SCONW - Newsletter

THE SPORTSMEN'S CLUB OF NORTHERN WESTCHESTER

NEWSLETTER
March 2008

Another winter is almost gone, and along with it the cabin fever that forces us to browse through the Cabela’s catalog for the tenth time, or go to the New York Boat Show, The Sportsmen’s Exposition in Rockland, periodic trips to Dick’s or Gander Mountain.

     For those of us who ice fish, the winter was a bit disappointing. While there were places you could fish the ice was always a little bit iffy, and most reservoirs had open water in the main bodies. We did hear from John Miller at Bob’s that Nicholas St. at West Branch had produced some nice browns and yellows. Boyd’s produced some walleyes. The frost biters who fished open water at Cross River were picking up some browns using hardware, crocodiles and kastmasters. White Pond was the first to freeze as usual, but reports were that the fishing wasn’t great, and unlike last year there were no big walleyes taken. Sodom produced some walleyes also.
Jim Gmelin, Bill Gentry and myself did manage to get one day out on Lake Gilead, and while we didn’t catch any fish, the guy next to us got two respectable pickerel. He told us he had an Aqua-view camera which he put down the hole he was jigging and said he saw numerous pickerel, but they wouldn’t hit. Another guy told us that a friend of his took a 6lb. brown at the far end of the lake.

     While we are on the subject of fishing, I received an article from the Journal News via Carlo Marotta about Tony Monteiro. For those of you unfamiliar with the name, Tony is one of the most successful fishermen in the Westchester-Putnam area. Tony consistently wins multiple categories in the Jack Stewart fishing derby’s with some outstanding fish. Tony’s winning fish from last year were a 10lb+ walleye from Diverting Reservoir, he followed that up with a 2lb 14oz. white perch and a 2lb. 10 yellow from New Croton. At the end of April he iced a 14lb. + brown from Croton Falls as well as a 3lb 6oz. crappie. In May he tagged a 13lb. 15oz. laker out of Gleneida. In June he took the biggest largemouth 7lbs. + out of Croton Falls and a 5lb+ smallmouth out of Bog Brook. Both fish were taken on the same day. As a reminder the club maintains boats on all these bodies of water other then Gleneida and Bog Brook.

    One of the things that helped with the cabin fever was preparing for the annual dinner. Pete Doherty was dinner chairman this year, and did a great job of coordinating the event. As usual the members pitched in and put together what everyone said was a great time. This year we had about 75 people present, including our special guests; Sen. Vinnie Leibell, DEC Lt. Meg Filmer and DEC Officer Brandon Chamberlin. The highlight of the evening was the awards portion. This year the club honored our web mistress Sally Beers for all her hard work on maintaining the web site. The winners for the 2007 club bass tournament were Carlo Marotta for biggest smallmouth bass and Randy Kennedy for the biggest largemouth. The 2007 “Top Gun” Award was won by Don Hamilton for the 3rd consecutive year.
This year we also were able to have a junior trap division. Junior “Top Gun” was won by Jesse Gentry. In addition there were four additional awards to the junior participants. Greg Miller, Carly Dieck, Tom Newman and Mike Kane. Again congratulations to all our awardees.

     Most guests agreed that the raffle prizes were of good quality and while not everyone went home with something, there were plenty of prizes. The dollar raffles took on a life of their own and it was like family feud with the Newman & Diecks’ on one side of the room and the Hamiltons and Kanes on the other. We’re not sure who took home more prizes, but it had to be close. The five dollar raffles this year were well received and we would like to thank member Lou Fico; Westchester Friends of the NRA, who generously donated a Remington 870 shotgun. The gun was won by new member Kevin Biagiarelli. The 2nd five dollar raffle prize was an overnight stay at the Rye Courtyard Marriott donated by Carolyn Fielding and solicited by Steve Miller and Buzz Buzzanco for his donation of a pair of snow shoes. The winners were Don and Karen Hamilton. The $500 gift certificate Grand Prize was won by Pete Doherty and fittingly so, as Pete had sold 50 chance books.

Congratulations to all our prize winners. We also thank Thom Newman for all the work he put into putting together the program for the evening, as well as the descriptions of the raffle prizes and the upcoming events calendar. As usual the club members and their families supported the dinner whole heartedly and made it the success it was. On behalf of the Sportsmen’s Club Board we thank you all very much.

December 5, 2007

Another deer season comes to a close and it will be interesting to see the numbers when DEC puts out the final tally.. Many of the people I have spoken to during this season, have had little to cheer about.

The high point of my deer hunting was a trip to Saskatchewan, Canada with my nephew, who some of you know as Woody. I won’t go into the nightmare of air travel with firearms, but if you're planning an out of country trip with your gun, please call me, and I’ll try to steer you around some of the pitfalls of dealing with airlines and surly customs people. Other then loosing my gun for 24 hours in transit, the trip was great.

We had 6 hunters in camp, and stayed in a comfortable lodge, with enough stuffed animals to start a natural history museum. Our host was an experienced bow hunter who had taken game from all over the world and his wife who was 72 years young was the camp cook, and had harvested her first elk that year. We had elk and venison every night in some form, in addition to other great entrées. My nephew and his friend had hunted here before and had done well with some good bucks being taken. The other three hunters in camp had also hunted here before, and had done well. The weather was promising with about 2 inches of freshly fallen snow and temps in the high 20’s with slight winds.

In Saskatchewan you are allowed to hunt over bait, which consisted of alfalfa and grain. While I had some doubts about hunting over bait, it isn’t the slam dunk it sounds like. It also helps the deer fatten up to get through some of the very severe weather.

At close of business on the first day I had seen 5 does, no bucks. Two of the other hunters came in with a 12 pointer and a 10, both deer tipped the scales at over 200 lbs. The 12 pointer was raw scored at 150 Boone and Crockett. The 10 scored about 145. I was told that while these were good deer, they certainly were not the biggest.

My second day in the same blind I saw two does, and a small 6 pointer, who didn’t make the cut, so we passed. That night another one of the hunters came in with a very nice 10 pointer. During the course of dinner, one of the hunters showed us some pictures he had taken of a deer he had seen at his stand, and it was obviously a very nice 8 pointer with good antler mass. He was hoping for something bigger, as he had already taken a nice 8 the previous year.

Day three saw me in another blind, which was in a more wooded area. About 30 minutes after settling in, I saw legs cautiously coming through the evergreens and then saw antlers. “Show Time” I thought. The deer finally approached the bait pile and he was an 8 pointer, unfortunately not in the same class as the deer that had been taken. I agonized for a moment while watching him, and decided that it was only day three and I wasn’t going to embarrass myself by taking an inferior animal. I also vowed that if I hadn’t scored by Saturday, and he made an appearance, I wouldn’t be so benevolent. I watched him feed for a minute or two and then he moved on. The rest of the day was filled with watching two raccoons and a hoard of Canada jays and magpies feed off the bait, until about quitting time when a doe and twin fawns showed up. Unfortunately the father must have been a dead beat dad, who never showed up. The guy who had taken the 10 pointer the day before, suggested I sit in his blind, as they had seen two good bucks chasing a doe in the area.

The next day looked promising with temps staying in the 20’s and a dusting of fresh snow. I settled into my new blind and waited. Finally about 10 O’clock I caught movement approaching the bait. I put the binoculars on him and could see he was a buck, but too much brush for a count. He finally cleared the brush, and my adrenaline rush ended as I saw it was a small 4 pointer. A deer I would have capped down here without a second thought. The remainder of the day was uneventful with no more deer.

I took the same blind the following day, and the same buck appeared on 3 separate occasions, each time giving me hope until I saw the antlers. Around the dinner table that night the 3 of us who were still hunting recounted the day’s events. The guy who had been seeing the nice 8 pointer had seen that deer and another smaller 8 that day. We again told him that judging from the pictures, the deer he was seeing was certainly a shooter. He was still hoping for something better and that he was going to change to another blind the next day.

