Outdoors Guy alive and well!

July 18, 2013 61d Comments

Ok folks, please don’t panic!

I have not been cut and my column will be appearing in tomorrow’s paper. Believe it or not, I’ve already received two condolence letters this morning about being an unfortunate part of the recent cuts.

Not to worry, I am still here alive and well!

This week we did hear troubling news from SUN Media regarding publication cuts and job losses and it’s never pleasant news.

Fortunately, though, this time around it affected only the Free papers in many Canadian markets. I say fortunately, however there are still 360 employees across Canada who would strongly disagree.

Make no mistake people, these cuts are a bad thing for the newspaper industry and a sad sign of the times. At least at the Ottawa SUN we were not directly affected this time, I mean things were slashed to bare bones last time around that, really, there isn’t much left that could be cut.

I would like readers to know that the hunting, fishing, trapping and conservation coverage they have come to expect, will still be available. (If I have any say in the matter)

Admittedly I have been a bit more quiet on the Blog of late, and I apologize for that. I recently signed a deal with my Publisher for two more books with the first manuscript due September 1st, 2013.

Let’s just say it’s going to be a busy summer!

I do plan to keep things going here regularly at the Outdoors Guy and with my regular columns in the Ottawa SUN, Pembroke Daily Observer and Bounder Magazine. If you do notice the Blog being a bit quieter, though, not to worry as I will be going strong again come September.

Thanks to all the readers and local outdoor enthusiasts for your support over the past 11 years! Honestly, without you folks we would have ZERO outdoors coverage in this part of the country and we hunters and fishermen NEED a voice!

I invite everyone to write-in with your hunting and fishing reports, news, cougar sightings, big fish stories, pet peeves, etc.

Best regards,

Outdoorsguy

61 thoughts on “Outdoors Guy alive and well!”

  1. good to hear your back it’s been a hot summer for lakers on the water by 5am off by 9 am with limits filled but they are all over the place from 60 ft to 160 ft .Jeff trying to pull a laker off the bottom is like trying to take a ham away from mike duffy lo

  3. Glad to hear the column and blog survive. Looking forward to more info on new books too. Most pleased to see that you have to be finished first drafts by Sept 1.It means that you haven’t compromised you’re fall hunting in any way !

    1. Thanks Bob and don’t worry, I would never do anything to jeopardize my fall hunts.

      It’ll be 34 years this year and I haven’t missed a season yet! Think my Dad is going on 70 hunting seasons this year and he hasn’t missed one either. He’s 82 and started when he was 12…even today, he’s still crawling over the mountains like a jackrabbit!

      Btw, your scent package is forthcoming…I haven’t forgotten about it, just kind of slow these days.

      Outdoorsguy

    1. Gosh…thanks Maple!

      Btw, we enjoyed some of that wonderful maple syrup this week…awesome!

      Catch any tuna yet??

      Outdoorsguy

  5. morning jeff boy it was nice and cool last night got up really early this am and checked out the deer in my area and wow 2 big bucks one is going to be a 10 or larger the other is already a 6 anyway will be heading up to the big rideau on monday am will let you know how we did funny thing most of the lakers have had chad in their bellies good to see they are feeding i hope this hot weather doesn’t send them to the bottom if so it’s scraping time have a great day jeff

    1. Hey mike, thanks for the report..sounds like you’ve got some healthy deer in your area again this year.

      Question for you, are those really American Shad or Gizzard Shad you have there in the Big Rideau?

      Outdoorsguy

    1. Tks Iggs….good to hear from you.

      Were you checking out the big nickel, I know its too early for bear hunting??

      Outdoorsguy

  7. Went up to see an uncle and play a bit of golf, ise son and family is over from Taiwan so we thought it would be a good summer trip. Got caught in those storms all the way home. Petawawa seemed to get it just before we got there, there were trees snapped clean off two feet from the ground, big trees blown right over across the road. Quite the mess

  8. Saw a little fawn on the highway up to the cottage on the weekend, dodging in and around cars that had all slowed down. Poor little thing was really confused, finally running into an open field and towards the bush, hopefully it caught up to it’s mom. It was really small, it better hope it starts growing up really fast or it won’t make the winter.

    1. Iggy, we toured Pembroke and Petawawa on the weekend when we were at the trailer and it was friggin terrible! Trees and damage everywhere..poor people. And up around where my parents live near Tremblant..a tree came down on a friend of my sister-in-law…got her for 12 stiches in the head…a separated shoulder and concussion! She’s lucky it was only a branch-sized tree and not something larger..otherwise she’d be dead now.

      Outdoorsguy

  9. Last weekend the coyotes where pretty active around the cottage. Woke us up. Anyway I was up early,
    jumped in the boat and headed across the lake to the in-laws. Alittle ways out I saw what I thought was a
    female mallard doing her best to get me to chase her. I took the bait and came up on her, when I got close
    I realized it was not a duck but a fawn. Hard to believe how small it was and how well it swam. My first reaction was to lift it in the boat, but it was determined and headed to shore. I watched it get out of the lake, non the worst for ware.

