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Blog Entries from the WeHuntSC.com blogging crew


CrossOver Camo

     WeHuntSC.com - CrossOver Camo Logo
  CrossOver Camo

As hunters we?re always looking for new products, ideas, concepts, and gear.  I guess it?s just our nature to want to know what the ?next best thing? is or to be able to see trends just around the corner because we want to better ourselves and be well rounded outdoorsmen.  Having a lot of hunters on one site allows us to learn from each other and to share information.  Through information sharing we make the most out of our time in the field.  And on the information side of things?I?ve got some info on a new camo that is just coming out that I would like to share with you in case you like to try out new products.

CrossOver Camo is a new camo that has a really neat pattern that I think will mesh well in some of the outdoor backdrops of South Carolina. CrossOver Camo is a Christian based organization that aims to take the Gospel around the world and share in its fellowship.  CrossOver Camo is based out of Delaware and is already making a splash in the outdoor industry.

CrossOver Camo?s pattern is based off a design called ?Reactive? Camo.  I took a quote off their web site to explain a little bit about their ?Reactive Camo? pattern? ?Hunters know nothing hides like a deer. The deer?s hair absorbs and reflects light to aid in their ability to blend so well in the environment. Our New Reactive ®Camo pattern evolved from two and a half years of research and field testing. Designed utilizing five different deer hides which provide various colors, sizes and patterns, enabling you to be disguised in the environment like never before, getting close and staying undetected.? One neat thing that I like about the camo is that the cross is integrated into the pattern.  Also, the pattern has some dark, vertical lines in it that are similar to the lines in the bark of a pine tree.

 

I've been checking out CrossOver Camo for a little while and have been testing it to see how it blends in with a couple different backdrops here in SC and its done well. I?m going to wear it turkey hunting this spring and see how it goes and will try to keep you posted via future blog entries. You can decide for yourself after you see the below video.

 

If you?re interested in seeing the pattern up close for yourself then you can find it this coming weekend at the Palmetto Sportsman?s Classic in Columbia at the McKenzie Scent Fan Bag booth.  Be sure to stop by and check it out. If you?re not going to the classic then check out CrossOver Camo?s web site at www.CrossoverCamo.com

Regards,

Clint

 


Caution - Poison Ivy
 
Poison Ivy in Early Spring  

Most of you probably think about turkey season, green grass, and fishing as the winter turns to spring.   I think about Poison Ivy!  I was reminded of it this past weekend as my son and I walked through the woods behind my house. 

As Riley and I cruised through the mature oak hollow I soon realized that we had managed to walk into a maze of tiny red leaflets.  This new growth seemed to pop from the earth and surround us just for spite.  I picked up Riley and he got a free ride out of the woods.  The bad part was that there was nothing free about my journey through this maze of poisonous plants.  You?ve probably heard others say, ?If I look at poison ivy I get it?.  Well, that saying seems to apply to me.  You would think that after years of dousing calamine on my skin I would learn, but it seems that this pesky plant always gets the best of me. 

After maneuvering through the woods I thought it would be a good time to teach Riley about poison ivy.  The one thing my Dad always told me that seemed to stick was, ?Leaves of three, Let it be?.  Others that I?ve heard are, ?One, Two, Three, Don?t touch me?, and ?Red leaflets in the spring, it?s a dangerous thing?.  These mnemonics are a neat way to teach kids about the outdoors. 

As we enter springtime and make plans to chase turkeys through the countryside these plants are often hidden and harder to spot.  Check out the video below and see how it's hard to see in early spring.  These are the times that it usually gets me.  I?m pretty conscious of it in the late spring and summer when the leaves are broad and green and cover the edges of the timber, but I often forget about the early spring when it's hard to see.  Believe me when I tell you it's not any less potent in early spring.  I?ve found that washing the areas of the skin that have contacted the plant as soon as possible helps.  One tip would be to make sure you take off your watch when washing your arms.  I have made the mistake of not doing this in the past and paid the price.  I haven?t really found a cost effective remedy as I?d almost rather go to the doctor to get rid of it. 

Does anyone have a good remedy to share? 