It was now becoming crunch time. I was seeing lots of signs, and the bucks were definitely in rut. The last day the weather was good, and I opted to go back to the blind where I had seen the eight pointer for the morning and then hunt another stand the outfitter wanted me to take in the afternoon. I waited expectantly all Saturday morning for my 8 pointer, but he never reappeared.

I reluctantly left that stand and met with the guide who took me in by four wheeler to a ladder stand they had set up over what was active bait. I climbed the ladder stand which was 16 footer, and made myself as comfortable as you can on a 2x2 piece of cold metal. I sat for about an hour, before 6 consecutive 5AM mornings started to catch up with me and I felt myself starting to nod off. I could see myself doing a swan dive off the stand, so it was time to get the hell out of there. I climbed down, and finished the day still hunting with no success.

Needless to say it was disappointing to go back to camp empty handed. My nephew likewise arrived at camp with nothing, but some photos of a coyote he saw. The other hunter finally took the 8 pointer, which turned out to be a 140 class B&C. While I didn’t get a shot at old mossy horns, I learned a long time ago that you don’t measure the success of your hunt by the weight of your game bag.

As of this writing the club members I know who scored are: Phil Beers who shot a doe with his new 30-30, Don Hamilton has taken four does with his bow, including one at his new home in Ghent. Pete Doherty took a doe with his shotgun in Dutchess, Thom Newman took a doe with bow in Westchester, Randy Kennedy took what was described to me as a trophy 8 pointer with the bow, and Greg Krause has taken a number of deer with the bow also. I haven’t gotten any sizes on Greg’s deer.

Jim Licata, who is splitting his time between New York and Wyoming took a forkhorn muley in Wyoming, and a six pointer in Dutchess, and a doe in Greene County. Hunting at the cabin this year, was less then spectacular, and while deer were seen, they were few and out of range. Bill Gentry says there were 6 bear taken in the surrounding area. In conversations with the locals, everyone pretty much had the same lament, few deer being seen, and even fewer being taken.

UPCOMING EVENTS

ANNUAL CHRISTMAS PARTY – TUESDAY 18 DEC. 8:00 MEMORIAL HOUSE – Please bring a wrapped gift approximately $10.00 in value for each person you're bringing. We want everyone to go home with something. This will be a Chinese Auction format. Refreshments will be served. Please contact Chairman Pete Doherty at (914) 345-0768 ASAP, so he knows how much food to bring.

ICE FISHING DERBY - Saturday January 27th – place TBA

ANNUAL GAME DINNER AND RAFFLE – Saturday Feb. 23 – Westmoreland Sanctuary – Cocktail Hour 6:00PM. Details to follow.

Congratulations to Bill Gentry who was the winner of the Ruger 22-250 that was raffled off at the November meeting.

Lorna Marotta was recently in the hospital for back surgery. We wish her a speedy recovery.

John Peters, Recording Secretary

September 2007

Hope everyone had an enjoyable summer and survived the heat waves. While the spring fishing started out well, the season kind of fizzled after that. While some members did okay in the freshwater, most of that was in June. Saltwater also was overall slow. Don Hamilton had a couple of good trips on the Island Current out of City Island, taking a nice striper on one trip, and hammering the blues on another. This writer spent a weekend in Cape Cod with Jim Gmelin, Bill and Jesse Gentry and Frank Stramowski and got in some surf fishing. We managed a couple of small blues and Jim got a schoolie striper. While the fishing was slow, we dined well, with Frank supplying some cherrystone clams he had dug, and Jim doing a great job of cooking up our blue fish. That’s really what it’s all about. Labor Day weekend, I had arranged a striper trip for my son and some friends out of Montauk, Jim Gmelin came along to chaperone. Fishing had been just fair, so the Captain wasn’t promising anything. We first fished for porgies, which we were going to live line for bait. After catching a mess of them we drifted off the lighthouse, and had non- stop action for about 3 hours on the outgoing tide. Everyone took their limit of stripers and we threw some back. The fish ranged in size from 20 lbs. to 30 lbs. +. The Captain said it was the best day he’s had in months. Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good. If you want to see the catch you can go into www.jackyee.com click on pictures and scroll down to August 31, click on that and the scroll down the pictures until you see 6 guys with big fish.

CAMP DeBRUCE: This year the club was able to send two young men to conservation camp. It was also gratifying because they were sons of club members. Tom Newman and Mike Kane. Both boys went the same week, and had a great time, camping, hiking, fishing, and getting their hunter safety certifications. We would also thank Lou Fico for assisting us in getting additional funds for this sponsorship from the NRA Foundation. This is one of the most important things we do as a club, so if anyone has a youngster or knows of one (12 to 14) they feel would be a good candidate, please advise Steve Miller (914) 232-2678 or John Fererbee (914) 725-8934. This program is open to all youngsters, not just children of club members.

BASS TOURNAMENT: This years tournament participants were Don and Karen Hamilton, Randy Kennedy, Don Kane, Jim Gmelin, Carlo Marotta and Pat Vetere and friend. This year’s bass tournament finally had two winners. Carlo Marotta, won the smallmouth category with a beautiful bronze back over 19”. Randy Kennedy won the largemouth category with a fish the same length, but Randy admitted that Carlo’s fish was a little bit bigger. Way to go guys. Carlo by the way is a repeat winner, having tied with me in the first club bass tournament way back in, never mind; it was a long time ago.

CLUB PICNIC: The club picnic was a success as usual, with good weather, good food and good company. The day was highlighted by the dedication of the Stuart Cohen Memorial Tree. Jim Gmelin picked up the tree that morning from the Bedford Nursery and we planted it near the picnic pavilion. We thank all the members who contributed to the purchase of the tree, and the planting and a special thanks to Tom Dieck, who helped us out with the purchase. Also Joe from Bedford Nursery, who helped us with the selection and pickup of the tree. Stuart’s parents were also there, and I think they were deeply touched by the sentiment. As usual Bill, Carol and Honey Bock outdid themselves with their hospitality, and we thank them for their generosity in hosting the picnic.

GUN RAFFLE: Just a reminder about the special gun raffle for the Ruger .22-250 Remington varmint rifle to take place at the November 13th meeting. Each member will receive two tickets at $10.00 a piece. Those members who don’t wish to participate may decline their tickets, and they will be made available to any member wishing more tickets. If we don’t hear from you by the September 25th meeting we will assume you are not interested. Ticket sales will be limited, so your odds of winning are good. The manufacturers suggested retail for this rifle is $899.00. If you have any further questions, please contact John Peters (914) 248-5077 – e-mail jcpeters46@yahoo.com.

SEPTEMBER MEETING: PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT THE SEPTEMBER MEETING WILL BE CHANGED TO TUESDAY SEPT. 25TH AT THE MEMORIAL HOUSE. 8:00pm. This is due to a conflict with the election primary. This will be the first opportunity to pick up your tickets for the gun raffle. In-Scents will be there.

ARCHERY SHOOT: We will be holding the annual archery turkey shoot at the Yorktown Grange grounds on Saturday September 29th, with rain date of September 30th. For anyone who has not participated before, this is a blind shoot. The target is covered, and a grid of numbers is underneath, each archer gets three shots, and the numbers that the arrows hit are totaled for score. There are 5 shooting stations at different distances, and angles. All you have to do is hit the newspaper, so even if you’re not Fred Bear you have just as good a chance of winning as the next guy. A turkey will be awarded for high score and low score. Even if you don’t want to shoot, you are welcome to come and watch. Their will be a shoot off after the turkey shoot for all the hot shots who want to participate. Entry fee for the turkey shoot is $10.00. This is for the cost of the Grange grounds, and refreshments. Setup time is 9AM and start time is 10AM. Call John Peters if you have any questions 248-5077.

OCTOBER MEETING: Guest speakers for this meeting will be representatives from both DEP and DEC who will answer questions regarding hunting regulations for the 2007 season and deer management. Please make every attempt to make this meeting.

