ICE FISHING ON THE GRAND LAKE SYSTEM

    February is a short month and Ken and I are eagerly waiting for the longer days of spring, which is just around the corner. Since this is a short month ,plus the fact my computer earased half of my post,this month my blog will be short and sweet. February is a month for ice fishing tournaments and at least three were held on the waters of the Grand Lake system.

    The first tournament held this month was the Paul Gallant Memorial Tournament held on French and Indian Lake. This is the fourth year for this event and it is always well attended,with over one hundred participants registered this year.Many ice fishermen like this tournament because it has easy access to the lakes via the Sand Point Road and the Mill Road. There are some good prizes and it is a well run tournament with very capable volunteers. Prizes are given out for the biggest pickerel and the largest perch. One of the locals,Dale G. took most of the prizes. I guess being a local gave him a decided advantage.

    The village of Minto held its annual tournament at the Key-Hole on Grand Lake,near Princess Park. This is a mostly ''for fun'' tournament aimed at getting youngsters and their parents out on the ice for a day of fun and free hot dogs and beverages. This event is also well attended and the selfless dedication of the volunteers guarantee a good time is had by all. The weather co-operated this year and there was lots of ice and many anglers drove their vehicles right to their angling spot. This made a lot of the older anglers happy and kept the little ones interested long enough to land a few fish and get a hot chocolate and a hot dog. The following photo shows a group shot of the volunteers who make this event happen each year.

 There were folks fishing all over the length and breadth of the Key-Hole trying to find that hotspot where the big pickerel were waiting.The next photo shows some of the participants fishing in this years tournament.

 The Key-Hole has always been a good place to fish for pickerel and perch because of the lower water level and the vegetation growing along the edges.This area has pickerel beds that are perfect cover for both of these species and we have always done well fishing in this area. The next photo shows Jack Trembley serving up some hot-dogs to some hungry fishermen. Jack is from the Minto/Grand Lake area and is a tireless volunteer for events such as these. I also would like to mention Brian Glenn's name because he has been instrumental in organizing this tournament for several years now. Without volunteers such as these folks,many good events like this involving kids and parents would fall to the wayside. The next photo shows a couple of the winners at the conclusion of the tournament. The big smile on the youngsters face says it all!

 

    There was also a pickerel tournament the same day,unfortunately,at Indian Lake. This event was located at the end of the Mill Road and is privately sponsored. Usually,tournament organizers try to hold their events on week-ends that don't conflict with each other but the kids tournament put on by the village of Minto had to be re-scheduled because of bad weather. This tournament has been held for a few years now and participation is growing each year.Indian Lake has lots of pickerel habitat so the deciding factor in this tournament is the weather. This can make or break any tournament and when the weather co-operates,you can count on a good turnout. This tournament is geared towards adults, with a percentage of the entrance fees given back in prize money.

 

    If you are a sportsman who enjoys ice fishing,the Grand Lake system has a variety of species to pursue. If you choose to fish Grand Lake,look for the right habitat that holds the species you are after.By that I mean if you are after pickerel and perch find shallow coves with vegetation where bait fish can hide. If you are after smelt and whitefish try fishing the main channel near Goat Island. This has been a very productive area in the past and there are usually a dozen or so shacks located near the island. One access point is at Whurs Beach. If you are looking to hook some burbot,almost anywhere on the lake will produce some of these tasty fish. Be advised that these fish feed mainly at night and be sure to use a good gob of bait when angling for this species.

 

    In a nut shell,use lots of chum. Fish the right habitat and use live minnows whenever possible. Make sure to use small hooks for whitefish and if you hook one don't use a hard hook set because they have very small mouths that are paper thin. Above all,use caution when travelling on the ice because nearly every year someone goes through and it gets quite expensive to get hauled out of the water in the middle of winter. It's also quite dangerous.

 

    Look for a more detailed post next month that will hold a couple of surprises for any sports who read this blog. Until then,this is Dale Bauer saying''Happy Trails to You.....Until we Meet Again!

