We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.
Yes and no. Subject comes up because a pal alerted me to a litter of German Shorthairs, getting ready for the taking on Sept. 1. Their hunting pedigree is as good as it gets, so some $ is rightly involved since we aren't socialism yet where there are free champion hunting dogs.
Mrs. BD and I have rarely had a dog-free home, nor did her parents and my parents. And my grandparents, who were partial to Shepherds. I've had English Springers, Labs and (hunting? sort-of) standard poodles. Some of the most glorious times of my life have been grouse hunting in the Maine woods and in Manitoba woods and prairies (Sharptails there). Will a hunt-bred Standard Poodle point on a grouse or woodcock? Yes it can. It will chew up the darn Woodcock, tho.
I'll bet you never saw a Poodle on a hard point. Well, trust Bird Dog on that.
To me, a dog and a fireplace make a house a home. As I write that, it does sound primeval. Maybe I am a primitive male.
Here are my pros and cons, altho who ever made a decision based on such things?
Pros:
- I love having a dog around. A dog also loves me the way no human could or should.
- A well-trained dog is an incomparable companion, and a well-trained hunting dog is a precious thing to you (and your hunting pals)
Cons:
- Huge commitment. When I get a dog, I train the heck out of it. I know how. 40-minutes/day of training for at least 2 years. I want a dog that will heel to my knee without leash through a city street, a 5-mile suburban jog, or a woodland swamp. Chase a squirrel or a deer? No chance unless I give a release signal. I want a dog who will respond to whistle, voice, and hand commands. I want a dog who will Sit-Stay in front of Dunkin Donuts when I go inside. My past dogs learned those things. Any dog will - it's up to the owner. A dog's behavior is a reflection of the Master. Never ever blame the dog. I've heard people say "My dog is difficult to train", as if their dog were special and wild somehow. Pure bullshit. It's on them. Training is work, and no dog yummies. Just "Good dog."
- Re Basic Training. Do I use a shock collar outdoors? You betcha. It's not cruel. It gives you a dog you can live with. After two or three little shocks, the 3-second tone before the buzz is all it takes to remind them that you are God. "Come" or the "Come" whistle means hustle back to the Boss's knee. Dogs do like to be well-trained. Like children, training gives them Purpose and it is all relational.
- Hunt-training. Fairly costly. I can handle basic to semi-advanced obedience training, but not hunt training. You have to send them to camp for that. Then you have to go to camp with them to learn it yourself. Hand signals are the best. My last dog Paco was quite good with them, but not so good with some other things.
- I do not do much of the sort of hunting that I love best anymore. I don't know why, because I can bust brush and alder swamps all day better than I ever could. My favorite is grouse hunting in the Great North Woods, with the Moose etc. I rarely refuse a chance to hunt pheasants etc. at a hunting club, but the wilderness hunts are my favorites. In 6 hours in grouse habitat, you might fire zero to twice with your 20 ga., but you and the dog will have a great outing anyway.
Hey - you're pointing on a White-Footed Mouse, silly dog!
Everything except humans. Menhaden (aka Mossbunker aka Bunker) are the prime bait fish of the Atlantic coast. Why the whales in New York Harbor? Menhaden.
This is a good conservation story, about 10 minutes long.
Are there any wild Brookies (aka Speckled Trout) left in their homeland of eastern, mainly northeastern, North America? I mean by that is whether there are any wild-bred Brookies left.
I expect some arguments, but my guess is that, if there are any, they are very few and very local. Brookies are sensitive and delicate fish with exacting habitat requirements. They want cool or cold, well-oygenated water. If you want to fly fish for wild Brookies, Patagonia is the place to go. The transplants there have naturalized and done well.
Interesting facts about Brook Trout (beside the fast that they are actually Char, not trout) is that they do not normally inhabit "brooks." They are river (or lake) fish which only migrate to small brooks and streams in the fall to breed. And while adult Brookies will eat anything that moves or falls into the water, their preferred foods are minnows and crustaceans rather than bugs and flies.
In the northeast, adult wild Brookies lived in large, deep streams and smaller rivers like the upper Connecticut, the Housatonic, the upper Hudson, the Androscoggin, the Penobscot, the Saco, the Merrimack, the Delaware, etc. and in lakes like Champlain, Winnipesaukee, the Rangeley Lakes, the Finger Lakes, the Adirondack lakes, and even the eastern Great Lakes. Smaller, shallower waters get too warm for trout health. In fall, as the waters cooled and waters rose, they migrated up the drainages to breed - thus "Brook" Trout. (Natural History of the Brook Trout)
Overfishing, pollution, and dams pretty much destroyed the Brookie life cycle.