NOVEMBER MEETING: The November meeting will be the 13th of November because of deer season. This will be the meeting for the rifle raffle.

RUMOR HAS IT THAT BEAR SEASON MAY START ON OPENING DAY OF DEER. THEY ARE TRYING TO THIN OUT THE POPULATION DUE TO INCREASING DESTRUCTION OF CABINS AND SUMMER HOMES IN THE ADIRONDACKS AND CATSKILLS. THIS IS IN THE DISCUSSION AT THIS TIME.

DON’T FORGET THE SEPTEMBER MEETING WILL BE THE 4TH TUESDAY OF THE MONTH. SEPTEMBER 25TH SAME TIME, SAME STATION.

June 2007

Another fishing season is upon us, and so far it hasn’t been too bad. April 1st, the opening day of trout season was relatively mild, and water conditions were good. I had one of my better opening days, and took 4 trout on Mepps spinners, one of which I kept for the smoker. Peter D. had two good browns from Kensico, which he caught live lining shiners. I’m sure everyone has heard the story of the guy from Brooklyn that caught the 24lb. laker out of Kensico. There is absolutely no truth to the rumor that Peter D. put a contract out on the guy. If you haven’t heard the story, next time you see Pete and you want to watch his blood pressure go off the chart, ask him to relate how the guy caught the fish. Pete, Jim Gmelin, Bill and Jesse Gentry took a charter out of Saugerties for stripers on the Hudson, unfortunately conditions were less then perfect, and no one scored. This writer was fishing Lake Gilead in May, trolling lures, and picked up a 21” 3lb brown, also caught a largemouth about 18”. Carlo reports he picked up a 14” brown in Croton Falls in May fishing from shore using a crocodile. Peter D. while on a camping/fishing trip in the Catskills caught a tri-fecta of brookies out of Rondout Creek. This writer was fishing Rondout Reservoir the weekend of the cabin work party and attracted a tri-fecta of DEP police who were checking licenses. Jason Hinkley caught a very nice 22” 5.6lb. brown out of Cross River which can be viewed on the web site. Don Hamilton and Don Kane took some bass on a night trip to Muscoot. This writer took a trip up to Germantown on the Hudson to fish for stripers, unfortunately it was the old story - “you should have been here last week”. Plenty of carp, but the stripers were already headed south. Peter D. fished Lake George on Rod Bender Charters in early June and did very well on lakers. Pete goes every year and says that Rod Bender has a great package deal which covers accommodations and the fishing.
Don Hamilton has been fishing Muscoot at night and doing well on bass. He and young Don took a bunch of fish using top water plugs. John Yusi caught a 30” walleye and some trout fishing in Schoharie County. Don Kane has been taking bass on New Croton, and Don Hamilton used the Cross River boats on a family outing with his wife, and daughter. Karen did all of the rowing, now there’s a surprise!!! The boat on Titicus reservoir was replaced with one that floats. We had some complaints from members, especially the ones that couldn’t swim that fishing from the Titicus boat, was like fishing from the Titanic, so we figured for the sake of liability, and to keep membership from declining due to fatalities, that we should replace it. Jim Gmelin and myself fished out of it, and Jim got 4 browns, the biggest being about 12”. Jim got all of them I may add, as much as I don’t want to. Don and Karen Hamilton did very well on brown trout out of Cross River, using sawbellies and took a number of good browns.

“TOP GUN” TRAP SHOOT: The “Top Gun” award for this year again goes to Don Hamilton for the third straight time. Don defended his title with a combined two round score of 35. Congratulations Don. We also had a youth division for the first time, which was really great. Shooters were Jesse Gentry, Carly Dieck, Tom Newman, Jr., Mikey Kane, Greg Miller. Jesse Gentry was high scorer for the Junior Division with a two round total of 24. This was the first organized trap shoot that any of the junior division members had participated in and they all did well. We hope they will all participate next year. We had a total of 20 shooters participate, which is the most we have ever had. I would like to thank Don Kane for taking care of the refreshments, Jim Steck for hosting the shoot, the 110 Rod and Gun club for allowing us to use their facilities, Karen Hamilton and Louise Kane for all their help in serving the food and cleaning up. Also I should mention that Karen shot her personal best that day, and was heard to say “Old man” your days are numbered! I would also like to give a special thanks to Thom Newman who was kind enough to record the shoot on his digital camera, and then make copies for all the participants as well as put together a Trap Shooting booklet which he was also generous enough to make copies of for all the shooters. Anyone who wants to view some of the photos may see them on the club web site at www.sconw.com. Thanks to Sally Beers for posting those photos. As usual all the members pitched in and made this shoot a real pleasure. You guys are the best.

MUSCOOT CLEANUP: Saturday April 28th was the Muscoot Reservoir cleanup with DEP. Amy Flavin our liaison and the coordinator for DEP was there with DEP staffers Tony Fiore, Stan Taylor and Ray Frey. Club members who participated were Don Kane, Jim Gmelin, Thom Newman, John Peters, Phil Beers, Carlo Marotta, Pat Vetere, and Steve Miller. This group cleaned mooring area’s 11 and 13 off of rte 35. 40 bags of trash, and other assorted larger items were removed. It was gratifying to note that the Cherry St. area that was cleaned last year, while not without litter, was not as bad as last year. A big thanks to all the members who took the time to participate in this worthwhile endeavor.

LEWISBORO KIDS FISHING DERBY: On April 29th the club participated in the annual Lewisboro kids fishing derby. The weather was good and the fish were hungry. Members Pat Vetere, Don Kane, Steve and Greg Miller, Bill and Jesse Gentry, John Peters, assisted many of the participants with baiting hooks and untangling lines. Thom Newman and Tom Jr., Jason Hinkley and family and Tom, Sarah and Carly Dieck were also there and did their best to put a dent in the trout population. The Kane family also participated and young Mikey took a couple of nice trout. We also observed Louise Kane casting, and we’re glad we were not competing against her, the lady can cast. We had the pleasure of witnessing some youngster’s catch their first fish, one of whom was new member Lenny Esposito’s daughter, and the expressions were like it was Christmas morning. Thanks to all the members who participated.

LAKE MARIE BEDFORD KIDS FISHING DERBY: May 6th was the Lake Marie fishing derby and the following club members participated; Don Kane, Jim Licata, Pat Vetere, Pete Doherty, Don Hamilton, Jim Gmelin, Carlo Marotta, Phil and Sally Beers and Greg Miller. I understand from Don Kane, that some trout were caught along with some panfish, and bass.

SPRING TURKEY: Don Hamilton, his son and friends went to Ohio for a spring turkey hunt. The ole man got a nice tom. Don is the only one I know of that scored on turkeys for this season.

GENERAL MEETING: Tuesday May 15th. Speakers for this meeting were Jim Gmelin, Eddie Keegan from TU and new member Tom Crescitelli also a long time member of TU, and John Peters. The topics were trout fishing and bass fishing. Tom demonstrated fly tying while Ed and Jim demonstrated equipment and some of the finer points of fly fishing for trout. John Peters handled the bass portion of the presentation.

NEW MEMBERS: We would like to welcome new members Rich Goodman from No. Salem, Tom Crescitelli from Mt. Kisco, and Rich Conforti from Mahopac and Lenny Esposito from So. Salem.

OFFICERS CHANGE: Pat Vetere after many years as the club treasurer has turned the books over to Jim Gmelin. We would like to thank Pat for his many years of service as our treasurer, as well as all the sundry other jobs he has done. We hope we will continue to see Pat as he is a valued member of the club. He also helped keep the officers out of jail. We welcome Jim G as the new treasurer and know he will do a great job.

