January 2012 - The Outdoor Gazette by Fred Allard

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January 2012

The Outdoor Gazette

Left - on a road trip this past summer we drove by this coffee shop in Michigan. Made me chuckle… Above - Someone sent this to me via email. Not sure where it is but it’s good to have neighbors with a sense of humor.

The New Hampshire & Vermont

Outdoor Gazette

Volume 6 Issue 1

Table of Contents

ARTICLES

Eight Years in the Wilderness Traveling Outdoorsman

Fish Tales and Other Drivel Riverbank Tales

Lock, Stock & Smoking Barrel Family Tracks

A Buck for Kaitlyn

Lessons form the Outdoors Southern Side Up

From the Back of the Canoe Birding with Briere Stick and String

Outdoors in the Twin States Trail Camera contest Behind the Sights

Thoughts on the Out of Doors

Searching for Nature’s Treasures Guided by the Light, or.... Image Wild

Gazette’s Book Review Pictures Gone Wild

On The Cover

Page

Send correspondence to: The Outdoor Gazette 1166 Court Street Haverhill, NH 03765 Tel. (603) 989-3093 • Cell (802) 738-6755 Web: www.theoutdoorgazette.com E-Mail: fred@theoutdoorgazette.com

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Graphic Design & Layout: Think Different Design Berlin, NH 03570 603-752-9838

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The Outdoor Gazette is printed monthly by Seacoast Media Group Portsmouth, New Hampshire

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ISSN Number 1941-9805

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Legal

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The Outdoor Gazette, with all of their agents, officers and employees, accept no responsibility for any or all injuries or damages that may result from interpretations of articles or advertisements within this publication. The opinions expressed by contributors to The Outdoor Gazette are their own and do not reflect the opinions of the The Outdoor Gazette. No part of this paper may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission of The Outdoor Gazette LLC. Copyright, The Outdoor Gazette LLC. All Rights Reserved

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2011 Trail Camera Picture of the Year submitted by Dan Green of Lyme, New Hampshire. This is the second year in a row a bobcat picture has claimed top honors. The cat’s meal, not a bait, but a bobcat kill. - Young Kaitlyn Belisle of Worcester, Vermont sent us a story about deer hunting Vermont youth weekend with her grandfather, “papa”, Steve Merchant

The Outdoor Gazette

Publisher/Editor: Fred Allard Design Layout: Dan Millet

Submissions

Do you have an interesting story to tell? It could be about a fishing trip with Dad or Grampa, maybe a hunting trip with some buddies or just about exploring nature with Grammie. We are always looking for good stories/pictures to publish in our paper. If you have a story that you think our readers might be interested in, then give us a call at 603989-3093 or send a copy by mail or email to fred@theoutdoorgazette.com.

January 2012

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Editor’s Back Porch Outdoor Gazette’s New Years Resolution

Christmas is over and I hope all you outdoors folks got all your outdoor toys you asked for from Santa. I received some pretty cool outdoor gadgets myself. A head lamp, which will come in handy during late night hornpouting, or following the blood trail of the monster buck I’m going to arrow, just before sundown one evening next fall. Gotta think positive, it’s working for Tim Tebow. I also unwrapped a beautiful piece of artwork by Robert Duncan. The painting/print has an elderly gent…me?... enjoying some solitude on the banks of a trout stream. His only witness to anything he might catch, a few ducks in the foreground. Come on snow, melt….makes me want to get back on the river bank and wet a fly. One contraption I received, I’ll be test-driving soon! It is a bucket topper for ice fishermen. It is

manufactured by Plano, and basically it is a tackle box that fits

Christmas present ready for testing.

on the top of a 5-gallon pail. You can use both sides for equipment or take one side out and it will give you access to the bucket

By Fred Allard

itself as a creel or bait bucket even. Pretty good idea I think. I’ll let you know how it works. Well it has been a year now

since our fire and my office is almost ready for me to mess up with my organized chaos. Just wanted to thank all the readers,

the folks that write for the Gazette, our advertisers and the distributors for your patience this past year. It has been difficult to keep things running from my laptop, a brief case and many times, my truck as my office, but we made through with out ticking too many folks off due to slow service and poor communication. Bring on 2012. The Outdoor Gazette’s New Years Resolution; improvement of services all around, and continue to strive for the perfect issue. LOL, that will never happen right? But we’ll keep trying as long as you keep reading… Happy New Year, Fred. Fred Allard lives in Haverhill, NH with his family. He is a Bowhunter Education Instructor, a scorer for the Northeast Big Buck Club, the New Hampshire Antler and Skull Trophy Club and the Vermont Big Game Trophy Club. Fred can be reached by emailing fred@theoutdoorgazette.com.

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The Outdoor Gazette

Free Ice Fishing Class at Lebanon Rec. Dept. in January

CONCORD, N.H. – Are you a lover of cold weather? Are you looking for a new outdoor activity for those long winter months? How about ice fishing! The Lebanon Recreation Department and instructors from the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department’s “Let’s Go Fishing” Program will be presenting a three-session program in Lebanon on Tuesdays, January 17 and 24 from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., and

down behind the windshield and heading back to Bosebuck Camps, more than 12 miles away. I don’t remember the trip down to the camps nor my wife helping me off the machine and into the main lodge. I was bedridden for almost a week but regained my strength over time. I managed to recover my snowshoes but had to wait ‘til spring to get my pack basket and gear. I was young and foolish, and never told my ex-wife where I was going to be when I left to go out

Saturday, January 28 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The class is open to anyone, however, those 14 and younger must be accompanied by an adult. Register online at w w w. w e b t r a c . l e b c i t y. c o m , Code # 37701A. Or call the Recreation Department at (603) 448-5121. The class is free, and registration is firstcome, first-served. All equipment and materials will be provided. You do not need to have a fishing license to participate.

trapping. After that incident, I always left handwritten maps and directions on where I would be. This winter I am sure I would not be too far back in the backcountry, and hopefully Martha will be with me the most of the time. To me, being out trapping, even if it is zero or just above zero, is an enjoyable time. I cherish the midday meals over an open fire, whether it is only a hot dog or heated up soup. The warm fire melts frozen hands and gloves, and the wood smoke is considered cologne to a trapper.

Don’t let the BIG ones get away!

The first two classes will be held at the Lebanon Opera House at 51 North Park Street, learning about ice fishing equipment, safety and practices, as well as some winter ecology of lakes and ponds. On January 28, you will head out to a local pond and put your newly learned skills to the test! New Hampshire Fish and Game’s “Let’s Go Fishing” program has taught thousands of children and adults to be safe, ethical and successful

anglers. Find out more at w w w. f i s h n h . c o m / F i s h i n g / lets_go_fishing.htm. The program is federally funded through the Sport Fish Restoration Program. The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department works to conserve, manage and protect the state’s fish and wildlife and their habitats, as well as providing the public with opportunities to use and appreciate these resources. Visit www.FishNH.com.

Continued from previous page

The fun really begins when one ter. I can’t wait. gets home. The beaver are usually frozen stiff and need to be thawed before they can be Tom Rideout is the former editor of skinned. Here at Sturtevant Pond, NH Outdoor Gazette and was the we haven’t any outbuildings that owner of Bosebuck Mountain Camps have woodstoves that would serve on Aszicoos Lake in western Maine for as a skinning shed, so I will have 17 years. He has held a Master Maine to do it on our porch. The beaver Guide’s license for more than 35 years meat will be a welcome addition (hence the 8 years in the wilderness) He and his wife Martha operate Sturtevant to our dogs’ dry food diet. Some of the beaver carcasses Pond Camps in Magalloway, Maine hopefully will be used as bait for and operates Pakesso Guide Service, coyotes. Throw in a few days of which specializes in upland bird wing ice fishing here and there, and I shooting . You can reach Tom at will be in heaven this coming win- tom@sturtevantpondcamps.com

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Call 802-751-9041 or email April@theoutdoorgazette.com

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Call 802-276-3317 or email Glenn@theoutdoorgazette.com

April

The Outdoor Gazette

January 2012

Located just a stones throw on the west end of the Kancamagus Highway Route 12 in Bath, NH Page 5

8 Years in the Wilderness By Tom Rideout

Waiting for Winter

Our weather here in the North Country hasn’t been normal for years. I was hiking bare ground on November 22nd. November 23rd, we got 10 inches of snow. On November 25th, I hiked the same cuttings on snowshoes and on November 28th, I was back in hiking shoes in the same cutting on bare ground with a high of 55 degrees. And on December 9th, I found another ten inches on top of the mountain. Some areas, I could have used snowshoes, and in other areas just muckboots. Finally, winter has arrived here at Sturtevant Pond. At least we think it is winter, according to the calendar. By looking around one might wonder if it is true. A few wisps of snow here and there and temperatures averaging in the high 30’s indicate otherwise. Winter is my favorite time around here. First of all, the surrounding woodlands are vacant of hunters or any other outdoor

recreationalist. Here it is December 16, and the pond isn’t frozen over. I think I won’t be ice fishing for at least

another month or so. Each night is cold enough to make ice, but it isn’t cold enough to make ice during the day, so thinking about getting out on a beaver flowage to set a few traps is also out of the picture for a while. With the lack of

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snow, however, it is easy walking in the woods. I intend to hike a few streams in the area to check out and see if I can find some more beaver colonies to trap this winter. I prefer under-the-ice

beaver trapping over-open-water trapping. Back in the 1980’s I spent all winter beaver trapping. One year, I trapped over 100 beaver colonies that I had discovered in the Aziscoos Lake/Parmacheenee Lake area of western Maine. Most of the colonies I had all to myself as they were pretty much off the beaten path. That particular year, I skinned and stretched over 260 beaver. Beaver pelts were bringing close to a dollar an inch, so I made some serious money that winter. I would first take my ex-wife’s small Skidoo Citation into the colonies, making an established trail. The Citation was light enough so that I could handle it when it got stuck in soft snow. Once I had a packed trail into a colony, I would use my bigger Artic Jag to pull my sled and gear around. When a snowstorm occurred, all it would take was a trip in on snowshoes to reopen the trail. Speaking of snowshoes, I have to laugh at what people today are calling snowshoes. Those little, light aluminum pads that are being sold as snowshoes, wouldn’t get a trapper anywhere. These snowshoes are meant to be used, on packed and established trails, and if one were to get off the trail, you couldn’t go anywhere. Back in 1979, I bought a pair of Alaskan Trail shoes. These snowshoes were 68 inches long and 20 inches wide, perfect for a big man

January 2012

like me. I immediately removed the leather/rawhide bindings and replaced them with inner tube bindings. I am glad I did, because if I hadn’t, I probably wouldn’t be alive today. A couple of years ago I wrote about falling through the ice while beaver trapping. For those of you who didn’t read the article, the experience happened like this. I was setting traps on Moose Brook, which flows into Parmacheenee Lake about half way up the east shore. There was a beaver family living under the bank of the brook about a quarter mile upstream from the lake. On the particular day I fell through, I parked my snowmachine at the mouth of the brook and snow shoed up the brook. Just below the beaver dam, I went through the ice. I had my pack basket on with a load of traps and gear in it as well as my snowshoes on. I went completely underwater. I remember being amazed that I could actually see under the ice. I wasn’t really in a panic but knew that if I didn’t act quickly, I would be a goner. I quickly removed my pack basket and managed to get one snowshoe off. I ran out of air. I pushed myself towards an opening in the ice above me. With one snowshoe on and one off, I managed to get my head out of the water and get a gulp of air, before sliding back into the 10 feet of water. I spotted a leaning alder from the riverbank above me through the opening and pushed myself upwards. On the first attempt I missed, but I managed to grab it the second time up. I pulled myself up and out of the water. My Dickies work coveralls immediately froze solid and hampered my movements. I kicked off the snowshoe and waded through the waist-high snow towards my snowmachine a quarter mile downstream. I don’t remember much about the deep snow. I do remember praying that the machine would start on the first pull, as I wasn’t sure if I had the strength to pull it a second time. Luck was on my side; the machine started on the first pull. I remember straddling the machine, tucking my head Continued on page 7 The Outdoor Gazette

Free Ice Fishing Class at Lebanon Rec. Dept. in January

Don’t let the BIG ones get away!

For your country convenience, swing into the Swiftwater Way Station

TV y on A e / k e r l i i b ations oda Tu Stat o & m r r g w S DeeTaggin Sno Regist eer & Gas B

Contact one of our sales representatives today!

Glenn

With a Hunter Friendly atmosphere it’s easy to get lost in our store!

