OT: Hunting/Fishing/Outdoors Thread

cphabs

The 2 stooges….
Dec 21, 2012
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Black ducks? What number shot do you use?
No just mallards. I have used different shot sizes based on how far I thing they will be. Funny, I can only use stainless step shot for ducks.
Fall duck season coincides pheasant and we frequent a place that has both running around. Lead all the way for foul, but we have found that steel shot #3 works well on both. In fact, we were not treated too well by a conservation officer who knew we were pheasant hunting with a mallard in my vest. We told her that we were using steel shot for both. You cannot have any lead on you while duck hunting. NONE! She made us empty everything. After she was done she seemed unsatisfied. I told her one of my buddies can hide shells in his ass. Went south from there. In any case, no tickets were issued.
 

cphabs

The 2 stooges….
Dec 21, 2012
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Just got back from a quick fishing trip on Wednesday afternoon. The fishing was some of the toughest I have seen in terms of quantity of fish caught, as the cold front on Sunday and Monday night really had an effect on the fish. The temperatures we're down to 2 degrees at night. We still caught numerous 2-3 pound small mouth bass and two 5+ pound beauties (had another one hooked as well, but it spat out the senko as it jumped out of the water). We also managed to catch a 3+ pound walleye and numerous other keepers, but we're strictly catch and release.
There is something extremely wrong with smallmouth bass. Seriously, bastards are hard to catch and fearless! I’ve caught them on musky baits trolling and casting.
My fish of a lifetime, so far, was an 8 pound smallmouth while panfishing...
 
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Rapala

Registered User
Mar 29, 2013
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Montreal


Nice Pike from the kid!

@Runner77 this is the kind of fish I'd avoid eating. Older, big spawner, and full of heavy metals...


Pike is NOT a very good eating fish to begin with. :help:
Kotka why not try trout fishing in Finland?
A dude named Rapala became a legend there creating lures using balsa wood while fishing for browns and rainbows.
 
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sheed36

Registered User
Jan 8, 2005
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No Man's Land
The landlocked version is also very very tasty.

Yes we call landlocked salmon Ouananiche here in Newfoundland. As long as it's a wild salmon I'm fine with eating it.

Not sure if anyone as seen the news about the 2.6 million dead farmed salmon from here in Newfoundland recently but what a mess that situation is. I've heard enough stories from people working on these salmon farms about some of the conditions some of these fish are in I don't think I can bring myself to eating them right now. They are apparently blaming it on warm water conditions but we'll see.
 

Rapala

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Mar 29, 2013
38,451
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Montreal
Yes we call landlocked salmon Ouananiche here in Newfoundland. As long as it's a wild salmon I'm fine with eating it.

Not sure if anyone as seen the news about the 2.6 million dead farmed salmon from here in Newfoundland recently but what a mess that situation is. I've heard enough stories from people working on these salmon farms about some of the conditions some of these fish are in I don't think I can bring myself to eating them right now. They are apparently blaming it on warm water conditions but we'll see.
Ouananiche here too. They are very rare in and around the island of Montreal but they do exist if you know where to fish!
 
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sheed36

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Jan 8, 2005
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Ouananiche here too. They are very rare in and around the island of Montreal but they do exist if you know where to fish!

I've never caught one myself but they seem to be quite abundant in many lakes and ponds here in Newfoundland from what I can gather.
 

OldCraig71

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Feb 2, 2009
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Here’s a good one! There has been a sustained and unbelievably successful program to reintroduce bald eagles in our region. There have been numerous articles in the local news paper, and abroad, about how endangered they are and the consequences of messing with them. Even possessing a feather can get a person in big trouble.
We were working 9 inch musky surface baits on a local river. What flies by straight down the valley? Biggest ****ing bird, seriously, I have ever seen flying. You could see the bastard coming! My buddy said “ What the **** is that?” It was at about 100 feet and cruising.
“That’s a ****ing bald eagle I said!”
We were in awe as it past us... Until it did some kind of inverted 180 degree fighter jet move to come back... The awe turned into terror as we cranked our baits to the boat.
Bastard screeched at us as it came back for a 2nd look.
Cool post, the bald eagle is very visible here in Atlantic Canada, I see them on a daily/weekly basis. A magnificent creature and I am glad that they are thriving in our region of NA.
 

sheed36

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Jan 8, 2005
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No Man's Land
Do any of you fellows go duck hunting? I was in woods 2 days ago partridge hunting, also cutting out a new deer tree, seen a few ducks in at the lake. May try it but never been before?

When you say partridge do you mean what we call grouse down here in Newfoundland? What we normally call partridge here is the willow and rock ptarmigan which we hunt on barrens and high ridges with dogs. Great sport which requires some very good endurance considering the terrain and sometimes walking upwards of 15 -20 miles a day.

I've never done much duck hunting but my brother and his hunting buddies hunted a lot for eider ducks where they would travel by small boat to small rock outcrops in the middle of the Atlantic ocean where they would sit with decoys out and shoot ducks from there. Many close calls from when the weather would quickly turn and trying to get off these small rocks and back into the boat. Duck hunting for eider ducks this way was a way of life around here and still is to this day but with far fewer people engaging in this type of duck hunt now. Turr hunting is still quite big around Newfoundland as well.
 
