From the Passinthru Outdoors crew and Family.
Merry Christmas!
Hope you enjoy these Christmas themed funnies as much as we do.
Dec 23, 2011
Dec 21, 2011
Let em Go and they will Grow
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| Let 'em go and they will grow |
There is nothing wrong with keeping some fish for a meal but practicing catch and release will help ensure that there are fish for the next person and future generations as well. Check out the Tips for better Catch and Release fishing for more information.
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| This little guy will hopefully live to fight many years. |
“This is my photo submission for the GreenFish and Outdoor Blogger Network Photo Contest“
Kids day in the Goose Blind
Over the Thanksgiving holiday we had a chance to take the kids out for a goose hunt. Busch Pilot, Bubba and his two sons James and Jared, my son Brendan, my Daughter Kaleigh and of course me all made the early morning trek to the farm with hopes of cupped and committed honkers dancing in our heads.
The kids were eager to help with building our blind, which would be located at the end of a hedgerow, and then setting out 3 dozen Big Foot full bodies and 2 dozen shells which would hopefully pull the geese in for some up close and personal shooting. We construct the blind every morning we hunt this farm so we have it down to a science and could probably whip it out in mere minutes, but we wanted the kids to have a hand in every aspect of the hunt so they were banging in stakes, hanging the burlap and stacking up the corn stalks and I must say they made a great little blind. The wind was blowing from all directions and was supposed to be coming out of the Northwest so we set the spread hoping that would be the case.
It was just starting to get light as we were settling into the blind and started giving the kids some safety and shooting instructions and we were greeted with a flock of turkeys yelping always as they were getting ready to fly down for their roosts. All this turkey talk was helping with the kids paying attention, but we ran them through a test run to give them an idea of what was going to happen. You know the drill, keep your heads down, don't move, ready, take em. The test run ran smooth so all we needed now was some geese to cooperate.
It wasn't long before we had geese in the air, but they were on a mission to go somewhere other then to our field so we just kept watching flock after flock off in the distance. I was beginning to worry, but that worry was washed away as a flock of geese broke over the tree line and were keyed in on our spread. Busch Pilot and Bubba worked their magic on the calls, while I manned the video camera. The geese flew right over the hedgerow and our blind, made a loop out over the field and turned to line up for a run at our spread. They were cupped and committed and started to land but they flaired off short of the spread and headed out. We tried to get them turned around but they just headed out. We were not sure what they saw, but we would be keeping an eye on that. The next flock to work the spread did almost the same thing and were committed to the spread at the end of the blind and they too flaired just short of the landing, but Busch Pilot called the shot and our first goose was down. Busch Pilot and I decided to move some decoys around and clear out more of a spot in front of the blind to see if it made a difference and most certainly did as the next flocks to visit did exactly what we wanted them to do.
We had a single come in next that got folded by both Jared and James who shot at the exact same time. There was plenty of hoots and laughs after that one. Then another flock that the kids dropped two from, but one got up and started heading out so Brendan went to put it down but he had forgotten to reload so as we watched the goose head down the field, bubba and James headed after it. The goosed crashed into the trees and was recovered by James. We had another flock just touching down a mere feet from the blind and Busch Pilot called the shot and the kids stood up I think they were in shock at how close they were because only one was dropped from that bunch. It was about 10am so we decided to pack it up and head home.
Each of the kids got a goose and learned plenty about goose hunting. They had lots of laughs and seemed to enjoy every minute of it. I know Busch Pilot, Bubba and Myself sure enjoyed it and we couldn't stop smiling or laughing. Hope to get them all out there again over the Christmas holiday. There is nothing I enjoy more then Sharing the Passion with kids, especially my own.
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| Hero Shot - The smiles are the best reward |
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| Yes Jared is standing up - had to have him raise his hand |
It was just starting to get light as we were settling into the blind and started giving the kids some safety and shooting instructions and we were greeted with a flock of turkeys yelping always as they were getting ready to fly down for their roosts. All this turkey talk was helping with the kids paying attention, but we ran them through a test run to give them an idea of what was going to happen. You know the drill, keep your heads down, don't move, ready, take em. The test run ran smooth so all we needed now was some geese to cooperate.