THE BIG CHILL,HARDWATER BITE AND VINTAGE OUTDOOR STUFF

    As I write this,the big chill has settled in over the Grand Lake area and New Brunswick at large. I can't say I like it that much at this point in my life. That cold just seems to get right in your bones! That being said,I will take the cold any day over snow.Too much snow is hard on game and costs people more money. So far this winter,game and people alike have had it easy, with only a small amount of snow remaining. Just enough to keep the skiers and sledders happy. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this trend will continue for the rest of the winter.
    Big game and humans need food and shelter to exist and it seems as if things are getting tougher for both species to get by. New Brunswicks moose herd is thriving but our deer herd is suffering.I guess this has a lot to do with the strict regulations on moose hunting and their greater size. Being larger than our whitetail deer,moose can easily over browse the deer and eventually displace them. This has pretty much been the tale on our crown lands and forests. Thirty years ago,seventy percent of the deer herd lived on crown land.Today,seventy-five percent of our deer herd exists on private land,mainly in the southern half of the province. This isn't big news to anyone because its been happening at a steady rate since the early Eighties.
    This winter I've noticed that many hunters have become mobilized to band together on several fronts to try to help create a better environment for growing our deer herd. QDMA has firmly entrenched itself in the province with the addition of a central chapter that has some very smart gentlemen at the forefront of this new organization. That's good news because it is going to take hunters with passion, dedication and strong organizational skills to pressure government and big business into changing their respective modes of operation if we are going to see any improvement in our deer numbers. There is also a movement to implement a change in our deer hunting season by jumping the start date a week later. This would be great for hunters wanting to take a big buck because it would coincide with colder weather and increased buck activity. Personally,I don't see any down side to moving the start date for the deer hunt ahead one week but we all know how slowly the wheels of progress move,especially when dealing with the government.
    Although QDMA is primarily a private land owner organization,crown lands and how they are managed is also on their agenda and that's a good thing for New Brunswick deer hunters. There is strength in numbers and with an outdoor network already established,I have high hopes that these organizations will usher in a time change in how things are done in our province.
    I have been watching our local deer herd that lives in town and I noticed a very peculiar habit the deer have when feeding in and around the village. These town deer have been going out of their way to browse on the cedar trees and hedges in peoples yards and in the grave yard in town. What is peculiar to me is the fact these deer have a multitude of different plants and browse to feed on and yet they head straight for the cedar when it's time to eat. One hunter on a hunting forum tried a little experiment where he put oats and corn out for the deer along with some fresh cedar boughs and the deer cleaned up the cedar first. All this points to the fact that whitetail deer crave cedar in the winter, for some reason. I'm sure a biologist could explain this phenomenon scientifically but the bottom line is deer in New Brunswick want cedar in the winter. The following photo shows the browse line on some cedars on my friends lawn.

 As you can see from this photo,the deer have the ground trampled around this cedar and browsed up as high as they can reach. Here is another photo of the cedar with the houses in the background.

 The deer are not just coming out at night to feed but have been coming in the daylight to feed on the cedars as long as there isn't too much activity. I have one more photo of a cedar in the graveyard that is getting chewed up by the deer on a regular basis. All this points to the fact that deer crave cedar whether they live in town or on crown land back in the bush. Back in the days before New Brunswicks forests were cut down,we hunters were told the deer yarded in the cedar swails and these stands of cedar provided food and shelter for our whitetails during the winter months. I read somewhere recently that back in the day, New Brunswicks forest had three and one half percent cedar in its mix of species. I believe that number today is around one and one half percent.

    I can only hope that any recovery plan for deer on crown land utilizes cedar for cover and browse.It only seems natural to do this because the deer know what they want and the town deer are showing us this in spades.