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Rapala

Registered User
Mar 29, 2013
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Montreal
Cool post, the bald eagle is very visible here in Atlantic Canada, I see them on a daily/weekly basis. A magnificent creature and I am glad that they are thriving in our region of NA.

I remember seeing Osprey fishing on the south shore here in Montreal. What a sight to behold when they tuck their wings in and plunge for fish. Had them for a good 5 years or so until they just didn't return. I'm not sure if they were hunted by some idiot or ran into environmental issues. I never saw more than three of them in any given year.
 

sheed36

Registered User
Jan 8, 2005
46,790
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No Man's Land
Cool post, the bald eagle is very visible here in Atlantic Canada, I see them on a daily/weekly basis. A magnificent creature and I am glad that they are thriving in our region of NA.

Yup and there seems to be more bald eagles around my area of Newfoundland now than I've ever seen in my almost 50 years of life. I remember years ago when traveling to one of the many bays around my area that spotting a bald eagle was a rare occurance but not anymore which is great to see. There's even a few that stay around my hometown these days and are nesting nearby.
 

sheed36

Registered User
Jan 8, 2005
46,790
34,189
No Man's Land
I remember seeing Osprey fishing on the south shore here in Montreal. What a sight to behold when the tuck their wings in and plunge for fish. Had them for a good 5 years or so until they just didn't return. I'm not sure if they were hunted by some idiot or ran into environmental issues. I never saw more than three of them in any given year.

I've seen that a few times as well and it's indeed magnificant to witness in person. Also watching 100's of Northern Gannets fall from the sky like torpedeos diving for small fish is one of the most awesome things I've ever witnessed in nature. The last few years it's become a common occurance to witness and it's always amazing to watch.
 

OldCraig71

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Feb 2, 2009
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I've seen that a few times as well and it's indeed magnificant to witness in person. Also watching 100's of Northern Gannets fall from the sky like torpedeos diving for small fish is one of the most awesome things I've ever witnessed in nature. The last few years it's become a common occurance to witness and it's always amazing to watch.
We used to call them fish hawks, a beautiful sight to see one of them in mid-air flapping thier wings right before they dove after a fish, we called it jigging, they were very plentiful back in the day. This is a great thread btw.
 

peate

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Feb 16, 2007
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Bald eagles came close to extinction, DDT was making their eggs too fragile to survive.

"One of the new EPA's first acts was to ban DDT, due to both concerns about harm to the environment and the potential for harm to human health. There was also evidence linking DDT with severe declines in bald eagle populations due to thinning eggshells. Since DDT was banned in the U.S., bald eagles have made a dramatic recovery. "
 

Scintillating10

Registered User
Jun 15, 2012
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Nova Scotia
When you say partridge do you mean what we call grouse down here in Newfoundland? What we normally call partridge here is the willow and rock ptarmigan which we hunt on barrens and high ridges with dogs. Great sport which requires some very good endurance considering the terrain and sometimes walking upwards of 15 -20 miles a day.

I've never done much duck hunting but my brother and his hunting buddies hunted a lot for eider ducks where they would travel by small boat to small rock outcrops in the middle of the Atlantic ocean where they would sit with decoys out and shoot ducks from there. Many close calls from when the weather would quickly turn and trying to get off these small rocks and back into the boat. Duck hunting for eider ducks this way was a way of life around here and still is to this day but with far fewer people engaging in this type of duck hunt now. Turr hunting is still quite big around Newfoundland as well.
My license says grouse. We call them partridge. Yeah, walk quite a bit hunting them. Not that far thou, about half that. I go partly for the exercise.

On the ducks I usually inland ducks. Lakes rivers, etc... Black ducks, they are in mallard family. A few teal. I don't hunt salt water ducks. Find them strong and smell too much while cooking.
 

Rapala

Registered User
Mar 29, 2013
38,451
33,418
Montreal
I've seen that a few times as well and it's indeed magnificant to witness in person. Also watching 100's of Northern Gannets fall from the sky like torpedeos diving for small fish is one of the most awesome things I've ever witnessed in nature. The last few years it's become a common occurance to witness and it's always amazing to watch.

The Pacific Bait Ball replete with Gannets Seals and Orcas is spectacular.
 

Rapala

Registered User
Mar 29, 2013
38,451
33,418
Montreal
Bald eagles came close to extinction, DDT was making their eggs too fragile to survive.

"One of the new EPA's first acts was to ban DDT, due to both concerns about harm to the environment and the potential for harm to human health. There was also evidence linking DDT with severe declines in bald eagle populations due to thinning eggshells. Since DDT was banned in the U.S., bald eagles have made a dramatic recovery. "

The poisons/toxins actually increase the further up the food chain it goes. The same goes for game and game fish. I think the Loons were also nearly wiped out for similar reasons.
 

angusyoung

The life of..The Party
Aug 17, 2014
11,673
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Heirendaar
Been hunting for wild mushrooms,guess foraging is the correct vernacular though. Rather abundant to date and pleased with the variety.
 

cphabs

The 2 stooges….
Dec 21, 2012
7,669
5,131
Wow, 14 in a weekend is impressive! Anybody who fishes musky knows they can be very difficult to catch, those types of days don't happen often but when they do they are a blast.
I live 20 minutes away from the #4 musky lake in the world. LOL That really helps. Was an incredible day!
 

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