Call 802-751-9041 or email April@theoutdoorgazette.com

603-747-2929

Call 802-276-3317 or email Glenn@theoutdoorgazette.com

April

The Outdoor Gazette

January 2012

Located just a stones throw on the west end of the Kancamagus Highway Route 12 in Bath, NH Page 7

Traveling Outdoorsman By Glenn Dunning

Food Plots and Feed Lots Questions about Supplemental Feeding of Wildlife

Feeding deer was never a widespread practice anywhere in the north country that I know of. For starters its expensive and once begun, must be maintained. Prior to Vermont Fish & Wildlife’s ban on the practice several years ago there were some in the sporting and conservation ranks that thought the state should actually play a role in supporting if not subsidizing those groups and individuals that took the time, effort and money to help each year’s fawn crop get through the toughest months of winter. The ban on feeding, justified by the state to reduce the possible spread of diseases like Chronic Wasting Disease, did leave room for those who want to make a contribution to the health of local wildlife by developing food plots, cutting browse and in the case of farmers; leaving standing corn and other crops for winter forage. The intent of this column is not to cast stones at Vermont’s deer management plan which I personally support and believe is for the most part headed in the right direction. No, I simply have a question that’s been bugging me since spending a few weeks in the Northern Rockies a couple of summers ago. You see out there, wildlife populations could not be sustained without a serious supplemental feeding program for deer and elk. But wait a minute. Wasn’t CWD first discovered in mule deer in Colorado in the mid 1960’s and in elk in Wyoming in

the late 70’s? Of course it was, and over the last 40 years it has been documented in 14 other states and 2-3 Canadian provinces. Here’s the hitch;

Vermont has outlawed feeding deer and specifically sites the danger of CWD transmission as the primary reason for the ban. Western states collectively spend millions of dollars on hay every winter to feed huge numbers of deer and elk. The federal government feeds 5,000 or more animals each winter on the National Elk Refuge in Jackson Hole alone. Speaking of Jackson Hole, I took my inquest to the internet search engines and found a series of articles on the feeding grounds from the Jackson Hole News & Guide. This liberal bastion of out-of-state rhetoric in the heart of cowboy country is an interesting dichotomy in its own right. The postings concerning elk & deer feeding typically support a

total ban on feeding for mostly political reasons but I did come across a disturbing concept being promoted by anti-hunting groups. Get this: their solution is to close the feeding grounds, acknowledging the probable starvation of 80% of the deer and elk herds but when viewed in con-

ried about the spread of CWD? “The state feed ground program has been in place since 1912 with our current 22 sites on the map since the 60’s. The discussion about the spread of disease with the wintering elk is as hot a topic today as it’s ever been but has little to do with Chronic Wasting Disease.” It seems that the general consensus concerning CWD is that it has probably always been around or at least since the early 19th century. You haven’t read a lot about it lately because there isn’t any new, news. Every year some animals test positive for it but the numbers are reasonably stable and certainly not what you would expect from states that feed thousands of animals in close proximity. You would think that if Chronic Wasting Disease was spreading among these wintering junction with the continued pro- herds you might have heard tection of growing wolf and griz- something about it. After all, the zly populations; somehow, mirac- practice has been in place for ulously, the natural order of nearly a century. things will be restored in flawless According to Terry, the probbeauty and collective harmony. lem is a disease called Brucellosis Nobody will ever have an excuse which affects the reproductive to hunt again. system and can be passed from But, nobody’s talking about elk to cattle and visa versa. CWD! “The feed grounds are actually I spoke with Terry Pollard, his a way for us to keep our wild family has outfitted in the Bridger herds separated from free ranging Wilderness and Wind River cattle and provide the primary means for curbing the spread of Brucellosis.” Dumbstruck, I asked the question again, “So Terry, it’s really not about CWD?” His answer didn’t change and so my quandary remains.

Mountains of Western Wyoming for 5 generations and he is active in the maintenance of several of the large feed grounds in the Pinedale area. I asked him straight out why nobody is wor-

Glenn Dunning lives in Brookfield, Vermont and owns TUNDRATOUR Consultants, a travel agency specializing in North American hunting and fishing adventures. He is also a member of the New England Outdoor Writers Assoc. Glenn can be reached by phone at 802-276-3317 or via his web site at: www.tundratour.com

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January 2012

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The Outdoor Gazette

Early Season Ice Action

ice” can be some of the most productive time to fill your freezer and possibly catch a trophy of a Ice fishing in Vermont and New life time. Please keep in mind that Hampshire has been a winter “first ice” doesn’t mean safe ice. past time for many as deer season There are plenty of places in ends and the long winter begins. Vermont and New Hampshire By Robert Booth VT Sportsmen Pro-Staff

Connecticut River Bluegill

Many choose to wait until mid to late January before they even think of a venture to a Northeastern body of water, but great opportunities are waiting much before then. The past couple of Ice seasons have began for me sometime in mid to late December. The “first

tions”, those would be the backwaters of the Connecticut River. These backwaters freeze easily due to their shallow depths and their convenient seclusion from the wind. Safe ice to me is no less than 4 inches but usually wait and breathe easier when I’m on six inches of good BLACK ice. Those that are prepared for the season and monitor ice conditions around their area will have a great time on the ice. First ice is a transition period for fish. They are holding onto their late summer/fall patterns as long as they can. Weed growth has not been completely squashed by the ice preventing light penetration, making many of the warm water species very predictable. I mostly fish for Bluegill, Perch and Crappie during this period of the season. These fish are in the weeds or close to them, making it worth your while to spend a day on the ice. I like to fish the backwaters rigged with a small ice jig tipped with maggots. I drill a lot of holes and move around until I’m able to find a pocket of weeds holding fish. Preferred depths for early action are usually 5-9 feet of

water. A great way to establish a game plan for your trips to the ice is to pay attention to your preferred lake/pond weed growth during the summer.Make a mental note and have some sort of landmark in your head. Target

those areas first during early ice seasons and you should be rewarded with some fine fair for the table and a wonderful fishing experience. At last, please be safe if you wish to venture out on “first ice”. I always have a pair of safety ice picks around my neck, and drill holes as I go for the fist trip. My wife always knows where I’ll be fishing, and it’s a good idea to have a buddy with you. With safe ice and these early ice tactics I have mentioned you will surely have a great outdoor experience.

where ice will form in this early season such as many of the Lakes and Ponds in the Northern parts of our states offering some outstanding cool water species success. There is also one more particular spot that is always number one on my list for first ice “destina-

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The Outdoor Gazette

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January 2012

Page 9

Fish Tales and other Drivel First Ice on the New Year??

Tuesday, December 20th, the first day of my 2011/2012 ice fishing season!! I sat in my folding chair about 50 ft. from the shoreline of a small New Hampshire trout pond. The ice was about 4” thick but crystal clear. I could see the weeds and rocks on the bottom less than 5 ft. below me. NH F&G had stocked the pond with many fat rainbow trout in late Sept. and, I’d often watched them swimming in this exact spot. I’d spent the morning helping an Audabon group monitor a young loon that had been left in a small pool of unfrozen water at a nearby lake. The Loon Preservation Society planned to come the next morning to try and lure the bird out of the water where it could be netted using my big salmon net. The weatherman forecast freezing rain the following day so I decided that this might be the best time to go fishing. I stopped at the

Page 10

house to prepare two overstuffed ham and cheese sandwiches and wrapped them in aluminum foil. Just after noon I had drilled a half dozen holes and set three tipups baited with small shiners and three of my brand new HT ice riggers. The ice riggers are like a tipup but they have a holder for a small jigging rod. I’d baited each of the riggers with a gob of pink trout flavored Power Bait on light wire bronze hooks. The Power Bait was anchored to the bottom with a tiny split shot. Thank goodness for yellow perch, because that is all that I caught for the first three hours. They gobbled up the tiny shiners under the tipups as fast as I could reset them. Beside my chair was my tiny Sterno stove with my second sandwich toasting in its aluminum wrapper. It’s amazing how a simple hot, ham and cheese sandwich can taste so

wonderful on the ice. I’d just turned the sandwich over when the flag popped up on the furthest ice rigger. I almost fell out of my chair trying to get up because I could see the end of the jig rod

bouncing up and down as the fish took line. I took the rod out of its holder and watched another fifty feet of line shoot down the hole before I locked up the reel and felt the pull of a fish much bigger than the perch. Fighting a nice fish on these tiny fishing rods is really exciting especially when you only have a six-inch hole to play the fish in. It took a few minutes but I finally got the fish up in the hole and it was a beautiful rainbow trout in its bright spawning colors. I couldn’t see the hook so I simply cut the line at the mouth, took a quick picture and put it back down the hole. The ice was so clear I could see the fish swim for several feet before it swam back to the bottom. The trout were obviously coming into the shallow water to feed as the sun dropped behind the trees to the west. In the final hour I caught and released three more fat and colorful rainbows. Thanks to NHF&G for making my first ice fishing day a great success. I was lucky that I decided to take the day to ice fish because the following day provided steady rain and 30-degree temperatures changing the rain to sleet and freezing rain after noon. One of the loon preservation people stopped by to leave off my big salmon net and let me know that the loon seemed to have taken flight during the day and they hoped that it had joined its family in the open water of the

January 2012

By Dick Baker

Connecticut River. Open water has been main topic of discussion or grousing among avid ice fishermen throughout New England. Most of them have waited 9

months since they last set foot on solid ice. This year’s warm and rainy weather intimates that some of them will wait nearly 10 months for the first of this year’s safe ice. I had checked the ice on my trout pond for nearly two weeks before I found the clear 4” of ice that I feel safe. On top of the ice at the shoreline were a four blocks of ice that I had chiseled out on evening visits. They varied from an inch and a half to a block of the 4” ice that I found the night before my fishing trip. Most waters south of the White Mountains have only a skim of ice and the larger lakes are completely open. The ice fishing web sites are fraught with photos of overanxious fishermen standing on ice that is only an inch thick. This is the time of the year that F&G will warn the public to stay off the ice until we have several days of single digit numbers. Recent snow has made that even more imperative because unsafe ice isn’t visible and the insulation of the snow will slow ice formation. So how can you identify safe ice? In a recent issue of the NHG&G freshwater fishing digest Mark Beauchesne recommends that you carry and ice chisel or “spud” and thump the ice as hard as you can. If it doesn’t break through you can continue onto the ice while making test holes to check the thickness. That’s a little optimistic and my Continued next page The Outdoor Gazette

bulk necessitate nothing but continuous test holes looking for 4” of clear ice before I go back for my ice auger to begin fishing. Even then fishermen should remember that the ice thickness will vary greatly over the entire surface of a pond or lake. Ice that formed early along the lee shore might be 4 or 5” thick while the ice in middle of the pond or the windward shore might only be two inches thick. Last December I walked out onto 4” of shoreline ice at a local pond. I got confident and walked another 20 feet and felt the sickening feeling of having the ice slowly sink under my feet. OK! It was only knee deep but I didn’t know that until me feet touched the bottom in below freezing water. As always I dragged a 100 rope attached to a shoreline tree and I quickly pulled myself up onto the thicker ice. It was a great warning and even after I emptied the water from my boots it was a long cold drive home. Everyone does stupid things but I try not to do life threatening things when it comes to ice fishing. One of my lifetime promises is that I will never drive my truck onto the ice regardless of the

The Outdoor Gazette

from previous page thickness. Over the years I’ve wit- AM. When the sun came out to ten and do F&G a favor. Buy ness enough vehicles that have after lunch the temperature your 2012 fishing license now and broken through “safe” ice!! I have quickly rose to 40 degrees and the wait until January first for your no qualms about walking a half- crust was gone. It took a long “First Ice” fishing trip. Its good mile to a good ice fishing loca- time for three full grown adults to for the F&G budget and it just might keep you from making a mistake that could result in a super cold bath or worse. My wife doesn’t know it but I will shortly use the computer to order my fishing license in NH, Maine, and Vermont. I will not fish in any of those states unless I’m on 4” of ice or more and I won’t even consider driving my truck on any ice!! I hope everyone got all the new ice fishing gear they asked Santa for! If Santa gave you all the gear that I recommended last month you will catch lots of fish in the The first of many perch ...destination, frying pan! New Year!! tion. If there is deep snow I ware push it back to shore while a skinFish Safe and Email me if you my snowshoes. Snow machines ny teenager ran the throttle and aren’t catching fish!! are great for this time of the year steered the wheeler. but I have never had an interest OK! So we fanatic ice fisherin the yearlong investment that is men have waited our normal 9 Dick Baker is a forester working in required to own one of these months! Even with terrific open northern NH and Vt with an office in sleek machines. water fishing and hunting season Littleton, NH. Writing for several New I own an ATV but I won’t take in the interim it has seemed inter- England sporting magazines is just an it on the ice unless there is little minable! But the only real advan- excuse to get his wife, Mary, to let him snow and no deep slush on the tage to December ice fishing is go fishing or hunting. At the Baker ice. I will always remember driv- that you get to take advantage of house the lawn grows tall and the house ing the 4wheeler for a mile over your 2011 fishing license. All I needs painting. Dick can be reached at two feet of crusted snow at 7:00 can say is that you should count bigfishrcb@yahoo.com

January 2012

Page 11

Riverbank Tales by Bill Thompson

Tying and Fishing the Soft Hackle Fly

In all honesty there isn’t much new here, as the soft hackle has been around for over five hundred years or more. I would guess that some old timers are going to read this title and skip right by. In my humble defense, however, the soft hackle is a fly that has stood the test of time and it never hurts to rediscover something old. Although the soft hackle is described in great detail in Dane Juliana Ber ners A Treatyse of Fysshyng with an Angle, first published in 1496, it is a good bet that the fly dates back even further. Soft hackle flies show up again in Izaak Walton’s Complete Angle. Izaak was, of course, a wor m dunker and it isn’t until his friend Charles Cotton added the last three chapters in 1676 is there any mention of f ly

fishing. Soft hackles keep showing up in English fly fishing books through out

history. The notable Fredrick Halford, F loating F lies and How to Dress Them, in 1886 and GEM Skues, Minor Tactics of the Chalkstream, in 1914 both mention the soft hackle. American angling writers have be no less enamored with the soft hackle. Such notables as: Er nest Schwiebert, George La

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Branche, James Leisenring, Charles Brooks, John Atherton, Ray Bergman and the venerable Theodore Gordon have all sung the praises of the soft hackle. However it isn’t until 1975, when Sylvester Nemes published his book The Soft Hackle F ly, that the fly is given its rightful place in the lexicon of American fly fishing. Sylvester Nemes passed away February 3ed of 2011 in Bozeman, Montana. He

was veteran of WW II and met his wife, Hazel, while stationed in Great Briton. She fondly recalled having picnics on the River Test with Sylvester eating Krations and watching him fish. It was no doubt that he was first introduced to soft hackles at that time. In addition to The Soft Hackle F ly , he also wrote The Soft Hackled F ly and Tiny Soft Hackles a Trout Fisher man’s Guide and The Soft Hackle F ly Addict: Two Centuries of Soft Hackled F lies: A Survey of the Literature Complete

January 2012

With Original Patterns: 1747 to Present. Few would deny that he was indeed the definitive expert on the subject. The soft hackle is not just one fly it is a series of flies or a type of fly tied with a soft hackle. Many anglers will recognize the names of these famous soft hackles: Partridge and Yellow, March Brown Spider, Starling and Herl, Iron Blue Dunn and Tup’s Indispensable. Soft hackles are simple to tie and many, aside from the hook, only require two materials. Perhaps two of the best know patter ns are the Partridge and Orange and the Partridge and Green. As the name suggests the hackle comes from a partridge and the body is made from floss or silk of the named color. A partridge or grouse body feather is most often used as the “soft hackle; however there are many other feathers that can be used. Small

mallard, silver pheasant, pheasant, starling, guinea hen, chukar, and hen hackle may all be substituted. When Continued next page

