The Federated Sportsmen’s Clubs of Oneida County, Region 6 Environmental Conservation Officers, National Wild Turkey Federation, Oneida County Sherriff’s Dept. and the NYS Outdoorsmen Hall of Fame, as well as some interested sportsmen, recently teamed up to hold the fourth Annual Youth Goose Hunt. There was a total of 24 youths signed up from Herkimer, Oneida and Madison Counties to participate in this year’s hunt.
The 24 youths and their parents attended a Safety Day at the Cassety Hollow Rod and Gun Club in Oriskany Falls where safety and regulations presentation was given by ECO Steve Lakeman on goose hunting. Lakeman also put on a presentation on setting up decoys in the field.
That afternoon, each youth was set up in a lay down blind and shot at clay targets to get the sensation of what hunting would be like the following day. This was under the instruction of ECO Mike Dangler, a certified Firearms Instructor for ECOs.
Each youth group was partnered up with the ECOs and mentors from their area. They discussed their equipment that they had and what they might need and each youth hunter was registered with their HIP number.
The next morning the ECOs and mentors took the 24 youths out goose hunting. Each group had at least three youths and four mentors. A total of seven groups took to the fields that morning to hunt Canada geese. All groups had flocks of geese come in to their decoys but some groups were better than others in getting the geese close enough to shoot at. A total of 103 geese were harvested that morning.
The Oneida County Federation and the Committee would like to give a big thank you to the New York Conservation Officer Association, the National Wild Turkey Federation and Gander Mountain of New Hartford for their donations for this year’s hunt. They would also like to give a big thank you to the ECOs and the sportsmen and women mentors that took the time out of their schedule to take a kid out hunting.
Thanks also go to the cooks for the event, Brian Day and Larry Chandler, and to the Cassetty Hollow Club members for the use of their club for Safety Day and the day of the hunt. It was a successful day in introducing youngsters to the sport of goose hunting.
Canoe & Kayak Storage
For a lot of people, next weekend represents the end of canoe and kayak trips. If you are getting ready to store your canoe or kayak for the winter there are some things you should keep in mind. Scott Locorini of Adirondack Exposure offers the following tips.
If at all possible, store them inside a building since ultraviolet light will cause the colors to fade. Canoes can be stored upside down hanging from the ceiling of a garage or shed since the gunwales or edges are the strongest part of the canoe. However kayaks should not be stored that way since they will take a permanent bend or “set.”
The strongest part of a kayak is the bow or the stern so ideally you should stand them on end inside the building. However, most of us do not have the luxury of a building with a high ceiling, etc. so the best way is to store them on the edge.
One way is to loop two straps through strong eye bolts on the side of the garage or shed and suspend the kayak. That way the bottom will be flush against the wall and the straps will be supporting the side, which is the stronger part.
Scott also suggests putting mothballs or fabric softener sheets inside the boat to keep rodents away and prevent them from damaging the outfitting, which could be costly. He also recommends putting 303 on the gaskets of the dry top and your dry suits.
It is also a good time to get odor out of paddling clothing or footwear. There are many commercial products but Scott says “Sink the Stink” works well to eliminate stubborn odors. Hunter Specialty Scent-Away clothes soap works well with washing clothing items.
If the ferrules on your paddles have been sticking, pull them apart and sand them with Emory paper. Wash off the dust, let them dry thoroughly and apply spray silicone so you will start off the next season with ease.
Throughout the winter months Scott will be operating a variety of paddling trips with camping or lodge accommodations in various locations in Florida or Costa Rica. Contact him at 315-335-1681 for more information.
SHORT CASTS
Finger Lakes: My wife and I closed out our camping for the season with a week in the Finger Lakes. This year we stayed at Cayuga Lake State Park, a very nice park at the north end of Cayuga Lake near Seneca Falls. Most of the days were very pleasant and we enjoyed visiting the wineries at harvest time, having lunch at vineyard restaurants, hiking at locations like Taughannock Falls and some fishing.
Unfortunately the bass fishing was slow. Despite its reputation, the fishing recently has been tough. A group of 12 from a bass club near Pittsburgh was spending several days there and they spent a lot of time and covered most of the 41 miles of lake with little to show for it. But bass fishing has been very tough all year from the Finger Lakes to the Adirondacks, the St. Lawrence River and tributaries of Lake Ontario. Some theories are that the cold spring meant that the bass never really schooled up and inhabited the areas they normally would.
Fishing for lake trout at the lower end of Cayuga Lake was better, at least for lake trout fishermen. Shore anglers fishing from Taughannock State Park were casting egg sacks or alewives off the Taughannock Bar and catching some nice lakers.
Rush TV Challenge: A couple years ago, John Lenox - one of the organizers of the NY Sportsmen Expo in Syracuse and owner of Rush TV Productions from Rochester - came up with the idea of a good-natured challenge. The crew of Rush TV would field of anglers and challenge a team of fishermen from the NYS Outdoor Writers’ Association (NYSOWA) for bragging rights.
As a side effect, the event would be filmed to publicize the area and it would be used to benefit charities. Last year the event was held on Lake Ontario out of Point Breeze and NYSOWA won. John and his team had a good time kidding us and saying that they would get revenge this year.
The 2014 Challenge was held last weekend in Cape Vincent and we fished the St. Lawrence River for walleye, pike and bass. The two boats were operated by captains Adam and Erik Swenson, two charter boat operators out of Cape Vincent. Things did not look good for the NYSOWA team much of the day and we knew that the Rush TV Boat had a slim edge.
But I didn’t lose faith since I had chosen two skilled anglers, Sue Bookhout and Mike Seymour, to be on my team. With 10 minutes to go Mike hooked a nice northern pike and five minutes after that Sue landed an even bigger one. NYSOWA wins again!
Most importantly we all had a good time, enjoyed a nice lunch at the Cape Vincent Park and learned more about the area. It is a great fishery and a beautiful area. Captain Erik Swenson, who is married to former local resident Julie Carmola, and his brother Adam operate very successful charter boats out of the Cape and fish for lake trout, northern pike, walleye, bass and muskie. Contact Erik at Lori-J Charters, PO Box 256, Cape Vincent, NY 13618.
We will have more information about Cape Vincent and its attractions and fishery later. But it was a fun and pleasant way to wrap up fishing adventures for the year.
VNSP Fall Hours: Vernon National Shooting Preserve announces its fall hours will be Tuesday noon to dusk, Wednesday through Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Members have access all day, every day. They have re-set the stations to two traps per station. There will still be five stations for the Tower Shoot. Tower Shoot participants get exclusive pheasant preserve hunting the day following the Tower Shoot.