 

    The ice fishing is starting to heat up and there are shacks appearing on Grand Lake and other parts of the system daily.  The brutal cold has caused a slight lull in activity but that will change as the temperature moderates. There are about fifteen shacks at Goat Island and most shacks are catching some nice sized smelt,with the odd white fish and burbot in the mix. Grand Lake has some large smelt that reach ten to twelve inches long. These are freshwater rainbow smelt and although some say the smaller salt water smelt are tastier,I prefer the larger ones for eating. The following photo shows some nice smelt in the twelve inch range caught recently at Goat Island. The next photo shows a white fish taken the same day.This fish measured about fourteen inches. White fish can be very difficult to catch and many times they are caught by fishermen fishing for smelt. They have an extremely small mouth and serious fishermen use a size fourteen or sixteen hook with a very small piece of smelt or shrimp for bait. A bobber is a must because the take is so subtle the bobber barely quivers. White fish have a very thin mouth so care must be taken when bringing them up or the hook will be torn out and the fish lost.

    Other parts of the Grand Lake system are also fishing well. Indian Lake has been producing some nice pickerel over twenty inches.The next photo shows a few that were taken last week and kept for a feed.

 The best bait for pickerel is live minnows but they can be taken with a spinner and fresh bait especially if some action is imparted to the lure and bait. Sometimes some nice yellow perch are caught while fishing for pickerel on Indian Lake such as the following one.

 A word of caution here about the worms that sometimes infest the perch. Some people just cook the fillets up and don't worry about the worms but I just can't bring myself to eat any without first checking them in the light. I just pick them out with the end of the knife if any are present.

    The burbot bite has been a bit slow but it should pick up soon as more sports get out on the ice and set lines targeting these great eating fish. Burbot are fished on the bottom with a chunk of bait,usually a piece of smelt. This fish is one of the tastiest fish you will catch ice fishing and we always have a fry in the shack whenever we get lucky and catch a few.

    If you are a tournament fisherman,there are a couple coming up next month. The first one is the kids tournament put on by the village of Minto at the Key Hole near Princess Park.This tourney will be held on Feb.9th and hot dogs and refreshments will be served during the tournament. Prizes will be given out at the end of the day. Another tournament will be held on Feb.16th.This one is the annual Paul Gallant Memorial Tournament which is held on French and Indian Lakes. Registration is at 8:00 A.M. at the end of the Sand Point Road. This is a money tournament with some very good prizes for pickerel and perch and is always well attended,so get out early and get your spot!

 

    Sometimes Ken and I come across some very unusual things in our travels but Kenny's sharp eyes  spotted something that most sportsmen will never see in their lifetime. Ken was making his rounds putting out coyote bait in the Three Bridges area when he spotted a dark object lying on the side of the road. He had seen signs of an animal digging and scratching on the ice previous to this and thought he should check out the object lying there. He couldn't tell what the animal was at first but after carefully examining it,he concluded it was a black bobcat! Even after showing some experienced trappers he still wasn't sure if it really was a bobcat because neither the trappers or the local DNR had ever seen anything like it. The biologist was called down from Fredericton and he confirmed that it was definitely a black bobcat,one of the rarest sights ever seen in nature. The following two photos show the cat. It was struck by a car so the photos aren't the best but you can see it is a bobcat.

 Judging from it's size,I would say it was a young one. It's a shame it got killed but the biologist seemed to think it was old enough it may have passed on it's rare genetics. I sure hope so.

 

    I have been picking up a lot of different knick knacks in my travels and I'm afraid I'm on the verge of becoming a hoarder. I just love finding this kind of stuff but it is taking on a life of its own so I have to either find more room or cut back on my hunting forays. The first photo shows a nice duck print mounted in a convex glass frame.

 This picture has the makers stamp on the back and is right out of the Fifties.

    The next item is another print.This one depicts a bull elk bugling in a meadow. The oval frame is made of tin and has been faux painted to look like wood.

 This print is quite old and I would date it to about 1910.

    The last item I have to show is a pack of flash cards depicting North American birds. This packet of bird pictures was published by Rand McNally in 1961. Most of you will recognize that name as producers of scholastic materials such as school maps and books.

 

 

    Anyone looking for a fun filled day afield in the Grand Lake area,please contact me concerning any outdoor adventure available in our area. We pretty much do it all so check out previous posts and you will be guaranteed a safe and productive outing with accommodations provided by Pioneer Lodge,if you need lodging.

