April 3rd, 2008
          What a great time of the year! Trout (next Saturday), crappie, turkey (less than two weeks), bass or stripers take your pick.
          My good friend Fred and I took off April 1st to High Rock Lake. We wanted  to try our luck crappie fishing. We arrived around 10 o'clock at the wildlife access across from Tamarac Marina. The parking lot was virtually empty which was not a good sign. We tried a few places near the launch but caught nothing. We finally found a few fish in about 18 inches of water behind a dock in a sheltered cove. It did not help our cause that I lost the first 3 keepers I hooked. The action was slow as we relocated periodically in search of more fish. We were getting a lot of bumps but they were so light I would not really call them bites. Later in the afternoon we found a cove that held a few fish on the back of every pier. Still very shallow, the fish were hard to catch. We ended up with 25 fish over 10 inches (we don't keep anything smaller). Pretty tough fishing for the first day of April. I am sure next week is going to be the best of the spring season if the current weather predictions hold up.
           I wanted to go to Cherokee last Saturday for the opening of trout season on the reservation. I asked everyone I know but found no interest. (gas prices too high) This coming Saturday of course is opening day for trout in the rest of the state. The 6 AM start time listed in the digest does not pertain in some waters. Make sure you know what you are doing before casting.

January 25th 2008,
           Did any one you know take part in the winter turkey season? I went opening day by myself. I called everyone I knew but could not entice anyone to hunt with me. There was a light dusting of snow on the ground but no turkeys to be found on our lease. I saw turkeys several places while driving around at lunch but none that could of been legally harvested. I did not see anyone who seemed to be hunting all day.  So much for winter turkey hunting.
            I have been reading about the Urban Archery season in the City of Elkin. I would really like to get in on the hunt. I studied the map of the town on the internet and found a lot of big tracts of what appeared to be huntable land. I do not have any idea how to find people that would let you hunt. I guess the urban archery hunts are just going to benefit the local guys.
             I had big dreams for this website when I drew it up 7 years ago. Things just have not worked out the way I hoped. I had visions of a site where outdoorsman shared information and tried to help each other out. Boy was I ever naive.  Oh well at least I tried.
December 29th 2007,
           Deer season is over for my friends and I. I always feel a little sad when I say those words every year. The early morning wake up calls have left me a little gaunt looking by the end of the season. My wife however looks forward to not hearing the alarm clock at 3 in the morning. The odd weather patterns in the area where I hunt made this year a little differant than most. Hot one day, cold the next made patterning deer difficult. I saw it snow two days and hunted with my shirt off two days in six weeks.
            I had 49 chances to kill a deer this year. Probably the most chances I have ever had. I shot six times and had clean kills every time. Probably my best all round year ever. I had to hunt by myself several times. My lease partner was just too busy to hunt. Craig and I do not agree on some aspects of managing our lease. Mostly what to harvest and when to harvest it. On the other hand Craig has made me a better hunter for sure. Encouraging me to wait on the deer I want to shoot and to make better shots when I do shoot.
           The bonus deer tags really did not come into play for me this year. I got some extra tags the last two weeks of the season but as it turned out I did not use them. I would like to hook up with some one who really wants the deer killed off of their property. Craig and I could do some real damage to a deer herd if we wanted to. We have the time to hunt that most people do not and the skills to back it up.
            The winter turkey season is the next thing up for me. We saw a some good flocks of turkeys this season. We had not seen many the last few years. I still think the state should give an extra tag for the winter season if they want it to be effective.