SALT WATER SCENE: NEW YORK FLUKE (SUMMER FLOUNDER) REGS ARE – LIMIT – 4 FISH – LENGTH – 19.5” – CT. REGS. LIMIT 6 FISH – 18” AN APPARENT NEW INLAND-STRIPER RECORD WAS SET WITH A 55.4 LB. FISH. FROM THE HUDSON RIVER TAKEN ON A PLUG. EARLY REPORTS ARE THAT LARGE SCHOOLS OF BUNKER ARE IN EARLY. WHILE FISHING WITH FRIENDS IN MAY OUT OF STAMFORD I PICKED UP A SCHOOLIE STRIPER ABOUT 5LBS ON A SHAD LURE. THAT WAS THE ONLY HIT OF THE DAY. EVERYONE IS SAYING THE BAIT FISH THIS YEAR ARE IN ALL THE HARBORS, SO IT SHOULD JUST BE A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE THE STRIPERS AND BLUES CATCH UP.

CABIN WORK PARTY: The cabin work party was the weekend of 19-20 May. Members Hamilton, Bill and Jesse Gentry, Gmelin, Beers, Doherty, Liebman, and Peters participated. Pete and Jim and Don brought up truckloads of wood compliments of Bill G. The weather left something to be desired, but in spite of it the crew managed to get the screening trees planted, wood stacked, a general cleanup of the outside of the cabin. The cabin roof is still leaking, and while Bill patched the most likely spots, it is still a problem. Because of the weather we did not get the painting done. Don, Bill and Jesse went turkey hunting Saturday morning, and did hear some birds, but didn’t get any shots. While we’re on the subject of turkeys, congratulations to Don Hamilton who did manage to get his turkeys this year during an out of state hunt. Don got a nice tom about 18 lbs. At some time in the future Cabin Chairman Bill will probably try to schedule another work party to try to get some painting done.

NRA DINNER: The NRA Dinner held at Lake Isle Country Club in Eastchester was a great success. Members Don Hamilton, Don Kane, Thom Newman, Jim Gmelin, Bill and Jesse Gentry, Newman Chittenden, Phil Beers, Peter Doherty, Jim Steck, Jim Iorizzo and John Peters attended and everyone had a good time. Thom Newman won a shotgun for his contribution of a case of food to Food Patch, and Phil Beers won a basket of cheer. Member Lou Fico did a great job as usual planning and running the dinner.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Annual Fathers’ Day Bass Tournament – Sunday 6/17 weigh-in at Bob’s Tackle at 11:30 $5.00 entry. Contact John Peters (914) 248-5077 or Don Hamilton (914) 232-8939

GENERAL MEETING - Tuesday 6/19 This will be a social meeting with refreshments being served. This is this last general meeting until September. Bring a friend.

Annual Club Picnic – Saturday July 28th Sylvan Lake, Dutchess Co. Hosted by the Bock family. If you have a kayak or canoe you wish to use feel free to bring it.
Contact John Peters or Don Hamilton.

Annual Bow Shoot – TBA – we will still schedule it for a Sunday in September but at the present time we are trying to get a location, as we are not sure if the Grange will be available this year. Anyone with suggestions please contact Don Hamilton.

FREE TO A GOOD HOME - I have a 14” scout canoe, which is fully framed, and half canvassed. I have complete instructions for anyone who wants to finish it. Contact John Peters (914) 248-5077 or e-mail jcpeters46@yahoo.com

On behalf of the Sportsmen’s club board I would like to wish the membership a happy and healthy summer and we will see you at the September meeting if not sooner. Tight lines.

John Peters
Secretary

March 2007

While the white stuff on the ground doesn’t reflect it, pretty soon the ice will be off the reservoirs and we will once again be flailing the water in pursuit of fish. I used to say if I could eliminate one month from the calendar, it would be March, but I finally discovered why March was included. It’s that period between ice fishing and opening day of trout season, which gives us a chance to get out our reels, tackle boxes, fishing vests, and take stock of what we need. Then of course we can go to the Rockland Outdoor Show, and buy more toys that we really don’t need. For those people who aren’t foolish enough to ice fish, cabin fever is usually at its highest point, but somehow going thru the tackle box, or changing the line on your reels in anticipation of a new season, makes it a little more bearable.

FISH ON THE ROCKS – This ice fishing season while it started late, did produce some fish. No real trophies although Bill Gentry lost a brown in Titicus that sounds like it would have qualified. From witnesses that were there, Bill did make a Herculean effort to take the fish by making a dive into the hole; this has become known as the “Gentry flop”, and he actually had it by the tail at one point, but we all know how that goes. The club ice fishing day was actually the first day many of us had been able to get out, and we fished off of route 35 by Whitlockville Rd. We had a good turnout, with Don and Karen Hamilton, Jim Gmelin, Bill Gentry, Pete Doherty, Jason Hinkley, Steve Miller, Sim Storch, George Sleator, Don and Mikey Kane, and Randy Kennedy. While fishing wasn’t fast and furious, we did have action pretty much all day, and took some nice yellow perch. Karen Hamilton gets the Iron Woman award for toughing it out and young Mikey Kane took his first yellow thru the ice. While the day was nice it was cold with a stiff wind. Subsequent outings took place on Sodom, Titicus, Muscoot, and Diverting. While there were walleyes being taken in Diverting and White Pond, none of the members to my knowledge connected with any. This writer did take a 26” pickerel out of Gilead, the only flag and fish of the day, since I don’t eat pickerel he was promptly returned to the water. John Yusi, took a nice largemouth on an outing to Muscoot which was also promptly returned. On another outing Sim Storch and George Sleator iced two nice browns each 16” on Titicus. Peter D. had some excellent luck on Cross River and he and friends iced 5 browns. One of the gratifying things about this season, was that we were able to introduce a couple of the members to this insanity, and I think they are hooked, and hopefully we will be able to get them into therapy at Four Winds soon.

ANNUAL DINNER - The annual dinner was held at Westmoreland Sanctuary on the 24th of February. We had an excellent turnout, with an estimated 65+ members and guests in attendance. State Senator Vinnie Leibel was kind enough to make a guest appearance, and assured us that he will continue to be a friend to the sportsmen. As usual the members outdid themselves with the food, and I’m sure no one left hungry.
The dinner also signals the change of command for the club, and we would like to congratulate Don Hamilton and Don Kane for being elected as President and Vice President respectively. We would also like to thank Pete Doherty and Jim Licata, for their service as the out going president and VP and welcoming them to the Board. The awards this year were a little sparse, as we did not have a “Top Gun” trophy or a winner in the Big Buck contest. Winner for the 2006 Bass Tournament was Jim Gmelin for his small mouth bass. A recognition plaque was also given to the Bock family for their continued hosting of the annual picnic at Sylvan Lake, and Pete Doherty was also recognized for his tenure as club president. This year we had a number of prizes for the $5.00 raffle. The overnight stay at the Courtyard Marriott in Rye, donated by Caroline Fielding was won by member Jason Hinkley. The Ryobi battery power tool set was won by member Carlo Marotta. The gift certificate for a free full turkey mount or deer head mount, by Kenya Studios, donated by Ralph Angeline, and won by Ralph Angeline. The CVA .50 cal. black powder Kentucky long rifle, donated by Lou Fico, WFNRA, was won by member Randy Kennedy. The Grand Prize raffle was won by member Phil Beers. Congratulations to all our winners, and we thank our donors for their generosity. Thank you to all the club members and their guests who participated in the dinner and made it the great success it was.

CONSERVATION NOTES: DEC IS PREDICTING THAT WHEN THE FINAL TALLY IS IN THAT THE 2006 DEER SEASON NUMBERS WILL BE BETTER THEN 2005.

SELECTION OF ALEXANDER GRANNIS, A DEMOCRACTIC ASSEMBLYMAN FROM NYC FOR DEC COMMISSIONER COULD BE A PROBLEM FOR HUNTERS AND TRAPPERS. GRANNIS HAS A HISTORY OF BEING AN ANIMAL RIGHTS ACTIVIST.

