Sorry to post out of the blue. Once I wet a line and the bite turns on, most of my spare time is spent with the rod, reel and kayak until I start to sense the crispness of fall in the air. Since neither hunting nor fishing (nor shooting for that matter) is something I can just step out my back door and do, there is no such thing as doing any of them without a significant time investment.

I seem to have a "switch". When hunting season is about 45 days out, I'm only semi-interested as I'm still chasing fish. But once something clicks in me, I'm in mad hunting prep mode and pretty much abandon fishing. Once I actually step out into the woods for the first day of hunting season, I can't even understand why I like fishing so much.

When hunting season ends, I'm still shooting and have hunting withdrawal symptoms. But then, something clicks again, and suddenly I love fish and don't give rat's behind about deer, squirrels, etc. I pretend that I'll get into spring gobbler season, but I know I'm fooling myself.

Anyone else have this happen?

I am slowly loosing the "switch" to deer hunt at all. With the horrible reduction of the deer herd on my area, you have the option of getting out and trying to walk one down in the national forest. And that's not all bad, but then you have to drag that devil out. When you get older, that dragging is a real drag. Plus health issues make walking in deep snow a real experience in itself.

But I do love to shoot. And with my own range (which I agree with you is a real plus) I shoot all year round.

And ever since my old dog passed, grouse hunting is not the same anymore. I should get another dog but I currently have a lot of personal issues that make dog ownership kind of difficult to do.

Yep, but I'm bummed right now...Leaving in the morning for the Outer Banks for a week and for the first time in at least 30 years I won't be taking a boat...

Seems the top bearing decided to take a trip up to the flywheel on my Evinrude...

My switch is when I start practicing with my bow after the 4th...

My switch to fishing is after turkey season...

Oh I hear you brother. When Catfish start biting I am all about the cats and Walleye. I sneek in a Sturgeon every now and then. Ron

Even though i'm a fly fisherman. I'm in hunting mode year around. Doing lots of scouting and staying in shape.

As an example.


I went up to my new area for elk hunting yesterday to look around. It has a lot of areas to scout. This is just what I found in one day. Another 30-40 days, and I should know my way around

This might me something to look at during season.






Then I started through the timber to see what I could find.






Saw lots of poop




Lots of tracks





Some little meadows in the timber.





Finally came up on a small pond/waterhole. I like this, and will definitely be keeping my eye on it. Not sure it will still be there by Sept. It might be down to a wallow by then. About 1 1/2 mile of timber to get to it.







Another area.

Them track and turd are moose, not elk.

Man that's some beautiful country. A bit different from swamp, marsh, and Southern pine forest.

The tracks are elk, but I wondered that the poop was more like moose. I've never heard of moose in this area though, so I assumed it was just some strange elk poop. There was more that was definitely elk