    1. Imacdon, it seems kind of odd, don’t you think, for a fawn to be out in middle of the lake by itself? Wonder if the mom died or was taken out by those yotes you heard?

      Not that I’m trying to blame the coyotes for everything, just putting two and two together. The fawns don’t usually stray far from mom during the early days.

      Outdoorsguy

  10. I’m pretty sure the coyotes chased it out to the lake. No idea how long it had been out there for?

  11. judging by the number of rabbits around my place the coyotes won’t have to chase deer to be well fed. They are everywhere this year.

    1. Yep, same for around my place johan..its a bunny bonanza!

      Fortunately for them, most are bionic..

      Outdoorsguy

  12. my garden is a bit of a fragile eco system this year and the darn critters are all through it but so far haven’t tasted the wares. Mainly because not much has grown and I never thought to plant rice. First sign my veggies become a target, I am declaring war. May have to call the Nudge to bring in the chopper.

    1. haha…I think the Nuge only reserves the chopper for larger game like wild hogs, but you never know.

      Outdoorsguy

  13. jeff i saw the funniest thing over the weekend near Almonte i observed a family from toronto get out of their car smoke and then throw their garbage on the side of the road near an ice cream store where i live i then watched as the father went to the ditch for a pee i then heard a load scream and he came a running but alas it was a turkey i guess he doesn’t like garbage thrown on his property either i knew they were from t.o. as they had a dealership plate cover from there., funny thing was when i told him to pick up their garbage they looked at me like a deer in the headlights.It was when i started taking down their licence plate that they picked up their garbage and went on their way.

    1. Hey mike…sounds like you put the fear of the lord into them..hehe

      Reminds me of a time years ago near my hunt camp, I was following this vehicle down the road and watched them throw an empty pack of smokes out the window. That really got to me, so I passed them, blocked the road and made them go back and pick it up! I also remember threating to send a guy home from our camp, after catching him toss an empty beer bottle in the bush!

      For some reason littering is even worse when you’re in the Great Outdoors.

      Outdoorsguy

  14. shot the new Excalibur Vortex for the first time today, after a couple shots off the board, the scope adjusted, a bull at 20 then a few bulls at 30
    This weekend I’ll take it back to 50
    Moose hunting is only seven weeks away 🙂

    1. Hey Iggs..how many fps is the new Vortex? Somewhere around 340-350?

      Must be nice eh..and will be especially exciting moose hunting this year.

      Outdoorsguy

  16. I think it’s around 330 fps but I know it’s fast, and a touch difficult to load, but it’s more than enough for a 50 yard shot at a bull moose, I can’t wait.
    I need to go buy a soft case for it and some 150 gr blades

    1. Iggs, dont buy the cheap mesh case at LeBaron, they’re no good. They do sell a really nice universal crossbow case there just like a rifle case with padding protect for around $80…its really nice, got one for the oldman last year and his Exomax fits it perfectly!

      Outdoorsguy

      2. Hey Mike Jones, you still around?

        Tried sending you a pm but it bounced back..

        I’d really like to feature a report on Big Rideau for my Aug 15th column..any
        chance you could throw some info together for me..based on a recent trip?

        Only if you have time of course..and really, just a paragraph or so would be fine.

        Anyone else been out fishing? I could use a report from your areas as well…send me a pm at: [email protected]

        Thanks,

        Outdoorsguy

  17. Speaking of littering, I was in the drive through at Timmies a few years ago and a guy in front of us throws a pop can out the window. so I got out and picked it up and set it on the hood of his car. I could see he was pissed and he gets out of his car and walks towards me. My 16 year old son and his buddy get out of the back seat of my car and he beetles back to his car. After he got through the drive through, he tossed a bunch of napkins out of his window just to be an ass, but I’ll bet he thinks twice about doing it again.
    My friend Ron, who you know Jeff, he caught the Spek in the Ottawa River, punched a guy in the nose at a red light once, the guy pulls up beside him, opens his door, and dumps his full ashtray on the ground, so Ron gets out, knocks on his window, pops him on the beak gets back in his car, and drives away hehe

    1. Hahaha…man, that is too funny..and YES, I bet BOTH of those guys learned a lesson!

      Outdoorsguy

  19. The votrex is the updated version of the exocet 200, thus it is 200 lb draw @330 fps. It’s slightly smaller and lighter and better looking than the exocet which has been on the market for several years.
    The mention of crossbows of course made me go to the basement and give my exocet a pat and say only seven more weeks buddy only seven more weeks!