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purchasing partridge it is probably best to buy the whole skin as this will give you the largest selection of feathers in different sizes. Most fly shops carry whole Hungarian Partridge skins. A number 1 grade will set you back about thirty-five bucks with a grade 2 coming in for around twenty-five. Some tiers are reluctant to spend this much, which is understandable in these ecomic times. Bags of mixed partridge feathers are an alter native and sell for around four dollars, however you rarely ever get the mix of sizes you will need especially the smaller sizes. The best substitute is an inexpensive speckled hen neck; one of these will run you about five bucks. Any number of materials

fur is often used and most any color may be used; hare’s mask is a favorite. Stripped quill, pheasant tail and turkey biot quills make wonderful bodies for soft hackles. Traditionally soft hackles are left un-weighted, however lately tiers have been adding bead heads. Tiers who do this should know that they do so at their own

risk. Sylvester thought this was akin to a mortal sin. He was quoted as saying: “Those who use bead heads might as well use a spinning rod”. I will leave it up to you to make the call, however I will say that this, a bead head soft hackle is a deadly fly. A standard wet fly hook, such as the Mustard 3906, is may be used for the bodies. most often used when tying Silk or floss is called for in soft hackles. However, there many of the early patterns. are other choices. If the fly Peacock herl makes an excel- is to be fished in the surface lent body and of course film a dry fly hook may be explains the Partridge and used. Many of today’s tiers Peacock patter n. Dubbing are using curved hooks that

more accurately give the impression of a caddis

pupae. The thing that makes the soft hackle such an effective f ly is no doubt the “soft hackle”. The fibers just seem to come alive when in the water. One of the best ways to fish a soft hackle is in the surface film. The soft fibers give the impression of an emerging insect struggling to break free from the nymphal shuck. If you intention is to fish them this way then you may want to use a dry fly hook when tying them. Fishing two soft hackles, one tied behind the other can be very effective. Going against the wishes of Sylvester, using a bead head

from previous page as the front fly can add to the effectiveness of this rig. I like to fish soft hackles in the spring in trout ponds. The old patter ns like the Partridge and Orange are fish magnets; yellow and olive are also good colors. Try tying a soft hackle behind your favorite stone f ly patter n and see what happens. If nothing else just dead drift them. If you are into European nymphing soft hackles are just the ticket. In fly tying and in fly fishing there is nothing truly new. The soft hackle is just as fresh today as it was five hundred years ago. Originally from Maine, Bill Thompson, with his wife Janet, lives in Freedom and owns North Country Angler fly shop in North Conway. He has been fly fishing for more than 30 years and is a licensed NH Fishing Guide. He has fished all over New England, in Canada and out West, but claims the Saco as his “home river.” He also writes a column for a local paper as well as articles in national fly fishing magazines. Bill’s email is bill@northcountryangler.com.

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January 2012

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Lock, Stock and Smoking Barrel Buying and selling guns online

Just about the entire world is connected to the Internet; whether through a simple dialup modem, DSL, cable, satellite, a tablet, or smart phone. News, stock prices, blogs, shopping, or social media; you name it and it’s probably out there. This recent immersion in online living has had a profound effect on many parts of our lives, including how we buy and sell guns. The most obvious advantage of being connected is for research. I used to spend weeks researching odd guns that I came across. Endless trips to the library and countless letters later, I might eventually find answers to my questions. Now, with the help of my old friend Google and some basic keyboard skills, I can often find my answers in a matter of minutes. Yes, there are still times when I

have to dig out my old references volumes; but that’s now the exception rather than the

the buying and selling of guns and gun parts. Both dealers and individuals advertise products online, but there are some restrictions you must be aware

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of. No individual can legally ship any firearm to another individual. You can ship a gun to a licensed dealer, but you can’t receive a gun through the mail. To do this legally you have to have a dealer lined up to accept the delivery of the gun you just purchased online. The receiving dealer must first fax, mail, or email a copy of his license to the dealer who will be shipping the gun. When the gun arrives you’ll have to show up in person and fill out the required Federal 4473 firearms purchase form. After a background check has been successfully completed, you can take the gun. Most dealers charge a fee for this transfer service, typically $25 or more. You should also understand that guns made before 1898, as well as all noninterchangeable barrel muzzleloaders and their replicas, are not considered firearms and are not covered by Federal law. The most popular online gun

sites are Gun Broker and Guns America; the first being an auction format, the second a straight sale format. There are many other sites that allow individuals to buy and sell guns, but these two are the ones I’m personally familiar with. eBay, the world’s biggest auction site, has a very restrictive firearms policy. Not only don’t they allow guns to be listed, but they also prohibit the sale of magazines, barrels, triggers, and any part associated with the firing of a gun. That pretty much leaves stocks, scopes and sights as the only gun related thing they’ll let you list. I have sold many guns through Gun Broker and I also sell allowed gun related items on eBay. As a seller I have done very well, and can move merchandise that has limited appeal locally. I don’t always get what I want but, overall, I have done very well. However, as either a buyer or a seller, there are times when things don’t go according to plan. Surprise … not everyone out there is honest. In fact, not everyone out there is even sane. I have come across some real problem people when selling online. The one that was probably the most upsetting to me involved a mint Belgian Browning BAR rifle. This was a 1969 vintage gun that looked like it had just been taken out of the box. It was absolutely perfect, and brought a very good price when I sold it. The customer who got it sent me an email telling me how beautiful the gun was and how thrilled he was to get it. Three months later, I got another email from the buyer informing me that the stock was cracked and he wanted his money back. I, like most sellContinued next page

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January 2012

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ers, provide a three day inspection period during which the gun can be returned if not as described. I refused to issue a refund, knowing that the gun was sent and received with no damage. This buyer then proceeded to post negative feedback for me, going as far as calling me a crook and warning others to avoid doing business with me. Buyers also have to be very careful when purchasing through the Internet. Most potential buyers are hunting for used guns, so the seller’s description and pictures must be accurate and honest. When I list a firearm, I always show the gun from every angle and fully describe any defects. Unfortunately, not all sellers are that honest. Recently I had a customer come into my store with a rare Winchester he had just bought through Gun Broker. The bidding was brisk and he wound up paying dearly for what looked like an almost new piece. When the gun came in, however, one side of the gun’s receiver was pitted. That side

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of the gun was not pictured or described in the listing, and the buyer was furious. They eventually agreed on a partial refund, but this was a case of clear misrepresentation. Even buying new is something you have to be careful of. I have done many transfers for online buyers and it is rare indeed when anyone winds up with a “killer” deal. Sometimes what is listed is a discontinued model; most times you are actually buying a current model. However, in most cases shipping will be added to your order. This can typically add from $15 to $35 to the price of your purchase. Then you’ll have to pay another fee for having the dealer transfer your gun to you. That’s at least another $25. In the vast majority of cases, customers wind up paying 5% to 10% more for their bargains than they could have bought it for over the counter. I’ve seen people do this over and over again … pay more just to buy it online. Buying scopes online is also popular, but too often the scope that comes in is totally

incompatible with the customer’s gun. People buy these huge scopes with front bells as large as a basketball, only to find there’s no way to get these monstrous optics onto a gun. Buying online can be fun and it’s certainly a convenient way to shop. You do not, however, automatically get a good deal just because you’re shopping with your mouse. Many local gun shops are very competitive with online merchants and can often match or beat those deals. It’s worth checking before you click that buy button. When buying used guns or parts, make sure the seller has a history of positive feedback and offers at least a three day inspection period. Look for a detailed description and an adequate number of high resolution pictures that show the gun completely. In an auction format, don’t let your emotions overrule common sense. Decide on an absolute top price you’re willing to pay and stick with it. Let the other guy be the one who overpays. A good way of determining a

January 2012

from previous page

fair price is to research what similar guns have sold for. On auction sites, this can be done by searching through the completed listings, not the current ones. Also note that many incredibly high “Buy It Now’ prices have been listed for many weeks or months with no takers. Don’t use those inflated listings as a guideline. The Internet is a wonderful tool for those of us who love buying and selling firearms. Just be careful; there are an awful lot of crooks and scam artists who are just waiting to take your money. Again, just use some common sense and remember that if a deal looks too good to be true, it probably is too good to be true. Stan Holz lives in Whitefield, NH and, with his wife Sandy, has owned and operated Village Gun Store there since 1974. He invites everyone to stop and visit. Aside from his interest in firearms and shooting, Stan is also involved in amateur astronomy, photography, ham radio and scuba diving. He can be contacted by emailing him at saholz@myfairpoint.net.

Page 15

Family Tracks By Brian Lang

Take me to the river

I had not been planning on fishing this particular evening after work. The idea started in the form of an email from my wife while I was at work, and it was really more of an order than a suggestion. It basically said that she had work to do around the house and that when I got home I needed to take Ben out fishing or “something”. It must have been one of those days where the nerves wore thin. There was to be no family time tonight, she wanted the boys out. Well, I thought fishing was a grand idea. I replied with a simple “OK”. When I got home, she felt a little badly about the demand she had made and thought that I may be mad. I was most certainly not; I had even stopped at the store to get the worms for Ben. After packing our gear, Ben and I drove to a scenic, easily accessible spot on the

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Connecticut River that is also the site of some rather large rapids with some big ledges and boulders in the middle of the river. It

was a spot where we have begun numerous float trips on the river, the first of which when I was a little boy with my own father. I also remember when I was young just driving down to see the falls

at this spot when we were going by, or when there was especially high water. At the high water times you can feel a rumble in your chest from the force of the water unmercifully pounding

past the rocks like a river full of locomotives. At lower water levels you can walk way out onto the rocks, which are carved with strange linear grooves from the water over the years, and there are puddles left of stagnant water in which sometimes there are fish or crayfish trapped to observe or chase around. However, the dams upriver can release water and in a very short time make this dry little wonderland flood very quickly, and people have died in this spot. So on this calm, muggy summer evening, Ben and I made our way just downriver on the Vermont side, where there is several hundred yards of flat gravel shoreline littered with driftwood. As we pulled into the parking area, there were some whitewater kayakers returning to their car from the falls. They were just like surfers from California, with long hair, and a friendly, calm demeanor like they didn’t have a care in the world. They slipped their short, bright colored kayaks right into the back of an old Subaru wagon. I told Ben they paddle those little boats out in the rapids, and can even flip over upside down, then come back up. “Oh, Yeah. Cool” He said. We made our way down the shoreline, past a large sign that said “No Fires”, to a point where the gravel stuck out a little further toward the river channel. While we were looking around for a good forked stick for his rod,

January 2012

Ben remarked on all the spots where there had been fires. We settled into our spot and got the lines ready. I wanted to put a big fat crawler on the bottom of the river for Ben, and used the trick of injecting some air into the crawler so it floats off the bottom a little. He watched me blow up the worm with the tiny needle and thought it was just fascinating. He had to take a turn too by poking the crawler several times with the straw from his juice box. Finally prepped to our satisfaction, we heaved the bloated night crawler out into the river. “I wanna reel it in”, said Ben, moments later. “You can’t, we just cast it out” I reasoned. “You have to wait for the fish to find it” “But I want to blow it up again” he argued. And so it went. Every couple of minutes he would step up to the rod, pick it up, and reel it in with the butt of the spinning rod he won this summer braced against his hips. Proportionally, he looked like a surfcaster with a 14 foot rod. Between retrieves, he managed to hook a pretty chunky and hard fighting yellow perch, and during one retrieve he hooked and landed a foot long pike or “tiger fish” as we call them, due to the teeth, which he was pretty excited about. There were some kayak fisherman drifting around in the current and more whitewater paddlers out in the rapids, bobbing and twisting playfully. Some geese flew low over the river as the sky turned orange, although as they flew past, they bombed us with a little present that we luckily avoided. The soothing rush of the water is very calming, and the warm summer evenings are nice to think about on the cold winter nights. Brian Lang lives with his wife, Michelle and two children Megan and Ben in Reading, VT. Brian grew up in VT and started enjoying his outdoor pursuits at a very young age. He is an avid hunter, fisherman, camper, and hiker and hopes to give his kids the same wholesome up bringing he enjoyed in the New England outdoors. When he's not outside, he works as an MRI Technologist. He can be reached at Bclang78@gmail.com. The Outdoor Gazette

A Buck for Kaitlyn

that papa has a bigger blind made of wood. We sat all morning and didnt see any deer again. On youth hunting weekend We were cold and hungry so we november 5th and 6th 2011 my went back to the house. Sunday By Kaitlyn Belisle Worcester, VT

Kaitlyn Belisle of Worcester, Vermont and her 2011 Vermont buck. papa, Steve Merchant, took me afternoon about 2:15 we headed hunting on some farm land we back to the farm. We were going had gotten permission to hunt on, back to the small blind on the the week prior. Saturday morning edge of the cornfield. We walked we woke up super early, about up the farmers driveway to a 44:30. Papa made us a big break- wheeler trail that led to the cornfast and we left to go to our small field. All you could hear is the blind papa had put out. We sat in crunching of dry leaves and snapthe blind for the first couple ping of sticks. We tried to be hours, then walked around for a quiet but it didnt work all that while. We didnt see anything. We well. were cold and hungry so my papa As we were walking up the path, and I decided to go back to his we were almost at the top where house to eat and warm up for a the trail meets the cornfield when while, then go back out. We head- I spotted something moving in ed back into the woods about the field. I turned to my papa and 3:oo and went to another corn said, theres a deer in the field. I field and sat until dark. We didnt immediately sat down where I see anything again. was. In the position I was in, I Sunday morning we did the couldnt get a clear shot. same thing. We got up super early Therefore I had to move up clos4:30 and went to a different spot er and risk spooking the deer. I

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and I gave it a few minutes then walked up to my deer. We looked him over and then I called my Gram Carol , my Mom and Dad. I was so ecstatic I was speechless! Just tromping up a 4-wheeler trail to our blind got me my deer. It wasnt the sitting and waiting kind of hunting that I had been doing for the last day and a half. When it came to the cutting him open part, I didnt help that much. I left that to my papa. I had blew a shoulder out and the bullet also went through the heart. This guy had no suffering. He was 3 pts.,but only 2 were legal. He weighed 112 pounds dressed out. It was a great way to end my youth hunting experience and I owe it all to my papa and the nice farmer that gave us permission to hunt.! In my eyes my papa is the worlds best hunting guide and partner!!

