Scouting trip

[Jimmie in Ky]

Wonderful weather we are having here. 67 degrees was the high yesterday morning and it fell steadily to around 28 this morning. From a hard packing rain to froze ground this morning. Ground was left totally clean for all the new stories to be told today.No old scats or tracks to be found.

However, new sign is less than 24 hours old when you find it. Scats showed a mix of thier diet this year so far. Some honey locust pods, some deer and a few with mice in them. Tracks found were nearer the trace than ususal. Lots of deer hunters in the back country areas this time, why I don't know since deer sign was so skimpy!

Numbers are about the same as last year. The two groups I got to answer had around five or six in them.So if the numbers are higher this year it is not by a lot. Still not up to the numbers we had year before last. These two groups were way up in the heads of the hollows,  which is where they are in normal years.

Since it is getting to be the season to be jolly, folks were all over the place this afternoon , hunting Christmas Trees, and just out enjoying the beautiful day we had today.

I tried to make a cat stand in an area where I had seen a cat several times over the years. Got busted big time about ten minutes into the setup. Danged pup barked for twenty minutes. I was near an overgrown field full of weeds and birds with a bit of rabbit sign around the edges. Did not see a single cat track today. Jimmie

[FinsnFur]

Felt good to git out didn't it? 

Way up in the heads of the hollows uh  ...k, hang on...I'm jotting this down. 

[fuzz624]

     Yeah Jimmie,i bet it felt really good to get out there.I know you have been buisy with school and building and carving.Sometimes we all need a break from our normal routines.For me hunting and fishing is a great stress reliever.There is nothing like being out there.It doesnt matter if we come back empty handed,as long as we learn a little ane enjoy ourselves while we are there.

[Jimmie in Ky]

It did feel good to be able to get out there . Doesn't matter that I didn't actually see anything other than some song birds and a piliated woodpecker bent on chopping up a single red oak. On of the two groups was a new one to me, first time I have heard them, and was surprised a bit at where they were. I just looked them up on my map and they could not have been more that 500 yards from the head of that particular hollow.

Jim, by heads of the hollows, I mean where the streams come together to make one. Easy enough to spot on the road and zone maps. And if you pull the areas up on airial photos you can see what is out there before you get here. Jimmie

[Ladobe]

No time afield is wasted time for sure Jimmie.   Was a great day to add to your bag of tricks.


Sure enjoyed the chat on the landline last night pard (right up until my cell phone battery died - what a couple of buckmouths).   Wish the LBL was a possiblility for me (it is not), if for nothing more than for the visit and to see some new country with a gent who really knows and loves it.

[KySongDog]

LBL is a beautiful area.  I got my first turkey there in '86. At one time it was about the only place to go for turkey in KY.  Before the big state stocking effort really took off.  Deer hunted there back in the early 80's.  Deer and turkey are everywhere in KY now so I haven't spent much time there the last few years.

Never predator hunted though. I read in a post somewhere that there are 500 or so coyotes there now. I can just visualize those yotes running those hills and growed up fields. The hunter has so many options there. It's a beautiful place to get away from it all.