How does this pesky plant affect your hunts?  I have buddies that get on me about how aware I am of it.  They seem to be able to sit in the middle of it with no consequence.  I have learned to respect it on the other hand. 

SCDNR has some good info on poison ivy.  A couple tidbits I picked up from reading their website is that only 70% of the U.S. population is allergic to poison ivy.  That means that 30% of the population is very very lucky.  Also, I didn't realize that poison ivy produces a fruit that is popular with wildllife.  Maybe it is not so bad after all.  Scratch that last statement.  Caution - Poison Ivy is bad!

 


3 Seventeen
This blog entry has nothing to do with hunting or the outdoors! If you don?t like football or good documentaries then don?t read further!
 
    WeHuntSC.com - Yellow Cape Communications
   
If you remember my blog entry about our state championship bid this past season then you?re already aware of what happened in early December in the 2010 SC AA football state championship game.  What you may not have been aware of though, is that my friend Jason Fararooei of Yellow Cape Communications was also at the game and was making a documentary of the weekend, the game, and the overall experience.  It?s been a couple months since the game and the documentary has been completed for a while too. We wanted to wait until the team received their championship rings at the banquet to premier the documentary. For this reason we?ve kept everything ?undercover? until now.  We?ve had to fight some of the guys wanting to see it off, but it was worth the wait as you will see below.  
 
Jason and his team at Yellow Cape Communications created one of the best pieces I?ve ever seen? a very emotional short film that gives a realistic glimpse into the core of Eagles? program.  What?s impressive is that Jason, an outsider to the program, was able to pick up on, and reproduce in video, all the passion and emotion that is woven into the fabric of one of the most successful football programs in the state.  Everyone wants to know what the ?x-factor? is or what the ?secret? to our continued success has been for the past 35 + years, and, from this video it?s easy to see what the difference is?.love!  
 
Give the documentary a look and let me know what you think
 
 
The video says a lot about the program and our recent state championship run.  However, what the video did not allude to (and purposely so) was that the Eagles have averaged 10 wins a year for the past 35 years in a row!  That is pretty impressive considering that we?ve had one losing season in school history.  The video also did not mention the fact that because of budget cuts our head coach?s salary got cut to $10,000 and that, in one of the best examples of servant-leadership I?ve ever seen, he stayed on to coach the team anyway.  It did not mention the numerous state championships, upper state championships, conference championships, former collegiate, NFL, Canadian, & European players that the program has produced over the years.  It did not mention the numerous volunteer coaches who show up every day at practice and on the weekends throughout the season to give their time and talents to the youth of our community.  It did not mention that the same core of coaches has remained since the school was built. It did not mention the family atmosphere and environment that is created by the coaching staff that brings the best of the players.  
 
The result of all of this is seen in stats that can be measured in wins and losses, but there are many more intangibles that can?t be measured that the program has also been producing over the years such as teaching young men how to be men, how to love, and what good character means.  These facets of the program are not seen by many fans, not written about by sportswriters or critics, and they can?t be measured, but they exist?just ask anyone who?s played football for the Eagles.
 
All of this information was purposely left out because Yellow Cape Communications is pursuing a larger documentary on the Central High School Eagle football program.  If you are interested in supporting, partnering with, or seek more information about the larger documentary then contact Jason Fararooei of Yellow Cape Communications.  
 
You can also find more information at YellowCapeCommunications.com/Eagles 
 
Regards,
 
Clint

Coon Hunting

Never would I of thought that staying up late at night and sometimes early into the next morning chasing dogs through the woods would be any fun, but it was surprising how much it appealed to me. One night last week after baseball practice I got a call from some good friends of mine named Sam and

 
  Sally At The Grand American In Orangeburg
Daniel asking me to go coon hunting with them. Sam had just picked up a new dog and wanted to try tree a coon with him. I like trying out new things so I agreed to ride along. With a chance to get footage for a blog, I had to run home and get my camera before we left. When I got back to Sam?s house they had all their equipment laying on the  tailgate of the truck. I would have never thought that coon hunting could be so expensive and require so much gear. They had 2 tracking collars, a tracking box, a handheld Garmin GPS system with 4 GPS collars, and 3 declarable coon lights, hip boots, and some leashes.

