SkunkLuvver

As far as sit on top vs sit in, I think sit in is safer as long as there’s flotation in the bow and stern, a pray skirt and a hand pump on board, Sit on tops have flotation built in automatically but you’re sitting much higher and are more likely to tip (depending on design). Just the other day my buddy (in a sit on top) dropped his rod overboard and when he reached for it he went right over. Fortunately he was only in chest deep water at the time but given the temp/adrenaline he had instant shakes to the point of not being able to get back in his yak. I helped him back in but if it were deeper water it could’ve been a different situation. Someone mentioned dry suits..... yes, those! For the love of god, at least wear a life jacket (my buddy wasn’t... and neither was I for that matter until I had to haul him out ).

^^^^ Those are absolutely beautiful.

It was pretty dark so that and the fact I’ve never met b-ware makes it hard to say..... I’ll give it a solid maybe though.

Not fishing related but thought some of you might appreciate this.. The other night around 9:00 I let my dog out for a last pee and go to my car to grab something when she starts barking. She’s a little dog (21lbs) so barking is her super power and nothing out of the ordinary so I shut my car door and start walking around it to yell at her. I was suddenly confused because I didn’t hear anything but somehow there was a large shadow in front of me. My first thought (it was very dark) was that my neighbors black lab was paying me a visit so I lean forward and say “hey buddy” but those words weren’t even out of my mouth when I saw the large brown snout. I instantly yell “bear! Hey bear! Bear! bear!” as I wheel around and run around the car the other way. i don’t know which direction it went but it was gone when I got to the other side of the car. The dog was untouched but was back on the porch trying to push the door open to go back inside, lol. What I gather happened is the bear (a very large one) made his way into my yard, my dog chased after it and it ran around my car to escape when it encountered me and skidded to a stop (thank god). Being that reecie is a little dog it chose to turn and run toward her instead of running me over and sprinted back down the driveway. I came back out with a flashlight and tape measure and could clearly see the skid mark where she put on the brakes and the circles my feet left when I spun around to run away... they were 34 inches away from each other. It took a solid hour before my knees stopped shaking and they still get a jelly feeling when I think about it. i live in Greenfield in a neighborhood surrounded by other neighborhoods so a bear was the last critter I expected to bump into in the yard. I’ve had lots of “close” bear encounters over the years but nothing remotely like that. It was terrifying and could have ended badly if my dog were bigger/ more aggressive / or if it were a female with cubs. Thankfully none of those were the case! Based on the size I’m thinking it was a large male and the fact that it was so early in the night that it’s residing in a nearby patch of woods making a living off bird feeders and compost piles. I wonder how many times he’s come through my yard without me knowing? I love bears and am pretty comfortable encountering them but that was waaaay too close.

I clicked on this thread expecting a different discussion. I’m not even gonna try to hide my disappointment.

Lol, I got a kick out of that too

Lol, I remember this thread!

I do a lot of it in the CT river in Ma and love it. Favorite baits are shrimp, eel heads and chunked fall fish in that order but have had success with dead and live shiners, bluegill and even octopus head (free from a local seafood dept). Fat guy fishing at its finest.

Most of the time all you see are their heads making a v-wake through the water. Seeing them out of the water brings back the “rodents of unusual size” (R.O.U.S’s) from princess bride. I spooked a few while hugging the shoreline in my yak on a slow spot on the Deerfield last year.. couldn’t believe how huge they were and how much water they displaced when the dove in. Scared the living **** out of me.

Wow, that looks like a big azz bear!

I truly don’t get it. I see it everywhere I fish. Bait containers and empties and food wrappers left behind like it doesn’t matter. You’d think that fishing would give people a sense of stewardship similar to what a farmer has... you don’t see them littering in their fields. Theres an F.U. mentality that too many people are walking around with. There to take what they want and leave behind what they don’t. People suck.

My dad used to clip squirrels from his bird feeder and send the tails to meps. No idea what they gave him for them. This was in West Roxbury where it turns out it’s not that cool to touch off a .22. Eventually the cops showed up and advised him not to do that anymore. He happened to have a .30/30 and a 410 not locked up which they confiscated. Tried to get them back when he passed away a few mos later but no dice. I miss that guy!!

Im guessing it was a lucky survivor from the fall stocking season. Probably pretty lonely so tagging along with the turkeys. used to see the occasional pheasant when I was a kid but figure it was the same situation then.. maybe the cape has a breeding population though. yeah, they’re pretty spooky about having things pointed at them

My neighborhood (and my yard in particular) is lousy with squirrels. I don’t have feeders out but I have a mix of walnut and oak on my property with a few hollow maples mixed in for nesting so it’s sort of a **** show. When they start moving into my house or shop I do a bit of a purge with traps and occasionally.177 when I’m sure my neighbors are gone. Last Mother’s Day I got home from work at the same time as my GF and we noticed there was a squirrel in the trap we put next to a tree. We go over and there’s momma squirrel in the cage and her little baby clinging to the tree next to her completely freaking out. Needless to say she got released immediately (Momma’s day and all). She was trap shy after that so it took me a good 6 mos before I caught her again and relocated her. Lol They’ve done some pretty expensive damage to my house and shop over the years so my compassion has waned a little.

Would the assumption there be that people are trying to run over the squirrels? Maybe people do but they seem to be pretty good at finding their way under my wheels without any effort on my part. interestingly, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a black one dead in the road (we have a pretty good population in my area and I’ve been keeping an eye out for roadkill.. there’s a squirrel hair streamer I like that I’d love to tie out of a black one)