Conemaugh River Kennel

Subtitle

Hunting  Journal

On this page I will be posting stories from our nights in the woods

April 10th,2015


          April shower may bring "May Flowers"....BUT APRIL SHOWERS SUCK!


April 4, 2015


            Its been almost a year since I have wrote an entry in this hunting journal. Well that's because since last year I have been really busy and unable to hunt as much as I wanted to. In fact I didn't even take a single hide in kill season. However last night I was able to get out with Gary and Bryce. We hunted Banjo, Grace, and Si (Bryce's 1 year old walker). We were hunting for 1 hour and oh what an hour it was. First cut they hauled ass made a big circle and ended up 360 yard out. They were treeing just not real well. When we got to them  we figured out why, they were taking turns sticking their heads down the hole with the REALLY pissed off coon in. So off we went away from the hole for the second cut. We cut’em and off on a burner again, this time about the same distance only GPS collars kept losing signal, NEVER a good sign. This time they were in a den that was located in under a stone wall. Yes in a den, both dogs fully in the den and out of sight. We were lucky that the dogs listened and came when called or it could have been a long night. The real question is what was wrong with the coon along the field in the tree did we really have to go spelunking. Well what the hell off for cut number three of the night. This time Gary left grace on the lead and we only cut Banjo and Si. And within 5 minutes they were treeing. Then the rain came. Hard to believe that this can all happen in an hour JUST 1 HOUR!!!


 


It truly was a great night in the woods!


June 6, 2014

      Wow May has come and gone. and I think I have been in the woods one time. Now we are 6 days in to June and it is so humid you start sweeting just standing still. Hopefully if all goes well Banjo and I will be able to get back in the woods a little more this month...

April 5,2014

      Last night was the first time that I have entered Banjo in an UKC Nite Hunt. The Laurel Highland Coon Club hosted a nite hunt in Laurelville. Gary and Bryce were going down so I rode along.


THE HUNT RUN DOWN:

      There were 17 registered dog last night which was pretty good with the weather. The cast I was part of consisted of 2 female walkers named Lily and Brandy , a female redbone named Red, and my male Banjo.

      At the first drop Banjo was 4th strike and 3rd tree. It didn't take very long to find the coon at this tree, 30 ft off the ground on a 2" branch. We pulled into the second drop and the Brandy dog withdrew cause of a family issue.(stranded kid with no ride)  At the second drop Banjo had 3rd Strike and 2nd Tree. He was treed with Lily and Red was Split about 50 yards away and both trees had big coon that took about 5 seconds to spot. At the 3rd drop all dog got out of hearing range and when we go there all dog were treed so we split all points and they ended up circled cause of a hole in the tree. Before the fourth drop Red withdrew, which just left Lily and Banjo to hunt the last 30 minutes. At the fourth drop they hit on a massive den tree. For drop number 5 we went about 2 or 3 minutes down the road and cut again for the last 15 minutes. At this drop Banjo barked once and that was the only bark for the last 15 minutes. The good news is that Banjo and Lily were not together so he was out on his own trying.

      At the end of the hunt time banjo was 200+ and Lily was 350+. Being Banjo's first UKC hunt he did well and showed me he has the potential to make a good dog.

     CAN'T WAIT FOR THE NEXT HUNT!!!

April 3, 2014

      March has come and gone faster then you can blink an eye. Another month of crappy weather and very little hunting. Now spring has sprung in the form of the famed "APRIL SHOWERS" which we all know leads to May Flowers! The last 2 days it has been raining and calling for some heavy thunder storms tonight which mean just one more night that I won't be able to hunt when I have the time to. I was really hoping to get in the woods tonight and get a little practice in, because if the rain stops by 8 tomorrow I am going to enter Banjo in his 1st UKC hunt. However if it is still raining tomorrow I'm not driving to Laurelville to get soaked. I think it is gonna be a last minute call. I also plan on taking Banjo to his first HTX event this month too. I will post my result for any of the hunts I enter Banjo in. Big plans for April and the rest of 2014....Three cheers for wishful thinking!!!!


      I would also like mention that my little buddy Bryce received 25 show points on Homer at the YEP Hunt last weekend that was held at the Laurelville Club. He has been working hard to put some wins on Homer this year.

