JustinHoffman

3rd Saturday in June, Lew..

Thanks guys and gal... Will update as the weeks go by. Cheers, Justin

Hello All, Has been an enjoyable few months hiking my favourite spot (7 minute drive from my home here in Ottawa) and photographing and interacting with the resident deer and wildlife. I am beginning to recognize each of the deer, and it is fascinating to watch the bucks develop their impressive antlers with each passing week. Here are a sample of my favourite images from April and May: This next shot is of the largest buck I have come across, and I am fairly certain he is the past owner of the best shed I have found from the same area. His antler growth is impressive already (this image was from last week) and he will be a treat to photograph over the following months - and especially come fall! (He also doesn't shy away from having his photograph taken.) And here is my shed collection from this spring. I covered 191 km's (over 16 hikes) and found nine sheds altogether. I discarded two in the field due to too much gnawing on them. Might need a new shelf if I find anymore! Excited for the next couple of weeks as it is time for the fawns to be born! For those interested in seeing more of my deer or wildlife images, feel free to check out my website: http://www.JustinHoffmanOutdoors.com Time to head out on the water and get some fishing reports up next Cheers, Justin

Hello All, Did a 16.9km hike today. Found my first ever "patch" of fiddleheads. Many different stages of growth at this spot, with quite a few just beginning to sprout through the earth. Ended up bringing 112 home with me Had my first taste tonight....YUMMY! Might have to make a return to this little area later in the week... Also found two deer sheds in very good condition. That brings my total to nine sheds this spring. Definitely still some out there to be found! A great day to be outside for sure... Cheers, Justin

Is a great cover for sure! Congrats to Ben - as well as to James Smedley who shot the image. Ben joins the ranks of Field Editor with the mag - a great accomplishment for a guy who genuinely loves the sport of fishing and hunting. Thanks for the compliment, Tyler. Greatly appreciated. Have a few new projects in the works which I hope will be well received. Good Fishing, Justin P.S. As a thank you to my readers, I am running a contest over on my site and giving away spools of TUF-Line fishing line! Ends tonight at midnight. Check out the "Announcements, Contests" section of this site for all of the details...and GOOD LUCK to the OFC'ers!

More good advice. I did change the pin position quite a few years ago as it seemed to make the boat plane quicker and ride smoother. However, perhaps this has caused an imbalance and is now causing pull instead. Will give that a go also.. Thanks to all!

Haha! Priceless Nipfisher...

Thanks for your insight, Smokestack - that probably explains why I don't think one was ever stock on this motor. I will take a look for the steering adjuster - maybe that is all that is needed. Will keep you guys posted on the outcome. As a side note - this issue caused a shoulder injury for me and my physiotherapist was amazed at the size of my muscle mass in my left shoulder/neck area compared to my right. We are fairly certain it is from strong arming this over the last decade or two, haha!

Thanks for taking the time and snapping a photo, Lew and Mike. Hmmm, if I was to guess, I don't believe we have ever had one. I also don't believe there are any screw holes showing. Strange. Will be talking to my Dad this afternoon and try to get to the bottom of it. Looks like we will need to pick one up - and either get a marina to install one or see if we can do it. Thanks again, guys...for all your help. Cheers, Justin

Thanks, Guys... I found this photo (not the best) showing my motor. Although I may be wrong, the only "fin" we have is the horizontal plate right at my Dad's nose. I don't believe I have a vertical fin. Is that horizontal piece the one that needs to be adjusted? Again, don't seem to think it had any bolts to adjust it with.

I assume it is easy to adjust the "fin?" Move it to the opposite direction of pull to alleviate the issue?