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crawled very slowly until I found the spot I needed for a clear shot. My papa stayed a few steps behind me and told me not to waste time and that when I had a clean shot, squeeze easy. I made a few more slow quiet movements towards the edge of the woods, closer to the field. Now I could see him, and he saw me! I thought he was going to run but no, he just went back to eating the corn stalks. I made sure one last time I had a good clear shot and went for it. BANG! I quickly stood up and saw he was having a hard time walking. At that point I was so excited I didnt know what to say, so I just stood there until I knew he was dead. My papa grabbed me and hugged me about 5 times and said, you got him kid!! And im so proud of you! I never took my eyes off the deer. He took about 10 steps and dropped. My papa

January 2012

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KID’S KORNER

My son,Trevor Morse from Wilmot and Loudon, NH with his first deer. A 123 pound Doe. In Deer hunting there seems to be highs and lows. On Saturday of youth weekend, Trevor was sitting in the ladder stand his older brother Brandon put up for him. Around 5:00 pm a Cow Moose came out below him. As he was watching the Moose a fat doe came along behind the Moose. When the deer was clear, a shot rang out. This was a low point. A miss. Come to find out, the gun he was using was hitting low. Must have been bumped during the day. On Sunday, we were able to get within 100 yards of another Deer. With only a neck shot Trevor tried but, another miss. Another low point. Sunday afternoon found us back in the ladder stand. This time Trevor was using his “Old Man’s Gun”. At 5:20 pm this Doe came out at 100 yards across the clear cut we were set up on. A perfect shot to the shoulder. That was a high point! Needless to say, school was missed on Monday.”....Matthew Morse, Wilmot, NH

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Tristan Gray of West Newbury, Vermont crossed the “River” to hunt his Grandpa’s farm in Orford, New Hampshire, and the trip payed off with this granite state doe. Tristan’s first deer........... congrats to Tristan and Trevor!

January 2012

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January 2012

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Lessons from the Great Outdoors Firewood

Over the years, Tom and I have settled into a pretty regular division of labor. Him cooking and my doing the dishes and cleaning the kitchen were explicitly agreed to right from the beginning, but everything else emerged as we learned who was better at what and who liked (or detested less) doing what jobs. He’s the electrician and plumber; I do all the mudding, taping, sanding and painting. I do most of the heavy lifting and all of the climbing and crawling; he runs his grandfather’s monster table saw. In the mornings, he makes the coffee; I’m in charge of the woodstove. Tom and I have both burned wood for most of our lives, but we tend to have very different approaches to it. His family’s camp had a monster wood furnace that would burn great chunks of anything that you threw in it— and throw it in his father did,

apparently. They didn’t have woodstoves at home, though, and in his family the men were generally in charge of the fires. My family had fireplaces and

fireplace had a heatolater in it so that it would throw more heat, and there was a “hatch” in the wall above the sofa in the living room that would let heat up into

wood cook stoves; the women kept both. By the time I came along, we had electric cook stoves, but my grandmother, especially, preferred to cook on the wood stove. Once she got it going in the morning, it would keep the kitchen warm all day, and both the smells and the heat would waft up the steep back stairs to our bedrooms. My mother cooked on her wood stove, too, but she loved an open fire. Our

our bedrooms upstairs. We would open the hatch a couple of hours before bedtime; my parents usually closed it after we had gone to bed so that we couldn’t peer down at them or hear their conversations. All newspapers were saved for fire starting, in a basket on the window bench next to the fireplace. To this day, I go through that basket whenever I am home looking for unfinished crossword puzzles. We also burned all the paper trash in those days before recycling; that was a regular morning chore for one of us, while the others swept, dusted, and did the breakfast dishes. And in a big wooden box on the porch was the kindling; a couple of times a week, the five of us kids would scour the yard and neighboring woods for fallen twigs, branches and pine needle clusters to go in that box. “If you can’t snap it, scrap it” was our mantra for knowing when a branch was dry enough to be made into kindling. Putting up firewood was a mother and kids operation; we were the muscle. My father was not a woodsman; in fact, he wasn’t very outdoorsy at all. My mother didn’t own or, I think, even know how to run a chainsaw, but she could do a lot of damage with an ax. She would buy a truckload of firewood cut to length and then split the bigger pieces herself. We would form a “bucket brigade” from wherever the truck had dumped the wood to the cellar in order to get it in and stacked. My father was so clueless about firewood that one year when a red pine fell down in our yard, he had somebody cut to firewood length and insisted that my mother split it

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January 2012

and stack it in the cellar. Now red pine is the hardest of pines; it is the softwood equivalent of elm. You’ve probably heard elm’s reputation: unlike other hardwoods, which warm you three times— when you cut it, when you split it and when you burn it—elm even burns cold. Honest, it really does. If you don’t believe me, try it. Red pine does, too, if you can get it to burn at all. I think my mother waited until my father wasn’t around and then had us stack that pine way in the back of the cellar where it might have a chance of rotting before we got back to it to burn it. Tom is not as fussy about firewood as I am, and he has some funny, to me, ideas about it. He won’t burn punky wood, but he will load my woodpile up with white birch and popple if he thinks it’s dry. I would burn punky maple and beech way before I would burn white birch or popple, no matter how dry they are. He likes his firewood big and fat—I suspect because they require less splitting. My rule of thumb is that if I can’t lift it with one hand, it’s too big. That has nothing to do with its burning efficiency; it has to do with my ability to bring a whole stove-load of firewood into the house in one trip. I need to be able to cradle all the wood in one arm and fill it with the other hand, which I can’t do if a piece of firewood requires both hands to pick it up. Tom doesn’t distinguish between green firewood and dry firewood that has gotten wet. He doesn’t get it that, once firewood is well dried, its pores will not reabsorb water from the air or ground. Yes, the surface will get wet, and it will even rot if it is constantly wet, but the wood itself remains burnable. “Dry”, in firewood, means “not green”, not “not wet.” The only wood I’ve ever found that burns green is pin cherry. When we first moved to Canaan, Vermont and my boys were small, we had about 25 acres that had been clear-cut seven or eight years before we bought the land. Over the next few years, we cleared out all the pin cherry when they got to be about three inches in diameter. We called them “fuel rods”: they didn’t have to be split, and for Continued next page The Outdoor Gazette

Deer and Forestland Advisory Group to Have Recommendations in Jan.

WAITSFIELD, VT — Too many deer in Vermont? Deer so numerous they are causing damage to their habitat? These are concepts many hunters would take exception to after the close of the 2011 deer hunting season because they were not successful in filling their freezers with venison. The Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department hopes a new advisory group will be successful in recommending strategies for improving forest health while also helping deer management and improving hunting opportunities for hunters. The membership of the group includes two landowners, two hunters, two wildlife biologists, two foresters, and two members of the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Board. “The group has had several thoughtful and productive meetings and now has many good ideas on the table,” said Fish and Wildlife’s Director of Special Projects Kimberly Royar. “We are

most of their length, they didn’t even have any branches to take off. You could cut them down, haul them to the house, cut them to length and throw them in the stove. They only put out about half the heat of dry maple, but they burned hot and fast even green, and we had plenty of them. Wood for the cook stove was another story. Cooking requires really high quality wood, and we would only burn what my kids called “king” maple in it. That usually came in the form of standing deadwood split down to about an inch in diameter. Most often, we used well-dried maple tops for cook stove wood. Tom, who has never used a wood cook stove, doesn’t appreciate this wood that is most highly prized by members of my family. He calls it “twigs” and thinks collecting and cutting it is a waste of energy. But Tom loves no activity more than collecting, cutting, splitting and stacking firewood. (Well, he loves the collecting and stacking; he just has to do the cutting and splitting in between.) He can’t

confident that this experienced group of people will come up with some great solutions.”

Hunters often cite problems in gaining access to prime hunting areas and the posting of private property against hunting as reasons for not harvesting a deer. At the same time, forest landowners are increasingly reporting that deer are causing extensive damage to young seedlings and saplings and preventing them from growing into valuable commercial trees. Red oak, white ash from previous page stand to have less than two years’ worth of wood in the woodshed, and he prefers that the woodshed always have even runs and rows. He hates it when I go out and just start pulling wood out of a stack. If we haven’t completely filled the woodshed in the fall, he will go collect just enough wood to fill the final space. Yesterday, I was busy doing schoolwork, and Tom was lounging around the house with nothing much to do, since it was pouring outside. Suddenly he announced that he was cold. I responded distractedly, “Check the fire.” “But you do that so much better than I do!” he protested. When I die, you will probably find him inside frozen to death but with an impeccably full woodshed outside.

and sugar maples in southern lation was proposed in 2010 to Vermont appear to be especially issue Vermont landowners pervulnerable.Less obvious are the mits to shoot deer causing forest damage. In an attempt to address these problems and keep deer number reduction in the hands of licensed hunters, the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department recently convened the group of landowners, hunters, foresters, wildlife biologists, and Fish and Wildlife Board members to investigate the issues of deer doing damage as well as the problem of hunters unable to gain access to private lands where there are too many deer. effects heavy understory browsing The group was charged with by deer is having on the overall recommending methods for health of the forest. Studies in reducing deer damage to forest urban areas of southern New products while investigating England and in National Parks strategies to link forest landowners where deer are not hunted have experiencing deer damage with documented not only problems hunters looking for new areas to with tree regeneration, but also hunt. marked decreases in numbers of Sportsmen, especially those willflowering plants such as orchids ing to put additional effort into and lilies, fewer songbirds due to a landowner relations, should soon loss of nesting habitat, as well as benefit from the program by findreduced populations of upland ing substantially more forest lands game species such as snowshoe open to deer hunting. The group’s hare, woodcock and ruffed grouse. recommendations will be put in a The problem has escalated in report the department plans to recent years to the point that legis- submit to legislature in January.

Martha VanderWolk owns and operates Sturtevant Pond Camps in Magalloway, Maine with her husband, Tom Rideout. A lifelong educator, she currently teaches in the Sustainable Business and Communities Program at Goddard College. She can be reached at Martha@sturtevantpondcamps.com.

Guns • Ammo • Accessories Box 3028 • RT 25A Orford, NH 03777

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Harry Osmer Owner

603-353-9217

January 2012

Page 21

Southern Side Up By Alex Cote Game cameras and QDMA

Last month, I mentioned that I was thinking about putting the game cameras back out to see what deer survived and who didn’t. Well, I am happy to report that I did put out the cameras on one part of the property. On what I have called the lower property, all of the deer that I had pictures of HAVE survived up to this writing! So, there is a minimum of 7 deer that made it through 2011’s hunting season! There is one that hasn’t been seen for a while, but I don’t think he was taken by a hunter, at least of the human form anyway. There was a small spike that showed up periodically in the fall. He showed once after rifle season ended but has gone MIA. I need to make several points of clarification on last month’s column. First, I didn’t put any bait out until the legal date of September 1st. Second, I received a letter from a reader giving advice on down loading the pictures from the cameras to my laptop. Also in the letter, the reader asked what type of cameras I was using. The answer to that is Moultrie. I purchased my first camera after hunting season last year at Cabala’s. I actually received a gift card for Christmas so purchased my first camera on an after Christmas sale. To be completely honest, I went there with the intention to pony up the extra bucks and buy a Cuddeback. In talking with the salesmen, he felt the Moultrie D-50 was a great camera for the money. Plus it came with 90 day money back guarantee from Cabela’s so, how

could I go wrong? I took it home, loaded it with batteries and an SD card and put it to the test. For the $79.00 I paid, I was more than happy! The battery life could have

them shutting down all the time. It worked for a while and then just shut down. I changed SD cards and batteries to no avail. I called Moultrie direct. They told me the camera needed to be repro-

Deer season survival! A couple of bucks living on the authors “QDMA” project property.

been a little better but I wasn’t going to complain. I got 2 months in the warmer weather, 2 months in the cold. The camera was simple to operate and set up. Overall I was extremely happy. One afternoon at a friend’s garage, we were sitting around shooting the bull and the topics of game cameras came up. I mentioned how pleased I was with the D-50 for the money. I was asked where I had gotten it and said Cabala’s. Probably 2 weeks went by and I got a call from my buddy that owned the garage. He had gone to Cabala’s and the cameras were on sale for $49.00 and he had one for me! Both cameras worked great through last season. I got some excellent pictures. When I put the cameras out this past season, I was having trouble with one of

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grammed and gave me step-bystep instructions on how to do it. They were very helpful and professional on the phone. While on the phone, I was told of a special on over stock IR-35 cameras. Originally they listed for $179 and were on sale for $149 a great savings to begin with but they were also offering a 2 for 1 deal. Wanting to get another camera anyway, I couldn’t pass this up! They work awesome! I have even taken some video footage. These new cameras are as easy to set up and operate as the D-50’s! So far, the batteries even while taking the video are the same ones I put in the cameras in October. And I am still showing 70% battery life! These cameras are so good; I have actually gotten pictures of a deer mouse! My wife hasn’t complained about spending the extra

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Page 22

money for the cameras, in fact she loves looking at the pictures. She and my sister in law have schemed up a plan to dress up in clown costumes complete with balloons and go into the woods parading in front of one of the cameras! There are still good deals to be had there, to contact Moultrie, go to Moultrie Game Management.com or call them at 1800-653-3334. The biggest problem is making a solid decision on what stand I want to sit in! Starting the fall archery season, I had three GOOD stands. All were showing good deer but one had an exceptional buck. The first part of the archery season being bucks only, it was a no brainer on where I was going to sit. Thinking back, I guess that it was the second week of the season. All of my stands are double (2 person) ladder stands. As my youngest gets older, he is my shadow especially during hunting season. Plus there is a comfort level here also as I get older! Well, I think that I may have nodded off a bit. When I came to my senses, there were three deer feeding along in front of me. I watched the deer with out thinking much about the camera being there. The deer went about their business and I settled back in until dark. When I got down from my perch, I changed out the SD card to have a look when I got home. When I opened the pictures, there I was, plopped in the stand and the deer were feeding out in front of me! The stand has since been relocated as has the camera but what a great Continued next page

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Call - 802-738-6755 or you can send an email to: fred@theoutdoorgazette.com Continued next page

January 2012

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photo, it certainly brought laughter in the Cote house! Truth be told, I think I was sleeping! I also filmed these deer with my pocket video camera. I have probably 5 minutes of them wandering out in front of the stand. We have started on our food plots with the weather being somewhat mild and semi snow free. Alex II and I have begun to cut and stack brush to burn during the winter months. If it stays relatively snow free, I hope to get the lime down now and then hit it again in the spring. Our plan is to try different seed mixes to see if there is a preference. I want to even try some of the throw and grow mixes to track their results. This isn’t to say that this is my first food plot attempt. I have tried before but made some mistakes. A mistake made early on was the location. It was to wet in the spring. I planted in the fall when all was dry. I had a good start when the snow came. That following spring, the area was so wet, everything but the clover in the mix rotted. Not that the deer don’t like the clover, that wasn’t the intent, I wanted a complete food plot. I put in several with a friend a town over. We limed, fertilized and planted. He had excellent results the first two years, and then the weeds took over. He sprayed and killed off the weeds, tilled and replanted winter rye.

