jemerrill

jf5: I'm going up on my first scouting trip this coming Wed for a couple days. Reports are pretty good. My intent is to check on the food supplys they have up there, and to check any traffic patterns. Usually don't find traffic patterns, just wandering. Woods are so big, I guess.

Champlain Islander

No unfortunately not...but I am a huge fan of that legendary family. I have actually visited Larry's house and talked hunting one on one with him about 10 years ago. Class act and a real hunter and the house is deer heaven. From my experience Northern NH is quite a bit better than NEK Vt. Both places have large bucks with sparse deer density but my feeling is NH is tops.Most with a camp in the NEK usually hunt both places. I like the extreme northern jag in NH close to the Quebec border. All those big bucks head that way to breed the farm land does that are all along the farms in Quebec. The mountains turn to flat ag type land a few miles into Canada. On some of the higher ridges near the border you can see the green farm land. Good luck with the scouting. I’ll be in Ohio this weekend checking it out for a hunt in late Nov/ Dec.

VT Ridges

No unfortunately not...but I am a huge fan of that legendary family.
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Not to change the post, but I'm with you CI. The older I get, the more I respect their skills.

jemerrill,

I haven't had the pleasure of hunting Coos County, but I can't imagine it is anymore difficultthen hunting some of the swamps of Maine. I love it, but days on end of seeing the woods 20 yds at a time will test anybody’s commitment.

Champlain Islander

I have hunted quite a few different areas in central and northern Maine. I find the Northern NH area to be more like the NEK of VT. True there are lots of swamps and bogs but also lots of ridges and sags to focus on. I always see much more buck sign along the transition areas between the swamps and the ridges. There are plenty of cut over areas in NH but they don't seem to clear cut the large expanses that they do in Maine. The cuts and the corridors left are pretty good to hunt. There are lots of hardwood ridges with conifer tops and sags to still hunt through.

jemerrill

CI: I was looking at the Indian Stream area, and it looks like at one point, you would be in Canada if you stepped across the stream. Also looked at the satellite view, and could clearly see those aggy areas to the west you mentioned. You just gotta try that terraserver site I mentioned earlier. That looks like a tributary to the CT. Nice country. jack

Champlain Islander

I have used terraserver in the past. Funny how some views are pretty detailed and others not. You are right about northern NH and Canada. I like to hunt the extreme upper end of the Indian Stream Rd and when you come to the border there is no mistaking it. Pretty wide clearcut with signs and monuments. Hunting there in the snow is really good. Lots of mature deer but tracking is the most effective way to get them. I hope to get back there this year but have a hunting trip to Ohio the following week so that may keep me nearer home. Going to Ohio this weekend for a scouting trip.

jemerrill

First trip out was encouraging. Beechnuts look like a carpet of green. Looks like a bad year, however for the acorns. Ones I could find were very small, and without their tops. Mushrooms everywhere. Traffic patterns were already showing up, beaten down to the dirt. The moose make it a bit deceiving, though. One moose can tear a run up quite a bit. Lots of apples on the wild apple trees. All in all, looks like a good year.

jf5

Good. I am seeing apples everywhere. Wet spring mus thave helped. Allot of acrons in south VT, MA and NH. You are not kidding about the moose..

Good luck Jemerrill!!

jemerrill

I live on the border between VT and NH, about halfway up the state. Last night I took a drive thru my familiar NH haunts, and spotted a single deer. I headed over the border into VT, took another back road, and saw 15 deer out feeding, including 2 nice buck in velvet. I thought there was a deer population problem in VT !!!??? Jack

jf5

I only hope it gets better. I want to hunt up there bad..