November 20th, 2007
         Gun season began last Saturday in Alleghany county. I had taken a doe the day before and was in no hurry to shoot again. I had 29 chances to shoot with my muzzleloader but only shot twice. Craig shot an eight pointer Saturday and we decided to head on back to the house. We stopped to check in his buck close to our lease. We met a fellow from Hickory who had a huge 10 pointer on his trailer. I believe that buck weighed around 210 pounds maybe more. He was a really nice deer. You do not see many bucks in Alleghany that have the big body and the big rack to go with it. I took a picture of the big buck with my camera phone but forgot to save it (DUH). I hope Mr. Bryant will send me a picture to post here.
          I tried to hunt yesterday but it was just too hot. I put out a little more corn and headed to the house. I will hunt tomorrow and bait again to be ready for Friday. My son is coming in for Thanksgiving to hunt a couple days and I am really looking forward to our trip.       See Ya Later,  Chase
November 15th, 2007
        Hunting season finally started for me this past Saturday. Muzzleloading season began in Alleghany County where I hunt. Craig and I were there early and got into our stands about a half an hour before daylight. I was hunting from a ladder stand watching a corn pile about 75 yards in front of me. Craig was hunting his box stand with at least a hundred yards separating him from his bait. We started seeing deer about an hour after daylight but nothing that we were interested in shooting. I was just trying to get used to my stand and see what kind of deer were in the area. We only have a fifty acre tract but there is a lot of land around us that does not get much pressure. We hunted all day but did not take a shot.
         On Monday we were back on stand early hoping to see a nice buck. Craig had seen a wide six pointer Saturday and a couple of spikes but no real shooters. I had seen 8 deer but all were does or little ones. It was not long before the deer were moving. I was seeing does again and Craig was seeing the little bucks. Around 10 two does came into my bait but the second one was very nervous. She looked at my stand over and over. I guess you can say she looked one time too many. I decided to take her at about ninety yards. Even though she was lung shot she ran about 100 yards before collapsing. Craig did not take a shot all day. We hunted two days and only shot one time.
         We stayed over night, camping in our trucks. We set our alarms for 5:20 AM and were in our stands early again. The deer did not move until almost 10. All of a sudden we were both seeing deer but no shooters. I was looking for a good buck and Craig wanted a doe or a nice buck. We saw a lot of deer but no shots were fired. In three days of hunting I had 24 differant chances to shoot and only shot once. Craig had a dozen chances but did not shoot. I think things are going to change this Saturday when gun season starts.
          Good luck and be safe.     Chase
November 4th, 2007
      The wife and I traveled to Stone Mountain State Park with my parents yesterday afternoon. We wanted to see how many deer we could count. We lost track at 50. I enjoy seeing the deer but it is a little sad to see people feeding them all sorts of sugar laden treats. One thing we all noticed was that all the deer were very dark this year. We saw a nice 6 point and a slightly deformed 8 point.
     Today is my son's birthday. He is 26 years old. (boy does time fly) I drove to Raleigh today to visit him. Happy Birthday Jeff!!
     The interstate was littered with deer carcasses from Hickory to Raleigh and back. I counted 15 dead deer and one coyote. I wish those numbers were reversed for sure. When I see that many deer on the road I always know that hunting season is really here. I even saw a small deer grazing on the side of I40 not 5 minutes form the state capital building.
      My hunting partner Craig and I are heading to Alleghany tomorrow morning to do a little last minute preparation for muzzle loading season next Saturday. I had planned to be at the coast today through Wednesday but the reports from Topsail were not that good so to the mountains I will go. We need to bait, clean out a few roads, and move a ladder stand that is in a bad place. It's a tough job but some one has to do it.
OCTOBER 8th, 2007
     My wife and I headed up to Alleghany County to check out the deer lease yesterday. I put out a little bait, worked on my tree stand and checked out the logging roads. My wife walked a little to get some exercise. As we were driving out I spotted a deer carcass lying by the road heading toward the gate. My first thought was someone has been hunting my lease. I climbed out of the truck to take a closer look even though the coyotes had cleaned the carcass pretty well. The first thing I noticed was that the back leg bones and front shoulders were for the most part intact. You could clearly see where the coyotes had fought over the carcass scraps in the grass. I could not tell exactly why the deer had died but I am pretty sure it was not from someone hunting on my lease. If the deer had not been eaten up I would have reported it to the NCWRC to check for disease. If not for work conflicts I would have hunted the wild dogs this morning.  OH WELL MAYBE NEXT TIME!!
    
September 20th 2007
       The rain last week was a welcome relief if only a brief one. I had three inches on my back porch. The cooler weather that followed has been an even more welcome change. It has just been too hot to even think about hunting or fishing the last two months. The cooler weather actually motivated me to shoot my bow a few times this past week.
       My son sent me a couple of interesting articles last week about the shrinking ranks of hunters and fisherman in America. Hunting is a dying passion around our country. Our ranks are shrinking for many reasons. I believe the lack of places to hunt is the biggest single reason among the people I know. Kids are very busy and so are their parents. Their just is not enough time to do everything. My son was so busy with sports in school that time to go hunting was hard to find.
      Many organizations have sportsman days that cater to the young  people who are interested in learning a little about being an outdoors person. I applaud their effort but the chance of these programs affecting much of the population is not good. The problems are the same as mentioned earlier. The kids just have too many things on their plate to commit to something like this and their parents do not have the time or a place available to follow up on their new interests.
        Enjoy your time in the outdoors. If you have a chance to share your passion with some one who has an interest, do so.
        I think one problem is we are all too selfish with what we have. I remember two years ago when I was looking for a place to dove hunt I came up on a ten acre field that was covered with doves. There were three people hunting there. I asked if they would mind if I hunted down in the far corner where there was no one hunting. I was impolitely told to hit the road. Those guys were so greedy they could not bring themselves to share even when they could not even begin to cover the whole field. We have all been a little guilty of hogging from time to time.         Think about it !
August 21st, 2007
       The dry weather is really turning into a major problem. Many mountain streams are so low that I do not see how any fish are going to survive. I talked to a family last Saturday that were coming home from a futile attempt to float a canoe in a mountain river. Boat launching areas across the state are being closed due to low water conditions. It can be kind of hard to catch a fish if you can not get your boat into the water.
      The fall foliage (you know the leaves) is going to be a bust this year. No water translates to dead leaves that do not reach their brilliant colors but just turn brown and fall off. Dry conditions if they persist will certainly postpone or cancel gun seasons because of the extreme fire danger.
       I guess it will be easier to bait your favorite species this year, just put out a bucket of water. Let's all join together and do a rain dance.


