The Bug House

WELL??!! lol Hope you had an awesome time.

Happy Friday! Congrats to your daughter MUDRUNNER sounds like she earned it with her dedication. My girls only have softball in the Spring so far. Weather in our neck of the woods has been fairly typical I think, warm days around 80° and cool nights around 50°... the 10 day looks like this pattern will continue. I just noticed a couple trees are starting to change their leaves already ... We got free tickets, through my employers chamber of commerce membership, to the "Adventure Zone" at the local ski resort. Those tickets would've run me about $100 for all 4 kids! So we are headed over there as soon as I get out of work tonight. My good friend is having a Birthday party BBQ for his daughter and his GF's son tomorrow at a State park on a lake, so we'll spend most of the day there and probably just relax at home Sat afternoon. Sunday we are going to a another friends parents house for a visit with their family. They've retired to their camp, so it'll be a nice day at the lake again. Busy weekend, should be fun.

Hello Lady and Gents, long time no post, I hope everyone is well and having a nice Summer. I'm glad to see these Friday check-ins! I left my previous job in the NICU ... gave up the helicopter and ECMO runs for an informatics position in a smaller hospital much closer to home with a M-F schedule, so the weekends mean a lot more to me now. We put our house on the market a couple months ago, been keeping busy fixing all the little things I procrastinated on over the years. My kids are busy as ever with Summertime activities ... movie night in a barn at a local farm tonight, then finishing swim lessons tomorrow. On Saturday I start my 43rd trip around the sun, we're planning on spending the day at a pond in the National Forest close by. Great swimming, and it's loaded with trout to boot! Then on Sun I am dropping my oldest (she's 10) off at sleepaway camp for 2 weeks, she has Type-1 diabetes and this is a big step ... more for her Mother than her I think! She just got a new bow and she signed up for archery, very excited to say the least. Hopefully Sun afternoon I'll be able to get the boat out and see if the fish are biting.

I've got a bunch of Moose stew meat in the freezer and a gun club BBQ coming up, gonna give this a shot!

We had a great start to the ice fishing season here, had good ice by mid December or so, and then around the end of feb we had a ,major thaw. I managed to get out quite a bit on the CT River. Made the annual trip to camp with several friends, the fishing was slow (A few perch and Smallmouth) and as usual the menu did not disappoint! I've been trying for a nice Brown trout the past few weeks, no luck so far however. The photo is my largest Northern this Winter, 6lbs.

Pretty much same timeframe here Martin! How was your season? Hope you are well!!

That's him! I like to catch Rinella as well, he posts lots of recipe's also. A big part of what I like about Rinella's show is it is so diverse.

Great Buck! Thats a shooter for sure around these parts.

I learned this year that passing one up is slightly less of a jagged pill to swallow than missing a shot. lol! Lots of Does around, I passed on a couple small ones, my freezer is still empty. I've found a decent rub in the usual corridor on the land I hunt, should get out Fri / Sun / Mon coming up. Still after my first Buck.

Theres a cell phone maketed to older people with BIG BUTTONS!! lol

Oh man, I laughed way to hard at that!

I'm still here fella's! Been super busy with life. Managed to get out quite a bit during Oct. archery (we have a wacky season here in VT). Passed on a couple small does, which I now regret because my freezer is empty!

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HECK YEA I'M GETTING IT! 44 degrees the other night .. a whiff of woodsmoke in the air ... OH YEA!! lol ! Hung 1 stand last week, and will hang another this week. Seeded a small food plot, as usual, in early June. It's been very dry but it managed to come in nicely .... It's been a banner year for berries, early Bear season opens 9/1. I've got plenty of Deer on camera, so many Does! A set of Triplets AND twins! It was a mild Winter... Also have several Bucks frequently in the area, including a nice 8 Ptr. Archery opens 10/1 this year and goes for 4 weeks ... that's a week longer than years past.

Hey Fellas! Sorry for the late response, it's been one heck of a six weeks (or so) since I posted. We had a wonderful trip, the weather was phenomenal, and we missed a snow storm and single digit temps at home! Well, just before we left, my furnace crapped out and I needed to replace it, I had just put over $2000 into our van before leaving to boot! So needless to say the emergency fund took a big hit and I couldn't justify paying for a Bass fishing trip. A bit dissapointing, but no biggie. But the most devastating news came just 2 days after starting this thread. My 5 year old daughter was diagnosed with Type-1 Diabetes, as some of you may know my 9 year old Daughter was diagnosed 5 years ago. We did not let it slow us down!! We managed to leave the house at 3:15AM, with 4 kids thats quite the feat! Made it to Cabelas in DE for lunch, which was pretty cool and a great place to stop for a break. We made it NC the first night. I did get out fishing quite a bit while staying at my parents, we caught a bunch of Pompano to eat ... delicious! Tons of Bluefish, Fluke, Ladyfish, Jacks and Catfish also. No Barracude, I guess they're more common further south. My stepfather keeps 15 crabtraps soaking and we dined on Stonecrab as well! Kids were in Grammy land, so they were waited on hand and foot! Lots of swimming and other adventures. The guide I got a Hog with a couple of years ago is an aquantence of my Mom's and is kind enough to give me a very low cost hunt. I was looking forward to another, but him and his family came down with the Flu! So he had to cancel, I'm glad to say they've made a full recovery. So after a week on the coast we headed for Kissimee, saw a Gator on the side of the road ... for us Northerners it's quite the sighting! We took advantage of another week of beautiful weather, Airboat ride, Kayaking, Zoo, Disney Springs ... tons of fun. I am never dissapointed by the wildlife down there!

