JP's 1st Upland Hunt

 

One of my best friends from JMU that lives in Boston came into town for the Steelers v. Ravens game.  We had some time to kill on the weekend and we decided to get out to a local hunting preserve (where he didn't need a license.)  He had never hunted before and only shot a gun once in his life.  It was a beautiful day and he wanted to see Cooper in his element and try his hand at wing shooting.

 

 

 

Be very, very quiet, we're hunting wabbits

 

 

 We started out with some clay pigeons and Johnny hit a couple - probably batting around .200. But when we moved onto the birds, it was a whole new game and he was dead nuts.  One after another, he didn't miss a single bird.  The first few birds Cooper flushed were chukar and he smoked them. 

There were pheasants all throughout the property, but man were they running.  These birds were really wily and rarely held.  It was also warm with little wind, which made it tough for Cooper.  But he stuck with them and tracked them really well. 

This one flew my way

Looks like a Bond video game...for birds

Wait....Labs can point?!?

Towards the end of the hunt, we finally put a couple ringnecks up for Johnny and he was lights out on them too. There were some pretty difficult crossing shots and I was super impressed with how he swung on these birds very naturally.  Cooper did his work and fetched them quickly up. 

All in all it was a great hunt and I think we have a new wing shooter whenever he is in town.  We finished up with a couple cold Two Hearted Ales on the tailgate of the truck and then headed home.

Johnny was absolutely lights out shooting.  Didn't miss a bird!

Helltown Brewing from Mt. Pleasant, PA

Earlier in the day, we were down in the Stript District and picked up a growler of Helltown Reserve Stout.  I'd never heard of this brew, but we come to find out that it was a new local brewery in my old hometown of Mt. Pleasant, PA!  I had no clue. 

So with a few Stouts under our belt, we decided to get a little exotic and plucked the pheasants (which is a pain in the ass) to keep the skin on and then spatch-cock them so they could be grilled whole.  I'd had never prepared a bird of any kind like this and Johnny showed me how to cut the breast bone out so it could be grilled flat.  I would never have grilled pheasant breasts because they would be too dry, but the secret was that you grill it with the bones in and it keeps the bird MOIST and flavorable.  You really get the taste of pheasant and they were delicious.  Birds, beer, grilling...good day.

Here We Go Steelers!

We made our annual pilgrimage to Heinz Field, home of the greatest franchise in all of sports.  When we go, we like to go BIG, so we got end zone seats, 3 rows up and picked a hell of a smash mouth game against the hated Ravens.  It's always a tough game, but without Ben we knew it was a tall order.  I'm not going to breakdown the game,...we all know the final score, but I figured I'd post a couple pics.  We had a great time.

Pheasant Hunting with the Mud Lab

I took Cooper out for a couple hours to get him some exercise and some field work.  Even though he knows life has changed with the twins, he also knows the air is colder and its bird season.  He gives me those 'take me hunting' eyes all the time, so I am happy to help when I can. 

 

He's 5 years old now, so he really has hit his stride and we just work together in an unspoken manner.  He put up this first bird on the top of the field and made a nice long distance retrieve.  

 

It was unseasonably warm out and after the first bird, Cooper was pretty overheated.  Leave it to him to find the only mud pit on the property.  He wallowed around like a warthog and I could only laugh.

 





Cooper as a chocolate lab!

Further up the tree line, Cooper got birdy again and pointed a rooster which he flushed within range of the Benelli.  He finished up with another retrieve right at dusk before the long walk back to the truck and a cold beet. It was another great little guys outing.

Annual Sauerkraut Stomp!

Classic picture of my Pap getting cabbage for the 'kraut.

 

Late October brings the annual family sauerkraut stomping.  It all starts with finding the densest cabbage in the high country of Somerset County and my Pap and Dad's cousin, Joe, do the leg work.  This year they got 650 pounds.  My crock holds almost 50 pounds of cabbage.  I seriously have no idea what they do with the rest.

After doing some prep work for the cabbage it's ready for the shredding and then the stompin'.  Add some salt and that is pretty much it :)

Just a couple months and we're ready for some New Year's Day kraut

 

Aside from the fact this is by far the most delicious sauerkraut ever (seriously, its not even close,) the coolest thing is we have at least five generations following the same family recipe making sauerkraut.  From talking to my Pap, he made kraut with his father, who was a coal miner back in the days of the Great Depression.  Back then, preserving food for the cheap for months on end was more the necessity than having a New Year's Day pork roast feast like we use it now.  I find this pretty interesting to think about on different levels. Either way, its a tradition I hope to pass along and we'll be eating good and naturally healthy.

My Pap (Jack) and me back in 2010

 

 

My boy Jack continuing the tradition this year.  Take notes son!