After about a 45 minute ride to Buck Horn Hunting Club in Summerville South Carolina, we finally turned the dogs loose. As soon as we turned the dogs out of the box they began to scan the hardwood bottom for any fresh coon tracks that were nearby. We just sat back and enjoyed the crisp breeze and gazed at all the stars while we waited for the dogs to locate some tracks and/or coons. Coon hunting was very relaxing, that is, until the dogs trailed and treed a coon. Daniel and Sam could pinpoint their dogs and tell me exactly

 
June Treed  
what their dogs were doing. The dogs have different bawls and barks for locating, trailing, and treeing a coon. After the dogs treed the first coon we started to make our way theinto the woods. Looking at the Garmin GPS, the dogs were 320 yards northeast of our position at the truck. The hard part began after we finally arrived at the tree. We had to shine the top of the tree and the tree adjacent attempting to locate a black and gray coon in front of a dark night sky. Shard eyes Sam finally spotted the coon, the boar coon made the mistake to look down into our lights and we caught a glimpse of his glowing eyes. The next stage of the hunt was not for the faint of heart. We put the ringtail in the sights of the .22 and let him have it. He fell out of the tree, and the fight began. The dogs jumped on the coon and grabbed it around its neck until it was dead. It all lasted about 30 seconds. Sam informed me that they do not shoot but 1/3 of the coons they tree. But the dogs needs a reward for all their hard work every once and a while. Walking the dogs out of the woods isn?t as easy as it sounds either. The dog?s leashes kept getting hung up on briars or trees which caused us to constantly stop and untangle the dogs. We finally made it out though and it was a hunt I won?t forget.
 
All and all it was an exciting night filled with dogs bawling in the night time woods and coons being treed. I love relaxing, letting go of all of my everyday stresses and worries, and just listening to the dogs run.

 

 

 


2011 Turkey Competitions Announced!
    WeHuntSC.com - The Montana Decoy
  Montana Decoy's "Mr. T" turkey decoy
 
The key to winning these competitions is to take a good bird and then to take a good picture!  Be sure to read the ?photo tips? on the competition pages.  To enter the competition you must be a registered member of the site and you must HAVE THE DATE IN THE PHOTO.  Ya?ll know how we do it by now so the same rules will apply.  The competition starts tomorrow (March 15th) and will run through May 1st.  We will narrow the pics down to the top 5 and then the site audience will vote on the winner starting on May 3rd.
 
Whoever wins these competitions will be really pleased with these prize packages because they are nice so go the extra mile to take a good pic! 
 
If you have any more questions, just shoot me an email?
 
Regards,
 
Clint
 

Kayaking for Lunkers

   

 
Kayaking for Lunkers!  

An old oak stump looked like a good hiding spot for a big bass waiting on an easy meal on this brisk day.  It looked so good that the three of us fishing threw to it time after time.  After about twenty casts to the stump one more wouldn't hurt would it?  Absolutely not!  My black shad Culprit worm sailed through the March wind like an eagle diving down to catch a summer trout.  It landed softly on the bank padded by a layer of oak leaves.  One twitch and it slivered into the cold water.  At that instant a swirl of the water signaled that this Culprit was in trouble.  A couple more twitches and then a sudden thump.  An easy pull on the rod to get the slack out and then I dropped the hammer.  No doubt that this was going to be one to talk about.

  
I'll pause the story for a split second to give you some insight on why this was going to be an even better fight.  We were fishing in kayaks!  If you've never done this I would definitely give it a try.  It takes a little while to get used to it but once you do it is a blast.  When you're on the water it almost feels like you're floating.  Imagine sitting at water level with an eight pound bass tail-walking across the water and pulling you around like an Alaskan tugboat.  Good Stuff!


Back to the story.  I set the hook and the fight was on.  I recall Eric saying "Man what do you have?"  I just knew it was big.  Back and forth like Ali and Frazer we went.  Eric eased his kayak over to stabilize mine.  After what seemed an eternity the bass surfaced and I lipped it with the quickness.  As I pulled the bass up the hook fell out.  Talk about just in the nick of time.  Did I mention that this was the second lunker of the day!?
   