DEC IS STILL FINE TUNING THE FLUKE REGS FOR THIS COMING SEASON, SO DATES, LIMITS AND SIZE ARE STILL BEING DISCUSSED.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

GENERAL MEETING - MARCH 20TH. GUEST SPEAKER DR. CHRIS WARDEN, DC – WILL SPEAK ON CHIROPRACTIC MEDICINE

LEWISBORO KIDS FISHING DERBY – SUNDAY APRIL 29TH 12:00 to 3:00 VOLUNTEERS NEEDED.

BEDFORD LAKE MARIE KIDS FISHING DERBY – SUNDAY MAY 6TH 12:00 to 3:00 VOLUNTEERS NEEDED.

MUSCOOT RESERVOIR CLEAN-UP - TENTATIVE DATE IS SATURDAY APRIL 28TH.

ANNUAL “TOP GUN” TRAP SHOOT – TENTATIVELY SCHEDULED FOR APRIL 22ND.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE HINKLEYS’ ON THE ARRIVAL OF THEIR DAUGHTER SOPHIA ANNE

If any members have gotten e-mail since the last newsletter, please let me know so I can put it in the club address book. John Peters (914) 248-5077.

NEWSLETTER

DECEMBER 2006

Well, once again we wind down another year and reflect back on the seasons of 2006. Ice fishing was pretty much non-existent, as was the prime ingredient “ice”. Trout season was marked by lack of rain one week and “Where the hell are the plans for the Ark” the next week. Small game was fine for squirrel hunters, grouse are extinct in this area, and rabbits are not as common as they once were, and when you do see them, like the deer, they are grazing on someone’s front lawn. Deer season, I think most hunters will agree, that it was nothing to write home about. Those that got deer for the most part said they weren’t seeing the numbers they had in the past. Personally I think that the whitetail deer is really an urban legend, at least in my hunting areas. While I have seen taxidermists renditions of whitetail deer, I have also seen jackalopes, and we all know their a scam. I have talked to a number of people who said they had gotten deer this year, but have yet to see any hard evidence. There is also the “ Deerkey” theory proposed by an editor of a fish and game publication that deer and turkeys morph from one to the other depending on which season it is. There seems to be a modicum of truth to this, as I always see turkeys during deer season, and deer during turkey season. Some club members would probably say that because I didn’t get a deer this year, that this is merely a defense mechanism, coupled with the fact that my wife and daughter bought me a T-shirt that says “Vegetarian – An Indian word for bad hunter”. They also signed up to receive venison from the Hunters for the Hungry program, and when the guy at Amato’s heard the name Peters, he said “Don’t worry, we already had you signed up from last year.”

This years club members that I know got deer are as follows; Don Hamilton – 6 ptr. and doe with bow and doe with handgun; Mike Dougherty – doe with a bow; Phil Beers – doe with shotgun; Bill Gentry – doe – rifle at the cabin. Frank Stramowski – doe – rifle at the cabin, Tom Dieck – 8 ptr. bow – Westchester; Chip Rahe – 4ptr. gun Columbia Co. If I failed to mention anyone, I apologize, but these are the ones I’m aware of at press time. Congratulations to all who scored.

The November meeting was an informal seminar on deer hunting given by Don Hamilton and Don Kane who covered some of the finer points of deer hunting with the bow. John “Vegetarian” Peters and Bill Gentry covered equipment and tips for gun hunters.

RAFFLE TIME: Its that time of year again, when we ask our members to help us raise money for the Camp Debruce fund, and to sell or buy at least 5 books of tickets. The raffle will work the same way as last year. Each book contains 6 tickets which are a dollar apiece or $5 for 6. The prizes will be a choice of a gift certificate to either Circuit City, L.L. Bean or Foxwoods Resort. A $500 value. Those members who have not yet received their tickets will find them included with this newsletter. We appreciate your support. The drawing will take place on Saturday February 24th, 2007 at the annual dinner. We hope everyone will try to attend as this is a really nice evening with lots of great food and great prizes.

UPCOMING EVENTS: Sunday January 28th will be the annual Ice Fishing Derby. Assuming we have ice. At the present time with the weather being what it is, we will have to hold off on announcing the place, as not all areas have safe ice at the same time. If we have open water, we may do a frost bite fishing get together on Croton Falls Reservoir as the water level is down opening up lots of shoreline. We will keep you advised.
An ice fishing seminar will be given at the January meeting which will be Tuesday January 16th.

TRAP SHOOT – April 29th at the 110 Rod and Gun Club, Dutchess, Co. Start time 10:00am. Entry fee is $5.00 and each round is $5.00. We usually shoot two rounds, and the combined score will determine the club “Top Gun”. We encourage beginners and we will supply guns and ammo to those that don’t have them. Please don’t be intimidated if you have not shot trap before, this is a casual shoot, and aside from safety, fun is the main goal.

WITH REGRET: We regret to announce the passing of the brother and father of past member Mike Cassidy.

CABIN NEWS: The cabin is available to members at the rate of $10.00 per night. It will sleep 6, has running hot and cold water, and borders the Sundown State Forest, which is a 28,000 acre forest preserve, with hiking, snowmobiling, fishing, hunting, snowshoeing, xcross country skiing and anything else you can think of. Please contact Bill Gentry, the cabin chairman for reservations and instructions. (914) 739-4105

DEP NEWS: Access Permits are now available on the Web. You can access the web site: www.nyc.gov/watershedrecreation
No mail or waiting necessary! Visitors, tourists and out-of-town friends and families of current Access Permit holders can get regular permits or Guest Passes immediately and enjoy the watershed recreation areas the same day. To apply online, individuals will need either a valid drivers license or non-drivers identification. Just click on print and a new Access Permit and Vehicle Mirror hanger are yours on the spot. You may still apply by mail.

REMINDER: The New Croton Unit in the Town of Yorktown is closed to small game hunting. This area was originally listed as being open for small game, but due to some conflicts and concerns with the Town of Yorktown, the area was closed.

ANNUAL DINNER: All members are reminded that the annual dinner will be Saturday February 24th at the Westmoreland Sanctuary, Bedford. The cocktail hour will be from 6:00pm to 7:00pm. Anyone wishing to help with setup is asked to be at there at 5:00pm. Members who are planning on attending must contact John Peters so we may get an accurate headcount. Our max is 60, and this fills up fast. We are trying to avoid setting a guest limit, but we need to know how many members and guests are coming. All members who did not pay the $10.00 in addition to their dues, are requested to bring a gift of that value. Beer, wine, soda and water will be provided. Contact # (914) 248-5077 – e-mail jcpeters46@yahoo.com

2007 DUES: Effective March 1st the dues for new members will be $60.00. This new rate will affect present members in September of 2007. The last dues increase was over 10 years ago.

BEST WISHES TO ALL OUR MEMBERS AND THEIR FAMILIES FOR A HAPPY AND HEALTHY NEW YEAR

NEXT GENERAL MEETING WILL BE JANUARY 16TH. 8:00 MEMORIAL HOUSE – ICE FISHING SEMINAR

John Peters
Recording Secretary

THE SPORTSMEN'S CLUB OF NORTHERN WESTCHESTER

NEWSLETTER

September 2006

Another summer by the boards. This one had a little bit of everything, heavy rain, drought, high winds, tornadoes, thunder & lightening, and desert heat and we’re just getting into hurricane season. For some reason we missed plague and pestilence, but they probably aren’t to far off. The good thing about all this aberrant weather is I’m using it as my excuses for not catching fish, my poor performance at the trap shoot, why I haven’t done anything around the house and if past performance is an indicator I’ll weave it into why I didn’t shoot that trophy buck, so I’m gold for this year. I better not hear any of you using my excuses either, find your own damn excuses!

                                                   FISH TALES

Due to all the aforementioned reasons, fishing for me was slow. I had days of brilliance and days when I couldn’t catch a cold. Did manage to take a 3 lb. 18” brown out of Gilead, on one of those 100 degree days at about mid-day. Of course I had the lake to myself because only an idiot would have been out there. (I’m starting to realize my mother didn’t drown all her stupid kids). At any rate I was able to find the fish at about 23’ down, and after hours of trolling one of them took one for the team and hit my lure, probably because they were tired of looking it.