The results have been almost unbelievable! The biggest draw back is the need to replant annually. The seed is cheap enough, and dragging a disk harrow around for a few hours isn’t such a bad thing I guess. He drags in the old winter rye and over seeds, limes and fertilizes all in the same day. The food plots aren’t huge but are certainly large enough to attract and hold the resident deer’s attention! He also does a winter-feeding program on his property. Admittedly he has some good bucks both on film and on the wall! To help my efforts with the new hunting property that I am trying to develop, I have joined the NH chapter of Quality Deer Management Association. So far, I have gotten help in the form of a site visit to the property, complete with input on food plot locations and stand sites based on the property in its current state. There have been several wildlife cuts already created and we have now established safe zones where we won’t pressure the deer by hunt-

ing there. By keeping the “safe zones” in the middle of the property, it hopefully will allow the deer to come and go comfortably. Getting involved with QDMA was something that I had thought about some years back but never followed through. It has given me access to a nation wide network of information, not only for hunting but also for wildlife preservation in general. It is my intent not only to attract and hold deer on the property but to also foster the propagation of non-game species as well. We hope to erect birdhouses for example that will be great father and son projects through out the winter. These are to be placed in and around the food plots. Not all of the clearing brush will be burnt. Some will be left on the outskirt of the food plots in an attempt to create better rabbit cover. Not to mention that the food plots will attract a wide range of wildlife themselves! The intent is to open a wide range of opportunity for my son to enjoy the outdoors in the years to come as I have over the last nearly 6

from previous page

decades. For more information on the New Hampshire chapter of the Quality Deer Management Association, Contact President Jeff Eames at 603-485-4459. Once the ice is in, sources tell me that Tower Hill pond on the Auburn/Candia town line could be worth the hike into. A little birdie told me that late in the fall there were several hundred pound plus Brookies stocked here. For those looking to fish Pleasant Lake in Deerfield, there is ongoing construction at the dam and the equipment and material is taking up space at the boat ramp. Parking is limited. There is no other public access to the lake so be aware that you may be crossing someone’s private property and to clean up after yourself. Alex Cote resides in Deerfield New Hampshire. He is on the Pro Staff for Northwood's Common Scents! He is also a scorer for the NHASTC. Alex and his son spend as much time outdoors as possible and he only works when he has to.

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January 2012

Page 23

From the back of a canoe We haven’t fished together often over the last several years. We occasionally make a scouting run, but if we see fish or a fish flashes at a fly we move to another pool. We’ve been fortunate to have clients from around the country

Brockport is a very well maintained area. There’s farmland everywhere; probably similar to what New Hampshire was like a hundred years ago. The first afternoon Matt took us to a spring creek. It had limited public access but most anglers were fishing the tributaries to the

and as far away as New Zealand. This year we had three from China. One of our repeat clients is from Rochester NY. He emailed pictures of large landlocked salmon, 12-14 pounds caught in one the tributaries of Lake Ontario. I’m not particularly motivated by large fish, but I do like fishing for landlocked salmon …so in the middle of November Gerry and I made a run to NY. It’s seven plus hours to where we stayed in Brockport. Altmar where we fish the Salmon River, is a pretty depressed area;

lakes so we had ample space to fish. The creek has never been stocked. Native brookies still exist in the creek. There are also browns that escaped from a hatchery during a flood. At the source, the creek has the same water temperature year round which contributes to lots of aquatic insects producing hatches all year. It was small flies and light tippet fishing for small to medium size trout. The water was crystal clear; being able to see fish moving and feeding kept us busy until dark. It didn’t take long to hit the

Western New York

One of the questions I frequently get asked is how often do you fish. It depends on the time of year but usually from April to October the answer is not much; the exception would be if we’re on vacation. This year my guiding partner Jerry took a trip to Labrador; it was his trip of a lifetime and someplace he’s always wanted to go. Gerry’s answer to why Labrador? The brook trout is our only native trout species and he wanted to see what it would have been like to fish for large brookies in New England before development changed the habitat. The trip is on his blog HYPERLINK “http://flyfishnewengland.blogspot.com/” http://flyfishnewengland.blogsp ot.com/ under July 25th. Gerry has a presentation of the trip that he’s given several times this fall. He hibernates in Florida for the winter so he won’t be doing any more shows until April. Before we started guiding, and worked in the corporate world, we used to go on two fishing trips a year. The trips were three nights and four days; sometimes a little longer if we could get away for an extra day or two. Most of the trips were in New England with a few to New York, Montana and Quebec. We did that for almost twenty years with the Bull Salmon Club; my wife Barb shortened the name to the “BS” club. Our other getaway time, other than weekends, was Wednesday nights. We used to try and get out of work at 3 or 4 and head for a river or pond.

Page 24

By Jim Norton

January 2012

sack a little after 8pm. The next day we fished with Jason Franz of Trout-N-About Charter & Guide Service www.troutnaboutcharters.com. We fished one of the small tributaries to the lake. There were a lot of places you could walk across the creek. There were a lot of fish; mostly browns and rainbows and a few landlocks, which we sighted but didn’t catch. Jason’s a young guide who grew up fishing the tributaries in the area. He definitely knew the water and could spot fish. It was nymphs and streamers. I used one of Jason’s 10 foot 10 inch 7 weight, switch rods which made a big difference landing large fish. We fished about 100 yards of the river in the morning and there were still a lot of fish working. In the afternoon we covered several pools all holding fish; we left the river at dark. A run to a fly shop about 20 miles away almost landed us a large buck but Gerry hit the breaks. It was another early night after a long day on the water. The next day Gerry and I fished on our own hitting a few of the pools Jason recommended and walking a mile or so checking out other pools on the creek. I used one of Gerry’s 9 foot, 9 weight rods and there was a big difference in the ability to fish pools and land fish. Needless to say I’ve been looking at different rods. I don’t have a spey rod and don’t plan on buying one but a switch rod or a 10 foot rod would be nice to have. Then I’d want to take more fishing trips during hunting season; Continued next page

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Outdoor Destination of the Month-Hackett Hill Wildlife Management Area

Hackett Hill Wildlife Management Area Town: Tamworth County: Carroll Acreage: 223

Acquisition History: This property was purchased in 1991 from the Alice Bemis Thompson Trust. Description: Just north of the village of South Tamworth, this property is forested with hardwoods and softwoods including maybe the itch will wear off over the winter. Here are a few excerpts from the letter I send to clients at the end of the year which more or less recaps the season; spring flooding, low flows all summer, flooding and high water in the fall. April 27th we were headed to Pittsburg hoping to fish the Connecticut River just before ice out on First Connecticut Lake. Flows were perfect when we left but the combination of heavy rain the night before; sunny, 80 degrees and a foot of melting snow resulted in massive flooding

The Outdoor Gazette

white pine, hemlock, balsam fir, oak, beech, and birch. It includes 3100 feet of frontage on the north side of the Bearcamp River and 11 acres of wetlands. In 1997, a timber harvest took place to thin and release a dense planted pine stand bordering the Bearcamp River and enhance browse, forest foods and cover for bear, deer and other wildlife. Common Wildlife: wildlife found in the Hackett Hill WMA

that closed down Route 3 in NH and Route 102 in Vermont. The river crested at 30,000 CFS (cubic feet per second) in North Stratford. Flooding was the case on most of the major rivers which ran high into the middle of June. By the middle of June the Androscoggin was running at 2200 CFS which was good and on the 18th it dropped to 1250 CFS which made for great wading. The Alder Fly hatch returned to normal after starting ten days earlier in 2010. The Alder Fly hatch and the HEX hatch on the ponds produced phenomenal dry fly action that lasted into July.

include deer, moose, bear, snowshoe hare, fox, bobcat, fisher, squirrels, chipmunks and waterfowl. Brook, brown, and rainbow trout are stocked in the Bearcamp River; natural reproduction by landlocked salmon has been documented (salmon parr present). Special Notes: The Alice Bemis Thompson Trust also donated a conservation easement on an adjacent 17.5 acres, extending 300 feet deep along

Frequently we held in pools for an hour with non stop rises. It was the best two weeks weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve ever had on the river. Hurricane Irene hit August 29 followed by heavy rains the first week of September. The combination of the storms blew out rivers with record flooding in the mountains. The Pemi went to 50,000 CFS, the East Branch 30,000 and the Saco 40,000. The Androscoggin in Errol was still flowing at 3,000 the last week of September for our trip. We had a few good days but overall fishing was more difficult than previous years. Alder Hex a story I wrote for

January 2012

the river, providing a river buffer and riverfront trail for fishing and walking. The property also abuts the 297-acre Perkins Farm conservation easement granted to the town of Tamworth. Directions: The area is located on the north side of Route 25, just west of South Tamworth. DeLorme N.H. Atlas and Gazetteer coordinates: Page 40, E6 from previous page the Robert Traver contest is on our home page under In the news. Visit out web site www.nhriversguide.com for fly fishing class dates and information on our Androscoggin packages. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be doing shows, presentations, demos and classes over the winter; check the web site for dates and events. Jim a native of New Hampshire enjoys fly-fishing & tying, bird hunting and a variety of other outdoor activities and is a registered NH fishing Guide www.nhriversguide.com and author of the book Granite Lines.

Page 25

Birding with Briere The Transition of Birdwatching

The Transition of When Fred Allard, the publisher of the NH/VT Outdoor Gazette titled my column Birding with Briere, I have to admit it took a little time for me to adapt to that. Don’t get me wrong, I watch birds all the time. I have since I was a child. I have always been interested in birds from the perspective of a naturalist desiring to learn as much as possible about the outdoor world. Once I started carrying a camera all the time it became my passion to record the experiences of pursuing the feathered beauties. My endeavors beyond photos including banding birds and I learned much from that experience. For instance I learned that a cardinal that you are banding knows the most tender place to bite you is the soft webbing of flesh at the base of your fingers. I only remember the term birding coming into my world in the late sixties. I actually got a bad feeling from that phrase. It

smacked of people that would travel all over the nation and the world to add species to their life list. To me that only made the birds a number

in a notebook. I couldn’t really relate to that sentiment for a long time. A chickadee deserved as much appreciation as a golden eagle in my eyes. The term birding never really changed the way people pursued their avian pursuits. There had always been people that would travel the country once the availability of motor vehicles became com-

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Page 26

By Alan Briere

mon. The same was true after World War II when binoculars and high powered scopes became available to the general population. There are a variety of tools that are necessary depending on what aspect of the avian pursuits strikes you deeply. Being a visually oriented person, I strive to obtain a look and hopefully a good photograph. Some folks equip themselves with auditory gear to record the songs of birds. The transitions within the bird watching community have changed dramatically over the decades. One of the world’s most famous ornithologists was John James Audubon. Mr. Audubon’s name is attached to the famous Audubon Society we all know. Audubon’s paintings of birds are world famous and collectors seek them out. John Audubon went on expeditions to collect specimens for his paintings. The most common collection style was to shoot the specimens in order to allow the closest inspection of the fine details of the birds. This was a common practice among naturalists of that era and provided for much of the knowledge of the natural history of birds as we know it today. The Audubon Society in the modern age is against the killing or injury to any birds. There’s nothing wrong with either approach. They are just different times. In the early 1900’s the millinery trade was booming and the breeding plumes of wild birds were used to decorate ladies hats. About the only feathers you will find in headwear now are turkey, pheasant or partridge feathers adorning the hat band of a sportsman that is proud of the particular beauty of a specific bird. Roger Tory Peterson produced a very popular field guide to the birds that was a tremendous aid to birders everywhere. Quite often you only have a split second to catch the specifics of field marks to help you identify your subject of interest. There are guides to the best places to watch birds, migration studies, backyard gardening to attract birds and many others. Depending on your specific interest, I am going to share some thoughts on the equipment you may need. Binoculars: I generally recommend 10 power binos, but make sure to pay a few extra dollars for a pair that focuses closely (within a few feet). It can be very frustrating

January 2012

to be standing in a place watching birds when some tiny warbler or wren cruises into a bush a few feet away and you can’t focus on it. Heavy binos add a steadying factor, but it’s easier on your neck if you find a relatively lightweight pair. Spotting scopes come in a variety of strengths. The most common for birders have a range of 20 – 60x. You will definitely need a tripod or a window mount for your car to keep the extreme magnification from jumping all over. Keep in mind that trying to handhold a scope of this magnification is nearly impossible. Even your pulse transferring from your body to the scope

will be magnified 20-60 times. If using a window mount, remember to turn off the vehicle motor. Even the vibrations from the vehicle will be magnified. Spotting scopes are commonly used in areas looking across coastal marshes, seashore and areas where foot travel to get closer may be dangerous or impossible. The mirage effect: At high magnifications even the haze of rising thermal updrafts can degrade the image. Many spotting scopes have accessory attachments now that allow you to attach a digital point and shoot camera to take photos using the scope as a long lens. Practice this at home before a birding trip to test the results. Photographing birds: Super telephoto lenses in the 600-800mm range are best for small birds, but are very pricy. I use a 300 that focuses closely and I throw in a dose of patience to let the birds start to ignore me. Put that Christmas tree outside near the feeding station and you will have a much more natural background for your bird photos. You may also have birds landing on Continued next page

The Outdoor Gazette

Special Fundraising Effort Underway to Document Canada Lynx in N.H.

