Cold Saint Patrick's Day - March 17th, 2014

John and I attempted to bass fish Bluestone after a icy snowy night on a day when the high temp was only 36 with a breeze to go with it. I tried and tried to get fish to eat a jerk bait with no results. The water temps ran from 42 to 48 degrees. I finally caught one lonely bass that weighed 2.9 lbs on a black and blue jig and pig. It was a tough day to be on the lake. Hopefully warmer weather and more active fishing are coming in with the official start of Spring.

Windy March Saturday on Bluestone Lake - March 16th, 2014

Greg Davis and I tried both crappie fishing and bass fishing between 9am and 1pm on Bluestone Lake. The wind started off in the 8 to 10mph range and quickly increased to the 15 to 20mph range making crappie fishing impossible. I caught one bluegill while crappie fishing. We had a tough day getting the bass to hit at all. I turned one nice bass on jerk bait that came unbuttoned quickly after I set he hook on him. There were several people crappie fishing but how they could feel the bite was beyond me. Although it was nice to be outside I felt bad that the fishing wasn't better.

First Bass of 2014 - March 9th, 2014

Joe and I fished Bluestone on this windy day. I landed 4 largemouth and Joe 3 all shallow with cranks, which surprises me some. I guess it doesn't pay to figure that your guesses on what fish should be doing are right in fishing. It was a fine day to be on the water and we both had a good time. I took Bow along and she did real well, even while we were running from spot to spot in the boat.

1st Bass of 2014

John's New Ride - March 8th, 2014

Nathan and I fished for bass on a windy day on Bluestone. Some friends of mine had been catching some quality bass shallow despite the 43 to 47 degree water temps. We tried hard for three good hours with no luck. While up there we ran into John who had recently purchased a new jet boat. This boat is the ultimate fishing machine for all that Summers County has to offer. He boat a G3 with a 40 horse Yamaha jet.

John's Jet

First Fish of 2014 - March 2nd, 2014

Jamie and I did a couple hours of crappie fishing on Bluestone lake today before the rain followed by more snow showers to come ran us off the lake. I caught three crappie on a drop shot rigged crawler in about 14 foot of water. The lake was severely drawn down in anticipation of more snow and rain. Again it was awesome to get out and fish a bite and be on the water after a long tough winter of severe cold and snow.

One Trout and a Dog - March 1st, 2014

  Brad and hiked down to the river today. Brad's trout (seen in the pic) was our only fish of the day. I had only one bite and Brad had only one other bite all day. It was a slow day. But it was still really fun to get outside between snow showers. While fishing down there we came across a half starved black lab mix pup. We fed her some cookies and beans from our lunches. I asked a park employee if he had seen her and he said he had never seen her before. When it came time to leave and cross the river we just couldn't leave her there with bad weather coming in and nothing to eat. Her ribs where showing, she had no collar and she was getting weak. I have been looking for the owners and making some calls. If nobody claims her I guess she has found a new home with my other two dogs.

A Field Full of Skunks and Possums - Feburary 21st, 2014

Derrick and I went predator calling from 7:30 to 10:30pm. The first stand we made we called in a possum and a coon. The coon came all the way to within 5 yards of us. We didn't shoot eiether despite ample opportunity. I would have bet money that the coon was a fox or a cat coming in the way he came in so fast and right to the call. We ran across a skunk on the way out of our first set and Derrick plasted it with his 870. By the time we made it to our second stand the wind was so bad that it was hard to imagine any animals could hear our call more than a couple hundred yards away. It was blowing up on the bluff at least 25mph. We dropped down into a valley were it was some better and ran accross another skunk. We let him slide off as we ran our 3rd and final set of the night. We had nothing come in at all. On our way our we walked into a field that had 2 more skunks and another possum standing in it. We walked around them. As we arrived at the truck there was another possum out beside the truck. I suspect that most predators had been laid up for the last week with our 18 inches of snow and with today being the first really warm nice day they got our and got their bellies full well before the nightfall.

No Luck Cold Calling- January 31st, 2014

Ratliff and I ran 7 sets from Zion to Barton Ridge between 8:00pm and 1:30AM. Other than one lonely owl we couldn't get anything to come in to the call. We called a couple spots that have some game on them and others we called we were just cold calling seeing what would show up. We did see one fox run across the road in front of the truck while traveling from spot to spot. It was a hard night to hunt because the frozen snow was loud and crunchy....there was no way to sneak into our setup without alerting the whole world.

