Uplandhunter75

haha that's excellent! I appreciate that food advice, I'll be sure to do that at least for the pantry. We are renting as it is a relatively temporary situation. However we have a 2 bedroom house, full basement, fenced in 1/4 acre backyard, and a detached heated 2 car garage with a workshop for 850 dollars a month. My rent in NJ for a 2 bedroom apartment is currently 1850.. no utilities included. Its life changing. When you picked up your licenses (fishing hunting or otherwise) how was the process? Presented a NJ license, your MO drivers license, and all was well? How about gun purchases? I'm planning on buying myself a new rifle as a moving present a couple days after we get there just to experience the freedom of it.

I'll look into that! My first out of state trip this year will certainly be driving west to either Nebraska or Kansas this fall for a Pheasant/Upland bird hunt. Been chasing pheasants thrown out of a box since I was 12 years old here in NJ, always been a dream of mine to take a trip to some of those states out west where you have a shot at wild birds with sustaining populations

I'm about 10 minutes south of the southern border of STL. So I'm close to the city, and understand I'm going to still be doing some driving to get out of the more populated areas. But from my visits, its nothing like directly outside of NYC like I live currently lol. How did you find the process for establishing residency? My plan is to hit the DMV the first couple days were there and get my license and registration switched. Scoured the DMV website but I'm sure I'm going to screw something up when I arrive. Really I want to do it ASAP so I can get hunting and fishing licenses as a resident. Any info you could share on that would be really helpful! feel free to PM me.

Thanks everybody! I certainly don't plan to look back! My girlfriend and I both got job opportunities out there due to our current company. The plan is for Missouri to be our "starter-non-NJ-state" due to the job opportunities we received, but the ultimate plan is to end up in TN in ~3 years and I'd like to set down roots there. This this is the first step in that journey! Our house is a 5 minute walk from the Mississippi, and a public 20 port outdoor gun range is a 5 minute drive away.. $2 per hour for use. The more I look, the more I'm just amazed at the stark differences in hunting and fishing opportunities, state regulations and laws, and just general freedom. I appreciate everyone's well wishes! If I manage to catch m blue cat I intend to catch the first week there I will post a photo!

Hi guys, I'm not a frequent poster here, but I read everyday and I've learned more about NJ hunting and fishing from the site over the past few years than I can really explain. Very thankful for that. With that being said, next week I will be moving to Missouri, which I cant express how excited I am about. I feel like I'm about to be "free" (financially and legally). I've been doing tons of research on MO game species, public land, MO fishing, ect - however I feel like I've barley scratched the surface and really won't learn until I'm there on the ground checking it out myself. I'm curious if anyone has any advice for a sportsman moving to MO? I can't wait for turkey, trying to catch my first Blue cat, trying to track down a wild quail (although like it seems everywhere.. wild game birds are down), the Ozark trout areas - but just wondering if YOU were moving to MO is a week what would be some of the first things you would do? I'll be living just outside STL - but I plan to be traveling checking out areas all over the state. Thanks in advance!

I have the little one on my trout rod and I love it. Held up well with constant use since Jan, feels sturdy in the hand. I saw that myself and was upset at myself for buying it for 40 haha

I don't know much about moose hunting - but I spent time at Ross Lake Camps in the north woods this past fall grouse hunting. The place was excellent and they had many moose pictures from earlier that fall. We personally saw lots of moose while grouse hunting as well. Just thought I'd throw that out there!

Similar to a lot of people on here. My go to is a 1-3oz spro tipped with 4" gulp, and a teaser hook ~18in above. I bait the teaser with another spro and bait. Last year frozen spearing ended up being the best bait on my teaser hook.. over squid, live killies, or cut bait. If the bite isn't great I start messing with different combinations.. baited spro and only glup teaser.. gulp tipped spro with only a baited teaser Generally if I'm drifting in a boat I always have another rod sitting in a holder dragging bait. Sometimes I think its a pain.. snags, checking the bait, cleaning off grass.. and I wonder if id be better of just focusing on the jigging. But I actually get anxious if I don't have a rod out dragging bait. Many times I've had the day salavaged by the bait dragging rod doubling over when I cant get a touch on the jigs. Not the worst thing if all they want is bait though, much more relaxed fishing. Sit back, enjoy a beer, wait for the bend