Thanks for the quick replies, guys! Greatly appreciated. Will check that out, Lew and Raf. Boat is down at the folks so will see about a fix when I am down next. @bigbuck - will check out iBoats. Thanks! Cheers, Justin

Hello All, Figure someone with a bit more knowledge out there may be able to help. I have had an issue with my 1988 Johnson 20HP tiller motor for some time now. The motor pulls away from me during operation (no matter what speed) meaning I have to strong arm it to keep in place while running it. If I let go, it swings quickly away from me - to the left. This makes for an uncomfortable day running down the lake as I have to keep my arm and shoulder fully flexed the entire time to keep ii running straight and true. Any idea what could be causing this? Is there an easy fix? Unfortunately, the owners manual is long gone. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! Cheers, Justin

Ordered mine online last week. Took less than five minutes. Print it out immediately and you are good to go. Beats heading to the store to do it.. Just my 2 cents... Good Fishing, Justin

Thanks, guys! Now I am excited to try to find the other two to make the matches. Few other spots I haven't checked yet, including a corn field and another field with long grasses that they feed in/possibly bed down in. Equally excited to head to this spot come fall - with camera in tow to try to get some pics of these brutes... Cheers, Justin

Note - I did start a new thread about my latest "find", but wanted to post here also for those that might miss it. Hello All, For those that read yesterday's report, I ventured out once again this morning in search of grouse to photograph...and hoping for another deer shed. Headed back to the area that I found the previous shed. Begin doing a grid search in a 100 yard radius, but came up empty handed. Did see three "live" deer, though...as well as a few turkey. On a hunch, and after doing some research and taking some advice from those that posted on my thread yesterday, I headed to an area approximately 600 yards due east. This spot is a thick (up top at least) area of evergreens, and if I had to guess, would be the ideal bedding area for deer. I began searching the perimeter, then the middle, and finally the outside edge. Then, as I walked along the edge....I saw it! Another beauty shed, glistening in the sun, right at the edge of the evergreens and adjacent to a marsh. (And less than 200 yards from Highway 416!) This shed is much darker than the first, and, although I am no expert when it comes to scoring, would appear to be six points. One tine is broken, and there is a drop tine coming off of that. Amazingly, their is not a single nibble or gnaw on this shed! Here is where it was found - it is in the lower right hand corner: And here are the two - side by side for comparison. The latest is much stockier than the first, has more points, is more aged, and the "ball" at the end is larger. Leading me to believe these came from two different deer. Any expert opinions out there?? Hiked a total of 26.4 km's the past three days. Had some incredible interactions with grouse...and found my first two deer sheds! I'm pretty much on cloud nine Cheers, Justin

Hello All, For those that read yesterday's report, I ventured out once again this morning in search of grouse to photograph...and hoping for another deer shed. Headed back to the area that I found the previous shed. Begin doing a grid search in a 100 yard radius, but came up empty handed. Did see three "live" deer, though...as well as a few turkey. On a hunch, and after doing some research and taking some advice from those that posted on my thread yesterday, I headed to an area approximately 600 yards due east. This spot is a thick (up top at least) area of evergreens, and if I had to guess, would be the ideal bedding area for deer. I began searching the perimeter, then the middle, and finally the outside edge. Then, as I walked along the edge....I saw it! Another beauty shed, glistening in the sun, right at the edge of the evergreens and adjacent to a marsh. (And less than 200 yards from Highway 416!) This shed is much darker than the first, and, although I am no expert when it comes to scoring, would appear to be six points. One tine is broken, and there is a drop tine coming off of that. Amazingly, their is not a single nibble or gnaw on this shed! Here is where it was found - it is in the lower right hand corner: And here are the two - side by side for comparison. The latest is much stockier than the first, has more points, is more aged, and the "ball" at the end is larger. Leading me to believe these came from two different deer. Any expert opinions out there?? Hiked a total of 26.4 km's the past three days. Had some incredible interactions with grouse...and found my first two deer sheds! I'm pretty much on cloud nine Cheers, Justin

Thanks, Bill. Definitely cool to have it happen twice. Will see if tomorrow is a third time lucky. If the friendly grouse is around again, I'll try to shoot some video.. Cheers, Justin