Passing of a Wonderful Father.....January 25, 2014

My Dad Ronald Lee Lilly died today due to complications of a heart attack, renal failure, and pneumonia. He pasted at 7:56am at Princeton Community Hospital, the very same hospital where my mom worked and served for 34 years. My Dad meant the world to me and has been a regular on my blog since I started it in 2008. He taught me how to hunt, how to fish, how to be a man and so much more. In those lessons he taught me more importantly how to succeed and do it while treating other people with respect and caring.  R.L. Lilly was special in a lot of ways. He was a radio operator in the Marine Corps. in Vietnam, he was a Police Officer and Chief, a heart transplant recipient in 1990 at Duke University after surviving two heart attacks, he was an avid supporter of Dawn's Sportsman Club, a wonderful husband to my mother, and the best father a person could ever have. My Dad truly loved to deer hunt. He was known for his love of deer hunting. When he wasn't hunting he was reading about it, preparing to do it, and talking about it. He was a fine story teller and he enjoyed sharing his knowledge and experiences from the field. He also greatly enjoyed shooting and hunting with muzzleloaders. My Dad spent countless selfless hour teaching me to shoot, hunt, drive, study and a number of other things. At every turn that I failed he was always there to encouraging  me to press on.  As proud as I feel he was of how I turned, I was just that much more proud to be his son and have him for a father. He was a fine outdoorsman, a wonderful person, and my best friend.  He was honestly the best Dad I could have ever wished for and I will forever miss him. I would have been lost in this life without him. For all my years to come I will hear his advice and guidance echoing in my mind.  I thank the Good Lord for the wondrous blessing of all the time we were able to spend together and the memories we shared.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                    -"Home the Hunter from the Hill" - Robert Ruark

 

 

Dinner for 4....January 18th, 2014

Derrick and I tried predator hunting from 7pm to 10pm on a cold dark night. Our first, third and last stand went off rather uneventfully, however on the third we had 2 foxes, a barn owl and 2 coyotes all come to the call within 3 minutes of starting. Derrick missed a tough shot on the first fox and after that the other fox bailed and the remaining 2 coyotes wouldn't come out of the thicket at the far end of the field some 250 yards away. All four came in from the down wind direction which so many predators in the night often due. I honestly had a ball on this hunt. I can't wait to go out again. There is something electrifying seeing a predators eyes glowing back at you in the darkness. With bad weather coming in it may be awhile before the back roads are good enough to get out chase the night critters for awhile.

One Lucky Fox - January 4th, 2014

Dusty and I went predator hunting from 5:30 to 9:30pm today. We made 4 stands total. Three out Barton Ridge and one down in the feather bed. On the stand nearest Dusty's house we had a fox come down to the edge of the brush and hang up. I stopped the call and changed to MadJack. Within seconds there he came. He was a big redfox. He was coming straight to the call. At about 55 yards he paused and Dusty fired a tracer round out of his M4 right over the top of his back. I ran over to the spot we last saw him and threw a load of #2 shot at him running off into the brush to no avail. It's not everyday that a fox gets missed not once but twice by an active duty military soldier with a sharpshooter badge! I am actually starting to wonder if that fox is part cat and has 9 lives.
 We later called a coyote up in the feather bed, but where unable to get a shot at him. He came out into the clearing in the one spot that jammed our chances to take a shot at him. But we are getting better at making stands, getting in undetected, which calls to use and how to play them.

Midnight Predator Hunt - January 1st, 2014

As soon as the ball dropped this new year Dusty and I headed out the door at his Forrest Hill farm for some midnight predator hunting. We called for 2 plus hours. Dusty missed a snap fast shot on a fox that showed up to our hide even before the call got fired up. We saw a couple deer, jumped a grouse, a raccoon but that was it. It was a cold clear night and there wasn't much moving around on this night. But it was fun to go out and prowl around the fields and woods in the dark and try. I will be going again soon.

