The Three Amigos Last Fishing Trip
In the movies the “three amigos” were Disney characters who shared various adventures. In my world the “three amigos” were three characters who shared a love of the St. Lawrence River that was not as colorful or exciting but bonded us together in fishing or other adventures or actions over the years. Al Benas was the owner of the Thousand Islands Inn in Clayton for decades, a river guide that was known and respected far and wide. Mike Seymour was originally from downriver in Ogdensburg but had a reputation as one of the best fishermen and guides on the river. I laid no such claim to knowledge of the river or skill at fishing equal to the other two but my enthusiasm for fishing the St. Lawrence was close behind. Over the years I spent a lot of time on the St. Lawrence, fishing, boating, or learning about the river.
Over the decades I learned a lot from the other two, including enthusiasm and respect for the resource and the sport. Staying at the T.I. Inn or dining there helped me keep up to date on trends and tips about the river and provided me with lots of information for this column or the various magazines I was writing for. At outdoor writer conferences I often fished with Al Benas for some fish like lake trout that was a different
experience for both of us. Mike Seymour was probably the best fisherman I ever knew. He was always learning and never imposed his attitudes or knowledge on other anglers or guides. He and I became the best of friends from the days of the New York Sportsman Magazine and fished together from eastern Quebec to the western shores of Alaska. But many of our most memorable trips were the countless times we spent fishing together in the Adirondacks or the waters of the St. Lawrence River.
Like the various channels of the St. Lawrence River we often flowed in separate ways. Yet it was “fishing line the net that drew us together.”
Although neither Al or Mike were slaves to the practice of catch and release, they realized that the quality fishing they both valued depended in large part on careful handling and release of the sport fish such as bass and pike. One of the sayings that Mike was noted for was when someone got a large pike and pulled it alongside the boat. The angler would say “wow, how big do you think that is?” Mike would make a slight grin and say “right now it is a ten pound fish. But if we haul it aboard, it will be six or seven pounds.”
Naturally we disagreed on lots of minor things but usually were in agreement on the big things like opposition to pre-season catch and release for bass, due to the predation on the nests by round gobies. Discussions or arguments over DEC policies made for some interesting moments during travel time on the boat or evenings at the corner of the bar at the T.I. Inn.
All three of us have been officers of the New York State Outdoor Writers’ Association – another frequent point of discussion. You would be surprised how much important business can be conducted on a fishing boat.
But alas, these times are about to be gone forever. The three of us will not be joined anymore since Al is selling his boat and home and moving to Florida at the end of the summer. He had sold the Thousand Island Inn a few years ago. Mike has given up guiding and writing and has some things that will make it difficult to get together. My days on the St. Lawrence River may be coming to an end for several reasons.
My wife Carol, bless her heart, arranged for a last time for just the three of us to spend the better part of the day fishing together followed by lunch. We fished all the old familiar spots in the area west of Clayton, around Grindstone Island, Eel Bay and islands downriver from Clayton.
It would have made it extra special if we had caught a lot of big fish but not all adventures have a fairy tale ending. A few big fish punctuated the day, great weather cooperated, and three old friends spent one last day together. In the end the “three Amigos” re-lived some old memories and created a few new ones.
The Greatest Enemy of Coyotes?
Regular readers of this column know that I have no use for coyotes. Each spring the DEC issues a press release on avoiding conflicts with coyote by not feeding your pets outside, building an impregnable fence, making yourself look large, or keeping your small animals and kids inside. Naturally I would attack or shred these suggestions and advance my own legal and lethal ideas for dealing with coyotes.
These columns would be followed by a letter from some obscure organization criticizing me, calling me names, and suggesting that I need to learn to love coyotes. Of course these letters would have absolutely no effect on my opinions or views. In the past few years I have not had space to devote a column to coyotes so I just mentioned that I still hate coyotes and my views are the same, so go ahead and write your hate mail anyway!
This year I returned from a two week camping trip on the St. Lawrence and found a legal sized envelope in my mailbox simply addressed to “Leo.” It contained a neatly typed letter dated June 16 from People For Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and signed by Betsy Monaghan, Executive Director. I will share a few of their views in case you need some laughs.
It starts out, “It has come to our attention that you are perhaps the greatest enemy of the Eastern Coyote in New York State. You have been singled out by our members as the leading advocate for the eradication of coyotes in this state.” Gee, it is nice to be known as number one for something.
The second paragraph says coyotes are needed to keep nature in balance by limiting damage from an abundance of rodents and deer. It urges me to educate myself about nature and learn to nurture the wild creatures in the state rather than killing them.
Personally I think I know more about many of these creatures than the information gathered from a box of fruit loops. Foxes help deal with rodents, but their numbers are in trouble due to attacks and predation by coyotes.
A group calling itself the American Coyote Foundation claims to be “dedicated to the introduction of coyotes to suburban and urban areas where there are few limits on rodent and deer populations.” Good grief! There are enough vermin running around in our communities without introducing more coyotes.
If you want more coyotes running around in your neighborhood, raise your hand.
Yes, that’s what I thought!
SHORT CASTS
Gun Legislation
With a lot of bills being passed in the final days of the legislation session, some people are confused as to what actually became law and what did not.
Remember that For it to become s NYS law it must pass both the State Senate and Assembly and be signed by the Governor. The Supreme Court ruling on the right to openly carry is not affected by these State regulations.
Governor Hochul signed a package of 10 laws, passed by the legislature, that she said will tighten loopholes. It requires a license to purchase a semi-automatic rifle, and makes it a crime to criminally purchase or sell a semi-automatic rifle, or to take possession of a semi-automatic rifle. It also requires recertification of a license to purchase semi-automatic rifle. It bans those under the age of 21 from purchasing or possessing a semi-automatic rifle.
Another law requires that semi-automatic pistols sold in NYS be capable of microstamping. The grandfathering of large capacity magazines is eliminated. The laws governing or eliminating “straw purchases” are strengthened. Other laws eliminate the purchase of body armor vests except for those engaged in a eligible profession such as law enforcement.
The proposed lead-ammo ban did not make it out of committee. Other bills that did not get past the committee stage were prohibitions on hunting contests, the prohibitions on leg-gripping traps, and restrictions on fur products.
A bill that would allow counties to opt out of the holiday week bow and muzzle loading hunt in the southern tier passed both houses and is headed for the governor’s desk. The snowmobile community led the effort for this legislation.