The first bass tournament had no winners, and no fish were even brought to the scale, so we scheduled another one on August 20th. The day looked promising, but some of the reservoirs had very windy conditions, and fishing was tough. Jim Gmelin did manage to win the small mouth category with a bass from Byram Lake. The team of Don and Karen Hamilton experienced a lot of wind on New Croton, which Don says was due to nature and had nothing to do with him. Don did take some nice bass on some prior trips. President Pete fished Kensico, and did not do well either. VP Licata spent some time in Wyoming and took some nice cutthroat trout. Don Hamilton did take some bass out of New Croton, and he and his bride took a mess of white perch at Sodom/East Branch reservoir.

                                                    SALT WATER

I have made several trips to L.I. Sound this season, and have had a very mediocre season. Other people I have spoken to have done well, although keeper fluke are in short supply. Plenty of blues and early on the stripers were impressive. Now with the cooler weather the fishing should pickup a little. I did manage to hook into a gorilla blue, which I had on for over 4 minutes, and just when I thought I had him whipped he charged the boat, and spit the lure. From all the reports I’ve read and other fishermen I’ve talked to the fishing has been pretty good and most of the party boats have enough action to keep their customers happy.

                                                   CLUB PICNIC

The annual club picnic was held on July 22nd at Sylvan Lake. As always we would like to thank Bill, Carol and Honey Bock for their hospitality. The weather left a bit to be desired, but the food more then made up for it.
Members in attendance were Jim Gmelin, Bill Gentry, Jesse Gentry, John Peters, George Sleator , Sim Storch, Jim Steck .

                                             SPORTING CLAYS

The sporting clays shoot was held on Saturday August 13th, and 9 members participated. Newman Chittenden was high shooter, while the rest of us were humbled. We had a beautiful day and everyone enjoyed themselves. We would like to thank all those who participated; Pete Doherty, Phil Beers, Chuck and Chris Sehulster, John Peters, Jim Steck, Don Hamilton, Frank Stramowski, and Newman Chittenden.

To give you an idea of how popular this shoot is Frank Stramowski came all the way from Cape Cod, and Chris Sehulster drove all morning on a motorcycle from Ithaca to participate. We would like to thank Jim Steck and the 110 Rod and Gun Club for allowing us to use their facilities.

                                             SEPTEMBER MEETING

The guest speakers for September were Mitch and Mike from In-Scents. They did a great job as usual and our deer hunters were able to buy some of their products. Their products are now being marketed at a number of sporting good retailers, so please look for them.

                                                MEMBERSHIP

We also picked up 3 new members at the meeting. Tom Dieck was introduced by member Tom Newman. Tom Dieck is from Katonah. Jason Hinkley and Tom Buckley found us on the website and are also from Katonah. Welcome guys.

WITH SYMPATHY: We regret to announce the passing of Jessica Licata’s father this past summer. Please accept our sympathy for your loss.

                                              HUNTER SAFETY

Bill Gentry and John Peters taught a hunter safety course at Rye Recreation this month. 26 students completed the course.

                                                 BOW SHOOT

September 24th was the bow shoot at the Yorktown Grange grounds. Shooters were Bill Gentry, Don Hamilton, Don Kane, Mikey Kane, and Jim Licata. Jim Licata was high shooter and won the turkey. This was young Mikey Kane’s first bow shoot, and he did a great job. Congratulations to both Jim and Mikey. Thanks to Don Kane for supplying the refreshments.

                                                  REMINDER

                               ----DUES ARE DUE----

WE ASK ALL MEMBERS TO REMIT THEIR DUES AS PROMPTLY AS POSSIBLE. SENIOR MEMBERS $50.00 + $10.00 IF YOUR ATTENDING THE GAME DINNER. JUNIOR MEMBERS $25.00. MAKE CHECKS PAYABLE TO SPORTSMEN’S CLUB OF NO. WESTCH.

BOARD MEETING FOR OCTOBER IS 10/3.

GENERAL MEETING OCTOBER 17TH CONSERVATION OFFICERS WILL BE OUR GUEST SPEAKERS. PLEASE MAKE EVERY EFFORT TO ATTEND AND BRING A FRIEND.

                                    DATES TO REMEMBER:

SUNDAY OCT. 1ST TURKEY SEASON OPENS
SATURDAY OCT. 14TH. OPENING OF SOUTHERN ZONE BOW SEASON FOR DEER.
SATURDAY NOVEMBER 18TH OPENING OF SOUTHERN ZONE GUN SEASON FOR DEER

NOTE: IF YOU’RE HUNTING NYC RESERVOIR PROPERTY OPENING TWO DAYS OF DEER SEASON BOW OR GUN, YOU CAN ONLY TAKE A DOE.

THE SPORTSMEN'S CLUB OF NORTHERN WESTCHESTER

NEWSLETTER

SEPTEMBER 2005
60th ANNIVERSARY

Another perfectly good summer shot to hell. Hope your fishing success was better then mine, at least locally. I did manage to take a trip to Canada with my son, and some friends to a Lodge 160 miles north of Montreal. From the lodge we flew into a lake that had been reserved for our party, and split the group into one cabin of 5 and one of 4. Both cabins came with hot and cold running flies and mice. We had boats for each two people, so upon arrival my son and I stowed our gear, and got right on the lake. Within the first hour my son had caught his first walleye and first pike. The rest of the week fishing was good, with everyone taking fish. Biggest pike was 15 lbs, and the biggest walleye was about 6lbs. We caught and released most of the fish, except those that swallowed the hooks and didn’t survive the trip to the ER. By the end of the week my mercury count was so high I was qualified to be a thermometer.

President Doherty vacationed in Virginia at a camp ground near the Chesapeake Bay, and took advantage of a party boat that the camp had. He and Meg both did real well on the croakers.

This writer did fish Long Island Sound this summer, and did manage to pick up a 6lb fluke as my biggest salt water fish so far this year. Also caught a couple of harbor blues, but nothing of great size. Don Hamilton on a trip out with friends slammed the blue fish, and also did well on New Croton reservoir, taking some nice bass. Can’t say the same for myself; my favorite pond, Lake Gilead, has just gotten lock jaw, and have not been able to pick up anything of size. Fish are reported to be in the 40 ft. depths, but even using a down rigger hasn’t helped. I did start using the Thermometer and found the thermocline was a band of about 5 feet between 40 degrees at one end and 60 at the other. But in fact the correct depth was between 20 and 25 feet. Talk about temperature extremes. Once I started trolling in the band I started hitting browns, mostly 14” fish, but better then getting skunked.

As predicted, the Saturday opening day for deer is here. Opening day will now be the third Saturday in November and for this season will last until December 11.

Early Archery Season will be Oct. 15th till Nov. 18th. Late archery will be from Dec. 12 to Dec. 20 as will muzzle loading season. Westchester will be Oct. 15 until Dec. 31.

Note to anyone hunting dmu areas 3c and 3j (Ulster county which is the cabin area. ) you may only take antlered deer with at least one antler with at least three points; smaller bucks may not be taken. Hunters under age 17 may still take bucks with an antler or antlers measuring more then three inches.

Dmu permits are available until Oct. 1st. Permits have been cut drastically in many areas, so if you haven’t applied, your chances are diminishing.

Club activities: Club picnic was held at Sylvan Lake, courtesy of the Bock family who extended their hospitality again. Our thanks to Bill, Carol and Honey Bock for inviting the club to use their beautiful facilities.

Hunter Safety Course - a Hunter Safety Course will be conducted at Rye Recreation, Midland Av, Rye on 14, 15 and 16 Sept. Course hours will be 6:00 to 9:30pm the 14th and 15th and from 6:00 to 9:00pm on the 16th. The course will be given by John Peters, Bill Gentry and Glenn Masi. The course is free. Attendance at all three sessions is mandatory and pre-registration is required. Please contact Bill Gentry at Rye Rec. at (914)967-2535. Class will be limited to the first 25 persons.