Although the day  was slow it was definitely productive.  We caught three nice fish.  Eric and I caught eight pounders and Eric's nephew, Alan, caught a four pounder.  The water was a little stained from the recent rains so black seemed to be the most productive color.  Eric was fishing a texas rig black Zoom Finesse worm and I was fishing a black shad Culprit with a shaky head jig.  As noted in the story the fish were on the bank but you had to be patient.  We would hit a spot over and over.  I'd say it worked out.  Check out the video.  Who else enjoys hooking big bass?

 

 

 


Catfishin the Wateree
   WeHuntSC.com - The Abu Garcia Reel
  The Abu Garcia Reel

When I was growing up I went fishing and hunting a lot with many different people.  Jason Love was one of my good friends who I spent a lot of time with out on the water and in the woods and this past weekend we made a ?throwback? fishing trip out on the Wateree.  We looked forward to catching up and hanging out and thought that maybe we?d catch some fish as well. 

This trip with Jason was different from the ones of the past because we weren?t borrowing Mr. JE?s boat, the paddles had been traded in for motors (one of the front and one on the back), the rods, reels, and tackle seemed more abundant than it was back in the day!  It soon became obvious that Jason?s knowledge and fishing intuition had gotten better as well.  Oh and we both were just a few pounds heavier, but nevertheless just as good looking even though our hair is now racing toward our necks! We were going to have a good day whether a fish bit or not.  I wasn?t prepared for what would happen shortly after we got anchored.

WeHuntSC.com - The Ugly Stick   
The Ugly Stick  

We headed out to Lake Wateree and got there before daylight.  Of course we started the morning off right with a Bojangles biscuit and we were set to go.  We got the boat in the water and then went and caught some ?Gizzard shad? with a throw net.  Mixed in with the shad was the occasional crappie, one of which was pretty nice size.  We got a good number of these small fish in the boat, put them in a zip lock bag, and used them as bait for the rest of the day.

After we caught the bait we headed out to deeper water.  Jason really had a good feel for the lake and the depth finder helped us navigate the lake and see the topography of the bottom of the lake.  It also showed us where some fish were too!  There was a storm front moving into the area and the wind was blowing really badly.  We put an anchor off the front side of the boat and one off the back end and got stabilized.  Jason cut some bait up and one by one he cast 6 rods out and placed them in rod holders along the edges of the boat.  I was sitting in the back and Jason was in the front.  We had anchored in about 18 feet of water along a slope leading into the river channel.  Off the front side of the boat was deeper water?about 25 feet deep? and off the back it was about 13 feet deep.  We had hoped to fish in both shallow and deep water and find some fish moving in one of the two areas.

    WeHuntSC.com - J-Love in the zone
  J-Love in the zone

We finally got situated and were sitting in the chairs just waiting.  I started asking Jason questions about random things and I imagined we would be sitting there for a while so I was ready to talk about life and solve all the world?s problems.  I imagine you may have solved a few while out on the water as well.  I didn?t even get to start on a conversation good when the rod to my right almost doubled over under the boat.  The ?Ugly Stick? took a very quick dive down as something on the other end had smashed it and was pulling very hard.  Jason immediately jumped up and said ?Big fish Clint, big fish.? I grabbed the rod out of the holder and started reeling.  No I didn?t set the hook because that?s not how we do it catfishing.  I got him on?then I set the hook and I started pulling.  The fish made several ?power surges? towards the bottom.  Jason was over my shoulder coaching me through it the whole way ?Keep the line tight? keep tension on him? you got him?!  I sat down so that I could dig the pole into my hip and use it for leverage.  The fish made another surge downward and my wrist felt the pressure.  I had to ?choke up? on the rod just like you ?choke up? on a bat in little league.  I had to get better leverage on whatever was pulling so hard on the line.  We had a battle for what seemed like forever, but it was probably only a couple of minutes.  I was hoping to land that rascal because I?ve caught fish before, but nothing this big. 