    1. Hey bob, what does the wife say when you’re patting the crossbow like that?

      Outdoorsguy

  20. That’s the case I’m looking at, it’s made by Excalibur, I went to LeBaron and Sail today, both places the same price so I’ll wait for a sale

  21. morning jeff will be going to the rideau on august the 5fth will let you know how we did on wednesday as back at work with the city of ottawa i have found in our last fishing trips to the rideau a large number of the trout caught have had chad in their bellies 2or even 3, and still are hungry there is a couple spots off a ledge that goes from 180 ft to 85 feet where the fish stack up like wood but they bite primarily between 5 and 8 am after that they shut right down most of the fish caught are around 2 to 6 lbs but apparently someone caught a 20 pounder good for pics then release it if possible i will also take pictures and send them too you will get help from the younger staff who know computer skills at work . have a great long weekend also may have a show for this fall on migratory bird hunting would like to take some of your followers if possible , only serious guys who do not mind getting up way up before the am sun .

  22. Hey Jeff,

    How about a post on carp fishing (if not already done in the past), especially in the Ottawa River areas. Need some spots to fish them.

    Great excitement when they run, and not to easy to bring back in. Before going on trip to NY, the wife and I spent a day in Morrisburg, ON attending a theater play, then next morning a guided carp fishing day with the services of the Canadian Carp Club in Long Sault, ON. Wife and I caught some beauties. She is now hooked on this.

    Interesting to listen to this guide during the day. He is Hungarian and participated in many World Carp fishing competition. He says that people from Europe and UK come spend weeks in Long Sault just for carp fishing.

  24. no problem lmacdon i will keep you posted jeff just to keep you in the loop we were at the big rideau on monday august 5 and caught 5 nice lakers the biggest being 5to6 lbs but we lost atleast 5 they were biting but would not stay on 4 of the fish were females and the last was a male he was full of shad one was especially torn up you could see how aggressive the bite marks were all over the side of it did talk to several guys fishing for bass and pickerel but the bass were biting very good on our last troll through a channel we were reeling in the downrigger line and it was empty but within 15 ft or so of the boat a big fish came up so fast and hit the lure it was pure magic on it’s speed and accuracy but it didn’t stay on, it just flipped the lure out of the water still waiting on the fall news of a show will keep your readers posted and my fingers crossed . Have a great day jeff and fellow readers

  25. I noticed today that the Maple tree next door is already starting to lose the odd leaf and the tree has just a tinge of colour change. That means fall is just around the corner, my favorite season of all.
    I’ve been looking up in the trees lately since they came to give me an assessment on my two Ash trees.
    A thousand bucks to treat them, with a 50/50 chance of survival, and they recommend another treatment next year to keep the TreeAzin at the very top of the tree, then every two years after that for 6 more years, or 4000.00 to take them both down. These are big trees, 97 inches in diameter and 64 inches.
    It’s a shame all the Ash trees dying in our neighbourhood.

  26. my son got his doe tag (antlerless) today
    I’m hoping for one in the mail for me today

  27. @ IGGY how much did you pay for your sons hunters safety program.. just read it is up to around 300 bucks on the ood site.. I cant believe it is that much .. the ofah has sole rights to the course and sounds to me like a little price fixing going on . I now see why hunting is dyeing out who can afford that

  30. well I just went to see about sons… 300 bucks … other provinces are around 100 and you can do the course online and only see instructor to do practical..
    I got my tag today

  31. just price my sons courses .. 300 bucks… this is bull crap when in newbrunswick it is about 100 bucks… liberals sure do have a strangle hold on us …

  32. yes they keep milking us but where is the money for wetlands you never hear about any new hunting ponds or areas being built all or most of the money for licences and tags they say goes to the mnr and to ducks unlimited but tell them to show you proof, they never would. like guns and ammo in canada we are being royally screwed over and the government just keeps making the hunters pay more and more until it will be milk and food or a box of shells

  33. Someone has to pay for valuable things like new daycare programs so it may as well be hunters who typically reside far enough from the big smoke that their voices aren’t heard. How much do you think that useless boater exam has hauled in over the years while providing absolutely no value? I am sure someone in power has a BS graph that states how effective the written exam has been to the safe operation of a watercraft. Anyone who has written it, or should I say cheated on the online version will attest to that. btw, I took the course and wrote it without the answers in front of me and the only tough questions were buoys I have never seen, nor am likely to ever see.

    Someone keeps voting the current party into power and we are getting poorer every year because of it, not to mention the waste and scandal. Where is it going to end? Who knows, but in the meantime the GTA will continue to have their way with us.

    1. Just getting back from holidays and will have some new material up soon.

      My latest Pembroke outdoors column is out now…sorry dont have the link at the moment

      Tks Mike for the fishing info btw

      Outdoorsguy

      1. Hey…anyone seeing any deer around?

        Oh, and Chessy $300 sounds like a lot to me too.

        Outdoorsguy

  34. bout time

    almost hit a fawn on the way back from the cottage this morning. We saw a doe on the side of the road and as we were admiring it a fawn ran out in front of us from the other side of the road, good thing my brakes work and I know now the ABS is working, just missed it

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