Well I got some time

Been awhile since I last posted. Havent been able to spend much time in gods country due to the weather and my work schedule.
Got a week off and plan on hitting the squirrel woods hard. My 2 yr old feist dog needs a tune up and I finally have some mornings to run him.
Bear and hog season ended on Jan 1. We tried to hunt the hounds on Friday (Dec 31) but couldnt cross a hot enough track. Myself and a good friend(Sam Morrow) ran his walker coon dog Friday night with a 17 month old bluetick that belongs to his son. We made 4 drops and treed 3 times. His walker dog Shooter, is the real deal and I am trying to convince him to competition hunt him in the off season. This is the same dog that I ran my Female walker with and made many trees that year.
Contemplating getting out of the squirrel dogs and going back to coon hounds, but it will be a decision that I can't take lightly.
Until next time--take care and may God Bless.
JP

Rambling

Well I am back to posting again now that things have slowed down. Went and ran the hounds a week ago on bear and hogs. Started a hog around 10 am then the hounds switched over to a fresh bear track. Treed the bear at 2:15 and let him walk another day.
Have had the lil squirrel dog out a time or two and have only shot one squirrel. Leaves are falling so now it will get good.
John

6/5/10

Sorry for not writing this past week. Work was hectic and the hours seemed longer then usual.
Haven't done anything in the outdoors but plan on changing that tonight. I am planning on runnning juglines and limblines for channel cats. My jugs are pool noodles cut down and they have nylon tied to them with a swivel attached. I will build my leaders on the water and bait with either bluegill, garlic hotdogs, cut bait(trout and bluegills) and my special stinkbait I make. Limblines are just string attached to green branches that over hang the water. This is really a great way to catch a bunch of catfish in a hurry. Will be leaving out around 6 pm tonight and plan on fishing until around 4-5 am.

Coming Soon

I am pleased to announce that I will be opening up a guide service in the near future. It will be called Turkey & Trout Guide Service. I will be offering spring turkey hunts on public lands and also year round trout fishing for brookies,browns,rainbows and steelheads(winter). All I have left is to pull the hunting permits from the Forestry Service and I will be good to go. I will hopefully be offering boar and bear hunts with dogs in the near future and also squirrel hunts with dogs.

Archery

What can I not say about archery? I love every aspect of it from tuning my bow to flinging arrows. There are alot of sweet bows out there in todays market, but I have shot the same bow since 2006. The only thing I have done to this bow is replace the old string with a Wicked1 String (wicked1archery.com). These are the sweetest strings on the market-- and I recommend them to every archer.
I have just became a Pro-Staff member for Wicked1 Strings and you will be hearing about them alot from me.
If anyone wants to talk archery or bowhunting I would suggest you go to these 2 forums
wicked1archery.com
archerytalk.com
Both of these have some truly awesome members and they will help you anyways possible.
Feel free to contact me about any archery needs or problems, as I can get what you want or solve most bow related issues for you.
[IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y299/Mainebass66/DSCI0379.jpg[/IMG]
My baby--Hoyt Havoc XT2000

My Introduction to the Great Outdoors

My introduction to the outdoors started at an very early age. My Dad, John C. Porter use to let me tag a long with him during the rifle season in Maine for white-tail deer, even before I was able to carry a gun. Once able to carry my trusty little .22 we often stopped deer hunting so I could attempt to shoot red squirrels that were a nuisance to us while hunting. This man also let me hunt alone at a very early age and was always happy when I bagged a partridge or deer.
My fishing started at an early age also, as we lived right beside Pushaw Lake in Glenburn,ME. My love for salmon fishing was brought on by a man named Richard Morse. Dick use to drag me around during ice fishing season and also would bring his boat to camp so we could troll on Cold Stream in Lincoln,ME.
Fly fishing became a hobby of mine, once I enlisted in the US Army. My recruiter, Arnie Kozak introduced me to fly fishing for brookies and salmon on the Roach River in Kokadjo,ME. We spent many of Saturday on this river and to this day, I can still remember all the pools we fished.
Trapping--well I learned this the hard way as noone in my family was active with this sport. I felt, I needed something in the outdoors to do, when I was between seasons. I have had some great partners on the line with me(my Dad, my son, Packy, and also Dave Porter). Each and everyone has taught me a thing or two while out on my line. Thanks all.
Now, I can't finish without mentioning my good buddies that use to fish with me or against me on the bass fishing tournament scene. I have had alot of fun with a bunch of guys but a few really stand out in my mind. My old partner, Mike Sills, from Madison,ME-- him and I was a team to not be taken lightly. Mike knew his stuff, and I knew my way around a net(LOL). Jim Drinkwater from Guilford,ME......... What can I not say about this old man. My love for this guy is almost like father and son. We fished against each other and also with each other, he showed me a few spots on varies lakes that I would have never known and I taught him about water clarity on Sebasticook Lake in Newport,ME. Damn, I miss fishing with this guy and also fishing Sebasticook. Tommy Ivers from Bangor,ME and also Dave Pratt from (hell its either Dexter or Sangerville,ME) were also some guys that showed me alot of respect and also took me under their wing when I joined a bass club with them. Many of laughs with these great men, even if it was on my account. Still remember my first club meeting with these fine gentlemen, Jim was discussing the Carolina Rig and I had alot to say on this subject as at the time I threw it alot. Towards then of my tournament career with these guys, my motto was--LIVE OR DIE BY THE JIG N PIG......
In closing, i just want to thank each and everyone of my mentors that taught me a thing or two in my quest to become a well rounded outdoorsman in Maine and now NC.. You guys deserve the best.

Sunday at the Porter residence.

Well, I had planned on fishing this morning for trout but yard work came first. need to spend Monday in the garden then I will back to fishing. Also, got a new string for my bow and need to get it stretched and shooting good.
Picked up another fly rod yesterday and am looking forwards to trying it out on a few trout. Need to get a heavy weight rod as we have a great steelhead run out of one of my local lakes in the winter and them suckers get huge..
Catfish should be moving into the shallows soon and it will be a great time to catch some eaters. Stink bait and livers work great here in the mountains and also on the local rivers.
Until next time--good fishing.....John Porter