 

    Until next time,this is Dale Bauer saying"Happy Trails to You.....Until we Meet Again!"

2012 END OF THE YEAR SUMMARY AT H&B

    Once again,Christmas has come and we are looking forward to the New Year here at home on Salmon River. As we look forward,we also take the time to reflect back upon the events that shaped the previous year and learn from those experiences,so that we might take steps to enrich our future.The year 2012 was a good year for most species but there were some species that suffered and faltered. Life is like that.Up and down.Eb and flow.Forward and backward. Change is the one constant that remains in our life on this planet.It might come slowly or quickly depending on the circumstances but things are definitely in a state of change.
    One change that was driven home to me this past year was how serious the melting of the polar ice is. This phenomenon is happening at the fastest rate since the beginning of record keeping. This is putting more water in the oceans and,in turn,puts more moisture in the air. The whole thing adds up to more storms that are more severe in the destructive force they deliver and puts all coastal areas in peril as ocean levels increase.The real scary part is that we are going to have a hard time to reverse this process.It'll probably get worse before it gets better. 

    The ice fishing season is still a few weeks away and if the weather follows the same pattern as last year,it could be a late start because of poor ice. Although the season started out slowly last season because of the mild winter we had,the bite set in good and after we had lots of ice the fishing was quite consistant. Grand Lake and lower Salmon River had good catches of most of the species such as smelt,burbot,pickerel and perch.The whitefish bite was back on after a noticeable lack of caught fish the year before. We fish either fresh cut bait or live bait depending on the species. We use light weight 2-3 man shacks on the lake and portables on Salmon River where there is less wind. If the weather is moderate,a bucket and all your gear is all you need because you will be busy working your lines and catching fish. Our water that we fish during the winter is considered tidal water so a fishing licence isn't required and that makes things a whole lot simpler for visiting fishermen. The following photo shows Ken Hargrove with a trophy sized burbot taken from Grand Lake.

 On average,the burbot will run a bit smaller than the one Ken is holding but the chance is always there to hook one in the twelve pound range. The smelt in Grand lake can run quite large,up to twelve inches but again the averages are smaller than that. Many times we will use cut smelt for bait and it works quite well. The next photo shows some smelt taken in one of our shacks on Grand Lake. The yellow perch we catch vary in size according to where they are caught. Usually,the perch in The Grand Lake system run larger than the ones caught in the lower Salmon River. One visiting fisherman from Rogersville catches buckets full on a very small white jig. We usually put on a small piece of cut bait for added attraction. The following photo shows my son Curtis with a couple of yellow perch caught in McLeods Pond on Salmon River. As you can tell by these photos,we have some very good ice fishing opportunities in our area and the coming season should provide some great days out on the ice.

 

    As winter gave way to spring,the anticipated spring salmon season was everything one could expect. I personally never had such an opener, with fish that were literally stacked up in the deeper pools. My fishing partner and I were both done fishing for the day by lunch time,having both hooked our limit of ten fish each. There was no shortage of fish and the hook-ups were coming fast and furious, especially on the opener. This video clip was taken early in the morning of the first day.Many salmon fishermen turn their nose up at black salmon but I think that is a mistake.Last spring the fish were in excellent condition and put up a very good fight. We caught a mix of salmon and grilse,with a higher percentage of grilse landed. The next photo shows me with one of the salmon I landed on the first day. My fishing partner for the day also landed s few salmon. Donna A. is from the Doaktown area and is no stranger to the great salmon pools near her home. The next photo shows Donna with one of the fish she landed that didn't want it's picture taken. The next photo shows Donna with a nice salmon that was a little more co-operative when I took the picture. I can honestly say that last years opener for spring salmon was the best fishing I have had in my entire life.And I've done a lot of fishing in my lifetime,so don't take that statement lightly!

 

    Later on in the spring ,around the first of June,my good friend, Allen Davidson and his niece Donna,decided to float the river down to Doaktown and try to get some sea-trout and maybe get a few fiddleheads that weren't popped out yet. While we didn't land any really big trout,we did catch some very nice pan sized trout in the 10-14 inch range. While we were busy catching trout,Allen managed to gather up some fiddleheads to go with those delicious sea-trout.The next photo shows Allen and I with some trout taken on that day.