CONCORD, N.H. – Sightings of the elusive Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis) have been on the rise over the past decade in the Granite State – including the exciting observation of four lynx kittens this November in northern New Hampshire. A special fundraising effort is now underway through the N.H. Fish and Game Department’s Nongame and Endangered Wildlife Program to develop a conservation plan for Canada lynx, document their presence in the state and determine the location of prime lynx habitat. “Our current fundraising appeal is centered on the lynx project, making it especially exciting to get confirmation of the news of the lynx kittens in the midst of it,” said

John Kanter, Nongame Program coordinator. “To support and participate in this work, people can help with their donations.” Tax-deductible contributions to help fund the New Hampshire Canada lynx effort and other critical Nongame Program projects may be sent to the Nongame and Endangered Wildlife Program, New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, 11 Hazen Drive, Concord, NH 03301. (Make checks payable to NH Fish and Game/Nongame Program.) For a print-and-mail contribution form, visit www.wildnh.com/Wildlife/N ongame/support_nongame.htm. Canada lynx are endangered in New Hampshire and were added to the federal list of “threatened” from previous page

your hat and the barrel of your lens, you love birds, their songs and their so be prepared. Finding birds is eas- presence to brighten a cold winter. ier than you might think. Almost every state has an Audubon society Alan Briere is an award winning photogpresence and most of those have rapher and outdoor writer and the outrare bird alerts or a sightings data- door photography instructor for the NH base that is usually available on the Becoming an Outdoors Woman program. internet or a recorded phone mes- Alan lives in Acworth, NH with four sage. Whether you are a bird watch- lovely ladies: his wife, Cheryl, and their er or a birder doesn’t really matter. Brittanys, Gypsy, Penny and Millie. His It really comes down to the fact that email is alanbriere@sugar-river.net.

species in 2000. Lynx are large cats (15-38 pounds and three feet long) distinguished by tufts on their ears, short tails that are often ringed and tipped with black, and large paws that help them navigate through deep snow. “Historically, lynx were found in the White Mountains and to the north,” said Lindsay Webb, a biologist with the Nongame Program. “We are excited to get out and do surveys this winter and look for evidence of them.” Work of the Nongame and Endangered Wildlife Program is made possible by the generous donations of individuals and busi-

nesses, which help N.H. Fish and Game qualify for critical Federal and State matching funds. The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department’s Nongame and Endangered Wildlife Program is the steward for species not hunted, fished or trapped. Through wildlife monitoring and management, plus outreach and education, the Nongame Program works to protect over 400 species of mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians, as well as thousands of insects and other invertebrates. Learn more at www.wildnh.com /nongame.

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What do we need from you? A digital photo with at least 200dpi resolution at 8x10 size or an original photo mailed to us for scanning. Price is only $20.00 Four headlines of 30 characters or less and the (includes Postage) month and year you would like on the cover. A Unique Chaistmas Gift!

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The Outdoor Gazette

January 2012

Page 27

Outdoors in the Twin States By Larry Osmer

Capturing Memories

"A picture is worth a thousand words", we have all heard that cliché before. To me a picture is worth a thousand memories and that is why I started carrying a camera many years ago while afield. Every year I manage to collect hundreds or sometimes thousands of photos related to

range from wildlife, hunting and fishing outings to picturesque outdoor scenery. Although I'm always looking for the perfect shot, I tend to simply snap a lot of frames and sort through them later. One of the key features with today’s digital cameras is that you see the shot instantly, and it’s free, so why not take as many as you can. You can experiment with lighting, angles or distance to the subject and if unhappy with what you see, take another until satisfied. I truly enjoy spending time with friends and family reviewing photo albums and old pictures while telling an accompanying story. Now that hunting season is After hurricane Irene blew through the over and winter is upon us, I will Northeast I found some interesting sites take time to sort through a year’s in the woods. Photo by Larry Osmer worth of photos. Some of my any given subject. Most of my photos will make it to a slideshow, photos are random collections of a few of will be sent out for print, my outdoor musings that will and some of my photos will be ehighlight my adventures. Subjects mailed so others can see what I

Fishing in Alaska can certainly attract a crowd in a hurry. Photo by Larry Osmer

have been up to. Regardless, hav- I’m so thankful to have captured ing a lifetime collection of photo my backwoods walks and have memorabilia is one endeavor I’m captured a whole host of memosure thankful I did. ries while simply venturing out in Keep it simple is the best advice my own backyard…..a mere set I can offer. A compact digital of footsteps from my home. camera that will fit in your shirt It’s never too late to start cappocket can offer many features and will make carrying a breeze. Most of your shots while hunting or fishing will be closeup and this type of camera is perfect. Pay attention to how the primary subject is framed. Meaning, if you Hearing a lot of deer were taken in three days of hunting, I are sitting behind was certainly glad I could add one to the truck. Photo by your trophy deer, Larry Osmer. makes sure to set the top of the turing your own memoires and is frame with minimal distance very easy to do. Like I stated above your head and minimal before, keep it simple, pay attendistance in front of the deer. With tion to lighting and location of this frame set, the highlights of the sun and make sure your subyour and the deer should be project is in focus. Click away, have nounced. One item I have fun while doing it, and who noticed while reflecting through knows, your work may land on my collection is the people, the cover of The Outdoor friends and family. Sure I love Gazette. looking back at the animals I have hunted or fish that fell to my lure, Larry Osmer was born and raised in however, it’s the hunting and fish- New Hampshire and loves the outdoors. ing buddies along with my family He especially enjoys chasing trophy that mean the most. “It’s the jour- bucks and working with youngsters. ney, not the destination”, is a Larry is a Pro Staff member for quote you may have heard before NORTH AMERICAN SAFARI TV and I cannot think of a better (www.nasafari.com) which can be seen way to capture the essence of a on the Sportsman Channel. He is also journey than with a camera. I an active member of the New England used to think I only needed to Outdoor Writers Association as well as take shots while on a long hunting the Outdoor Writers Association of or fishing journey in some far- America. He can be reached at losaway place. Looking back today, mer@comcast.net.

Interested in QDMA?

A few of us Connecticut River Valley whitetail chasers are too and we want to form our own chapter of Quality Deer Management Association right here in Vermont and New Hampshire! If you are interested send an email to fred@theoutdoorgazette.com with QDMA in the subject line for more information. QDMA, bringing better deer hunting to your back yard. Page 28

January 2012

The Outdoor Gazette

Earn $100.00

Here are a couple of “bone collections” from 2011. I can’t get to all you bone collectors out there, so send me pictures of your trophy wall or garage or anything else that relates to north country antlers, and if it makes it into the Gazette as one of the 2012 “Bone Collections” you will be eligible for a $100 gift certificate to any of the businesses that advertise with the Outdoor Gazette. You can even split it up between 2 or 3 different business if you like. Come on save me some miles, share your collections and have a one in 10 chance to win. Winner will be randomly drawn after the November 2012 issue........ just in time for Christmas!

Pop’s Kitchen

Hound Hunting for Bear in NH

Vide $20 o’s .00

and Mountain Lion in Montana

The Green Family, 148 Studio Rd., Warren NH, 03279

The Outdoor Gazette

Rancher's Rave Barbecue Simple Venison Marinade

A ranch style barbecue recipe, cooked in the crockpot.

1/2 cup olive oil 1/4lbs. cup soy sauce 1 1/2 stew venison/bear/moose cubes 1/4lbs. cup Worcestershire sauce 1 1/2 pork cubes 2 cups chopped onions 3 tablespoons spicy brown mustard 3 small green bell peppers, seeded and chopped 2/3 cup lemon juice 1 can (6 oz.) tomato paste salt pepper taste 1/2 cupand packed brownto sugar garlic powder to taste 1/4 cup cider vinegar 1 tsp chili powder 1 dash onion powder

2 teaspoons salt 1 teaspoon dry mustard Use2ateaspoons flat container large enough Worcestershire sauce to hold meat

in a single layer. Combine oil, soy sauce, Worcestershire mustard lemon Combine ingredients sauce, in slow cooker. Coverand and cook onjuice. high for 6 to 8 hours, until powder, very tender. ShredpowSeason with or garlic onion meat with a potato masher or forks; serve over der, salt and pepper. Place meat in thebuns, maripotatoes, rice, or any pasta. nade and turn to coat both sides. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, shaking or turning meat occasionally. Bill "Pop" "Pop" Burke, Burke, resides resides in in Claremont, Claremont, New New Bill Hampshire. If If you you would would like like to to contact contact Pop Pop Hampshire. send an an email email to: to: pop'skitchen@hotmail.com pop'skitchen@hotmail.com send

January 2012

Page 28

Trail Camera Photo Contest

hire ymond, New Hamps Ra l el sd ai Bl oe sc Ro

Marcus Martinelli - Bo lton, Vermont

picture of him. Johnsbur y, VT - a St of an ol Sh y bb Bo eestand. walked under his tr at th e do NH a d self an

Marcus Martinelli - Bolto

n, Vermont

ond, New Hampshire

Marcus Martinelli

ampshire

RP - Central New H Page 30

Roscoe Blaisdell - Raym

January 2012

- Bolton., Vermont

RP - Central New Hamps hire Your secret is safe with us!

The Outdoor Gazette

2012 Trail Camera Photo Contest

Send in your trail camera pics, and for every picture that is published in The Outdoor Gazette you will get one chance to win one of three Trail Cameras. Two Winners will be drawn Randomly and announced in the Jan. 2013 issue. Plus one Winner, Owner of “The Trail Cam Pic of the Year”, will be chosen by the Outdoor Gazette staff and folks on our Facebook page. The “Pic of the Year” will be on the cover of the Jan. 2013 Issue! New for 2012’s contest---Do you have a picture of a trophy buck or huge bull moose you want to share, but are afraid to give up it’s location? We will post your pics anonymously, with as little info as you like. Your secret is safe with us!... HaHa!.... Really it is!

2011 Trail Camera Photo Contest, and the Winners are;

2011 Trail Trail Camera Camera Picture Picture of of the the Year Year is is 2011 Dan Green Green from from Lyme, Lyme, New New Hampshire Hampshire Dan Random Winners Winners -- Thomas Thomas Flynn Flynn from from Holderness, Holderness, New New Hampshire Hampshire Random and Mary Mary Emery Emery from from Enfield, Enfield, New New Hampshire Hampshire and

It’s a Granite State Sweep!

2010 Contest Winners - Paul Nault of Gorham, New Hampshire for the Trail Camera Picture of the Year. Random winners - Kevin Skinner of Newport, New Hampshire Bob George of Newport, Vermont......It’s a “Newport” Sweep

Send photos to:fred@theoutdoorgazette.com with the subject line “TC Photo Contest 2011”

The Outdoor Gazette

January 2012

Page 31

Behind the Sights By Charlie Chalk

Short history of modern muzzleloading

Sitting atop his horse, high on the mountain, the old mountain man watched the sun set over the far hills. Times were changing; the wilderness was quickly being replaced with civilization, the flintlock had been replaced with caplock, the single shot pistol with the revolver and the hunter was now farming the land. Shifting in the saddle, his mind drifted back to an era where life was simpler. For months he wandered the wilderness, rarely seeing another person. He remembered high mountain streams filled with beaver, valleys thundering with buffalo hooves and the scream of eagles high above some lonely canyon. As the last glow of a setting sun disappeared over the horizon he realized that, like the setting sun signaled the end of a day; time keeps moving on. His lifestyle had played a part in the westward expansion, others would come

and take his place and continue the process. He had lived long and well and wouldn't want to live in another place or time. Muzzle loading firearms have experienced a rebirth. About the time of the Civil War, the cartridge gun began to replace the style that had held on for almost 200 years. The cartridge guns were such an improvement that many fine original muzzleloaders were relegated to the junk pile where barrels were removed for use as pry bars. Gone are many firearms that would be coveted by today's black powder shooter. To have a rebirth, someone had to

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Page 32

fill this void in the firearms availability. At this point, we should probably go back and find out who the people were that began this rebirth. In the 1930’s some muzzleloaders were still found in gun stores. Few people wanted them and they sold cheap. They came from estates and auctions to the gun stores because few remembered how to properly load and care for them. But, in the southwest corner of Ohio a few men gathered to see if these old guns could still perform. The year was 1931 and E.M. "Red" Ferris and Oscar Seth decided to hold an old fashioned Rifle Shoot. "An event for muzzleloading rifles only, with none of the gadgets for fancy sighting, is now being promoted by Mr. Oscar L. Seth, President of the Norfolk and Western RR. and YMCA Rifle and Revolver Club of Portsmouth. Many a fine old gun of ramrod loading will be brought out with men behind them that can show the presentday crop of riflemen a thing or two". (American Rifleman, February, 1931.) The event was a success with 67 entrants attending. The next year a shoot was held again in Portsmouth, Ohio and by the third year an organization of shooters was formed with Seth as President of the National Muzzle Loading Rifle Assoc. The treasury showed ten dollars after the hat was passed, and they were on their way. By 1942, they were located on a range they still own today in Friendship, Indiana. The land was the former farm of Walter Cline, considered to be the man who did the most to promote the rebirth of muzzleloaders both through his life and writings. This rebirth grew through the 1940's with more old guns resurrected and repaired to compete. Clubs were growing all across America. More shooters wanted to get involved, but there was a