It wasn't long before we had geese in the air, but they were on a mission to go somewhere other then to our field so we just kept watching flock after flock off in the distance. I was beginning to worry, but that worry was washed away as a flock of geese broke over the tree line and were keyed in on our spread. Busch Pilot and Bubba worked their magic on the calls, while I manned the video camera. The geese flew right over the hedgerow and our blind, made a loop out over the field and turned to line up for a run at our spread. They were cupped and committed and started to land but they flaired off short of the spread and headed out. We tried to get them turned around but they just headed out. We were not sure what they saw, but we would be keeping an eye on that. The next flock to work the spread did almost the same thing and were committed to the spread at the end of the blind and they too flaired just short of the landing, but Busch Pilot called the shot and our first goose was down. Busch Pilot and I decided to move some decoys around and clear out more of a spot in front of the blind to see if it made a difference and most certainly did as the next flocks to visit did exactly what we wanted them to do.
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| Bubba and James being good retrievers |
We had a single come in next that got folded by both Jared and James who shot at the exact same time. There was plenty of hoots and laughs after that one. Then another flock that the kids dropped two from, but one got up and started heading out so Brendan went to put it down but he had forgotten to reload so as we watched the goose head down the field, bubba and James headed after it. The goosed crashed into the trees and was recovered by James. We had another flock just touching down a mere feet from the blind and Busch Pilot called the shot and the kids stood up I think they were in shock at how close they were because only one was dropped from that bunch. It was about 10am so we decided to pack it up and head home.
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| Don't tell Bubba's wife, but we stole her Golden Goose! |
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| You can get a college kid to do just about anything. |
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| We worked him hard. |
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| It's tiring being a goose hunter. |
Each of the kids got a goose and learned plenty about goose hunting. They had lots of laughs and seemed to enjoy every minute of it. I know Busch Pilot, Bubba and Myself sure enjoyed it and we couldn't stop smiling or laughing. Hope to get them all out there again over the Christmas holiday. There is nothing I enjoy more then Sharing the Passion with kids, especially my own.
Dec 18, 2011
Muzzle Loader Camp 2011
What a difference a year makes. Last year we had great cold and clear weather and a full meat tree, while this year we had warm weather for two days along with Rain and fog and a damn near empty meat tree.
This is our annual after Thanksgiving Muzzle Loader hunt down in the Delaware Water Gap area of New Jersey and it is always greeted with great anticipation and excitement. Much of this excitement and anticipation is the fact that we have almost 30 miles of state and federal land to hunt and with that much land to hunt you never know what is going to happen. The trip starts out early on Sunday as members of our Connecticut crew pile into the trucks and head south to our camp which is a cabin at the Mohegan Outdoor Center where we meet up with friends and family from New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York.
Once our gear is unloaded in our rooms, some guys will sit around telling stories, others tart preparing some snacks and dinner while the rest will usually take to the woods for a last minute scouting trip. Once it gets dark, it is time for a great dinner and then time to prepare out packs and lunches for the next day's hunt. Of course a little night cap is always in order to help fight through the restless night that we all face.
Wake up Monday was 4am and about 4:05am, someone heads out side to see what the weather is like and the report was not good. It was already in the 50s and temps were expected to get to the mid 60s. The first of the crew that are hunting off the mountain head out at 5am and the rest of us are out the door by 5:30am. It was a short hike to my perch for the morning, same spot that i shot my 8 pointer last year. I was all snuggled in and anxiously awaiting shooting light a good 25 minutes before it arrived. As the sun started to rise I was already greeted with bugs buzzing around me. This was not going to be good. Pennsylvania has their deer season opener on the same day and this usually makes for plenty of shots heard through the morning, but this morning things were usually quiet. I should have known then that this was going to be one of those trips. Few deer were sighted that morning, of course none by me. Chuck scored a nice 5 little 5 pointer and we joked about this being the big buck pin winner, little did we know it would end up to be not only the pin winner, but the only deer taken in two days. Some of us met back at the cabin for lunch and after getting Chuck's deer to the check station and hung up on the meat pole, we headed off the mountain to meet up with the rest of the crew so we could make a push or two. We setup for our long pond push which seldom lets us down, but it did on this day. As one of our standers was walking in he jumped a lone doe and took a shoot and missed. That would be the only deer seen on this drive. By the end of this driver, most of use were soaked and picking thorns out of our clothes and body so with about an hour left many of us just head back to camp to get an early shower. Chuck, James and Myself decided to butcher Chuck's buck and get it in a cooler as temps were not excepted to drop below the high 40s. We had a good dinner, some more laughs and a night cap and then off to bed.