 The next photo shows Allen gathering up some fiddleheads while we were taking a break from the fishing. The larger sea-trout seemed to have run very early in May and there was a smaller run than usual. This run turned out to be a forerunner for a dismal and disturbing run of bright salmon that just failed to arrive in any numbers. After experiencing some of the best runs in decades,the bottom fell right out of it and the salmon just didn't show up. I like to think that the salmon were just too smart to enter the river under such terrible water conditions and stifling heat and decided to sit it out until more favourable conditions. Hopefully,next year the runs will be back at full strength.  

 

    The spring bear hunt was very good this year with multiple trophy bears at our bait sites. We are constantly on the look out for fresh bear sign in new areas but we maintain our older sights because they have large sows hanging around and this will draw in those rambling old boars for a sniff. I don't usually bother killing any spring bear but Ken loves to bait and hunt bears so he usually takes one every year. We had some real old smashers at our bait sights this past spring and Ken had all intentions of taking one of these larger bears but fate intervened and Ken took a nice average sized bear. This bear was one of about a dozen that were visiting a new bait and Ken decided to take him one evening later in the season. The next photo shows Ken with his 2012 bear. Our area has a lot of bears and many of them live to be trophy size because there is very little hunting pressure for bear in our hunting areas. The biggest problem most hunters have is holding out for a large bear when there are multiple shooter bears on the bait. Those big boars have a tendency to hang back at a bait and check things out carefully,so it pays to wait and judge your bear closely before pulling the trigger. This next photo shows a trophy sized bear at one of our baits. Hunting black bears in New Brunswick is one adventure that nearly always has a successful conclusion. We have a large black bear population and a good percentage of those bears are trophy sized because of low hunting pressure. As I already stated,trophy hunters must wait patiently for those big boars to show up if that's the size bear they are looking for. If a sport has the patience,you should return home with a big- headed New Brunswick boar to display in your game room.

 

    At the same time the bear hunting is starting to heat up,the white perch run usually arrives. It varies from year to year but if I had to pic a date to angle for these great tasting fish it would be around June 1st. We were out there right on schedule again this year and there was a good run of white perch this past spring. We usually have a few people every evening around this time and the fishing can be very good,especially right before dark. The white perch bite really turns on during the last hour before dark. You can catch your twenty-five fish  limit here pretty quickly when the fish are running hard. I can taste those fillets right now as I'm writing this! We aren't long doing up a pail and getting the deep fryer going after we catch a bunch. Done in a good batter,you can really gorge on these tasty little buggers! The next photo shows Josh,a friend of my son Curt,with his stringer of white perch. Curt was telling him about the great fishing we were having and he wanted to try it. As luck would have it,he caught a jumbo female on his first cast. He got enough for a feed in about a half hour and I think he's hooked!

 White perch are not hard to catch but they do require a light touch to hook them. They won't chase a bait so you must reel very slowly or use a bobber set about a foot off of the bottom. It really helps to have a guide or someone with experience fishing these great little fish to increase your chances for success. The next photo shows a bucket of nice white perch caught one evening this past spring. These fish do not require any expensive gear or lures to catch them. As a matter of fact,my son Curt has been fishing them since he was a kid and he says a hook and worm with a small split shot is the perfect set up for fishing off of our shore. He told me that with the current we have here on our shore on Salmon River,this rig will drift along near the bottom and he catches a pile of white perch with this set- up. The next photo shows Donna A. from Doaktown with a few perch taken one evening last spring. 

 

The pickerel fishing last summer was the best we've had in quite a spell. The water was a perfect height for fishing these toothy tigers and we had great fishing all summer long. We are blessed with some great habitat for a multitude of species and chain pickerel is one of them. The pickerel beds line the river from Gaspereau Forks to the entrance of Grand Lake and provide consistent fishing all summer long. The next photo shows me with a nice average size pickerel I caught one evening last summer. Note the lure hanging from his mouth.