2 Birds with 1 Stone

I took Cooper out for a run after work at a local State Game Lands.  The birds were really scattered and the hot weather made the conditions extremely tough.  We did more exploring than anything, but on the way out, Cooper got birdy and moments later put up a rooster that quickly fell to the 12 gauge  for an easy retrieve. 

Cooper continued to work the area and got hot again.  I wasn't sure if he was on the same bird, so I gave him some leeway.  After a couple minutes, I realized he was hot on a trail and out of my range.  I whistled for him to come back and hit him on the collar when he didn't come right back.  I was pretty mad at him and when I climbed to the top of the hill to meet him, he was running towards me about 60 yards away with a pheasant in his mouth that he caught.  Two birds with one shot.  Not bad.

Pheasant Opener!

 

 

 

Cooper locked up on point on a perfect Pennsylvania fall day

 

Cooper and I snuck out of baby duty for a little morning hunt.  We started on the water in the morning hoping to get into some wood ducks, but we didn't end up seeing one duck!  This little honey hole was always a producer, so we were a little disappointed. 

 

We then went over to the club property to do a little pheasant hunting.  It was the first day, so we waited until most of the guys were wrapped up before getting out there to avoid the other hunters.  We ran Roxie (German Shorthair Pointer) first, but we didn't get any birds in the usual spots.  We took Cooper out second and he did an awesome job.  He got hot on a rooster in the cut corn and then locked up on point.  He stayed on point for over a minute, in time for us to get set up for the shot and take a picture!  He was rock steady and the best part of a pointing lab is releasing him for the flush.  This is what separates him from the pointers.  Its so great to watch!  Cooper followed up the performance with a fine retrieve.  What a sight. 

 

We worked a treeline next and Cooper locked up on another bird and then put it up to wrap up our first morning with two birds on two shots.  Great way to start the season.

 

Early Duck Season

Cooper and I scouted out a little puddle that held some wood ducks in the evening.  We got up early and set up before first light.  The wood ducks flew in in predictable fashion and we let the first few land before finally getting two to drop in near us and we got one duck.  It was a one and done setup and the hunt was over after the shooting.  The duck I hit proved to be quite elusive and Cooper had to do quite the track job to make the retrieve. But he's one heck of a tracker and quickly found the duck.

Twins!

Spencer and I have been expecting twins, so my time has been spent getting the house and nursery ready for the past few months instead of trying to catch every fish in the tri-state area.  Well after all the waiting, the twins were finally delivered on 10-11-12.  John Robert 'Jack' and Clara Spencer were born at 5#8oz and 5#2oz. Both babies and Momma are doing great.  I can't wait to go camping, flyfishing, hunting, biking, boarding, etc, etc with our two new little babies one day!

Fall Shroomin'

Found this big ol fresh Chick of the Woods (aka sulphur shelf) mushroom while mt. biking.  The bright orange stuck out like a sore thumb in the woods.  With the recent cool temps and rainfall, this polypore must have just popped.

 

I've tried a couple different recipes, but this one definitely is my favorite to complement the lemony, chicken like taste of this mushroom.  Absolutely delicious!

Chicken of the Woods Mushroom Risotto
Serves 4
100g of Chicken of the Woods Fungus – thickly sliced
200g of risotto rice
2 cloves of garlic
2tbsp of butter
Salt and Pepper
2 pints of hot vegetable or chicken stock
1 lemon juiced
Handful of fresh thyme

1. Fry the chicken of the woods mushroom with the butter and garlic til softened
2. Add the risotto rice til coated in butter
3. Add a ladle full of stock, stir until absorbed
4. Continue to add the stock a ladle full at a time stirring well
5. Continue adding the stock in this way, until all the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is plump and tender.
6. Add the thyme , lemon juice season with salt and pepper

 

Xterra Appalachia Triathlon

I ran the Xterra Appalachia triathlon at Yellow Creek State Park for the second time in three years. The Xterra is a .5 mile swim, 15 mile mountain bike, and 4 mile trail run and is the only off-road triathlon around here. It is really well  organized by the team at American Adventure Sports and enthusiastic volunteers (including one woman who took these pictures.) I did this race two years ago and even though racing really isn't my thing (ask my wife....I'm never in a hurry), I found that having a goal like this keeps me biking and swimming throughout the summer to stay in 'relative' shape.  If I didn't have something to train for ...I would just, well ....only fish.

Pre-race.  I'm at the far right...hands on hips...serious mode.

The race started with the swim, which is my least favorite part (until you get to the run then that is my least favorite.)  No matter how much I train for swimming, you cant factor in getting punched and kicked in the pack of swimmers as you try to mow your way through a garden of lake weeds.  This year I thought I did the swim much better by staying on the outside of the pack and actually swimming a few hundred yards for a warm up before the race - two lessons I learned from two years ago.  The one thing I cant get over though is how crooked I swim without lane markers in a pool.  I completely veer to the right and probably made a .5 mile swim closer to .75 mile. I finished this leg in 23 minutes.