The result is that trout fishermen (meaning fly-fishermen) east of the Mississippi basically rely on stocked fish for recreation (as they do in most of the US). These are raised in hatcheries and typically released in early Spring into habitat in which they are likely to survive at least for a few months until the water temperatures warm and the health of the fish deteriorates. They may have better luck in larger waters but will have no homing instincts.
Even in the famous trout "streams" in Pennsylvania, you are catching hatchery fish, usually a mix of species including the Brown (originally from Europe) and Rainbow (native to the Western US). This spring, Pennsylvania stocked 3.5 million hatchery trout of mixed varieties to keep the anglers happy.
Fishing licenses pay for those fish. Adult hatchery trout can cost between $2-4 apiece depending on fish size and volume of the order, not including delivery.
Each year around this time I need to refresh my (poor) fly-fishing skills. I get out in the yard and renew some muscle memory. It's a beautiful, silent form of outdoor recreation.
This guy is a good, articulate teacher of this delightful sport which is far more challenging - more sporting and more aesthetic - than trolling, lure-casting, or Southern-style bass fishing with a big outboard engine.
As we always say here about fishing and hunting, if you really need the food to feed the kids, go to the supermarket....or put a worm on a line with a lead sinker and a barbed hook.
Fly-fishing is a good sport for gals, too, although some of my pals' clubs do not allow females on the grounds. Guys need their own places to act like kids, free of female judgement.
I promise you that I would have no chance with these high driven pheasants. For one thing, it's not a game we play in the us. A delightful tradition, though.
Repost - I guess this is Part 2 or 3 of our Outerwear mini-series, and part of our world-famous Winter Warmth series which we will begin to post in view of the coming Global Cooling Crisis -
The invention of Gore-tex rendered plenty of waterproof and windproof fabrics obsolete - or quaint. For example, rubberized raingear, or waxed cotton or waxed canvas. Gore-tex is much lighter, it breathes, it requires no maintenance, and Gore-tex outerwear is cheaper to produce and can be made with the blaze orange patches which American field hunting (unlike European) requires by law.
Trouble is that waxed cotton jackets, wellies, a dog, and a nice gun look so natural together. It's about fashion to some extent: how many Americans wear their Barbour when brush-busting for grouse or mucking the stall vs. the number that wear theirs to the hardware store, the mall, and their kids' soccer games?
I own a Lewis Creek and an old Browning waxed jacket, but I have plenty of Gore-tex parkas and field gear for various purposes: camo, blaze, parkas, outer-jackets, etc. Gore-tex hunting brush pants, too - insulated and uninsulated (insulated hunting trousers was a waste of $ - all you need is winter underwear of whatever weight you select for the weather of the day).
Despite all the above, I'll just address waxed cotton here despite its impractibility. Gore-tex is great stuff, but it's boring. Waxed cotton has character and Gore Tex is industrial.
For true heavy-duty waterproof outerwear, Filson's tin cloth is the ultimate. That waxed canvas is so tough that it stands up by itself after you take it off. In fact, if you died standing in a goose blind or in the woods the tincloth jacket and tincloth trousers would probably still hold you up straight like a scarecrow until a strong winter storm blew you over. Their "shelter cloth" is lighter weight. I have some of the stuff. Its durability:comfort ratio is high. Feels like medieval armor before it warms up and softens a bit.
We've seen flocks like this in Manitoba. When a thousand come down into your field decoys at dawn it can be quite a slaughter Unlike Canada Geese, Snows go down, as they say, like a prom dress.
I've done reading on the topic of daypacks. I have always used my antique Osprey daypack (made in Dolores, CO) which is about 20-liters. With a replacement waist belt which my shoe repair guy fixed up for me for $10, it sits right and holds anything I might need for an ordinary day hike. (I think any pack without a waist belt is a terrible idea. I have also found that a proper fit and tweaking the adjustments makes a big difference. It has to sit on your butt.)
I bought my Osprey pack in Telluride on a ski trip with the kids. Needed a place for them to put spare winter clothing in as the temperatures went up and down and as snow came and went during the day.
Mrs. BD took the liberty of buying me a 40-Liter REI daypack for our recent Hebrides hiking trip. It fits well, but holds far more stuff than I am ever likely to need other than for lengthy winter hikes.
In fact, it could function as a smallish airplane carry-on. These days, half the people on international flights carry backpacks. They have become standard tourist items, but who needs a backpack or daypack to walk around Florence all day?
Let's say the usual day hike off the beaten track is from 4 to 8 hours. What do you need in the pack? Some liquids, snacks, maybe a sandwich or two, some rain pants and waterproof jacket, a trail map or travel guide, a first aid kit and some blister packs, a wallet, binoculars, a little camera or iphone, perhaps a 2-way radio if remote, maybe a place for hiking poles - and empty space to stuff layers that you might not want as the day warms. A box of ammo if hunting in the wilderness.