 This lure combo works well for us in most conditions but during spring conditions with higher water,we change things up. In low water conditions during the summer,this set-up usually works really well for us as you can see in this short video clip.That pickerel is considered to be trophy-sized in these waters,as well as most water anywhere in the Grand Lake system. This is a very consistent fishery and we expect the fishing to continue in this vein for years to come,with good hook and release practices.

 

The Atlantic salmon fishery this past summer was, by any measure,a huge disappointment. The water conditions were terrible during the summer and the fish failed to return in any numbers. This made for a season that wasn't. As a matter of fact,a lot of the water on our best salmon rivers were closed down or restricted to limited angling for most of the summer. The only fishing to speak of was during the early part of the season and after that most of the fishing was in the lower parts of the rivers where the tides kept the rivers a little fresher. Salmon fishermen are, for the most part optimists.They just about have to be if they are going to hook one of these magnificent fish. All eyes are looking forward to next years runs in hopes of increased numbers of fish and better water conditions.

 

Another high point for sportsmen this past year was the 2012 moose hunt. The province has a very strong moose herd that has been building for a number of years and if you were lucky enough to draw a tag,your odds of getting a moose were very good. I finally drew a tag after many years of entering and Wes had his tag. Rounding out our group was Wes's son-in- law Denis. Wes and I both tagged out on the first morning and Denis got his nice bull at last light of the last day,in the pouring rain to put us at three for three on this hunt. The next photo shows me with my eating- sized bull I took this past season. Wes's bull was nearly identical in size to the one I took.

 Denis had a chance early in the season but couldn't get the shot and after that it seemed like everyone around him was shooting trophy bulls.Actually,there was at least four trophy bulls killed near Denis's location. His perseverance paid off and he shot a nice fourteen pt. bull the very last thing and had a real job getting it out of the cut. The next photo shows Denis's bull in the back of the truck. The photo was taken in a downpour so the image isn't the best.

 The next photo shows a group of Frenchmen who also tagged out early in the hunt. They got two trophy sized bulls,one eating sized eight pt. and a nice sized cow.

 The next photo shows a couple of the trophies that were taken near Denis's hunting area by a couple of local hunters. As you can see from the photos above,the 2012 moose hunt was a resounding success and the odds have never been better for taking a moose in New Brunswick. The coming year looks to be more of the same so get your name in for the 2013 New Brunswick moose lottery.

 

 Our annual fall duck hunt took place at our usual spot on Salmon River. Duck numbers were good this year and we had lots of ducks decoying into our small spread.  The spot we hunt has a good morning shoot but really tapers off in the evening. That's alright though because the shooting is usually good enough in the morning that a limit can be taken,provided your aim is true. The following photo shows our group of shooters and the bag of ducks taken on the first morning of the 2012 duck hunt.

 With favourable nesting conditions,puddle duck numbers should be good in the coming year.in our area. We have a lot of wood ducks because of the good nesting habitat along the river and this provides us with good shooting year after year. The next photo shows one of the nice male wood ducks we took last fall.

 

    The 2012 deer hunt showed a nice increase in harvest numbers and this was expected. We had a low snow pack during the winter of 2011 and as a result many more deer survived. This helped a lot of the younger deer to survive and the older deer were in good shape to survive our harsh New Brunswick winters. Does with twins and triplets was not unusual this past season which was encouraging. There were some very nice trophy bucks taken last season,most coming from the southern half of the province. The hunt was pretty much a non-event for Ken and I because Ken was away in Nova Scotia doing a job and I took ill just before the start of the season and that put me out of the woods for the whole 2012 season.It's too bad because I had a new area with a nice deer herd scouted out and the buck sign looked promising. Hopefully,next year we can take advantage of this new hunting area near Grand Lake. The following link will take you to some photos of some bucks taken around the province. Just click on http://newbrunswickhunting.com/forums/index.php?/topic/4123-2012-whitetail-harvest-pics-only-no-comments/ .As you can see from the photos in this forum,there are still some great bucks taken each fall in New Brunswick. The amount of snow we receive each winter determines if our deer herd is going to increase or decrease. As I'm writing this,we have just received over two feet of snow during the last couple of days and winter is just getting started. Only time will tell if the gains of last year will be wiped out in bad winter this year. One area of encouragement is QDMA's involvement in improving the deer herd here in New Brunswick. If future governments want to stay relevant in improving our environment and keeping people engaged,they had better pay attention to social media and what the people say or they will be served their walking papers. The voting public in New Brunswick will continue to roust politicians until someone gets it right. Big business is doing some things that are wrong here in New Brunswick and the majority of the people want things changed and done correctly.We have already been surveyed and the politicians know what New Brunswickers want,so why not just rule accordingly? I think we all know the answer to that one and I can see changes in the near future,both at the provincial level and federally. I would love to see young Justin Trudeau as our next Prime Minister. But I digress.