February 2, 2014

     Wow 4 weeks of below zero weather and -40 deg wind chills. So naturally the nicest weekend in months an I am on the other side of the state at the Great American Outdoor Show in Harrisburg. Spent 6 hours there and bought a few thing for fishing season which is rapidly approaching. Had a nice weekend away with my wife but still missed my little buddy who got to spend the weekend with gram

January 11, 2014


     Well its now 11 day into a new year and I have yet to make time to hunt with my dog. I am really gonna have to change that SOON. I haven't even be out to try calling fox with my FoxPro Fury. I really wish I could hunt every single night but the reality is that will not be happening anytime soon

December 27, 2013


     Well The last month has been slow for coon hunting around here in fact I think I have been out MAYBE 2 times since my last entry. Its deer season her in PA and I just don't trust some people so the dog stays in. Plus with the holidays I have been spending a lot of time with family and friends. So really nothing special to report at this time.

November 30, 2013


     Do to some travel to Latvia for work I was unable to get in much hunting, but I did get out tonight for a little and was able to bring home a little one. Now for the next two week Banjo will not be leaving the kennel cause PA deer season starts Monday. After deer season is over I will be getting the traps set again and the dog will be running.

November 9, 2013

 

     I have been un able to hunt this past week due to midnight shift and it looks like it is going to be that way for a few week.... WORK SUCKS. I have still been able to work my few traps and added a few furs to the total. I haven't gone out for fox yet but I plan to in the very near future.

November 2,2013

 

     Well last night had its ups and its downs. We had Homer and Banjo last and for some dumb reason after 10 minutes of no coon track they decided to run a deer and it ran right past us so as soon as they came out of the field we applied their brakes. After they had their brakes tested they went and ran a rather old track and just couldn't finish it. Well Homer ended up going back to the box for the rest of the night. We turned Banjo out in to the corn right by the truck and the hair pulling began! He struck a track about 5 minute in and started running it well, but you could tell it was not a really hot track. Banjo was running around the field doing circles. These were big giant circles in a 20 acre field. After 4 laps around the field and an hour and 15 minutes later the coon crossed the road and he was unable to pick it up again. Well if I had one good thing to say he worked that track solid and I feel that if it wouldn't have crossed the road he would have treed it... oh well nothing to add to the fur count this trip.

October 31, 2013

 

     Happy Halloween! Last night was a long night, I took Banjo By himself and the only thing he could find was an old track and he tried to work it out but after 30 minutes he gave up. The night wasn't a complete loss, I did manage to catch a 13 pounder in one of the new dog proof traps I bought. I broke down and bought 2 of them the day before season and this was the first set I had made using them and was successful. If it all works out I might just have to buy 2 or 3 more. I hope to maybe get out for a fox or 2 tonight... however it is calling for rain so that might not happen. Going to run the dogs Friday and Saturday with any hopefully!

October 27, 2013

 

     Well, last night was the opening of fur season in PA. It really wasn't a good night either, weather wise that is. The wind was blowing pretty good most of the night, but no rain and decent temps. We hunted for a little and treed 2 coon. These 2 coon gave the dogs that fur in the mouth that they needed to keep the fires burning in them. Total we counted 13 coon, 6 at one stop 7 at the other.

I love to start the season out strong! There was a few pictures but for some reason they did not save properly to the chip... DANG IT.

 

October 22, 2013

 

    Well I meet my buddy at a local corn field again tonight for one last night of "coon chasin' " before the PA furtaker season begins. We decided to run the dog separate to begin. We started the night out with Banjo on the right side of the road. Once we got about 40 or 50 yards from the truck I turned Banjo loose and sent him on his way. After a minute or two he looped around behind use and headed back to the truck where Grace was throwing a fit in her box. I yelled and he was right back up with us and headed into the woods where he struck a track. He work the track for about 5 minutes but never went more then 20 yards in either direction, this was a cold track that he just couldn't work out. Once he gave up and came back in I leashed him and we walked a little farther up the edge of the field and I cut him loose again. The same thing happened and I really think it was the same track just 60 yard farther up the field. Well he worked the track for about 5 minutes then came back in for the second time, so back on the leash and on down the field we went. Wanting to get away from the old track that he found twice and could not work out, I planned to go at least 100 yard. After about 60 yards he was pulling on the leash and trying to get into the woods. So we cut him loose and he was off like a shot. He didn't go very far in before he struck in and he started to really moving out on the track. Banjo ran that track real steady and smooth at a pretty good pace. He treed with his big locate bawl at about 400 yards from where we started. We waited a few minutes till he was done checking trees and started chopping good. Once we got to the tree it took us a little time to find it but we did find a very tiny coon stuck in a "Y" about half way to the top.

