Come Fly The AuSable

Paul Tremblay

Nestled deep in the heart of the Adirondack Mountains, winding north from New York’s highest peaks, the AuSable River whispers you to “come’n dance”.  Pull up a chair, share a yarn or two as we explore the world-renowned AuSable River.  A river known for unique and unforgettable fly-fishing framed in some of the most beautiful handy work of the LORD.
The West Branch of the AuSable is a fly-fisherman’s pearl.  The quieter East Branch is so often over-looked.  The Main flow after the East meets the West holds some of the biggest trout you have ever thrown a fly to.  We will end our journey where the AuSable kisses Lake Champlain, Salmon and more, much more.  Skinny water, falling water, pocket water, still water you will find it all.   The AuSable twists, winds, tumbles and falls in the shadow of quiet little mountain towns, majestic Whiteface Mountain, legendary Olympic Ski Jumps, and through the stunning AuSable Chasm.  The possibility for year round adventures abound.  Whether you are a neophyte or a sage angler, you will enjoy the water level view.

 

 

 

Hunting With a Self Curve Bow & Birch Bark Canoe Building

Gary Hodgson

Gary remains a proverbial favorite; his ideas and unique sessions are always a winner. This year you will learn how to successfully make and use a homemade self curve bow in the woods.  This is a session you won’t want to miss.

Birch Bark Canoe Building 
Gary was a Forest Ranger for 35 years and used his own hand made birch bark canoe on the job which turned into a wonderful conversation piece.  This session will show you that everyone can build their own canoe and includes visuals for each step.  Gary will also demonstrate the key things to know to help you with the process. Every year, this is one of those sessions that gets a ton of positive press in the surveys.  One comment by a teenager "...that was cool." tells the story. This is one of those always full, always popular sessions you won't want to miss. Gary loves to build things from scratch and has killed a bear with a homemade bow and arrow and has made five homemade flint lock rifles with which he has killed well over 30 deer.  He loves taking things from the woods and putting them to good use, build from scratch and not buy is the motto.  All of his hobbies are outdoor and hunting related. 

Deep Woods Deer and Bear Hunting

Bill Kozel

In this session you will learn a system of wilderness hunting from a tent camp along with the exceptional benefits of hunting deer and bear in a truly wild setting without the roadside influence of other hunters and posted property.  Bill will touch on ethics, permits, equipment, methods of camping for comfort, choosing the right area, how to pick a location for hunting and how to legally process an animal for packing out and the need for a partner.

For 37 years Bill has had remarkable success hunting the deep woods of the Adirondack Mountains despite the difficulties they present. He has taught seminars and written numerous magazine articles focusing on his wilderness adventures as well as being a well published wildlife and landscape photographer. He has twice climbed the Adirondack 46 High Peaks in winter and logged many deep woods miles on remote Adirondack whitewater.

Survival

Marty Simons & Bobby Plude

Marty has been involved in camping, hiking and hunting since age nine. His skills were honed and developed through the military: serving in Vietnam and attending many of the specialty and survival schools offered, eventually becoming a military advisor and instructor. Currently he is the Founder, Director and Chief Instructor of The Wilderness Learning Center and serves as a college level professor, teaching programs on survival, land navigation, herbs, wilderness medicine and health. Marty is considered to be one of the leading wild plants’ experts in the country. He has given seminars and courses all over the East Coast and Canada and is a certified wilderness guide. Marty has been teaching survival at the Adirondack Sportsmen’s Dinner for the last eight years and is back, by popular request, teaching wilderness survival. The seminar will consist of primitive fire-making, survival psychology, emergency shelters, emergency food, water purification, signaling, survival kits, and much more.

 

Turkey Hunting

Steve Cuzzacrea

Anything and everything you wanted to know about turkey hunting - All the Basic calls with the 5 key ones for bringing a turkey in, including crow and owl locator calls to get a turkey to gobble, using decoys and decoy setups, camouflage and the right clothing, turkey habits, including gun and ammo information.  Get all the right information from this great seminar. Steve has been turkey hunting for more than 32 years and has perfected more than 150 turkey calls.  He and his wife Pat raise bird dogs and hunt anything and everything that walks or flies.  But turkey hunting is by far and away his favorite.  Come and hear the tips, tricks and keys to successful turkey hunting.

Women gone wild...for the outdoors!

Melanie Houck

 

A fun interactive seminar for women who are just getting started or who yearn to be more involved in hunting and fishing.  The opportunities are endless in our world today, and women need not be discouraged or afraid to get more involved in a ‘man’s’ world.  The ADK’s offers a wonderful backdrop for women to experience the joys of hunting and fishing.  Come listen to some of the stories, blunders, and tips Melanie Houck has to share!   She doesn’t guarantee that you will then be able to go get your first big buck or have your canoe towed by a state record bass (True story, sign up and learn more!)  after hearing this seminar (Though hey, it could happen!   You never know!), but she hopes you will learn there can be great joy to be found in experiencing the adventures of hunting and fishing, with or without always experiencing the ‘kill.’ 