January 2012

lack of guns. In the 1950's, seeing the need, Turner Kirkland had opened Dixie Gun Works selling gun parts, bullet molds and occasionally a complete gun. In 1955, Dixie offered the first reproduction rifle ever in this country. Built in Belgium to Kirkland’s specifications the “Dixie Squirrel Rifle” was an exact copy of a Kentucky Long Rifle. For the first time, everyone could enter the black powder matches. Today, Dixie imports nearly 40 models of replica arms and distributes arms for other importers or manufactures. Many black powder shooters, who are new to the sport, are unaware of how many companies there are in the replica field. The field has changed through the years. Gone today are some fine arms manufactures such as Numrich Arms, Mowrey, and Centennial. Still here today and going strong are Thompson /Center, Navy Arms, Connecticut Valley Arms, Ruger and Lyman. Also, there are several makers who specialize in parts that allow you to become your own gunsmith and build a historically correct copy of many famous guns, like we chronicled in the “Gazette” last winter. Replica arms are the backbone of the sport. It's rare to see an original on the line or in the field. These links to history are held in reverence by the lucky few who own them. To some, a gun like the T/C Hawken lacks the grace and style of an original Jake & Sam Hawkens rifle from the 1800's. I look at the T/C Hawken and see a gun that allows a shooter on a budget, a way into the black powder sport. They are the same as many guns turned out in the 18th and 19th Century; simple, utilitarian guns used by working people of those centuries. A hundred years from now guns imported by Dixie or T/C's American made guns will probably never be in a museum, but that was not why they were built. They are designed to be carried in the field in search of game or to the range in search of 1st place. In America, thousands of replicas enter the woods in the fall to find deer. I would say this number is greater than any other Continued next page The Outdoor Gazette

Thoughts on the out-of-doors by Gary W. Moore Get Outside And Enjoy Winter

January is mid winter and time to think ice fishing, rabbit hunting, snowshoeing and cross country skiing. We need to find outside activities that we enjoy so that we don’t turn into couch potatoes. Meteorological winter is defined as December 1 to February 28. I prefer that definition to the more common astronomical definition that has winter beginning with the solstice on December 22 and continuing through March 20, the date of the 2012 vernal equinox. Meteorological winter is the three coldest months of the year, and summer the three warmest. That makes more sense to me. January is a time for hard water anglers to get out and enjoy their sport. December ice is always tricky, but by January most smaller bodies of water will be frozen over and safe to venture onto but some larger bodies of water will not be safe until mid month. Be very careful. A meal of delicious fresh fish is not worth a cold dunking or worse. Vermont has no closed season on pickerel, northern pike, yellow perch or smelt. There is no closed season on lake trout or salmon on Lake Champlain and those who fish it before freeze up often do very well. The main lake does not freeze over

until February if at all. The “inland sea” between Grand Isle County and Franklin County and the many bays along the huge lake do freeze and provide excellent ice fishing. On the eastern side of Vermont,

time in our history. In conclusion, the muzzleloader may be regulated away by government intervention (Hopefully never!!) but it will probably never die from lack of interest. We owe a debt of gratitude to men like Red Ferris and Turner Kirkland for their love of the sport and for their vision to promote a unique sport made up of heritage, skill and camaraderie that is truly American in origins. More people are entering the sport every year. Some are hunters who find the new inline actions and synthetic stocks allow them to hunt the muzzle loader season with a firearm that fits and feels like their centerfire. I believe these are part of the evolution of firearms. This sport cannot remain static, for if it does it will fade away. You can use your inline, I'll use my flintlock, and we can both enjoy the hunt, each in our own way.

Muzzle loading has traveled a long road. Three centuries have improved the ignition, the parts and the powder but not the shooter. Something inside a person draws them to this ancient ritual of powder and ball in a world of high tech. Words won't describe the feeling of taking game or as Oscar Seth said, "showing the present day crop of rifleman a thing or two" with these types of guns. I encourage you to join the National Muzzleloading Rifle Assoc. as they represent the only organization dedicated to muzzleloaders. Find them at www. nmlra.org.

The Outdoor Gazette

many of us head to the Connecticut River setbacks for some early ice fishing. The shallow water freezes long before the main stem of the river and often makes for some fast action with perch, pickerel and northern pike. from previous page

Charlie Chalk is an outdoor writer and has a background as a professional Firefighter and is a member of the American Mountain Men, an organization that emulates the life of the fur trappers of the 1800's and their survival on the land.

If the downstream dams are lowering the water level, getting on and off may be a challenge. A pair of crampons are what most of us take along. The Connecticut River offers more fishing opportunities than any body of water in Vermont with the possible exception of Lake Champlain. The river is open to fishing all year from the confluence of the Upper Ammonoosuc in Northumberland to the Massachusetts border. New Hampshire and Vermont have an agreement whereby a resident fishing license from either state is valid in the Connecticut River including all bays, setbacks and tributaries to the first upstream highway bridge on either side of the river. If you do fish the big river, be sure to check the regulations published in both states’ digests. The third Saturday in January many of Vermont’s lakes open to ice fishing for trout, salmon and bass. The list is long and several lakes have restrictions so be sure to check the digest before going out. Whenever you are ice fishing anywhere, check the depth of the ice frequently. It can go from several inches to an inch or less in a few feet depending on currents, springs and structures. I like to take an ice chisel along and start at the shore tapping the ice. Your ear will tell you if the ice is too thin. Chopping a small hole every few feet will let you know just how thick the ice is. Four inches should be the minimum for safety. Remember that four inches can change to skim ice very quickly. Ice is thinner over moving water such as occurs at inlets, outlets, between islands, over reefs and around bridge abutments. Springs can also be dangerous. If ice at the shoreline is cracked or mushy, stay off. Watch out for clear or honeycomb-shaped ice. Be aware of snow ice, which is granular, opaque and white. Snow ice is formed when snow cover is saturated by rain or by submersion in the

January 2012

lake or pond. Dark snow and dark ice are other signs of weak spots. Rivers, steams and underground springs can carry warmer water into a water body, eroding ice from below. Ice is generally thinner where there is moving water, such as at inlets and outlets, around wharfs, bridge abutments and objects which protrude from the ice. Ice does not form uniformly over the entire surface of a water body, and its thickness can vary from one location to another. Always check the ice in several places to determine its thickness. I have spent countless hours in bobhouses, snug against the bitter cold, thus, I found the following, written by Sigurd F. Olson in The Singing Wilderness, good advice. “A fish house is a fine place for visiting - not for arguments or weighty ideas, but rather for small talk, local politics and gossip, things we had seen coming in, ideas that required no effort, short simple thoughts that came as easily as breathing. This was no place for the expounding of strong, heady beliefs; such ideas need room and space in which to grow and expand.” *** Hunters too enjoy brisk January days. Snowshoe hare are the favorite game sought by many and the season remains open through March 11. Listening to a good hound pursuing a bunny through a swamp is a real joy. Coyotes are fair game year round and many hunters devote their winters to hunting the elusive animal both with hounds and by calling. Either way, coyote hunting is a challenge. Bobcats may be hunted January 10 to February 7 this year. A dedicated group of houndsmen seek the seldom seen cats.

Syndicated columnist Gary W. Moore is a life long resident of Vermont and a former Commissioner of Fish and Game. He may be reached by e-mail at gwmoore1946@myfairpoint.net or at Box 454, Bradford, VT 05033.

Page 33

Searching for Natures Treasures By David John

White Halloween. White Christmas? My friends from Vermont, Steve and Tracy, came Thanksgiving week to roam the woodlands with me. They came on Turkey Day and had the big meal with me and my daughters and family. Then up to Wilson’s Mills to stay with me for the next three days. And roam the woods we did. Now the two days before Thanksgiving, we had eight inches of snow on the ground. But the next three days were in the fifties. The snow melting off of the trees was like a sprinkler system. I had been telling Steve of my walking up on large groups of moose, always around the first week of December. Moose with huge antlers, some with fork horns and in-between, all bulls. Well this year it was his turn as he walked up on around twenty or more bulls. While breaking through some fir trees, he walked upon a huge bull, which just got up, and it startled him, so he took a header. We were on snowshoes.

I have since seen this big antlered bull in the same area three different times. During their stay, we gathered many of nature’s treasures. I have

You can make all kinds of friends up north.....photo by David John

never seen the red berries growing so prolifically. Is Mother

Antlers for Sale! Call David John 603-381-000 or 207-486-9352

You sell what?

257 257 Wilson’s Wilson’s Mills Mills Rd. Rd. Errol Errol NH NH 03579 03579

Page 34

Nature trying to tell us something of coming weather? Not only did the black alder, which the red berry grows on, or “winterberry” by another name, put out a bumper crop, but so did the blueberry and raspberry, along with a

huge apple crop. I don’t know of one wild apple tree that was without apples. I missed out on making apple cider here in Wilson’s Mills, but in late October, I went to Vermont, and Tracy and I made thirteen gallons in a matter of hours. This girl has energy to spare, and I was glad to see the end of the crated apples, as I was sure she would grind me into the ground. There is only one other woman I know who is as tough and energetic as Tracy, and that is Martha VanderWolk. Is it a coincidence they are both from Vermont. I wonder. (Martha says yes, because she is from New Hampshire; she just lived in Vermont for a fairly long time.) When it came time for Steve and Tracy to go back home, they were happy to have a truckload of nature’s treasures. The day before they left, we were headed up here to my house from Errol, and just before the steamer Diamond was rusting on land, right across the river, stood a huge bull moose whose big antlers pointed straight up from his head; he was staring at us. A beautiful sight as there was snow on the ground and his now black hide made him stand out. He was at the edge of the river, and his full reflection was mirrored in the perfectly still water. Steve was taking pictures, and this bull was just starting to get into the water to (we think) swim across when a couple of cars slowed down, and he changed his mind and turned and

January 2012

trotted back into the point of land between two bodies of water. One of nature’s images that stays in your mind forever. Steve got some nice photos. Well, my early December antlering was on top of snowless mountains with the snowshoe hare running around in his white coat trying to hide in brown and green surroundings. Until we get some snow, he will be easy pickings. And this season, the snowshoe is in good supply. In four hours of bushwhacking, I would kick up a dozen on each trip, and also back in the woods and cuttings is a healthy supply of partridge. Because of all the cutting back on the logging roads, the partridge road hunters were not seeing many birds and were saying there weren’t many this year, but go back in the woods and you will find them aplenty. While riding slowly along a logging road with Steve and Tracy in their pickup in front of me, we came upon a young moose standing along the side of the road. This was the loneliest, saddest looking moose I have ever seen. It made one feel like you wanted to get out and hug him. And I think we could have. We stopped right beside him, only couple of yards away. He stayed put while we all took photos. This is not the time of the year when a cow moose will chase off her calf, so I assumed the mother was dead. We both shut off the trucks, and this moose proceeded to walk around and in-between the trucks. He started licking my side mirror and even stuck his nose into my open window. He looked in good shape, just lonely. Next he walked around Steve’s truck. We all were talking to him and each other, and Steve got out of the truck, taking pictures. When Steve got back into the truck, the moose walked up to his door, and Steve stuck out his arm and the moose let him scratch his neck, which is the picture in this article. Finally the moose stood alongside the road watching us drive away. One more encounter we will never forget. It is hard to believe this young moose will survive the coyotes. The coyote population seems to be in good shape. While riding down a logging road on the second week of December, I thought I would more or less have the area to myself, as the logging trucks weren’t running the roads as the roads froze and thawed every other day, and with rain Continued next page The Outdoor Gazette

2011 New Hampshire Deer and Bear Hunting Season Results

CONCORD, N.H. — The preliminary numbers for New Hampshire’s recent deer and bear hunting seasons are in. The estimated statewide deer kill for New Hampshire’s 2011 season was 11,167 deer, up 14% from 2010 (9,759 deer) and the highest harvest since 2007. It appears that the last weeks of the season were quite successful, because as late as Thanksgiving weekend, the estimated take was running just 4% above 2010 levels at that point in the season. New Hampshire has an estimated population of about 85,000 deer, with the 2011 kill representing about 13% of that total. Deer hunting closed in the state on December 15, the final day of the archery deer season. “The increased kill suggests that the state’s deer population may have begun to recover from recent declines following some bad winters.

Further analysis of the final harvest data by unit, age and sex will provide a better assessment of population status,” said Kent Gustafson, a deer biologist at the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department. The unofficial deer kill for New Hampshire’s 2011 season by county, with comparisons to previous years, is posted at www.huntnh.com/Hunting/deer_h unt_take_by_County.htm. These figures are estimates based on the number of deer reported as being registered in each county, not necessarily killed in that county. Bear Season Results New Hampshire bear hunters took a total of 418 bears (246 males, 172 females) in 2011. The numbers are still preliminary. Bait hunters harvested 193 bears, still hunters/stalkers took 155 bears and hound hunters registered 70 bears. The overall harvest sex ratio was 1.4 males per

and snow, it was like the spring thaw. Four-wheel drive was a must. This is one long logging road I was on, and first met three trucks packed with hunters and they had six or so beagles. A half mile down the road, I met a deer hunter from Peru getting in the last two days of muzzleloading. And another mile brought me to six pickups of hunters stretched out a half mile along the road. There were two brothers from Rumford area with several friends coyote hunting. When I stopped, they had a coyote on the run in front of their dogs. Last year, they got sixty-one coyotes and had a good number this year already. Danny Glover and Dana Glover from Dummer, New Hampshire, are coyote hunters with dogs and over bait, and they tally between forty and sixty each year. As the crow flies, these two groups of hunters are only about six or seven miles apart. That tells me that the coyote population is alive and well. Bad news for the deer and young moose.