Thanks for the responses! As it turns out, I didn't get to do either, I'll post in my other thread why not. RangerClay, someday I hope to get a gator! But I'll have to start saving my pennies ... lol!

Awesome! We looked for it one night but didn't catch it.

Pulled one off me last night! My son had Baseball practice and my girls were getting antsy so we went for a 10 minute walk in the woods ..... thats all it took. I't going to be a BAD season for ticks.

Which would you book? Originally planned on both ... still may do it. But if you had a choice, which one would you do? If you've ever taken a guided bass trip in Kissimmee Fl tell me about it please!

Well, it's that time again! Every other Spring or so, the Wife and I pack up the fam and head to Florida for a couple weeks. My friends call me Clark Griswold .... lol! The beauty of working 12 hour shifts is the ability to take 2 weeks vacation and wind up with 22 days off! We plan on leaving at 0300 and driving until NC where we'll stay the night. I was looking at places to stop and decided on Cabelas in Newark DE .. it's just about halfway and just off I91 from what it looks like. Anyone ever been there? Then we'll get to my Moms place in Sebastian Fl the next day, My Step father is an avid sportsfisherman and we've planned several fishing trips, my Son wants to catch a "huge Baracuda"!! Also try offshore if weather permits. Stone crab are in season, we have several pots to pull ... hopefully we'll get some to eat! Then of course is the possibility of another Hog hunt .. although thats up for a bit of debate .... I'll post a poll about it .... After a week at Mom's we head to Kissimme for a week, rented another "vacation villa" ..a real bargain IMO ... our own pool, hot tub, game room. a great option if you're driving and have a large family. Got an airboat ride booked, and kayak rentals reserved .. and my wife is already packed! lol Looking forward to warm weather!!!

And despite the paultry Winter we had, the fishing was great! My fishing partner Jon and I got out quite a bit. The river (our usual spot) produced all season. Had a good 14" of ice on average, and as I mentioned in other thread, it was late to freeze and thawed incredibly fast making for a short season. Jigged more than previous years, lots of crappie and Yellow Perch, several Large and Smallmouth on the Jigstick as well. 36" 7.5lb Northern took the top spot (on a tipup) for largest fish between us, not a giant but what we lacked in quality we made up for in quantity! We didn't get skunked once, and chased flags all day a couple times. Winter camp in the ADK's was a success as usual, had a real good cold snap a couple days prior and our weather was perfect 30 during the day and 0 at night. Caught several 3lbs+ Smallmouth and a couple Pickerel and dink Northerns. My trophy this year was the 24" 4.5lb Lake Trout. First LT out of that lake after trying for years! Got the sled and tackle cleaned up and ready for action next Winter. Now it's time to dust off the spinner and baitcaster and head to Florida for a couple weeks!

Done with a capital "D" around here .... a short season indeed. Ice went from very good to horrible in a few days. Several deaths due to poor conditions this year.A Warden went through trying to rescue a guy ... Warden got out ... fidherman did not. very sad.

Derby's being cancelled all over the place around here. At least 3 vehicles went through that I know of, and one snowshoeing death. http://www.wcax.com/story/31122346/not-enough-ice-for-great-ice-event http://www.wcax.com/story/31108134/thin-ice-hampers-free-ice-fishing-day-in-vermont http://www.wptz.com/news/schroon-lake-man-drowns-while-snowshoeing/37709796

Well, to say it's been a challenging season for many so far would be an understatement. Many of the larger lakes have barely frozen this year, with the larger bays not even freezing "safe" ice. Today it was 45 Degees and we got an inch+ of rain. Right now conditions are horrible. That being said, I've had a great season up until now. I live close enough to a mountain pond and a setback on the CT River that I've been able to get out fishing quite a bit ... and the catching has been pretty good! We got a late start on the cold weather but once it got started the early ice produced ... jigged up tons of perch and Crappie .... and the Northerns have been biting as well, a couple 30"+ and a monster breakoff! The Bass have been active this winter as well, caught a nice 3lb Largemouth. We've had a couple spectacular days on the ice this year despite the miserable Winter.

"Back in this commy state" .. Got that right!! Love my families Camp in the ADK's but hate that it's under the thumb of NYS Government. Been a decade since I left, Looks like a great trip .... and a great retirement plan! I'm only 24 years out! lol 2040 is my year. With any luck I'll be in a similiar boat .. probably Florida however, lots of family connections etc. I got a ~90lb Boar Hog in Fl a couple years ago .. he was good eating I thought..... Congrats on a great trip! BTW: didn't get one flake of that snowstorm here in Vermont!