     After we were done with Banjo we put him back in the box and took Grace to the field on the left side of the road. Grace's first track went a little faster then Banjo's did. She did the however try to go back to the truck cause banjo was barking like a fool in the box, But after she got over that she went out and found a good track. She ran the track just a few quick yards and hit tree. It didn't take her long to start chopping really good so we walked around the edge of the field till we got to her. She was treed on a medium sized tree that still had a few leafs on it but it was real easy to find the 3 large coon in it.

     After Grace treed we went back to the truck to get Banjo and we took them back to the left field and left them run together. That didn't turn out all so well for us. It turned in to a lot of walking and another tree still full of leafs and no way to be sure...DAMN LEAFS... 

October 18, 2013

 

     When out tonight worried about what kind of night it was going to be. It was around 40deg and the sky was perfectly clear.... oh yeah and a FULL moon. The first place we went Banjo and Grace struck in a corn field ran it to the woods and went another 1/4 mile and treed. We saw a coon in a tree on the edge of the field on our way to the first tree and saw a coon at the dogs. We walked back toward the corn and cut them again this time they ran a track for a real short distance and then just wouldn't move more then 5 or ten yards. After a few minutes we went to see what had happened only to find the dogs inside a 4 foot high fence with 5 strands of electric. On the other side of the fence in a pine tree was a coon looking down at us. Oh and we also saw another coon on our way to check on the dogs. So we'll call that 2 trees and 2 extra.

     After those 4 coon we went 10 minutes down the road to another location and ran a coon from one end of a field to the other which was around 600 yards. We got to the tree and found a coon really quickly. After we looked around we found 2 others sitting in a tree 75 yards away. Well we walked back to the road and walked down to the next corn field and cut them again. This time they struck 1/4 of they way down the field ran almost to the end turned and started back toward us. They went past us crossed the road in to the woods and tree 20 yards in. That made 4 trees all with coon in. So in about 3 hours of hunting we had 4 trees and saw a total of 8 coon.

      Banjo has made huge improvements in the past 3 weeks the track that they ran down the corn field and then back up Banjo worked it great at a fast and steady pace. Grace is no slacker either she can work a track and pound the tree right along with Banjo. These two are really getting me amped up for the up coming fur season and next years night hunts...

October 15, 2013

 

     Had a meeting at the club tonight and we voted to hold the zones again next year. After the meeting Mark, Todd, Gary, and myself when down to the flood control area with our dogs and had a pretty good night. It started with a split tree less then 100 yards apart. Marks dog Gunner was treed by himself and had 2 in the tree and Grace, Banjo and Todd's dog Seven were at the other tree with 1 in it. All 4 dogs are still young but they really held their own tree. After that they treed again in some thick A$$ $H!T. Lucky for those dog they had a big coon. It was a school night so after that we headed out so we could get the two young ones home. All said and done I had a real good time tonight hunting with good people and some good young dogs!

October 10, 2013

 

     I had a great night to night I took my 4 year old hunting for the first time and he had a blast. Banjo did a good job tonight. He was running back and forth across a little opening going from the corn to the trees then back in to the corn. He did this at least 10 time then with out ever striking in on track he got up on a tree just inside the edge of the woods and threw a big locate bawl. My son was getting really excited listening to him bark so we started right in to him. Well long story short I found the coon and pointed it out to him to which I heard my son say " I see you Mr. coony!... DAD LETS GO FIND ANOTHER ONE!"....... I think he is hooked!