Good advice, Mark - thanks! Did a bit of reading today and the common thought is that the pair should be within a 100 yard span of each other. Gives me a good starting point to do a grid search tomorrow. Here is a shot of the fresh rub that was fairly close to the shed. Between this, the great condition of the shed, and having walked this same area last week, I am wagering that it dropped within the last 6 days. And here is the most heavily used deer trail in the area, some 200 yards from the shed, leading to a corn field just past the treeline on the left. I'll be sure to report back on what tomorrow brings.. Cheers, Justin

Hey Mark - It has been a goal of mine for many years now, and I am always searching on my weekly hikes for them. I know the areas I hike hold a good population of deer, but I just never seem to find any sheds. I know the matching one to this is somewhere in that area - but, it is a huge area. I will be back again tomorrow (for more grouse shots and searching for sheds.) I will say, when I spotted this one lying in the grass some 50 yards away, I sure was excited!! Any thoughts - do they generally lose both sides in the same general area, or could a buck theoretically lose one - and not the other - some weeks distance apart. I am fairly certain the fresh rub on the small tree I found close by was probably from this buck. Perhaps he lost the other side weeks ago... Definitely a fun hobby - I am certainly hooked. Cheers, Justin

Thanks for the comments, guys. Definitely a fun two days. Even better that this spot is a seven minute car ride from my home - and borders the busiest highway in Ottawa. See what tomorrow brings... Cheers, Justin

Hello All, The last two days have been fun ones in the woods. Came across not one, but two, ruffed grouse that allowed me to sit and interact with them - all from less than ten feet away! In fact, both came within arms reach multiple times. Spent a good 25 minutes with each. Here are some shots from Day 1. I also came across five deer, six turkey, one porky, one snowshoe hare, and two red tailed hawks. If that wasn't enough to make a day, I FINALLY found my very first deer shed!! It was sitting in an open area of grass. Only a few small nibbles on one tine. A big four point! I'm guessing it was recently shed, as I walked this area last week, and found a very fresh rub on a tree not too far away. Try as I did, I couldn't locate the other. Spent this morning hiking the same area with my Dad. We had one grouse flush a distance before we got to it, but then came across an extremely friendly bird. This girl (I'm assuming it was a she) hung around with us for 20 minutes, then came along for a 25 minute hike!!! If she fell behind she'd race forward to catch up! It was an incredible sight to see. I did worry about her, as we crossed some open fields - easy pickings if a hawk or owl had been watching. Here she is with my Dad when we took a short rest. She had been walking with us for about 10 minutes at this point: And here are some closeups. Most of the time my 75 - 300mm telephoto was far too powerful. Don't hear that often in nature photography! haha! We also came across six deer, a nesting pair of blue herons and a porky today. Might have to head back in the morning - would love to catch a male in full strut with the camera! Cheers, Justin

Hello All, I spent five hours and covered 10.6 km’s in the woods today. As always, plenty to see – including five deer, nine turkey, numerous ducks, and a red-tailed hawk. My time in the fresh air and expansive land aroused some thoughts. Many of us have grown accustomed to photographs, calendars, books, and magazines showcasing nature in it’s finest – and mostly live – state. Many don’t see the other side. The struggles that take place each and every day. The side of death. I came across many scenes of death in the woods today. Skeletal remains, bleached by the sun, and strewn haphazardly about. Turkey feathers piled high after being ravaged by a predator. With each animal I came across I pondered how they met their fate. Were they unable to endure the cold temperature and deep snow of winter? Old age? Coyote ambush? I counted four separate remains of deer today. Two turkey piles were also discovered. I’m sure the woods held many more. But with death comes life…and in some ways, a simple and peaceful beauty lies in it all. Cheers, Justin

Thanks, Ben Just found this link that offers some great facts and info on identification. I'm in the know now http://www.nwtf.org/all_about_turkeys/new_turkey_look.html Justin

Thanks, RichyB. These birds didn't seem overly big compared to others I have seen, although I was a bit of a distance away. Would chances be they are "young" Toms - ie. 2nd year birds? Or do they look a full size to you guys that hunt? Cheers, Justin