Archery Shoot - The annual archery shoot will take place at the Yorktown Grange Fair Grounds on Sunday Sep. 18th at 10:00am for participants. Anyone setting up should be there at 9:00am. This will be the usual blind shoot, so the only skill needed is to hit the paper. A 50-50 shoot will also be held and refreshments will be served. Please contact Chip Rahe to sign up. (914) 248-8298

General meeting will be Tuesday Sep. 20th 8:00pm Katonah Memorial House. Guest speaker will be Lou Fico, the Chairman of the NRA Dinner Committee, who is also the Hunter Safety County Coordinator. Refreshments will be served. Please bring a friend. We would like a good turn out for this meeting.

Cabin work party – there will be a cabin work party weekend 24 and 25 Sept. If you’ve never been to the cabin, this is a good time to go. See Bill Gentry

Please be advised dues are due. $50.00 for seniors, plus $10.00 if you are attending the annual game dinner. This ten dollars is for the raffle prizes. $25.00 for junior members. Prompt payment is appreciated and helps us budget for the coming year. Thank you

The website is up and running, please check it out at www.sconw.com. Sally Beers has done a great job, and we thank her again.

For sale. Winchester mod. 70 bolt action .308 cal. w/simmons scope and iron sights, sling, 4 boxes of ammo and hard case. Never been fired. $850. Valued at over $1,000. See or call Phil Beers (914) 921-5306.

Condolences - We offer our condolences to the wife of Steve Miller who lost her brother, this past week.

Get well – member Mike Liebman was hurt in an accident while vacationing, Fortunately he’s a tough ole bird, and will hopefully be back with us shortly. We miss your wit and wisdom Mike. Get well soon.

Annual tag sale – Guide Post will not be hosting a tag sale this year.

Remember the General Meeting Tuesday Sept. 20th. Food by Royal Scarlet – beer by Budweiser

John Peters
Recording Secretary

JUNE 2005

Well, we got through the spring that wasn’t and jumped right into “Welcome to Florida”. Fishing started slow, at least for this writer, and hasn’t improved much. I have had some fleeting moments of brilliance, where I was able to take a good fish, but never quite able to get any consistency.

President Doherty has had some success with the trout, and took a journey to Lake George where he and friends chartered a boat, and took some nice lakers. Don Hamilton and son Donald have been doing a fair amount of carp shooting with the bow, and have thinned the population somewhat. Pat Vetere has had some luck fishing Croton Falls outlet with dry flies.

The salt water scene, according to what you read is very good, with blue fish in the 8 pound class being taken at Croton Point, and some late stripers coming down river. I managed to take 3 stripers while kayaking the Croton River; all three together totaled a length of 12 inches. Speaking of which DEC is proposing changes to the striper length, upping it from 18” to 24” effective sometime this fall and 28” by Jan. 1, 2006. This is for Hudson River bass.

Our man on the Cape, Frank Stramowski reports that he and Jim G, who is now pretty much living there, have been catching some salt water fish and some trout out of the local ponds, but like us down here, aren’t knocking ‘em dead.

The proposed changes for the upcoming deer season are still not chiseled in granite. It appears that the Saturday opener that was proposed will be a go. The October 1 start for bow may be revised back to the 15th and the black powder 1 week season scheduled for mid-October may be reduced to 3 days. More to follow.

After hearing for the past number of years about the deer population explosion, and how the herd has to be thinned out, DEC is now saying that the population is lower in 2/3rds of the state’s WMU’s than desired. “The number of deer management permits will be sharply lower then 2004”. The 2004 season saw a drop in permits by 80,000. It would be a good idea to get your license early this year, if you want a shot at a permit.

Nothing to report regarding this past spring turkey season. I don’t know of anyone in the club who got one. The forecast was guarded due to poor nesting seasons for the past couple of years.

CWD (Chronic Wasting Disease) was discovered in a wild deer in central New York. DEC is trying to set up a containment area to stop the disease from spreading. Expect to see some additional regulations as we get closer to the season.

OLD BUSINESS: The trap shoot was a disappointment as far as number of participants went. Only 4 guys out of the 11 who signed up showed up. Due to the small number and the fact that we didn’t even have a line, the “Top Gun” trophy was not awarded. Hopefully we can have another shoot before the end of the season, and get a little better participation.

Due to the small number of people we were able to do a Quail walk, which is where one shooter lines up behind the trap house the gun is loaded with one shell and the safety is on. The shooter proceeds to walk slowly towards the trap house, and the trapper, releases a clay bird. This simulates an upland hunting situation, and is quite a challenge, as the shooters will attest to. I thank Jim Steck, for arranging the shoot and Phil Beers and Joe Wurfbaum for participating

KIDS FISHING DERBIES – BEDFORD AND LEWISBORO. The kids Fishing Derbies were both on the same day, so we split with some guys boing to Bedford and some guys going to Lewisboro. Thanks from the Club to the following members who assisted at the Derbies: Bedford: Doherty, Vetere, Marotta, Beers and Licata. Lewisboro: Gentry, Peters and Miller. Bedford had a good crowd but didn't do too good in the fish catching department while Lewisboro, which had a smaller crowd, did very well, with everybody catching trout. It may have had something to do with the quality of the guys who assisted at Lewisboro.

The cabin work party was attended by Gentry, Beers, Peters, Doherty, Gmelin. The crew got the outside and inside cleaned up, and some touch up painting on the outside. Still plenty to do and another work party will probably be scheduled for the fall. Let’s see some new faces!

Bass Tournament – Held Fathers Day. Fishing was slow, and only one fish actually made weigh-in, a 19” largemouth caught by Chip Rahe at Lake Waccabuc. Congratulations Chip. We heard an unconfirmed rumor that Jim Gmelin fished also, and caught a 19” brown trout at Cross River. As usual “Flash” Gmelin came and went, and nobody saw him or the fish. Jim, you need to switch to decafe!

June Meeting – 60th Anniversary Party. For those of you who didn’t make it, you missed a good time. Plenty of food, raffle prizes and Carlo brought the VCR tapes of the old club members, showing them doing stockings and fish surveys, the pan fish derby, and riding around in old cars, now worth small fortunes. We thank Pete Doherty and the Royal Scarlet for the wedges, Mike Liebman for the coffee, Blaze and Phil for the deserts and Mike Cassidy for the raffle prizes.

ALL MEMBERS WHO HAVE NOT GIVEN ME THEIR E-MAILS YOU CAN REACH ME AT jcpeters46@yahoo.com
This makes it easier for me to send you notices or messages. Thanks.

UPCOMING CLUB EVENTS: The annual club picnic will be held at Sylvan Lake on Sunday July 24th, from 10:00am until the police come. This is a byob, contact Bill Bock (845) 452-3916 for directions or questions.

The bow shoot is tentatively scheduled for Saturday September 17th, with the 18th being the rain date. This is pending approval by the Grange. We will let you know for sure in the September meeting notice.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: We congratulate Jessie Gentry, son of Wild Bill Gentry for graduating from High School. Jessie will be working with his dad for the summer, and then it’s off to college and the real world. Congratulations Jessie.

Web site - the site is up and running and can be accessed by www.sconw.com . We thank Phil and Sally Beers for all their hard work, and web mistress Kathy Kronig for her assistance and Sally & Phil’s son-in-law Ian Weston who contributed to the design of the site and got it launched.. Check the site out, and please give us your feed back. We are hoping the site will generate some possible members.

REMEMBER THERE ARE NO GENERAL MEETINGS DURING THE SUMMER. OUR NEXT GENERAL MEETING WILL IS SEPTEMBER 20TH.

BOARD MEETINGS FOR THE SUMMER WILL BE JULY 5TH AND AUGUST 2ND AT THE MEMORIAL HOUSE.

HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A SAFE AND GREAT SUMMER. TIGHT LINES!

