JustinHoffman

Hey Ben - any idea what year Jakes become Toms? Cheers, Justin

Ooops! Thanks, RichyB! Not sure why I put in Jake. Just googled the two to ascertain their differences. Seems like the uniform tail feathers is a dead giveaway of it being a Tom as opposed to a Jake. Good to know...a hunter I am not. Cheers, Justin

Hey Brian, Had a feeling these pics would get you pumped up! Unfortunately, it was a private lane to a farm, so I couldn't get as close as I wanted to for a better shot. On my way home this morning, I saw upwards of 8 toms and a dozen or two hens. Sadly, it was in a field at the side of the 417. Stopping to take a shot wasn't an option Good luck on the opener, bud. Cheers, Justin

Hello All, Came across these three toms...and on-the-fence hens...yesterday morning on my way home from work. Always cool to watch the interaction between these guys and gals once spring rolls around. Cheers, Justin

Hey Jim, Checked online - porky scat is more cylindrical and has a curve at the end. Fairly certain it is deer...but I could be mistaken. Anyone else have an opinion? Cheers, Justin

Good stuff, Geoff - you guys will have a great time! The meals were delicious... Now, about that finder's fee Elmhirst mentioned..haha! Cheers, Justin

Hey Geoff, OOD Magazine had a writer's retreat two falls ago at Elmhirst Resort - on the shores of Rice Lake. Your own cottage on the water, wonderful restaurant, acres of hiking trails and rolling hills, horseback riding, a spa...plus, all the fishing you want. I had a great experience - thought I'd pass the recommendation on. http://www.elmhirst.ca Cheers, Justin

Thanks for the tips and the article, guys - much appreciated. Yes, their are porkies around for sure. I'm wondering with our mild winter, they may have dropped early and been chewed up by now. The area does allow dog walking within it. Talked to a woman last week that told me her dog routinely brings back 5 or 6 sheds each season while running through the bush. Ahh, regardless of finding any...always good to be out in nature. Cheers, Justin

Thanks, Nick. Going to give it another try later this weeks. The amount of deer in this area is ridiculous. But, it is a big area to cover. Any specific spots I should key in on? Cheers, Justin

Hello All, With the warm weather of today, and with an itching to find a spent antler, I headed out with camera in hand for a day of shed hunting. Conditions varied at my favourite hiking spot. Deep snow in some spots, bare ground in others, and miniature ponds scattered amongst them for good measure. Regardless of the terrain, wearing only a t-shirt and having the sun shine on my face sure felt great. I have certainly had a fascination over the years for finding a deer antler. But, for the many miles I’ve walked in the woods, a shed I have yet to spot. The signs were excellent on this outing – dozens of deer trails, plenty of scrapes, and scat everywhere. Sadly, after 5 hours and 8.6 kilometres of working the brush, I came up empty handed. I did find plenty of this: And a couple of these: As well as a flock of these: A great day out!! For the rest of the images, and the full story, feel free to check out my site: http://justinhoffmanoutdoors.com/2012/03/14/shed-hunting-and-a-side-of-snowshoe-hare/ Cheers, Justin

@Misfish - thanks, bud! @MikePike - I do have a few in frames in the house. They also make great gifts for various occasions. I have donated them to a few auctions (Big Jim's cancer event and Relay for Life) to be used in the silent auction. I like this last one best. Thanks for the interest.. Cheers, Justin

Hello All, Spent the last two days photographing ducks on the Ontario side of the Ottawa River. Plenty of entertaining mallards. Unfortunately, the diving goldeneyes stayed out from shore. Spent some time working on catching birds in flight. Not the easy task to do, but am going to try to perfect it over the next couple of months. Here are a few images from my shoot. The full set, and some descriptions and details, can be found on my site: http://justinhoffmanoutdoors.com/2012/02/15/a-day-spent-with-ducks/ Enjoy! Cheers, Justin

Hello All, Spent the last two days photographing ducks on the Ontario side of the Ottawa River. Plenty of entertaining mallards. Unfortunately, the diving goldeneyes stayed out from shore. Spent some time working on catching birds in flight. Not the easy task to do, but am going to try to perfect it over the next couple of months. Here are a few images from my shoot. The full set, and some descriptions and details, can be found on my site: http://justinhoffmanoutdoors.com/2012/02/15/a-day-spent-with-ducks/ Enjoy! Cheers, Justin

Feel free to, Bob...glad you enjoyed them. Cheers, Justin

Hello All, Spent the day birding the Gatineau Escarpment (Quebec) yesterday, hoping to find some eagles. Came up empty handed, but did come across two curious does, that spent more than 20 minutes within 15 feet of me!! Most of the time they were a bit too close for my 75 - 300mm telephoto I was using.. Snapped off close to 300 shots. Here are a few to whet the appetite. The remainder of the best can be seen on my website: http://justinhoffmanoutdoors.com/2012/02/14/a-portrait-of-the-deer-in-the-woods/ Also stumbled upon this snowshoe hare.. Thanks for looking.. Happy Shooting, Justin