October 9, 2013

      Normally I would be writing the events of the 9th on the 10th after a good nights sleep but tonight I am just a little to excited to wait till tomorrow to share. Well tonight was the first night since Banjo started to really track and tree good with other dogs that I decided to take him for a "SOLO" hunt. It started out kinda rough. I spent the first 45 minutes walking around chasing him away from my feet and he would go 100 yards or so and then be right back at my feet. I was starting to getting a little bit mad but I just then he decided I wasn't mad enough so he went back to the truck and sat down at the tailgate and waited for me to come get him. So I went back to the truck and chase his dumb ass back out four about the 5th time.  Well this time he did the same thing 100 yard circle and right back to me to I loaded his ass and left. I decided to stop at a corn field and give him on more chance. As I got out of the truck 2 doe came running out 40 yards from the truck and ran down along the edge. As I watch them run I made a mental note of there path. I left Banjo out and he started pulling on the leash like he was winding something (I was thinking deer so I grab the attitude adjuster) so I cut him loose. He took off in to the corn right were the deer had just came out. Lucky for Banjo he went on into the corn and not after those deer. He made it about 30 or 40 yards into the corn and struck. I was standing on the back of my truck so I could see if he came out and started after the deer, but I could hear him working his way across the field. After about 2 minutes he made it to the other side and started in to the woods. Once he was in the woods he seemed to stop barking  for what seemed like an hour but was probably less then a minute. Then out of no where he dropped his BIGGGG locate bawl!!!! I would have normally went around the outside edge to get to him but not tonight, I went straight though the middle of the corn.  When I popped out of the corn on the far side Banjo meet me but turned around and went straight back to the tree and started chopping hard. I did everything but climb the tree to find a coon, but with leafs still on this big tree I was unable to find it but this young dog did it on his own and boy am I a happy hunter tonight! 

October 7, 2013

 

       Well we tried to get away from the corn tonight to see how Grace and Banjo would do in nothing but woods. It was a success! On the first turn out the dogs never struck but Banjo dropped 3 or 4 huge locate bawl but never started chopping and Grace went to check on him but she wouldn't tree so I'm not sure if it was a lay up or what they were doing. Grace did strike a track within 75 yards of the tree but it seemed like it must have been cold cause all we got was 2 little bawls and that was it. After that we walked a little ways a cut the dog again and boy oh boy they got out. The dogs made it out to about 500 yards and fell treed. Both dogs were just hammering this tree harder then I have ever seen them tree. Naturally they were at one of the only trees that still had ALLLLLL of its leafs. So we could not find the coon, but as we were walking away we turned and check the tree an sure enough there was those little beady eyes watching us walk out. Run number 3 was not very long maybe 4 or 5 minutes. We found the dogs right along the road with Grace in a hole at the bottom a tree and Banjo up on the tree. Run number 4 was one of those runs were something just didn't seem right and just sort of seemed to  end, which in turn ended the night. So far every time these dogs have hunted together we have seen at least one!

October 5, 2013

 

      Well tonight was a rough night we started hunting around 8 the dogs ran and ran and ran some more. During that time they started 2 different tracks but were not able to take them far before they lost them. We ended up almost  3/4 mile from the truck, at that point it was almost 10:45 and still on tree.  We called the dogs back in and headed to the trucks. Once the dogs got a drink and a little break, we crossed the road and tried another field hoping to end the night on a good note. Once we cut the dogs loose Grace went her way and Banjo went his own way. Well.... Grace struck a track ran it fast right to the tree and started choppin'. Banjo went running in from some where and backed her on the tree. When we got to the tree the coon was spotted pretty quick now that the leafs are really starting to fall. These 2 young dogs are getting better and better every night we go out. I am still having a little trouble with Banjo wanting to come back and hang out. I feel sure once the fur starts coming down to the ground and he starts getting a little of it in his mouth, I don't think he will be coming in often. So to some up the night, it was a shitty start that ended on a high note!... Happy Hunting

 

October 2, 2013

     Hunted with Gary tonight around some corn fields near my house and boy what a night!  We parked at a barn where we planned to make our first drop of the night, got Banjo and Grace out and headed toward the corn. Once we got a little way away from the barn we cut Banjo and Grace out along the edge of the corn. They ran the edge and headed in to the woods. Grace Struck in and started working a track but wasn't working it real hard. After a few minutes she threw a locate bark at a tree but wasn't treeing, so we walked in to see what the problem was. The problem... an opossum.  So we leashed the dogs and headed out to the field again. Well we cut the dogs again around the same corn field and they ran 250 yards a struck again. While they were working the track Banjo left out an odd bark and that was the end of the track. Next thing I know he came back to check in and brought the odor of skunk with him. Thank god it wasn't a direct hit.

 

      After an opossum and a skunk it was time to move down the road a 1/2 mile or so to some different corn fields. Started up along the right edge of the field and cut the dogs. The dog went 10ft took a 90 degree turn in to the woods, struck, circled a few trees, and Treed. That all happened within 30 yards of the trucks. Gary found the coon in a matter of about 15 seconds. The next tree was only another 100 yards up along the field but it still had a lot of leafs and we were unable to find anything. The night went on till around midnight and in that time we had 3 more trees and a coon in every one.