The mountain bike was next up and I can say I truly love to ride.  I have done this course a few times, so I remembered most of it including some previous crashes.  Two years ago, I got caught up in the race and turned a relatively small bump in a downhill into a launching pad for an endo into a jagger bush.  This year, I dialed it down some and didn't have one 'bad' wreck.  However, about mid-way through the race, we had torrential downpours, which made the single track greasy and technical, but racing in mud is fun and I finished in 1:57.





My favorite part....the mountain biking

 






















The last leg was a hilly trail run over roots, rocks, and logs.  With a bad ankle and knee I dont run anymore, so my plan was to just grit it out and plug through the 4 miles.  Good plan.  After the first hill, my legs were tighter than a snare drum and my knee felt like it was going to explode.  But I've been here before and just pushed through.  The 38 minute run was pretty slow, but I did finish that last .5 mile strong. My overall total time was 3'06 and a little slower than two years ago, but at this point, I was truly happy to finish the tough race and enjoy the fun day.




Yough Tailrace Float

Dave and I hit the Yough Saturday morning.  With the warmer temps and my schedule (aka: honeydew list #9: Nursery) we just floated the top section.  Its only maybe 1.25 miles from put-in to take-out, but we took our time and worked the many runs on the way down. 



An angler standing in the early Yough mist


It was raining early right around 9 AM and I thought the BWOs would pour off the water, but to our surprise we didn't see one little BWO.  We did see a decent amount of cahills - both yellow and orange coming off around 10-11 AM, but not one fish took that size 12/14 bug.  We even saw a couple yellow drakes that were 2XL, but the fish didn't seem to care. 



When this fog lifted, there were about 10 fisherman below the bridges!

What the trout did like though was the venerable caddis.  When the sun came out, so did the splashy tell tale rises in the runs.  This is such a more welcome site to see then when they are in impossible killer whale mode cruising and taking size 20 something micro emergers. I loathe those fish. 


We had a good 5 hours on the river and caught a good amount. I lost a 20" palomino due to dry rotted tippet that apparently had the breaking strength of a piece of hair. Sickening. There is enough other things that can go wrong when you hook a pig, but bad line shouldn't be one of them.



Typical Yough bow

When we got to our take out, there were plenty of fish still rising. This is always a problem and makes it damn hard to leave. If I had my choice, I would rather have daylight force me off the river. Leaving at mid day, I basically had to turn away and just bee line from the river and not look back. All it takes is one cast and I would have been stuck there probably til dark.




Dave working a run behind his boat

The Freedom Float - Yough River

Did a little Fourth of July float fishing with David. God bless America it was hot out there!  We put in above Ramcat around 7:30 and floated down to Ohiopyle.  Big rubber hatch on the river with the rafts and kayaks.  Unfortunately that was about the only thing that was hatching.  Not many bugs at all - just a few BWOs and caddis and that was about it.  The fishing pretty much followed the bug activity and they just wouldn't eat.  We found one small pod of fish that were rising and were able to trick one on a BWO dry, but that was it for the top water.  It may be time to focus on the upper tail race section and hit the late evenings / early mornings only for now. 

But we had a great day as always and spent some extra time stopping the boat and checking out the river lines so we can continue to learn.  David manned the oars in his boat and we definitely learn more each time we get out.  This section below was the one that really jacked me up on my first trip down.  Of course the picture doesn't really do it justice, but as you can see, there is no real clear line to get through.  And I know for a fact there is one big pointy rock that is currently tattooed on top with some white drift boat paint.



This time around, we followed a couple rafts that tucked in behind the big rock on the left in the picture below and the rapid was butter after that.  I'll remember that line for sure.  Live and learn.

Towards the end of the float I was throwing big streamers and my sinking line was lazily dragging under the boat as I took a break and sat down.  We hit a rock and I just knew what had happened....cut that $70 right in half.  Ahh, just one of those days!  But any time you can get onto the river on a Wednesday, you can't ask for much more!  Happy Fourth!

Dog Training / Bass Fishin'

I've been knee deep in getting the house ready for the twins this fall and this weekend was dedicated to installing a Pergo floor in the new guest room.  By Sunday evening I needed to wet a line in the worst way and the dog needed to get some exercise, so we took a little family trip to a local training pond.  We had the place to ourselves and did some water retrieves for Cooper to wear him out a bit in the heat.

Then on the other side of the pond, I worked some poppers for small sunfish and bass.  I never fished this pond before and I rarely even fish any little bass ponds.  But it was 10 minutes away and the Yough is 1.5 hours.  I ended up catching a bunch of little less than discriminating sunfish and bass on a little top water popper and had a hoot.  Spencer brought her chair and just hung out on the bank.  It was a good way to get my fix in before starting the work week again.