Shouldn't a 20-L pack be able to handle that, and more? Unless it's warm weather and you are carrying several liters of water, or unless you are playing sherpa and carrying stuff for other people.
We're about to plan our next wilderness hiking trip (day hikes only, thank you, with fluffy towels and hot water at night), so I will decide for sure whether 40 L is overkill.
If you are a regular day hiker, what size do you use, how do you use it, and what do you put in it? And if you would want a 40-L pack, why?
Fishing for bottom-feeders is not the most challenging fishing, but Halibut is, in my view, the tastiest seafood. Simply broiled with salt, pepper, and some butter. Overcooking fish is a crime.
Our commenters to our Hiking Footwear post were well-informed, experienced, and helpful. Appreciate all of those offerings. Lots of hikers, hunters, and some field geologists among our readers.
Two basics about boot sizing: Your dress shoe or sneaker size might be small for boots. Try the boot at the end of the day when your foot is most expanded. With the heaviest socks you might wear with them, but unlaced, check to make sure you can fit your index finger down the heel.
In many areas, there is no limit on Snow Goose hunting. Gosh, I have had a few times in Manitoba when they came into our field like a blizzard. Just before dawn, before it's legal to fire your shotgun, a few begin descending on you like big moths in the dark but when dawn breaks they come in by the hundreds or even thousands.
It is thrilling.
I recall one amusing moment when one flew out of the back of the truck. I guess he was only grazed and escaped his doom.
I don't have a good photo of me with my buddies with a pile of Snow Geese. It's just as well because it can look like an unsporting massacre. I have chowed down on plenty of them, and used them in Cassoulet too. The only issue is that the breast meat can be tough unless prepared properly. That applies to all wild geese including the delicious Canada Goose.
Since winter has arrived in the Northeast, I thought a couple of pictures from my bonefishing trip in Mexico, back in September were in order. You know, to keep the fisherpersons interested and all that.
This was my first time fly fishing for bonefish. www.costadecocos.com The lodge is in Xcalak, Mexico which if it isn’t the end of the world, you can see it from there. It’s about 12 miles north of the Belize/Mexico border and about a 4.5 hour drive south of Cancun.
I fished an 8 weight with little shrimp patterns. I can tell you unequivocally, this is the hardest technical fishing I have ever done. You need to be able to cast 50 feet into the wind and put the fly in about a 3’ diameter circle when the guide points and says “aqui” “aqui”!
I fished about 5 hours each day (30 minute boat ride from lodge to the back bays) and caught 3 bonefish the first day and 2 the second day. The first day, I know I lost at least three that hooked up but couldn’t land and another 2 on the second day, same thing. There are a lot of bonefish. Lots, but I’d be kidding if I said they are easy to catch. However, you’ll get more chances than you will in the Keys and fishing down in Ol’ Mexico is nowhere near as expensive as Abaco and the Bahamas (where the fish are bigger but get lots more pressure).
The flats are amazing – two to three feet deep at high tide and you see small sharks, rays, barracuda and permit in 18 inches of water. Like most saltwater fishing, you try and catch the tides right as the fish will hold in different spots, depending on an ebb or flood tide and where the baitfish sit. Very, very cool fishing and of course, I now have to work on my Grand Slam of a Bonefish, Tarpon and Permit, all on a fly rod.
10X50 is a bit too much magnification for 90% of birding and for all of sports viewing, but they do have other fun uses, like watching the NoKos watching you across the DMZ.
Lower magnification (ie 7 or at most 8) meets almost all outdoor uses because higher is more than needed and makes it difficult to locate what you're looking for. Larger objective lenses (the second #) admit more light, so they are better for poor lighting conditions. Heavier, too.
Binocular skills are learned by use - those are eye skills. Clarity has to do with lens and prism quality, and that's where the $ comes into the equation.
For long-distance viewing (eg military, nautical, seabirds far off in the water and the like - and certainly for astronomy, you need higher magnification (10X +) and probably larger objective lens but those work best with a binocular or a scope on a mount or tripod.
What is best for watching high-altitude migrating raptors? Some swear by a Zeiss 8X45 or 8X42 with their wide (400 m) FOV (field of view). A wide FOV is desirable for wildlife observation. I have seen that the most experienced and expert wildlife watchers do very well with minimal inexpensive gear, but that's not me.
I tend to be birding, if only casually, anytime I am outdoors. For those purposes, I do not need binocs because I have learned the gestalt of common bird shape, behavior, sound, and flight patterns. I am far from expert, but better than most casual amateurs. For example, my birding friends can readily ID a flying Cooper's from a flying Sharpie, but I can not. Nor am I any use at all with fall warblers or rarities - I tend to guess for the regulars to be safe.
