Hello All,

A favourite pastime of mine is photographing deer. With prime hiking territory close to home, interacting with many of the same animals week after week is a rewarding and educational experience.

As the summer months progress and antler growth continues, I will be showcasing my continued interactions with this fascinating species.

The following are a collection of images taken during the month of May. Enjoy!

I have also been fortunate to have enjoyed a great spring of shed (antler) hunting. Nine sheds (seven that were kept) have made for a great collection and display. These were found after hiking a total distance of 191 km’s over 16 hikes during the months of March, April and May.

Yours in the Outdoors,

Justin

(click on images to view in full size)

Look up hackle in the dictionary and you will find something like the long shining feathers from the neck of the domestic cock, peacock, pigeon, etc. But when a flytyer uses the same word, it may mean one of the feathers just mentioned, or any other type of feather that can be wound on at the hackle position, or the wound-on collar formed from those feathers that many fishing flies sport just behind their heads, or even a body hackle, which is wound spirally up or down the fly body. To…

So its the ‘closed season’ again. May 15th – June 15th and I’m closed. This year its a little different though – on reading the Draft National Bass Policy one of the amendments might be in relation to this ‘closed season’ if it passes. Closed for spawning over an optimal time its a good idea and does force us to think a little.

Thing is, that optimal spawning time moves in relation to the influences – fish don’t use schedules. Many years fish have spawned before or sometimes spawn after the dates, so the policy is correct to suggest a re-interpretation.

Respecting the close of the season empowers you (even if you may have questions) as an angler to pursue the ownership, the protection, and to challenge and to contribute to the changes that are necessary now more than ever to protect and develop this fishery – like a broken record I’m saying it again – we have something that the world wants – these words are taken from a post made two years ago HERE and now maybe something is changing after all.

Time to to think about what it is as anglers that we don’t know. Areas in which we fish, when we fish and how we fish, HERE in this post is another reason as to maybe why we should consider areas of conservation for specific times – we don’t know much really, we are not well informed!

This blog is loaded with similar thoughts as to those expressed in the Bass policy plan, its logical as to why that might happen. Common sense I guess. HERE is an expression of ‘socio’ benefits, HERE antagonistic questions as to why not, HERE a sample among hundreds of economic benefits, HERE the experiences, HERE the first post made on this site, the work goes on like it has done for the past five years on this site and will continue to do so. HERE and HERE……….

The fishing is closely tied to all the experiences good and bad – sometimes HERE is just too damn close.

While our politicians debate bass fishing in the Dail as seen from the post below HERE , it might be no harm to take time out and remind them of your bass angling activity in this country and the special status of the fish – click below for a change!

mick.wallace@oireachtas.ie or simon.coveney@oir.ie

A little bit of fishing in your day – Jim

Robert Blosser and Joe Okada summarize their prefishing and tournament days at the last FLW Qualifier on Lake Erie. Also a quick preview of the AIM Can/Am Invitational, and a new use for the EGO S2 Slider.