Off-Season Friday, 2/11/2022 – Jeff Gross

By Jeff Gross, contributing writer

Photos: Fishing photos courtesy Kayla Marie

With Hunting season almost over, it is time to reassess the techniques one used during the season. It is a great time to go out in the woods with all the leaves down and make sure no new homes have sprung up in the area where one hunts on private land.  As we all know the real estate developers are looking to make this the “City of Rhode Island”. Have an elusive Buck on state land?  Again, with the foliage down it is a great time to survey the shooting lanes where the buck had a tendency to veer off at the last moment.

It is also important to keep yourself and your pup, if you’re a bird or duck hunter, in shape. The both of you are probably in the best shape right now and it is important to retain that. Taking the pup for a 20 minute run/walk is better than a zero min run/walk. If you hunted 2 days a week, take the walk 4 days a week. I did not practice what I preached, and Jada tired easily in the early hunting stages of 2021. Towards the end of the season, she would go 5 hours with 2x 2-minute breaks. Continue the exercising through the summer, only keep it during twilight or dark hours. Jada and other long hair dogs overheat easily, so with sundown they will stay cooler.

As for myself I need to spend much more time on the trap range. Had way too many times where Jada flushed a bird (27 Pheasants and 1 Chukar in total) and I missed, and the pheasant flew of laughing.  Though it could have been worse like this:

There are a few clubs in the state where one doesn’t need to be a member to shoot trap. So those folks who don’t have a home club can find a place to shoot.  The plan is to hit the trap range(s) at least once a month going forward.  Also available to all Rhode Islanders is the State Range in Great Swamp. I checked it out last year and it is a great place. I just found out there is a trap range with 2 stations available at the Swamp.  The application for use and other information is contained in the following link:  http://www.dem.ri.gov/programs/fish-wildlife/wildlifehuntered/education/great-swamp-range.php

When time permits an article for the RI DEM range is in the works.

For once, Rhode Island had a decent ice fishing season.  A fair amount of folks caught everything under the sun, with one experienced family catching their winter daily limit of trout this past weekend.  With the warm weather on Thursday and Friday I would not trust the ice, especially if the wind whips up.  Some of the larger ponds are showing open water in the center.

For our veterans there is legislation in the State house waving the adoption fee for dogs and cats for veterans. The fee for dogs at the RISPCA is $250 for adult dogs and $475 for puppies.  If that legislation passes it will save veterans a fair amount of money.  Who knows, one may find a hunting dog in the mix.

Have a great weekend!

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Jeffrey “Jeff” Gross spent 21 years as an Analytical Chemist at the USCG R&D Center in Groton, Connecticut, Woods Hole Laboratories, and Helix Technologies. Changing careers is a “great learning experience for everyone”, Jeff says, and I’m an avid outdoorsman and conservationist, a student of the sciences, and the world. The US holds too many wonders not to take a chance and explore them”.

Jeff is the Model Train and Railroad entrepreneur. Proud Golden Retriever owner. Ultra strong Second Amendment Advocate and Constitutionalist. “Determined seeker of the truth”. 

Jeff is a RIFGPA Legislative and Legal Officer, Freshwater Chairman, NRA Liaison.

His subjects include Outdoors, Second Amendment, Model Railroading, and Whimsical.

He can be reached at: [email protected]

To read more stories by Jeff Gross: https://rinewstoday.com/jeff-gross/