Eventually the fish got tired and I brought him to the top?he was huge!  Jason had the net and was trying to net him and missed on the first pass.  Initially I wasn?t sure if the net was big enough, but it was and Jason scooped the fish up on the second pass and got him in the boat!  I just smiled and let a big sigh of relief.  I had just boated the biggest fish of my life and we hadn?t even been out there anchored more than 15 minutes.  So we broke out the cameras and video and took some pics and then weighed the fish.  He wouldn?t hold still at first to get an accurate weight, but after he settled down he was 30.6 lbs and was hard to hold.  After we weighed him we threw him back!  Yes, we threw it back? (Don?t tell Big Richard or he?ll be mad at me).  We weren?t keeping any fish and wanted to ?let him go so he can grow? even bigger.  Maybe one of you will catch him later on.  It was a really neat experience and one I won?t forget.

WeHuntSC.com - The 31lb catfish from the Wateree

We fished on throughout the rest of the day moving to different locations and we caught several more fish, but none compared to the size of that first one.  It was a good day out on the water and one I won?t be forgetting!

Below is a video I put together of the trip

Regards,

Clint
 


The New Thermacell
    WeHuntSC.com - The New Thermacell
   
  WeHuntSC.com - The new Thermacell Holster
   
  WeHuntSC.com - The new Thermacell Swivel Light

Thermacell
has done it again!  
 
If you?re a hunter (or anyone who spends time outdoors) and you?re reading this and you don?t know what a Thermacell is then you?re definitely missing out.  Thermacell is the #1 insect repellent on the market and, for hunters, it will change the way you hunt.  Very rarely does a product live up to the ?hype? or ?buzz? that we often hear about, but I?m here to tell you that Thermacell is everything that the ?hype? says it is?plus some! Just this past weekend I had a conversation with another hunter and I told him about Thermacell?s updated appliance and he told me that he doesn?t go in the woods without a Thermacell and that if a Thermacell cost $100 that he would still buy one!  And after hunting with a Thermacell in warm weather I feel the same way too!  
 
Believe it or not this is Thermacell?s 10th anniversary and so the updated model comes along at a unique time for the company.  Allegra Lowitt, Vice President of Marketing was quoted saying ?Our customers have made some great suggestions over the years regarding how we can improve the functionality of our products and we take this feedback very seriously?.  Based on feedback the new Thermacell appliance is updated with the following:
  • Ergonomic hang grip ? makes it easier to hold
  • Matte finish ? more aesthetically pleasing
  • Quieter ON/OFF Button ? Reduces amount of noise made when turning appliance on
 
They also updated the appliance holster with the following:
  • Elastic trim design - allowing for easier insertion/removal of the Thermacell appliance
  • Quieter side pockets ? removed buttons and used elastic for refill side pockets reducing sound
  • Swivel Clip ? new swivel clip added on back for easier attaching to gear from any angle
 
A new feature integrated into the new appliance is the All-Purpose Swivel light.  The light attaches to the top of the Thermacell, but also comes with a clip so you can attach it wherever you want.  The light comes with the batteries installed and has a white and green line of LEDS that you can use for lighting and they are bright!  (I almost blinded myself a little while ago).  The new light fits seamlessly into the Thermacell appliance and is a neat new feature.  
 
 
I am a web guy and we have to constantly create, delete, and update images, animations, style-sheets, videos, pages, apps, sites, etc?we?re adjusting and adapting all the time.  Given that everything is in code or a ?digital? format, it?s not too hard to be flexible and adjust, but most importantly the thing to note is that if you don?t listen and innovate?you won?t be around long. Creativity, design, functionality, and implementation rule the online world.  The most impressive thing to me about Thermacell?s updated appliance is that the addition of the new features demonstrates that same principle, but with a manufactured product that you can touch and feel.  Thermacell is listening to their audience and responding with top notch innovation.  And that is why Thermacell is the #1 product on the market and will continue to be!  
 