May 5th,
            Three of us are heading to Topsail Island and the Jolly Roger Pier Tomorrow morning early. The reports for that area are pretty good even though next weekend will probably be better. I can hardly wait to get there. We will have a good time no matter what we catch.
             I have been really busy the last few weeks. The time to update the site has been hard to come by. I had a chance to go turkey hunting Wednesday for the second time this year. I arrived at 6 AM at the farm in Alexander County where I had been invited to hunt. The owner was leaning on the old Oak at the beginning of his driveway. He laughingly told me I was too early to kill a turkey on his property. It seems the turkeys are late risers at his place. I wish he would of told me a few days earlier. I grabbed my stuff and headed up the road to the woods above the barn anyway. I hunted hard for three hours and never saw a turkey. I slowly made my way back to the truck and started getting ready to leave. The property owner came down from the house and asked if I had done any good. He told me I was leaving way to early that the turkeys were just getting to his farm about this time of the day. About that time we saw a turkey up where I had just been. I decide to get back up there and try it a little longer. I needed the exercise anyway. About 11 AM a jake came trotting into my decoys. He stopped about 20 feet away to assess the situation and that was the last bit of thinking he ever did.
 
April 11th,2007
                     I loaded up the fishing gear and waders last Saturday and headed up to Allegahny and Ashe counties to do a little trout fishing. The weather was terrible but My son Jeff and I were determined to make the trip. It snowed on us most of the day. The wind was howling and we did not see more than 2 dozen fishermen all day. The funny thing was we only caught 3 trout. I think that was kind of odd since the wildlife commission had stocked nearly 19000 trout in those two counties in March. There were not enough fisherman out fishing to have caught that many trout Saturday. Obviously someone had cleaned out those streams before the season began. I think that is a shame for the law abiding fishermen who were out braving the weather on this snowy Saturday. I know the stories of locals catching all the trout as soon as the stocking truck dumps the fish are true. Once the fish are stocked during the season they are surely fair game. However, I could not believe the devastation of the stocked fish that had taken place before the season even opened. Shame on the people who could not even wait till opening day to give everyone an equal chance at some fish. Where are the wardens when you really need them. I saw them checking several fishermen Saturday. I could not help but think that they were closing the barn door after the mule was already gone.

January 1st, 2007

I was reading the local paper last week. The article was about the proposed changes to hunting and fishing regs for next year. One of the slated changes, if approved, would make the 8 inch 20 fish per day crappie limit effective state wide. The article stated that almost every fisherman supports the law change. I think that fishermen who support a 20 fish limit are probably the guys who can fish every day. I support reasonable limits but I do not think 20 fish is a reasonable number. Having only a day or two to fish each spring makes me a little more liberal. I think that the size limit of 8 inches should be raised to 9 (fish under 9 inches generally do not have any meat on them) and the per day limit should be at least 25 or maybe 30 per day.

I just returned from Topsail Island yesterday. It was a rain shortened trip but I had fun anyway. My good friends Steve and Carroll from Hickory went along for the ride. Speckled trout, puppy drum, black drum and pompano were all there for the taking. I caught most of the specks and puppy drum on finger mullet fished on a drum rig. Monday we caught some really nice fish headlined by Steve's 22 inch puppy drum, some nice specks and drum of both species. I hooked a fish Monday night, probably a big drum, that just headed south with about 50 yards of my line trailing along behind him. Tuesday morning we were out early trying to beat the rain. I caught a couple of specks (one weighed 3 pounds 9 ounces) and a puppy drum pretty fast. Carroll hooked up on a speck, a couple of nice black drum and a puppy on extra fresh shrimp. About that time the rain started and we ran out of bait. We decided to pack it in early rather than brave the conditions on the pier. I met a lot of nice people while fishing. The guy who was so drunk he could barely stand up at 6 AM Tuesday morning was even entertaining. All in all we had a great trip, just a little too short.

This is the time of year when many of our thoughts start switching from fishing to hunting. The limbo time when it is to hot to fish but not cool enough to be in the woods. Many of you are still fishing hard and I salute you for it. However a lot of us are starting to really think about deer season. Some have never stopped thinking about deer hunting (poor tortured souls). I have given up bow hunting for various reasons a few years ago so I really have a lull between fishing and hunting. The pursuit of trout is really on my mind lately.  But I would be lying if I said I am not beginning to think of deer season. The lease needs to be paid, a stand needs to be moved, a little repair work needs to be done. You know the drill. It is all part of the pursuit. A part of the passion that can not be explained. Deer hunting is a disease of sorts but we do not want to know the cure.

I have not seen many fishing reports this week. I have seen the results of a few tournaments so I know that fish can be caught" cause I saw the guys holding them". Catching fish is more than the sum of its parts. It is something that gives the successful fisherman a real sense of self worth. On the coast the kings are really tearing it up. If you have access to a boat now is the time to be there.

 If you know of any event you would like to have posted on our events page or anything that might be of interest to hunting and fishing enthusiasts, send it to us via email and we will get it up and running. Please if you get a chance take a kid (or an adult) with you when you go you'll be glad you did.

                                                                                 GOOD LUCK  AND BEST WISHES !!!!

                                                                                  CHASE