John Peters
Recording Secretary
(914) 248-5077

                        MARCH 2005
                   60th ANNIVERSARY

Last year when I was writing this newsletter, we were starting to come out of the “winter from hell”, but as I sit here now and look out the window, there is still about 8”s of snow on the ground, and I’m not happy. My loving bride is always on my case to get a snow blower, a suggestion I have been rejecting for the past 5years. She has no idea how much fishing and hunting equipment you can buy for the price of a snow blower, of course this is off set by my chiropractic bills to repair my back from all the shoveling, but nonetheless, the thought of taking up valuable space in my shed with a snow blower is repulsive, especially since I can use that space to store cool stuff like tree stands, fishing motors etc.. Besides that my attitude is that nature will eventually take care of the snow, which will turn to water, which will fill our reservoirs, not to mention my basement, but that’s another problem.

Ice fishing this year was less then great. Ice was late this year, and throughout the season varied from somewhat safe to “damn that waters cold.” My initial outing was with Jim G, and we fished behind King Lumber on Muscoot. Jim had tip-ups and a jigging rod, while I just jigged. We had a great day catching yellows both on tip-ups and jigs, and some nice bass. Our Russian friends were there also, and as Jim and I were walking down with our equipment, we noted one of them returning to his car, with two plastic bags filled with fish. He returned shortly thereafter, and continued to fish, taking another limit no doubt. Jim passed this information onto the CO’s, who did some undercover work, down there, and issued citations for various violations. Subsequent outings were less rewarding, and the season in general was not great overall. I did hear someone took a nice brown out of West Branch, and of course once that word got out, you couldn’t get a parking space anywhere near the area. Due to the questionable ice, we didn’t have an annual ice fishing get together that coupled with the fish being less then cooperative. We’ll get ‘em next year.

Deer season - The general consensus is the season was poor. This year the vast majority of hunters I spoke with agreed that this was a very bad season. Usually you get a divided opinion, some guys did very well taking more then one deer, or getting a nice antlered buck, and the guys saying it was terrible. This year I don’t think I spoke to anyone who had anything good to say about it, even guys who got deer. DEC predicts that the harvest this year was down by 20%. That’s a pretty significant drop. A number of people I spoke with had varying opinions on why the season was poor, but one reoccurring feeling was that DEC is issuing more permits then they should be, due to pressure from insurance companies who are experiencing a significant number of claims from deer-car accidents. This is just speculation, but I have heard it from more than one person, so there may be a modicum of truth to it. As you probably know by now there are some regulation changes being proposed by DEC for the 2005 deer season. These include having opening day on the 3rd Saturday in November, and extending the bow season, but also inserting a one week black powder season in the middle of it. There have been some meetings held, mostly up state of course, and as of this writing I don’t have any feed back as to what if any decisions have been made. The Saturday opener sounds like its going to happen. The theory behind this is that it will level the playing field, so that people who can’t get off on the traditional Monday will be able to get out, also it would give students the opportunity to get out. While there has been some opposition to this from guys who say that this is a break with tradition, and that it will put more people in the field, creating the potential for more accidents, there don’t seem to be any concrete reasons for not having it on a Saturday. The reasons for most of the changes hinges on making deer hunting more attractive, and hopefully increasing the declining license sales. I personally don’t think there will be a significant increase because of these changes. People who enjoy hunting are going to hunt regardless, and I don’t see a big reaction by people who will now buy a license because seasons have been lengthened or now opening day is on a Saturday. It has been my experience that unless there is an overwhelming reaction by the public to proposed changes, they are usually a “slam dunk”, and while there is some objection to these changes, I don’t think its going to be enough

CABIN - A cabin fever trip took place back in January. Gmelin, Gentry, Peters and Storch got together to solve the problems of the world. The interesting part of the weekend was a hike. While we all agreed that the deer season had been very disappointing, with few deer seen, the hike proved enlightening. There was a lot of sign, and we even saw a healthy looking doe. Judging from the sign there was no shortage of deer in the area, so hopefully they’ll survive this winter, and give us a chance next season. I also hiked some DEP property while there was snow on the ground, and while I didn’t see any deer, again there were a lot of tracks and droppings, indicating that a good number survived the hunting season.

CLUB DINNER: This year’s club dinner was by all accounts a great success. We would like to thank all those people who helped out by donating food, deserts, their time and effort to make this dinner a success. As usual everyone stepped up to the plate, and did an outstanding job. We had 61 people in attendance, and I think everyone had a good time. We would again like to thank Mike Cassidy for his generous donations and especially for the items for the special raffle a 45-70 rifle and a variable rifle scope. The dollar raffle prizes were of excellent quality, and I don’t think there were too many people who didn’t go home with something. The Grand Prize “Weekend for Two” at Cove Haven was won by President Doherty’s in-laws. Rumor has it they are practicing getting into a large champagne glass. Member Rolf Lund won the 45-70 and a guest won the rifle scope. The dollar raffles brought in $775.00 and the special raffle brought in $435. President Doherty gave out the awards and we would like to congratulate Carlo Marotta and Dick Schmitt for attaining 50 years as members of the club. Both men have been instrumental in keeping the club going through the years, and we again thank them for their service. For the second year in a row Don Hamilton won the “Top Gun” honors for the annual trap shoot and Mike Sinistore was the recipient of the Bass Tournament award for his largemouth. We don’t mean that Mike has a largemouth, that’s the species of the fish he caught. Sorry for any confusion there Mike. Former President Beers was also recognized for his presidency, and we again thank him for his service. We would also like to thank his wife Sally for letting Phil come out and play with us, and for all the work she has done behind the scenes. This writer was totally caught off guard when he was awarded the Man of the Year award. I’m very grateful for this honor, and want to thank the board for selecting me.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: A year ago this month we mentioned in this newsletter the deployment of Alan Hamilton, son of Don and Karen Hamilton, to Iran with the Army National Guard. It is with great pleasure and a sigh of relief we announce the return of Alan Hamilton from his tour of duty. Alan is presently out-processing at Ft. Drum, NY. WELCOME HOME! and Thanks for a job well done.

The club would also like to wish Frank Stramowski a speedy recovery from his recent surgery and we look forward to spending some time afield and afloat with him.

We would like to welcome aboard new member Rolf Lund from Armonk.

2005 ELECTIONS: We would like to congratulate in-coming President Pete Doherty, and VP Jim Licata, and new board members, Mike Liebman and Steve Miller. We know these guys will do a great job, and we look forward to serving with them. We would also like to thank out-going President Phil Beers for his 2 years of service, and hope he enjoyed his tenure as much as we enjoyed working with him.

ACTIVITIES: Jim Gmelin in conjunction with the Rockefeller Park will be conducting an introduction to fly fishing seminar, scheduled to take place at the the Rockefeller Park on 117 in Pocantico. The dates will be March 13th and 20th, and April 3rd and 10th. All dates are Sundays. Course will include casting instruction, knot tying, fly selection, how to read the stream, how to match the hatch and fishing the Pocantico River If you would like to be a student or assist as an instructor, please contact Jim at 666-5757.

TRAP SHOOT - SUNDAY MARCH 20TH – 110 ROD & GUN CLUB – CALL JOHN PETERS OR JIM STECK 248-7550 BEGINNERS WELCOME.

BASS TOURNAMENT – FATHERS DAY JUNE 19TH details to be announced.

KIDS FISHING TOURNAMENTS - At the time of this writing we don’t have the exact dates for the Bedford or Lewisboro kids fishing tournaments. As we get them we will advise the members.

CABIN WORK PARTY – This will probably be scheduled sometime in May exact date TBA

FOR SALE: Lowrance Eagle Optima fish finder w/12 volt battery pack. ($400 new) used once, best offer over $200. Call Jim Gmelin 666-575

Any member who has something they would like to sell please contact John Peters – 248-5077

NEXT MEETING TUESDAY MARCH 15TH 8:00 MEMORIAL HOUSE

Hope to see you there – bring a friend.