 

 As I said previously,I was out with health issues during the deer season and I got to thinking about how hunters have to change their tactics as they grow older or to compensate for some handicap. Around this time,I was contacted by John Conners,who publishes a blog on different lifestyle issues and he asked if I would be interested in linking to one of his posts that he thought would go well with my content. I said sure and the following post on hearing loss is relevant for all hunters and shooters.

 

Why Should I Use Hearing Protection While Hunting?

If you are involved in any sport or line of work that uses guns, you need to make sure to do what you can to prevent hearing loss. You can lose some or all of your ability to hear by shooting firearms without wearing any type of ear protection. Many sportsmen and emergency workers who use guns report losing some hearing with only one or two uses of their guns, so using any means necessary to protect your ears is very important.
    Any time that a hunter discharges any firearm, starting at a .22 caliber, the noise is at least 140 decibels. The human ear can be damaged by hearing one single noise at that level. Most larger caliber weapons are much louder than that and can cause even more damage. Wearing a pair of earplugs with a pair of muffs over them is one of the cheapest and easiest ways to protect your ears from becoming damaged.
    Hunting and being around just one or two guns is one thing, but going somewhere like a gun range is even worse. There are sometimes up to thirty people at a time shooting in a single gun range, so protecting your ears is not just an option, it is a necessity. Many people need to wear filtration devices or hearing aids after shooting a gun without protecting their ears due to hearing loss. Many hunters don't want to cover their ears and lose all outside noises, but many have also discovered the electronic earmuffs that have been designed to keep noises louder than 120 decibels out but allow regular noises to be heard while wearing them.
    It is possible to avoid even more damage to your ears by going to outdoor shooting ranges rather than indoor ones, by hunting in the woods where you have an open space for discharge noise to disperse, and by trying to use a smaller caliber rifle or pistol to shoot rather than the larger weapons that can cause permanent deafness in certain cases. No matter where you are when you are shooting, especially when hunting, you should make a conscious decision to protect your ears during the use of any firearm. You will definitely want to be able to hear for the rest of your life, and this is a great way to make sure that it happens.

    My father who was a hunter for many years often did not pay much attention if any at all to his hearing protection while out hunting or shooting at the range.  Due to this he now is affected severely by hearing loss and uses hearing aids to help him hearing more clearly.  Although hunting was not the only cause of his hearing loss, his doctors did say that it did play a large role in damaging his ears over time.  Protect your ears today in order to ensure healthy hearing for the future. 

    Hi my name is John O'Connor, I am a father, outdoorsman and passionate about living a healthy lifestyle.  Over the past few years I have become more and more interested in hearing loss.  My father and grandfathers, who are and were all hunters, are affected by hearing loss.  I feel that there is a general lack of understanding around the issue and it is our job to spread awareness where we can.  Check out my new blog at bloggingwjohno.blogspot.com!

   

In closing, I would like to say I enjoyed a chance meeting with Kevin S. aka "Grey Ghost" at the local flea market. Although I had Kevin pegged as being older than he was,I was spot on in my judgement of him as both a gentleman and a scholar and it was nice to meet him in person. I would like to wish Kevin and all the outdoor folks reading this a very Happy New Year!

 

    This is Dale Bauer saying "Happy Trails to You......Until we meet Again!"