Melanie grew up on a farm with a love of the outdoors but never realized she was born to hunt and fish, until she met her husband five years ago and he opened up a whole new world for her, and she’s been doing both nonstop ever since.  She writes articles based on her outdoor (mis)adventures for ‘The Lake George Mirror’ in a monthly column.  While enjoying her passion of writing about the outdoors, she’s also an avid amateur wildlife photographer. 

Adirondack Ice Fishing Made Simple

Mark Brown

Enjoy our Adirondack winter's and learn about the great sport of ice fishing. Ice fishing can be enjoyed by people of all ages. Whether you go after lake trout, salmon, brown trout, rainbow trout, perch, northern pike or smelt, the Adirondacks are the place to go. Mark Brown has spent over 50 years enjoying this wonderful winter activity and is a retired Wildlife Biologist who spent 35 years serving with the NYS DEC.  He is a native Adirondacker who graduated from the University of Vermont in 1972, worked with NYSDEC, Fish & Wildlife in the Adirondacks from 1972 until 2003.  Mark has spent his life hunting, fishing, trapping, kayaking, canoeing and teaching groups from Quebec to Florida. Now that he has retired he spends more time hunting, fishing and raising Christmas trees.

 

Bass Fishing

Joe Hackett

Bass fishing has long been an overlooked as a great opportunity in the Adirondacks.  Even though bass are the most popular species sought by anglers in the country; they remain an under-appreciated cousin to the prized trout and salmon of the Adirondacks.  Bass are the blue collar equivalent of the whitetail deer; they are a natural resource that is readily available to the common man.  Joe loves to fish bass on the fly, and has also had the good fortune to spend time bass fishing with the Pro's, while working for ESPN through three years of the Great Outdoor Games.  There's a huge difference between amateur and professional anglers; not only in production but also in attitude.  Bass are also a kid's game.  They are not as selective or difficult to catch as trout and salmon.  As a result, they can be the ideal target species for teaching kids how to fish.  Bass are widely distributed throughout the Adirondacks; they can be found in small ponds, big lakes, wide rivers and tiny creeks.   As a result, they are probably the most accessible target species for the average angler.  In just a few minutes Joe will help you improve your skills and knowledge.

Staying Found: Introduction to Land Navigation and the Skills Necessary to Find Your Way

Kevin Estela

The first step in staying found and finding your way is learning how to use navigation tools such as map and compass. Learn how to read a map, use a compass, determine location, judge distance traveled and much more in this introduction to land navigation. Participants are encouraged to bring navigation aids with them. Handouts will be provided and helpful hints will be given.

Kevin Estela has been interested in outdoor survival since he was a child. Entertained by stories from his father’s jungle survival in the Philippines during the Japanese occupation of WWII, Kevin grew up with a desire to learn more about the outdoors and his father taught him many practical survival skills. He grew up hiking, skiing, fishing and woods bumming with friends and family. He spent over 10 years working as a seasonal kayaking and canoeing guide on the Farmington River in Connecticut and 5 years working at a busy outdoors retail sporting goods store. Kevin’s formal outdoors education includes off-road driving, winter mountaineering, hunting and firearms safety, wilderness first-aid, primitive survival skills, traditional bushcraft skills and of course wilderness survival through the Wilderness Learning Center. Kevin is a certified survival instructor, certified PADI scuba diver, avid power boater and saltwater fisherman and teaches seminars at Outdoor sportsman's shows. He was recently hired as a consultant by the History Channel as a Survival expert for the Video On Demand Series Expedition Africa: Survival Tips and has written several articles for Wilderness Way Magazine. Kevin’s passion for education translated into teaching High School History full-time in Bristol, CT.  He is also a moderator on knifeforums.com and bladeforums.com where he contributes equipment reviews and shares his expertise with all.

Hunt Harder – Hunt Higher:
The Secret is Out…

Tony and Pat Salerno

Pat and Tony Salerno will again this year bring Whitetail hunters secret tips, tactics and equipment they use to consistently harvest Trophy Whitetail Bucks from the Adirondack Mountains of New York State.

Pat and Tony have been featured in many publications including New York Game and Fish magazine and others.

Look for their new video which will air on Direct, TV’s  most popular hunting show Pursuit Television as well as PBS’s Outdoor Journal. A must see Whitetail Hunting Seminar!

The Basics of Defensive Handgunning

Bill Pitcher

This is an introduction to defensive shooting with a handgun. We will discuss the who, what, when, where and how of using a handgun for defensive purposes. These seminars have historically been thought and discussion-provoking as well as entertaining. Be prepared for sudden, loud "popping" sounds!

Bio: Bill Pitcher is a career law enforcement officer who has been a firearms instructor for over 25 years. He has taught police officers from the US and throughout Latin America. His seminars for civilians are always well attended and much enjoyed.

Other Seminars

To Be Announced