PA Late Season, and Two Friends

[ScottinPA]

Good luck guys.  

Did a hunt down in that area in the mid 90's.  Shot a nice buck but couldn't get used to the people waving as they drove by, the walkers, and the expensive homes all around.  BTW that buck came out of tennis courts.

I'll be down next week but not sure if the bow is making the ride yet.

[sou-pawbowhunter]

Good luck fellas.  I'll be out among 'em here in Jefferson Co..  I sure wish a little winter weather would kick in.

[Dale Hajas]

Lee make sure ya bring some cookies- oatmeal I recollect- for ole Doc. Then ya wanna keep the biggest part of em in yer pack    

Hope yall have fun I'll be patrolling the SW end of the state.  :cool:

[Steve95]

I am hoping for some good weather this year. A lot of years you might only see a few days that are fit to be out. Always a hard hunt, deer are still very spooky. Lots of guys on a rabbit hunt is good late season too.

[Lee Viv]

Craig....good luck in your neck of Chester County!
Looks like the weather will be different this year..last year we had 10+inches of snow, and cold..this year they say Monday will be in the 40's..and no snow...makes getting around there a little easier!

I have been hunting at White Clay for at least 20+ years...and what doc said is true....you have joggers, horseback riders, dog walkers, bunny/tree huggers(antis), and the likes...and every year i have to deal with it i tell myself it's the last time i hunt there....but then, i realize why i go back every year:

1.  it'a a special regs area and has an extended season
2.  archery and flintlock for deer only..no small game, turkey, or any other hunting allowed.
3.  white clay creek is my favorite trout stream
4.  i shot my first archery buck there on a new years day many years ago...and it is now ritual.
5.  there are deer in good numbers, and good sized  deer to boot!
6.   a good friend to me and many on this site, "Big Fred" lived near there, and while he didn't hunt much there, he went for walks there..and would tell me of areas to hunt....so every time i go to white clay...i think about Fred....
7.  the scenery is beautiful....and my camera usually gets a good workout......
8.  I'm getting old and set in my ways...and a season without hunting white clay would just not feel right....

so.....doc and i will spend a day there...and hopefully fill a tag or two....and i guess since i'm the younger of the two of us...i'll do the heavy lifting for the day...

as far as cookies...last time my wife made cookies they were chocolate chip...and at the Baltimore shoot in May...they didn't stand a chance with Doc!  My wife didn't make cookies this Christmas...so we'll just have to make do with whatever we take.....

looking forward to a good day...and everyone going out...have a great time in the deer woods!

White Clay Creek will look a lot different than it did on our hunt last year!

 

Get the eggs crackin, doc.....!


Lee

[Mike Brockner]

Best of luck guys, cant wait to hear the after hunt stories.

[yellow bow]

Sounds like a great time Lee,good luck.

[mmisciag]

Lee,

Good thing for me, I will be about 10 minutes from the house.

I'm sorry for the miss understanding as I will not be on the White Clay Creek.

I did take a gander at Google maps and see where this little slice of heaven is. I may need to take a ride early next week to check it out. (:

Looks like a place I can hunt in the evening on the way back from a customer meeting.

Merry Christmas!

Martin

[AWPForester]

Good Luck Brother

[Doc Nock]

quote:Originally posted by Dale Hajas:
Lee make sure ya bring some cookies- oatmeal I recollect- for ole Doc. Then ya wanna keep the biggest part of em in yer pack        

[Doc Nock]

Lee,

I bought more eggs to be sure I had some on hand.

I aired out my duds while the sun shone today so everything is ready to go make meat.

Shot some too... but that's a whole nuther story.

I even located your "solo stalker" from last year you left in the truck!  

Leave some room in the truck for me, eh? Just on the odd chance we would get something, the deer cart, all folded up, goes along, eh?!  

With this heat...maybe we should take a few nymphs along and some leader...dangle off the end of our longbow limbs?

[Lee Viv]

plenty of room in the truck, doc.....8 ft bed and extended cab should be plenty of room for our stuff.  i don't take much....becoming a minimalist these days...less i take, less i have to put away after...probably even going to hunt with my Sheepeater Spirit recurve....only 47" long...so there should be room for everything....

oh, yeah...the camera will be along....not the big slr....deb, my wife bought me a nice point and shoot...and it will be working overtime that day!


Lee

[Lee Viv]

well.....Doc and I got together the day after Christmas to do a little hunting, a lot of talking, and some eating...

The day started at 5:45am at Doc's place.....coffee, eggs, toast, and grits were on the menu....good food and some catching up conversation.....we then loaded the truck and headed to White Clay Creek Preserve in Chester County.  White Clay Creek Preserve is a multi-use area...used by hikers, bikers, joggers, bird watchers, horseback riders, and hunters.  It is a popular trout stream, actually my favorite one.  It was originally owned by the DuPont Corp....until they donated the land in Pa and Delaware to the DCNR.  It was originally an archery only for deer area..but several years ago it was opened up to muzzleloaders as well.  Still only allowed to hunt deer.  There are marked hiking trails...which are heavily used....where we hunt is very close to Delaware....and actually there is a marker at White Clay where PA, Maryland, and Delaware meet.  The land was to William Penn in 1683 by the Lenni Lenape Indian tribe...just a little history.  