I have been doing an inventory of my binoculars this weekend. No reason, really. Closet-cleaning. Also because planning a cool birding trip to South Carolina barrier islands this Spring. Turned out I have 13, from handy-dandy minis through mid-range birding binocs to marine very long-distance binocs which I have also used for hawk-spotting (bad idea - it's impossible to find the spot in the sky and the wobble is a problem).
I have to give some of them away.
What I usually have on hand when outdoors for any length of time is one of my minis, but if I intend to do some serious looking my go-to is my Minox 8X32. It's waterproof. They make an 8X33 now, but I don't need that. I bought a binoc harness from Cabelas.
Experts can and do ID pretty much anything with bare eye or with the inexpensive Nikon mini in their pocket, but when you are looking for the one Glaucous Gull in a flock of 2000 gulls, you need more. If you sport a Swarovski you had better be at pro level or you're a poseur. Firearms, cameras, binocs - an amateur like me does not need the best because it's just for fun. I have also observed, over time, that the best talents never need the best kit. I rarely use my good birding scope anymore because of the hassle.
What do you use for birding? (Some wise guy will comment "12 gauge". In a duck blind, I tend to have binocs and a 12 ga.)
We had a Papillon visiting over the weekend. This breed might be in the lap dog, ankle-biter category, but this one was a delight: well-related, highly-communicative with human-like noises, feisty, high energy, highly-alert, and eager to please. They need plenty of time to run around off leash, and they seem to need plenty of time napping on somebody's lap.
A cool dog. The breed is known to be easily trained, and our visitor obeyed numerous voice commands.
This breed can have erect ears (mostly in the US) and floppy spaniel ears (mostly in Europe). These were popular in the courts of Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries.
Madame de Pompadour with her Papillon, by Boucher. Ms. Pompadour was cute, charmant, and smart too. Well-educated, she could sing, play musical instruments, recite plays and poetry, and she understood statecraft. A self-made lady who retained her usefulness to Louis XV well-past her sexual prime until her death of TB at 42.
The recovery of the American Wild Turkey populations, like that of Egrets after the turn of the last century, has been a giant success of intelligent conservation.
Whether you want to shoot 'em and eat 'em, or just look at these huge birds (I like to do both), their resurgence is a great gift to America - thanks to conservation organizations.
The WTF has basically accomplished their goal. Turkeys are everywhere now, and huntable in most places. However, like government programs, non-profits rarely close up shop when their work is done. They tend to find something else to do, if only to keep their jobs. It's a sad fact that Ducks Unlimited still has much of their original mission to accomplish - wild duck populations, and the other wetlands critters that inhabit the habitats that DU protects and rehabilitates - remain far below where they were in years past.
There are a number of species of Wild Turkey in the New World. None native to the Old World.
Photo above: You all know that the males only display like that when they are overcome with love and/or horniness. Photo below: Our Editor-in-Chief Bird Dog (before he gained weight) with a bird in the hand. Today, he could afford to lose a couple of pounds.
Yes and no. Subject comes up because a pal alerted me to a litter of German Shorthairs, getting ready for the taking on Sept. 1. Their hunting pedigree is as good as it gets, so some $ is rightly involved since we aren't socialism yet where there are free champion hunting dogs.
Are there any wild 
The invention of Gore-tex rendered plenty of waterproof and windproof fabrics obsolete - or quaint. For example, rubberized raingear, or waxed cotton or waxed canvas. Gore-tex is much lighter, it breathes, it requires no maintenance, and Gore-tex outerwear is cheaper to produce and can be made with the blaze orange patches which American field hunting (unlike European) requires by law. 
Photo is the REI 40-L daypack.
Hank Shaw 
Photo is the Meindl Burma 
In many areas, there is no limit on Snow Goose hunting. Gosh, I have had a few times in Manitoba when they came into our field like a blizzard. Just before dawn, before it's legal to fire your shotgun, a few begin descending on you like big moths in the dark but when dawn breaks they come in by the hundreds or even thousands. 
A pal commented on our birding binocular post that excellent German Army Hensoldt 10X50s can be found on eBay for reasonable prices. Good optics.
I tend to be birding, if only casually, anytime I am outdoors. For those purposes, I do not need binocs because I have learned the gestalt of common bird shape, behavior, sound, and flight patterns. I am far from expert, but better than most casual amateurs. For example, my birding friends can readily ID a flying Cooper's from a flying Sharpie, but I can not. Nor am I any use at all with fall warblers or rarities - I tend to guess for the regulars to be safe.
We had a
What's for supper? Big 
