Bass Fishing

I did a little bass fishing on Loch Raven reservoir prior to my trip to Ohio and had a great day on the water. I caught 8 bass and 4 pickerel. This was my largest bass of the day and he weighed 4 1/2 pounds.

2012 Ohio Youth Turkey Hunt

I just got back to work and spent this past weekend in Ohio guiding for a great bunch of kids during the two day Ohio Youth Turkey hunt. Talk about a tough two days of turkey hunting, high winds up to 40 mph, driving rains, and very cold temperatures in the low 30's made for terrible turkey hunting conditions, especially the high winds just shut the birds down. We had 5 kids and their parents in camp for the youth hunt and just a great bunch of new friends to hang out with and enjoy a fun hunt with. Saturday morning first day of the youth hunt found me, my buddy Rich and his 15 year old daughter Vicki in a blind overlooking a 1 acre food plot that the property owner had several trail cam pictures of some nice toms. We got in just before first light, I set up a Avian X hen decoy and in a driving rain we got in the turkey blind for the days hunt. I told Rich and Vicki that if the rain would die down I felt we had a great chance to get a shot at a nice tom turkey. Two hours into the morning hunt and finally the rains started to slow down enough that I felt any nearby toms would respond to my calling. I got out the old trusty box call let out some very loud yelps and immediately got a response from three gobblers and they were very close (within 200 yards) of our blind. I quieted down for about 10 minutes and then did some soft yelping with my slate call and again three thunder gobbles well within 50 yards of the blind. I told my buddy Rich to get his video camera up (he records his daughters hunts) and got Vicki ready to make a shot as I knew these toms were hot for some love and coming in fast. 5 minutes after the last gobbles I look to my left and here come three long beards walking into the food plot and staring down my sweet Peggy Sue (my decoys nickname) hen decoy. Well the first tom is definitely the boss tom of the group so I tell Vicki (who is shaking out of her boots) to get on him and get ready to shoot. I give a few soft purrs on the slate call and that is all it took for the boss tom to move away from his buddies and get closer to Peggy Sue. I am talking to Vicki the entire time telling her to relax, just put the front bead at the base of his neck and when she is ready to take him squeeze that trigger slow. She tells me I got him so I tell her to take the shot and BOOM!!! she rips a perfect shot at 30 yards and absolutely puts the SMACK DOWN!!! on the boss tom. I tell Vicki to put her gun on safe and then we go nuts in the blind celebrating and jump out out running to get her bird. What a great tom he is, 19 pounds, 12 inch beard and 1 inch spurs. Just an incredible hunt, with a amazing young lady that loves to hunt and the entire hunt is captured on film. This truly is one of my most memorable hunts and what a pleasure it was for me to help Vicki harvest her first tom turkey but definitely not her last.

Big Birds Down!!!

Just a Freaking AWESOME!! start to the 2012 Maryland Spring Turkey season as me and my good buddy Mike got it done on two big mature tom turkeys. We got set up at 5:30 am where I knew the birds have been roosting and by 6:15 am we have 5 toms going crazy gobbling just prior to them flying down. By 6:40 am we have 5 toms on the ground within 150 yards of us and I am working a box call and three of those toms are hot and loving it. For the next hour it was turkey mania as we had birds all around us. First tom that came into out set was a mature long beard but Mike couldn't get a good shot so no boom but no mater because within 15 minutes we have a jake at 30 yards in front of us and again Mike passes on him and I am glad he did. We wait about 10 minutes and I start hammering the box call with some loud yelps and cutting and immediately we have a tom sound off in front of us and behind us and close. The tom behind us comes to within 20 yards of Mike but he is directly behind Mike and stays there for a good 10 minutes at full strut and spitting and drumming the entire time. I could have killed this tom dead but I had promised Mike the first shot at a tom so I watched him walk away with two hens. I get back on the box call and get the other tom to sound off within 75 yards of us and he is coming in on a dime so I shut up and pick up my slate call for some soft calling. Within I would say two minutes I see the tom coming in from my right walking in the exact direction where Mike is sitting and as soon as he gets in front of Mike I do a soft purr and he stops stone cold and Mike puts the sonic boom on him at 40 yards and SMACKDOWN!!! bird on the ground. We high 5 and jump up like crazy kids, go get his tom and what a beautiful mature tom he was. 22 pounds, 10 1/2 beard and 1 inch spurs. We tag him up, walk back to the truck, get a few quick pictures and now it's Mike's turn to call and I am up on the gun. I decide we should walk the trail that divides the property and do some aggressive calling with the box call to see if we can locate a bird. We start moving through the property, stopping and calling twice but no gobbles. We get to the back end of the property, close to a small field where I have seen some nice tom's before strutting and I give a series of loud yelps with the box call and BAM! we got two toms gobbling their heads off within 200 yards of us. One bird is up a slight hill near the field (the closer bird) and the other is down hill from us near a stream that is the property line. I shut up with the box call, get set up facing the closer bird uphill from us and Mike starts calling with his mouth call and now we hear another thundering gobble with 50 yards of us and he is hot and coming in fast. I get ready behind the gun and within 5 minutes from hearing him first gobble I have him in front me at 35 yards, full strut and gobbling his head off but he is behind a fallen tree and i have no shot. Mike sounds off with some soft yelps and purrs and that was all it took to get him strutting out from behind that tree and I put the red dot at the base of his neck and Boom!!! big bird Smackdown!!! number two is in the books baby. Me and Mike are just going crazy celebrating and we have just hammered two mature toms with 30 minutes of each other. We run up to my bird and he is the same bird I let walk away without shooting earlier and what a tom he is. No doubt he is the boss tom on the property, weight is 23 pounds, 3/4 inch spurs and THREE BEARDS, yep three beards and I am shaking as this is my best tom turkey ever. He has a 11 1/2 inch thick paint brush main beard, an 8 inch beard and a 6 inch beard. We tag him up, head back to the truck for pictures and we are done hunting and tagged out by 9:00 am. What an amazing turkey hunt and for me killing my best tom ever with a great friend is truly a memory I will never forget. Much thanks go out to the property owner who generously let's me hunt his land, my good buddy Mike for his awesome calling today and Ultimate Camo for making hands down the best turkey camo clothing. Here is a picture of two happy hunters.

Stoner

Pictures from the Past

I went through some of my online photo albums and looking at my old pictures really brought back some great memories of a lifetime spent in the outdoors hunting and fishing. I truly have been blessed with a good life, wonderful family, a proud military career and some truly great friends who I have shared many awesome hunting/fishing adventures with. When I look back through the years of pictures (from my teens to my 40's) I truly have so many incredible memories like these to last a lifetime.