2013 Year End Review - December 31st, 2013

    For the year I went fishing 50 times catching 497 fish, which gives me an average of 9.94 fish per outing. This is a big decrease in the number of fishing trips compared to recent years, but an almost identical fish per trip average. This year I played more golf, shot more skeet and played in more softball games than previous years all of which made for fewer fishing trips on the year. I had a couple of really nice bass and really nice trout this year. We also had a long tough winter that made for a slow start to the 2013 fishing season. I did really enjoy the time I went but as always I wish I had gotten to go more and see some new and different places.
    I went hunting 12 time in 2013 killing 18 squirrels, 6 rabbits, a turkey and a deer. Overall I felt like squirrel hunting was tougher than I had seen in many years, could be due in part because of our long winter conditions from 2012 into 2013 or possible bad mass . As for turkey season I went once and killed a fall turkey. I only deer hunted 2 days. I killed a deer the first and passed on multiple deer on the other day I went.
   I hope to start predator hunting and musky fishing some in 2014. I also want to fish some new places. Take my girls to fish a few different ponds in the coming year, see some  sections of both the New and Potomac rivers that I have yet to see and I have a spring bass trip planned to Alabama for April that I have high hopes for. Possibly focus less on productivity and more on exploring some new outdoor places and the overall adventure factor that makes nature so interesting.

December Rabbit Hunt - December 28th, 2013

Charlie, JW and I hunted with Queenie, Sampson, and the pup Duke from 8am to 12pm. We jumped 8 rabbits. I killed three and missed one more, Charlie missed one, and JW missed one. We learned that Duke is gun shy. The morning started off with a heavy frost that slowed our hunt. I found a dead spike in the middle of a thicket. The poor deer hadn't been dead more than a day, but I could not determine what killed him. He was fat, had not blood in the frost around him, and had no visible bullet wounds. He was too far from the road to have been hit by a car. He really didn't look like he had been hit by a virus. I don't know, maybe a gut shot and maybe the wound from a small caliber closed around the bullet.

Saturday in Grant County -November 30th, 2014

 Garrick, Jasper, and I hunted morning on Jordan Run and here hunting the ridges of Maysville behind Garrick's new house. We saw 2 coyotes (no shots), a coon (it got shot), over 75 does (no shots taken), a six point (got a pass as well) and a spike that was too pitiful to shoot. We had a good hunt. We saw a lot of deer and had a good time.

Thanksgiving Day Spike in the Snow - November 27th, 2013

On a cold snowy 18 degree morning Roger and I started our hunt at daylight. The snow had frozen over and made travel a very noisy process. I got to my stand right on the far end at daylight. I saw 8 gobblers going up the hill together as a group, which is kinda neat on Thanksgiving day. At 8:30 I heard something behind me and turned around to see a cowhorn spike sneaking across the ridge to a thicket. I turned and picked a hole about 10 yards in front of him. A he stepped into the hole I squeezed the trigger of my Ruger M77. The gun went of and the spike went down then got back up and ran toward the Maddam's Creek side. I put the cross hairs on him a second time and pulled the trigger hitting him a second time after which he didn't get back up.
  Roger killed a five point that morning and saw a huge bear track in the snow that looked very fresh. Years ago no one ever saw or heard the tail of a bear in Summers County and now people are killing them all over the place and seeing them very regularly. For such a cold morning it was nice to get a deer for some meat and go home in time to eat and early Thanksgiving Day dinner.

Look up the New on a Cold Afternoon

Thanksgiving day Spike in the Snow

Dad's Opening Day Buck - November 24th, 2013

Sadly the forces that be conspired against me and I had to work the first three day of rifle season, however my Dad killed this quality Summers County 8 point chasing does in the woods around 10am.

Low Water Fall Trout - November 9th, 2013

Brad and myself caught 22 trout in 2.5 hours of fishing on this super low water fall fishing day. Temps started off around 25 and warmed almost 30 degrees by the end of the day. It was a good day despite being cut a little short. We even managed to catch a couple at the mountain creek hole up river.

Opening Day Raskily Rabbits - November 2nd, 2013

Charlie and I had a great opening day with some long chases and good shoot outs despite having an older dog lay down and a young pup run off. We found Daisy later that night. The weather was perfect and the hunt was a fun one.

Even Little Creek Can be Tough - October 26th, 2013

I hunted the highline ridge pass at little creek from daylight till 11am. I covered from the mouth of Long Run to Leonard's camp and back. It was 18 degrees at daylight, very cold for October. I jumped one grouse, saw only 8 squacks, and killed 4 in my 5 mile hike. There is some mass high, none low and game seems hard to come by. I feel like the long though not severe winter really did a number on small game this year. In the 15 years I have hunted Little Creek this year has the least amount of small game yet. Once the sun got up it did manage to warm up to high 40's. The cold must have got the deer moving because on the way home I saw at least 20 deer and 4 differnt small bucks all standing in fields.