August is the sweet spot in time to set up a signpost rub… or two, or three.
Why? I’ve found trail-cams focused on homemade signpost rubs are by far the most effective way to chronicle big bucks. As whitetail bachelor groups dissociate in early September, bucks seek out signpost rubs when on excursion. But what if you hunt in a rub desert? No worries.
Oak Duke: Here’s how to set up a signpost rub for whitetails Read More »
Thankfully, between some of the storied Mayfly events that in the past we hung our hats on, the resilient Caddis flies popped out even in high stained water, bringing trout up so we could successfully swing our flies. And sometimes even a dry fly floated on the end of a tippet…hoping against hope, just too good to resist.
Oak Duke: Going fly-fishing? Tie on an emerger Read More »
Nothing quite like the feeling of having a good fish on.
But was it a fluke?, No pun intended. Who wants to catch just one fish? Sometimes trout will hit a fly, we mumble, “Ahh, got it solved. So that’s what they want.”
Sorry. But it was a one-off. An anomaly. An outlier. We need a second, or even a third fish, fooled with the same pattern to well, cinch it.
Oak Duke: Desperately seeking the right trout water Read More »
The gobbler was working his way in. Finally! It had been tough out there that particular spring with not much gobbling. But you never know when turkey hunting. Keep plugging away at it. Luck can change in a heartbeat.
My hen decoy was set up next to a dusting spot, a good-sized turkey excavation in a wheel barrow-sized anthill. She was doing her job, and I was fingering the shotgun’s safety. He’d come into range any minute now. Then… more gobbling off to the side.
Oak Duke: Dealing with bully jakes Read More »
The Appalachian Willow fly here on the Genesee River appeared like just another weird bug crawling up my waders as I fished knee-deep for trout.
That was 50 years ago. Back then I hoped it wouldn’t bite. I didn’t know. That was half a century ago and in New York State’s trout season, opening day began April 1st. Excitedly, with increasing anticipation, we counted down the days.
Oak Duke: Willow fly signals start of trout fly season in New York Read More »
The yellow school bus dropped off three little kids in front of their dirt road leading to the old unpainted farmhouse up the hill. The kids, with metal lunch boxes, clutching papers, dreaded the end, the terrifying sprint… the last 50 yards or so to the house, past the barn where the mean old rooster ruled.
He attacked everyone, but especially little screaming children, pecking, beating with wings, and jumping, trying to lance the kid’s legs with sharp spurs, squawking until the farmhouse door was slammed shut. I was helping a buddy build a cabin, and parked on the edge of the shared driveway, learning quickly that everyone feared the rooster.
Oak Duke: There’s something special about fooling trout on your own flies Read More »
The celestial spheres have ganged up to throw us deer hunters an astronomical curve ball this year, skewing the methodology of how we determine the dates of the 2025 whitetail rut a bit.
A pitcher’s curve ball entices batters into making poor swings and deceives them by breaking one way or the other.
Oak Duke: Plan ahead for a classic 2025 whitetail rut Read More »
It was going to be a textbook hunt on the final day of the 2024 New York State firearms deer season. My confidence was peaking. I’ve filled my share of tags on the last day of the season.
A soft southerly wind caressed the mid-December snow cover, directly from the south. So that necessitated a long hike, circling around the hunting property ridge-top woodlot. That way my entry point would be directly downwind of any whitetails munching and digging out acorns under the big oak stand.
Oak Duke: A missed opportunity right as a New York deer season slips away Read More »
From my precarious perch in a ridge-top oak tree, I watched four big bucks work out their breeding ritual. The center of their rapt attention…a tiny doe, in the corner of a field. The diminutive size of the doe amplified the buck’s size, as back then I was under the mistaken idea that mature bucks only bred mature does.
Back in those years, now 40 years ago, I was hunting with a right-handed 70-pound draw Howard Hill longbow, and the tending, breeding group I observed occurred during the short, mid-December extended archery season here in New York state back then.
Oak Duke: A last bit of December rut action in New York Read More »
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