Thanks, bud. Glad you enjoyed them. Off to shoot some duck images this afternoon. Had an amazing time photographing them yesterday on the Ottawa River. Here are two of my favourite from that shoot: Cheers, Justin

Hello All, Spent the day birding the Gatineau Escarpment (Quebec) yesterday, hoping to find some eagles. Came up empty handed, but did come across two curious does, that spent more than 20 minutes within 15 feet of me!! Most of the time they were a bit too close for my 75 - 300mm telephoto I was using.. Snapped off close to 300 shots. Here are a few to whet the appetite. The remainder of the best can be seen on my website: http://justinhoffmanoutdoors.com/2012/02/14/a-portrait-of-the-deer-in-the-woods/ Also stumbled upon this snowshoe hare.. Thanks for looking.. Happy Shooting, Justin

@justwannafish - I wrote a feature article in the latest issue of Ontario OUT OF DOORS magazine. It covers the basics of plywood selection, framework size, screws, carpeting, etc. It also offers tips on carpet, livewells, bilge pumps and bow-mounts/electronics. Should be a good starting point. I also shot a companion video that you may find useful: If you have any questions, just shoot me a note. @fishNwire - Always love to hear comments (both good and bad) on what your experience is with the magazine. Any comments feel free to direct them to the Editor-in-Chief, John Kerr: [email protected] Best way to let us know how we are doing - or what improvements need to be made. In terms of the article I wrote - I wanted to cover all of the basics (not just deck building) for giving your aluminum boat a makeover. Obviously, space constraints doesn't always allow us to go into in-depth detail on every topic we cover, but I think this piece does give the newbie "boat builder" some great starting points. Good Fishing, Justin

Hello All, For those looking for some information on upgrading their aluminum boat, check out my article in the latest issue of Ontario OUT OF DOORS magazine (Jan/Feb. 2012). Great tips on building casting decks, carpeting your rig, livewell adaptations, and electronics rigging. Also of interest, here is a companion video I shot which further explains some of the upgrades I have made to the Springbok Pro 140 over its 23 years: Good Fishing, Justin

@HoffmanOutdoors I post fishing reports, articles, lure trends and releases, contests (that I run), etc. Feel free to follow. Good Fishing, Justin

Thanks for the comments, guys. Back out again this week...here's hoping the big 8-pointer gets within camera range One more day of Quebec bassin' on the scheds for tomorrow! Good Fishing, Justin

Hey Folks, Just put up a new report on my site - "A Walk in the Woods." An afternoon hunkered down in a cornfield trying to photograph deer. Feel free to check it out: http://justinhoffmanoutdoors.com/2011/11/25/a-walk-in-the-woods/ Enjoy the report and pics... Good Fishing, Justin

Hey Misfish..still have about quarter of a can left. Maybe a top up come the new year? Hope the fishing/hunting season has been a good one for you, bud! All the best, Justin

Thanks, guys...and good luck in the contest. Will be running a bunch more of these throughout the year! Good Fishing, Justin

Novemeber 15 Hello All, Was definitely looking forward to this outing. The plan was for good buddy and fellow fishing writer, Tim Allard, and I to head up to Quebec and hopefully savour some of the bass and bluegill action that I enjoyed the previous week. Conditions were perfect – slight wind, warm temperature, and a mix of sun and cloud. What could go wrong? Making our way over the Ottawa River and into Gatineau, hopes were certainly high. This was short lived. Less than a kilometre into our journey, a bump on the road, a loud “BANG”, and the extremely unpleasant sound of scraping metal. This didn’t look good. A quick look in the rear view mirror and all I see is the boat in a precarious slant on the trailer. Tim’s thought is a blown tire. My guess is a blown bearing. We were both wrong. TO READ THE FULL REPORT AND FOR ADDITIONAL IMAGES, CHECK OUT MY WEBSITE: http://justinhoffmanoutdoors.com/2011/11/19/walleye-crappie-and-bass-and-a-busted-boat-trailer/ CONTEST TIME To celebrate 10,000 views on my site - and to thank my loyal readers - I'm offering up some prizes in a little contest. Entry is easy - simply subscribe to my blog. You will get an email notification whenever a new report goes live. Email addresses will not be used for spamming, sold, and you can easily opt out at any time. To aubscribe, head to my site and enter your addy on the right-hand side of the page toward the bottom. Easy and quick. Full details can be found here: http://justinhoffmanoutdoors.com/2011/11/17/contest-time/ Good Fishing, Justin