Hey guys, Hope everyone has been having tight lines this "spring". I have a question about fishing Lake Hopatcong. Long story short - My girlfriend has been coming along on a lot of my trout fishing excursions this year... Flatbrook, Glen Lockwood, Musky, etc. She's been really good, is really patient, and has fun with it. That being said, with the mix of heavy flows, big temperature/weather swings, and a little bad lock mixed in; I really haven't been killing it this year. When I'm out fishing I get really determined to get on fish so with the tougher days I've been having my girlfriend has been subjected to having to do a lot of hiking through brush and woods to unproductive holes and not seeing a lot of action. I enjoy having her come, and I really want to try and give her a good morning of laidback - and god willing - productive fishing. So my thought was to bring her to Hopatcong and try to get her into some pan fish or pickerel. My plan is to just head over to state park and throw out a mix of jigs and bait. My question is - is that a worthwhile endeavor? I know the perch and crappie bite was pretty hot on the big lake a while back but haven't heard much in a while, is that window closing? Would I be better off just chasing trout as usual? And if not any bait or rig suggestions? I've never really went out just targeting pan fish so open to anyone's thoughts. Also thought I would share a couple of my better trout I've hooked up with this spring. Thanks again!

For what its worth - I just returned from a long weekend in TN and did my first fishing in the state. I fished below the Chickamauga Dam an all I can say is there is no freshwater fishery in NJ that even remotely compares to what I saw there. I caught over a dozen white bass below the damn, cast after cast. I witnessed the largest freshwater fish I have ever seen (I believe either a blue catfish or Gar) blow up and devour a 1+ pound white bass I threw back only 5 feet off the shore, thousands of baitfish schooling in the river, and fisherman pulling in channel cats by the dozens. It was actually unbelievable. Then I came home to snow.. while I'm looking forward to trout opener next week.. I cant help but to think what we have in NJ just does not compare to what was down there. I was fishing at the "cliche tourist spot" from shore.. and it was insane. Cant imagine what those reservoirs hold. Just look up the number of species in TN waters! awesome place.

Trout magnets! Especially for the kids. Gold or chrome 1/32 oz jig heads with a gold, chartreuse, orange, or white bodies. Have the kids float um downstream 12-16" under an indicator. When the bite slows on those I switch to the "micro magnets", same set-up but its a 1/100oz jig head with relative sized bodies. I tend to rig up 2 or 3 set a different depths, sort of like a high low rig. My buddies who occasionally fish (who are basically are fish repellent) can't help but to catch a fish on them.. even if the bites tougher.

I think what is clear is the regulation is all hooks used on those stretches need to be barbless. Your interpretation of the regulation is what seems unclear. You honestly read the reg set and determined that all spin fisherman need to be barbless and fly fisherman need not worry?

Is there a higher level of infraction / charge that the person responsible for this would incur if caught? This seems way more egregious than rod and reel fishing during closed season. To boot, the original poster said this is a quite spot.. I worry what I'd do if I caught someone doing something ridiculous as this in "my" quite spot. I have no tolerance for people like that...

Very fair point! Honestly I really was just speaking from a subject matter standpoint. Personally I've been finding it strange over that past few months that the "recent topics" section always has quite a few posts with everyone starting their own "NFL *insert derogatory*" thread, beating a dead horse. I guess that's just not what I'd expect to find or consume trending on this hunting and fishing website, and felt like up until recently did not. I guess it is also the slower part of the year for sportin. As for the salty crybaby comment, I say much worse in casual conversation to my friends. But you are right I don't know you, apologies if you took it personally. Wasn't judging you as a person, and certainly not trying to get in a keyboard war lol. This is my first time chiming in on a non hunting and fishing related topic - and for that very reason. Have a good day sir!

if your writing an opinion post.. all of these salty crybaby posts about the NFL seem very strange.. IMO... It's a game. Much bigger issues going on in the world. If you don't like it, don't watch. Why everyone here feels the need to write about it on here is pretty confounding to me.