White Clay falls into the Special Regs area in PA..which allows for extended doe seasons...starting in September and running till the end of January.  

Back to the story.....the hour ride seemed to go fast, with the conversation in the truck.  It was good riding with someone..I usually hunt alone....so this was a treat.  

We decided on hunting the area we found last January.....although this time it was a little easier to navigate without the 10+ inches of snow we had last year.  We walked the trail past the beaver pond we discovered last year....he has done some additional work on the dam and his lodge since last time....We encountered some muzzleloader hunters, some hikers....but everyone seemed pretty friendly....we plowed our way through some pretty thick stuff...and saw deer sign everywhere.....

We got to the top of the ridge, and headed across an open field to a lone tree....Doc made it to the tree, and as I approached, a doe bolted across the field 50 yards away at least..she stopped, looked around, and bounded into the thicket.  

On the way back to the truck for lunch, we navigated the swamp and bullrushes..and saw more sign along the swamp than I have seen there in quite some time...this will be where I set up next time I hunt there....

After a lunch at the truck...we decided to investigate some more areas....and headed to another section of the property.....walked some trails, and set up for the evening....the only activity was squirrels...so we headed back to the truck and started the hour drive back to Lititz,......tired, sore, but smiling....

Back at Dave's, we unloaded his gear, and I got a chance to see his "Resurrection Bow", a true work of art and beauty.

So, that was the hunt....no dead critter, but a couple dead tired friends........a great day again.....


Lee

[Doc Nock]

That is a very good synopsis of a excellent day afield.

White Clay creek runs along the tram road on one side and there is a large cattail marsh on the other leading up to some higher agricultural land.  

I quit hunting WCC 20+ yrs ago about when Lee started. He killed deer there (perseverance pays) but the madding crowds and boom sticks un-nerved me into other pastures.  When we made my return visit together with Lee last year, he took me to every haunt I described... boy knows WCC.  Then I took him to this spot w/ the beaver

He'd passed it by due to the # of cars, but he learned as I did, 90% of them are bikers/walkers/joggers and such.

He liked it enough to vote with me to start there after checking the other parking areas where mostly hunters hang to find all out the day after Christmas with clear, dry weather and pleasant temps.

We were watching some orange clad boom stickers so we didn't get tangled up in their folly, but once we found them posted, we stopped to take some pics.

[Lee Viv]

some photos from the day:

Doc getting ready at the truck...unknown to each other...we both wore Asbell wool pullovers...at least the didn't match!

 

walking past the beaver pond and bullrushes:

 

found a shed from a small 8 pt...Doc using it to make a knife handle:

 

Doc in front of an osage tree:

 

 

Heading across an open field:

 

not the only hunters that day!

 

great day in the bullrushes!

 

[Doc Nock]

The beaver came out and presented himself to Lee's camera last year but mine had frozen up so I got nada.

This year, the ole boy slept in... but I did finally take time once the orange boys were located, to snap a few:

 

After making the full circle to get the wind right and come in to this knoll top thicket we worked our way out to the edge of the cattail marsh...

After tearing my ham string trying to pull off old ankle fit boots, I bought some looser fitting ones that would NOT stay on in the foot sucking muck, so I eased around where it was quiet footing but sold enough to just be muddy.

Lee watched the perimeter and look what I found:
 
The old boy really was casting a wide net. I'd not seen a beaver castor mound since I left MT where I trapped beaver.

That marsh was full of sign...trails everywhere, but as we all know, wet, soft ground hold sign a long time... there were sharp, fresh tracks since the rain, but we filed the spots into memory and headed to the truck for rest and chow.

[Doc Nock]

After lunch and a chat with a boom stick hunter that told of his success in another of Lee's favorite haunts, Lee got excited to head over there and a plan was hatched.

Off we went to a new location.

There was a beautiful old homestead I'd hunted around 25(?) years ago...but never knew how I found it... Lee spoke often of a foundation.

So we go to the foundation to hunt... a good hike to re-loosen stiffened muscles...

Up ahead...I wonder if I'm on the trail of Bigfoot?
 

We can only hunt deer, but Thar's Griz in dem dar woods!

 

Time not only wears on our bodies as we age, but time lets nothing remain as it was. Indeed, this was my magnificant old homestead I'd hunted around...now grown thicker than hair on a dog, and time had reduced this once proud abode to rubble..  :(

 

I agree with Lee. It was perfect weather and a perfect time afield.

Too much people traffic and so many other orange army folks out, to really "pattern" deer, but it is so full of sign thereabouts, hope springs eternal.

Great day. Great time with a good man to hit the woods.  Thanks Lee.

[mmisciag]

Great story guys! Good times. That is what it is all about.

Martin

[Bob Palmer]

Sounds like a fine day! It's georgeous country!! Might have to try WCC out sometime! I'm less than an hour south!  

[Doc Nock]

Plenty of other DE license plates there!  Bring it on Mr. Palmer...  

Be good to call the Ranger station and get some maps...or PM Lee Vivian who started this and get their website addy so you can download maps.

There are parcels scattered all over with varied access and parking lots.

It can be confusing at first...but endless places to go play roulette with the local population of deer and 2 legged denzins of the area!

And yeah, it's pretty country... I used to hunt the Arc Corner Road parking area a good bit "in the day"... and it has some neat features. Each different terrain.