Tuesday morning's weather report was warm and damp. According the to radar we had about 4 hours before it started raining so out the door we headed. The rain started around 8:30am but it was light and mostly a mist, but the fog was heavy at times and visibility was down to 40 yards at times. About 10:30 the chatter on the radio was to head back to the cabin because according to the radar, the skies were about to open up. Well, some of us didn't make it back in time and we got soaked. It looked like the rain was going to hold on through the majority of the afternoon so guys started to head home. Busch Pilot and James decided to do a little walk about and ran into nothing but black bears. We decided to pack it in and head back to CT around 3pm.
We had one deer to show for the trip and only two shots taken in two days which is a far cry from our usual trips. The weather didn't cooperate, most of the hunters that stayed through the mid day heat or rain, sat tight and so did the deer. In terms of deer, camp was a letdown, but as always we had good food and lots of laughs with family and friends and that is truly what makes camp so special.
This is our annual after Thanksgiving Muzzle Loader hunt down in the Delaware Water Gap area of New Jersey and it is always greeted with great anticipation and excitement. Much of this excitement and anticipation is the fact that we have almost 30 miles of state and federal land to hunt and with that much land to hunt you never know what is going to happen. The trip starts out early on Sunday as members of our Connecticut crew pile into the trucks and head south to our camp which is a cabin at the Mohegan Outdoor Center where we meet up with friends and family from New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York.
Once our gear is unloaded in our rooms, some guys will sit around telling stories, others tart preparing some snacks and dinner while the rest will usually take to the woods for a last minute scouting trip. Once it gets dark, it is time for a great dinner and then time to prepare out packs and lunches for the next day's hunt. Of course a little night cap is always in order to help fight through the restless night that we all face.
Wake up Monday was 4am and about 4:05am, someone heads out side to see what the weather is like and the report was not good. It was already in the 50s and temps were expected to get to the mid 60s. The first of the crew that are hunting off the mountain head out at 5am and the rest of us are out the door by 5:30am. It was a short hike to my perch for the morning, same spot that i shot my 8 pointer last year. I was all snuggled in and anxiously awaiting shooting light a good 25 minutes before it arrived. As the sun started to rise I was already greeted with bugs buzzing around me. This was not going to be good. Pennsylvania has their deer season opener on the same day and this usually makes for plenty of shots heard through the morning, but this morning things were usually quiet. I should have known then that this was going to be one of those trips. Few deer were sighted that morning, of course none by me. Chuck scored a nice 5 little 5 pointer and we joked about this being the big buck pin winner, little did we know it would end up to be not only the pin winner, but the only deer taken in two days. Some of us met back at the cabin for lunch and after getting Chuck's deer to the check station and hung up on the meat pole, we headed off the mountain to meet up with the rest of the crew so we could make a push or two. We setup for our long pond push which seldom lets us down, but it did on this day. As one of our standers was walking in he jumped a lone doe and took a shoot and missed. That would be the only deer seen on this drive. By the end of this driver, most of use were soaked and picking thorns out of our clothes and body so with about an hour left many of us just head back to camp to get an early shower. Chuck, James and Myself decided to butcher Chuck's buck and get it in a cooler as temps were not excepted to drop below the high 40s. We had a good dinner, some more laughs and a night cap and then off to bed.
Tuesday morning's weather report was warm and damp. According the to radar we had about 4 hours before it started raining so out the door we headed. The rain started around 8:30am but it was light and mostly a mist, but the fog was heavy at times and visibility was down to 40 yards at times. About 10:30 the chatter on the radio was to head back to the cabin because according to the radar, the skies were about to open up. Well, some of us didn't make it back in time and we got soaked. It looked like the rain was going to hold on through the majority of the afternoon so guys started to head home. Busch Pilot and James decided to do a little walk about and ran into nothing but black bears. We decided to pack it in and head back to CT around 3pm.
We had one deer to show for the trip and only two shots taken in two days which is a far cry from our usual trips. The weather didn't cooperate, most of the hunters that stayed through the mid day heat or rain, sat tight and so did the deer. In terms of deer, camp was a letdown, but as always we had good food and lots of laughs with family and friends and that is truly what makes camp so special.
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