Some will say the coyote doesn’t take many deer or young moose. These are big animals that live above ground, in harsh winter weather. Do you really think a pack of six or so coyotes can survive on a rabbit or two or a few mice? I don’t think so. They need meat and lots of it to survive the winter. You would think that these two groups of coyote hunters taking a combined number of over a hundred coyotes a year, and there are others who run coyotes, would put a large dent in their numbers. But next year, they will again take around the same number in the same areas. They are entrenched here in our woodlands as solid as is the tick, which are doing a number on our moose population. There is naught one can do about it. Our moose herd is struggling no matter if anyone won’t say it. Do you think somebody is going to step up to the plate and shout out, “Our moose are in trouble”? Not as long as they can make money

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The Outdoor Gazette

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female. Regionally, 65 bears were taken in the North, 128 in the White Mountains, 147 in the Central, 46 in Southwest-1, 30 in Southwest-2, and 2 in the Southeast regions. The 2011 total of 418 bears is down from recent harvest levels (down 41% and 45% from 2010 and 2009, respectively). N.H. Fish and Game bear biologist Andrew Timmins puts this into perspective, saying, “It’s important to recognize that the annual bear harvest has been high during several recent years as a result of a variety of factors. We have seen record bear harvests in New Hampshire during five of the last eight years. Some years have been abnormally high, which greatly influences recent averages and complicates comparisons to previous years. While the 2011 harvest may seem low, it actually is a more average year than some we’ve had recently. Low-

off the moose. There are far too many bear and coyotes. And both these animals, along with the hunt, road kills and the tick, will make it hard for the moose to increase its numbers. Now being January, it is time for serious snowshoeing. Bushwhacking on snowshoes in deep snow is a challenge. The ideal snow conditions for snowshoeing, doesn’t come along very often. The trouble with the milder winter conditions we have been having, is a lot of the snow falls we get the temperature is hovering around thirty degrees, or it might even turn to a mist or light rain at the end. This makes for a very hard, crusty snow and the night temps usually get below freezing. If the crust is hard enough that it almost holds you but you break through, you might as well go home and wait for another snowfall. January will bring us the Cold Moon. Looking out the window on a full moon January night, with the temp below zero, brings

harvest years help buffer high-harvest years, which generally gets us closer to our bear management objective of about 500 bears per year.” For a comparison of bear season results in recent years, visit www.huntnh.com/Hunting/bear_h unt_take.htm.Final official numbers from all the year’s hunting seasons will be summarized in the 2011 New Hampshire Wildlife Harvest Summary, which will be issued in March of 2012. New Hampshire’s successful hunting seasons are a reminder that hunting activities, made possible by science-based wildlife management, contribute significantly to New Hampshire’s economy. The most recent U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service survey indicates that approximately 60,000 people hunt in New Hampshire, generating more than $75 million in hunting-related expenditures annually in the state. from previous page a chill to the marrow. Man and dog should be beside the fire on such a night as this. When out alone wandering the hills in January, one should listen close to weather reports. Cold id okay, but cold combined with a strong wind is bad. The wind can make the chill factor a killer. Many a finger, a toe or a foot have been lost to the cold and wind. And it can kill. A man would be a fool to go out deep in the woods with a screaming wind and below zero temps. We always think it could happen to somebody else but not me. Foolish thinking. Just writing about the unrelenting, brutal January winds makes me want to throw another piece of firewood in the stove. David John spends much of his time when not gardening walking the mountains and hills that surround his home in Milan searching for Nature’s castoffs. Anyone wishing to contact David can write him at: David John, 107 Chickwolnepy Road, Milan, NH 03588.

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January 2012

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Guided by the Light or is That a Train Coming? Cold Enough For ‘Ya?

It’s time to begin thinking about early season fly fishing. But, here you won’t find any of those moldy, retread articles like: Fish Deep for Big Early Season Trout; Fish Slow for Big Early Season Trout; Fish With Confidence for Big Early Season Trout. Nope. Also, you won’t find advice like steaming dry flies to rejuvenate the hackle (I’ve tried this but my fingers hurt for weeks afterward). Instead, I want to tell you some secrets about techniques, delights and survival considerations for early season angling. If you’re fishing the early season in northern New England, you have to face THE COLD . Cold, not the ordinary kind, but, bone chilling, blood jelling, m a k e - yo u r- vo i c e - g o - u p - a n octave cold. You’ll need to wear everything you own and half of what you can borrow. The only

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limitation is you have to get your waders on over Uncle Ed’s hand-me-down Johnson Mills wool pants. A wee dram of spirits is another popular, if ineffective, solution. The result is you’ll be drunk and cold. Years ago I met up with a high school friend for opening day on a Connecticut stream. To save a spot in the shoulder-to-shoulder fiasco, we arrived at 5:00 AM. Jim started nipping the blackberry brandy at 5:10. By 5:30 he was weaving back and forth pretty badly when he shipped some water over the top of his waders. That shock was enough to sober him up. Unfortunately, he over compensated and went face first into the river. He was on his way home thirty minutes before the season officially opened. Once upon a time I lived in

By Tony Lolli

New York and attended the April 1 carnival known as the Catherine Creek Rainbow Run. It was someone’s bad idea of a practical joke. Some years the fishing was terrific, some years

it was lousy. The rainbows were in their spawning run and they ran, early or late, depending on the conditions and without regard for the calendar. Keep that in mind when planning for a spring migratory run. Other NY anglers used the conditions to their advantage. When ice started going out of Cannonsville Reservoir, they’d make the forty foot cast across 35 feet of open water and land their smelt pattern on the ice. Then they’d pull the fly softly off the ice shelf and the full sinking line would pull the fly straight down, past the hungry landlocked salmon that were waiting below the ice edge. One winter I fished Cairn’s Pool, on the Beaverkill, every weekend through the year. It was amazing. I caught Browns on top using midges straight through January. There were times I had to bust up some shelf ice along the shore. Then I’d go to the Roscoe Diner for

January 2012

coffee and return later to Browns that were taking midges in the surface film. That time of the year, I had the entire river to myself. One weekend I met a subway train motorman from NYC who wanted to learn about the river. I was a guide back then so I gave him pointers and he gave me Honduran cigars his family sent to him. It was a great trade. But, I digress. Last April, I heard about a productive river south of St. Johnsbury, VT so I was there for opening day. The pool above the bridge was eighty feet wide and frozen over, except for a twenty foot hole, thirty feet out. Not wanting to risk the rotten ice, I cast from shore and tried the Cannonsville Reservoir technique. Someone drove over the bridge, turned around and stopped to ask why I was fishing on the ice rather than below it. I thought it over for a moment and asked where the nearest diner was. Another Connecticut opener, Bill Strapko and I were in his truck, trying to get warm. He said he’d read (he was always doing that) that small streams warmed up faster than bigger ones and he knew just such a place. We took a main road to a dirt road, to a farm lane, to two ruts across a pasture, to a logging road. Finally, we came to a small bridge just wide enough for one vehicle to cross the little brook. The breeze was whistling about 30 mph as we took the fly rods from the truck. In a flash of brilliance, we were back inside the truck with the windows turned down and heater turned up. Let this be a lesson: there is no way to successfully fish a nine foot fly rod from the front seat of a Ford pickup. We tried and caught nothing, but, at the very least, we cheated death. Listen, if it’s so cold there’s ice in the guides, you should be in the truck drinking coffee. That reminds me: where’d I leave my thermos? Tony Lolli is from Cabot, VT. His book, Go-To Flies: 101 Pattern the Pros Use When All Else Fails is available online from Amazon and Barnes&Noble. The Outdoor Gazette

Image Wild By Alan Briere

Animals in Motion

Interpreting animals in motion on film or digital takes a little thought and practice. You may have a happy accident and you should take all due credit for it. Think of photographic accidents

image. When you have the opportunity to plan ahead of time and anticipate the opportunity, you can select the amount of blur that you want in your image. That is

as experiments that you tried that gave an interesting result. Animals in motion run the gamut from birds taking off from a stone to a snap shot of an animal hidden in brush that suddenly bolted away. There can be interesting results. The planned action shot like waiting for the bird to leave is easier and more easily understood by your viewers. It’s the images where there is a blurred shape moving through brush that can leave the viewer

where you will select your shutter speed to allow the animal to pass into and out of the image to show them as a selected blur. Remember that when you have selected a very slow shutter speed. For instance, any shutter speed below a 125th of a second, you have to pan or follow through with the photo the same way you would track a flying bird while hunting. If you don’t follow through on the shot your aim will trail the bird. It’s the same thing

stymied. Animals running on one plane of focus allow you to follow them with the lens and just keep snapping pictures. You never know which image will be the best one, so just keep snapping away until the animal disappears. Keep in mind that if you are shooting at 1/500th of a second as a shutter speed and you have taken one photo, you have missed 499 one hundredths of a second that may have made a better

in photography. Follow through or panning on action shots is very important especially if the animal is relatively close to you. The greater the distance, the less important the amount of follow through that is needed. As always with wild animals; watch for the animals signals that they have reached the flight or fight state. Whether it is a group of geese, horses, a leopard, zebras

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or whatever other species, they announce their state of sensitivity and fear in specific ways. Horses and moose will lay their ears back or twitch them nervously. Felines will bare their teeth as will most of the canines. The predators will make it very clear how they feel and humans will respond to that. The prey animals will keep a greater distance from the photographer. Deer for instance will stand and watch you for a few moments, not minutes, until they decide you are a threat or not. Keeping your camera convenient to your use is a necessity. Always set up your camera gear for the last thing you think will happen. Expect wildlife encounters especially if you are headed out to do landscapes. It’s a fact of nature photography. Animals in motion can be great fun, but as always treat the situation ethically. Sometimes you can’t help but startle an animal. It’s ethically better not to push the issue to make them run espe-

January 2012

cially when they are on depleted resources in the winter here in New England. In places like Africa, the prey animals move with the food and they will only move a short distance from one place to another. They only go far enough to evade the predators just like in New England. Small world isn’t it! Enjoy your outdoor adventures. Alan Briere is an award winning photographer and outdoor writer and the outdoor photography instructor for the NH Becoming an Outdoors Woman program. Alan lives in Acworth, NH with four lovely ladies: his wife, Cheryl, and their Brittanys, Gypsy, Penny and Millie. His email is alanbriere@sugarriver.net.

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The Gazette’s Book Review CABIN By Lou Ureneck Viking, 2011 243 pages, $25.95 ISBN: 978-0-670-02294-6 Who among us hasn’t dreamt of owning a North Country cabin, deep woods hunting camp, or cottage hard by a pond? Who hasn’t enhanced the dream by wishing for a backwoods sanctuary built by the labor and camaraderie of family and friends? A determined and fortunate few make the dream a reality. In his recently published second book, award winning author Lou Ureneck chronicles his physical and spiritual experience of acquiring land and building a cabin in western Maine, in the shadow of the White Mountains. Called simply Cabin, Ureneck lets the book’s subtitle, ‘Two Brothers, a Dream,

and Five Acres in Maine,’ provide something of a summation. But the complete tale is a much deeper and more complex story than the nine words in the subtitle can summarize. A for mer editor at the Portland (ME) Press-Herald and Maine Sunday Telegram, as well as the Philadelphia Inquirer turned Boston University journalism professor, Ureneck won the National

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Outdoor Book Award for his 2007 book Backcast. Cabin picks up the story more or less where Backcast left off. Not a sequel though Cabin is a continuation of the story and speaks about much more than the act of building a cabin in Maine. It is about using the project to build or perhaps rebuild a life and a family with western Maine as the setting. Those who read Backcast will find Cabin’s back-story familiar. Ureneck’s dysfunctional upbringing in a family beset with money and alcohol problems, the twists and turns of his professional life, his divorce and subsequent strained relationships with his family were all introduced in the pages of Backcast. But, while Backcast focused on his relationship with his son, Cabin delves into Ureneck’s somewhat neglected (before the Cabin project) relationship with his younger brother and the brother’s family. From the search for suitable and affordable land, to the design and later the actual construction of the cabin, the project serves as a focal point that brings the brothers closer together. Building the cabin also brings Ureneck closer to himself. It brings him back to things that gave him solace and developed his character as a boy. It brings him back to nature and to what serves all of us on the East Coast as wild land. Here he finds a measure of peace and a good deal of

inspiration. In the woods, he finds his soul. Like Emerson, Thoreau and Teddy Roosevelt, as well as uncounted thousands of ordinary folk, Ureneck feels his best in a pine-scented wood, watching a beaver marsh, racing darkness on a pair of snowshoes, or sitting in a duck blind. Escaping to the pines and fields of south-central New Jersey or the salt marshes along Barnegat Bay defined Lou Ureneck’s young life and saved him from the pain of his home life. Realizing the dream of building a Maine cabin on his terms and in concert with his brother will surely define the mature Lou Ureneck. In doing so, it will inspire any reader who loves the outdoors of northern New England to keep dreaming of the cabin to which he aspires; or to reflect on the restorative power of the cabin he may be fortunate enough to own already. In Ureneck’s uncomplicated prose anyone can learn the importance of pursuing dreams and not letting go of the important people. Cabin belongs on any outdoor enthusiast’s bookshelf. But it needs to be taken down and reread multiple times, and then shared with a brother or a sister. Col. J.C. Allard lives in Pittsfield, NH about 20 miles north by east of Concord. “We're in the shadow of the Belknap mountains here, but we can see Mt. Washington on a clear day”.

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Enclosed please find my check for $

Name:

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Please allow 2 - 4 weeks for delivery. Mail or photocopy this form and send to: NHASTC Record Book Roscoe Blaisdell, President 22 Schribner Road Raymond, NH 03077

January 2012

The Outdoor Gazette

Pictures Gone Wild Our reader submitted photos

16 year old Trevor Moore became a member of the “bone collector club” with this trophy 8-pt 200 pound buck his first year hunting solo! Trevor lives in Whitefield, NH and took his deer in Jefferson.

Tim French of Barre, Vermont with a his 2011 midwest whitetail.

2012 Outdoor Photagraphy Contest

Contest rules are still on the drawing board but categories will include; hunting, fishing, outdoor sports, landscapes and an “open” category as well. Prizes to be announced in Feb. 2012 issue. Share the beauty of the north country with the rest of us.

Photo by Alan Briere

The Outdoor Gazette

Above- Sled dog training and below “boiling skulls” - photos by Fred Allard

Sean Smas of Pike, New Hampshire proudly holds up his 2011 New Hampshire big buck. The 9 pointer weighed 195 pounds.

January 2012

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January 2012

The Outdoor Gazette