hunting back on the other side where we did for archery, had some doe come by here and there but their season opened up a week later so I had to let them by.  I hunting all week and seen no signs of buck, well everyone else around us were getting 5, 6, and 8 points.  Finally doe season came in and by that time the deer were so scared you couldn’t find them anywhere.  My buddy stopped over to hunt for the day, so I stood in a stand while he walked around in the morning.  He did manage to kick out two nice doe, which went up over the hill instead of towards me.  So by lunch time I left to take a break, he stayed.

I come back later to find him and he wasnt seeing anything.  We decided to stand up on the power line and watch it for crossings.  After about 10 minutes one comes running out of the woods to our left, he was looking down over the hill so he didn’t see it coming.  I grabbed the gun swung around and instead of it keep coming to us it cut down.  I pulled the gun up and cracked one off.  I seen in buckle so I knew I hit it, so it was time to track.  After a little bit we found it and it took off on us, my buddy cracked a shot off and missed it.   After a little bit more tracking we found it again and let it lay.  Came back towards dark and it was still alive so i had to put one more into it, and the I found out I hit it in the stomach, that’s the first one I ever hit there and I don’t plan on doing that again.

My buddy left empty-handed but in the next week manage to get one himself,  my other buddy who owns the land never did make it out to try again.  With the rifle season about over it was time to start getting ready for muzzleloader season.  I always get my stamp cause its a good last chance try.  Normally I don’t get that buck so in muzzleloader season I can use my buck tag for a doe, so bring it on.

Squirrel Season!!!!

  This little guys can be tricky at most time, specially in early season with all the leaves on the trees.  Around here in pa we got you reds, grays, fox, and occasionally your white and black squirrels.  We have been hunting on my buddy’s farm like always.  We take out .22 mags and occasionally a 20 or 12 gauge.  This year wasn’t as good as the past couple years,  we seen a lot in archery season but when it came time to hunt them they just started disappearing.

Thats one!!!!

After some time we started getting into to them and started shooting.  We did get one big fox squirrel, the rest were all grays.  Last year we decided to cook them in a stew, this year was the grill.  We added some barbecue sauce on them and wrapped them up in foil and let them cook.  Squirrel can be really good, they came out great on the grill,  but they are small and need a few of them and watch the bones too.  We are always looking for recipes so if anybody has any, send them our way we would like to try them.  Squirrel are always fun to go out to get, either with your buddies or your son or daughter.  Its a good way to start anyone out in hunting.

Archery Season

This is my bow, Go Mathews!!!!!!

Well archery I thought would end better than it did.  We had a lot of deer running around and a lot of signs of bucks.  I am using a mathews switchback bow, and at first without a stand.  My bow I bought a few years ago brand new and still havent shot anything with it.  I’m usually out with friends so I never shot, I let them take the shots so they get interested in bow hunting and so far I have two of my friends into it.

Now to make this CLEAR, if your going to get a bow make sure you get one that fits you.  The first bow I got was a hand me down, and I just could never shoot it right, never.   It is very IMPORTANT that you make sure you know what bow you need, or go to an archery shop and they will help you on getting the right bow.

Well the time in archery was winding down and I had some shots on little doe, but I was still waiting for the buck.  I moved my stand towards the end of the season where no one has been hunting and there are rubs and scraps.  Finally on the last day one starts walking down the road I could see the antlers.  I grab the bow and got ready, been waiting for this moment, to finally get one with a bow.

I sat in my stand waiting, he did what i wanted him to do.  Walk right down the road right in front of me, but once he got closer and I could see better, he was not legal,  I was hunting in a four point restriction, and he only had maybe three to one side.  So I had to let him go after I got him on video with my phone, disappointed but was happy to see one.  So maybe next year, now it was time for some good ol squirrel hunting……