Regards,

 
Clint 
 

Moultrie?s First Game-Spy Featured Hunter via Twitter
       WeHuntSC.com - Moultrie's Grow the Hunt Blog Site
   Moultrie's Grow the Hunt Blog Site
On Wednesday I was on Twitter when I noticed that Moultrie posted a tweet with something about a ?Grow the Hunt? photo submission to be featured in a blog.  I wasn?t exactly sure of what they were referring to at first, but I know we spend a lot of time in the off-season growing our hunt!  Turns out they were asking for photo submissions and I tweeted back to Moultrie sending them the link to our ?Tecomate Seed Food Plot Journey? where I blogged for a year about the journey of creating food plots.  A few minutes later Moultrie sent me a message saying ?That is very cool, but you would need photos taken by one of our Game Spy cameras to be considered?.  Boom! they threw down the red tape on me with the quickness.  I thought about it for a second and remembered that I did post some game cam pics in the blog series and they were taken with a Moultrie Game Camera.  So I fired back a tweet saying ?Well consider us because we posted pics using your cameras! Check out blog entry #16?.  A few seconds later Moultrie replied saying ?Those are great pics! You just moved to the top of the list!? and that was it for that day.  I didn?t know when the submissions would end or whatever and probably like everyone I thought that nothing would come of it.  
 
 
WeHuntSC.com - Tweet from Moultrie Feeders
 
The next day I got a Twitter notification that someone had mentioned us WeHuntSC.com in their tweet and when I read the message and it said ?Check out our first ever Twitter Featured Hunter, @WeHuntSC , on our blog! More to come, keep submitting your pics!?. We had become the first ever Game-Spy Photo Featured hunter via Twitter.  I was pumped about it and we got some pub in their blog on the Grow the Hunt typepad site.  
 
I hope you are ?growing your hunt? this off-season too!
 
Regards,
 
Clint

The Jake Intimidator
    WeHuntSC.com - The Jake Intimidator by Countrymen Innovations
  The Jake Intimidator by Countrymen Innovations

I?m relatively young in my turkey hunting career, but I?ve got enough experience to know that turkey hunting is fun and exciting!  I?ve been looking forward to this coming turkey season for some time now and I?m ready to get out and take a shot at calling one in, getting the hunt on video, and getting one on the ground!  This year I?m also excited to try out a really neat new decoy called the Jake Intimidator by Countrymen Innovations.

The Jake Intimidator is a unique decoy that uses motion to simulate a Tom puffing up and strutting.  The action and motion it creates is pretty cool looking.  When I opened up the box and took the Jake Intimidator out I immediately started trying to figure it out and began putting it together.  It?s really easy to assemble and is pretty fun to play with.  The turkey body on this decoy is really life like and has Velcro on the back to which you attach the fan-tail.  The material of the fan-tail is really thick feeling and durable, but yet flexible.  As you would imagine, the fan-tail came wrapped up in the box too?so I had to spread it out and give it time to flatten out to give an accurate representation of a turkey?s tail.

The Jake Intimidator has kind of a spring-loaded base that you drive into the ground with stakes that are attached to the base.  The tail connection piece of the decoy attaches to the two rods on the base and you clip the string to the connection on the base and pulling it makes the decoy stand up and lay down.  It?s kind of difficult to describe in words, but you?ll understand it better from the videos below. 

The Setup

Imagine that you?re turkey hunting and you?ve got 2 ? 3 hen decoys out and you?ve got the Jake Intimidator lying flat on the ground just out front of the hens.  You?ve got a big gobbler talking back and forth to you in the distance and he?s on his way in. You give him just enough sweet talk to coax him closer and the decoys have him strutting his stuff out there showing off.  You let him get a little bit closer.  Just when he thinks he?s got all these ladies to himself you pull the string on him and just like that he thinks there?s another male already there talking to his ladies!  Who knows what will happen at this point, but whatever comes next is bound to be fun.

I shot a quick video working with the Jake Intimidator and I went about attaching mine differently, but either way will work I guess :-)

WeHuntSC.com - 10% Discount on the Jake IntimidatorWhat?s even better is that the guys at Countrymen Innovations have offered a discount price for anyone from our site audience who wants to purchase a Jake Intimidator.  If you use the code: WEHUNT11 you?ll get a 10% discount when you order your Jake Intimidator?and if you do, be sure to video your hunts and post them to the site!

Counting down until turkey season!

Regards,

Clint
 


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WeHuntSC.com Disabled Veteran Hunt