XWarrior61

Fleet mechanic. Long Island transplant to Salt Lake. Hunt and fish to relax and feed myself for the year

[XWarrior61 @XWarrior61]

Another new species since moving to Utah for me, tiger muskie. Largest fish I've caught in freshwater so far, but 7 inches shy of the 40 inch requirement to keep.

[XWarrior61 @XWarrior61]

First time off I've taken since November, went on a 5 day cruise to the Bahamas to celebrate my mom's retirement. Went snorkeling with sharks at one port

[XWarrior61 @XWarrior61]

Marinated whitetail and a simple udon noodle bowl

[XWarrior61 @XWarrior61]

2 months out from my next tuna trip, stocking up on a few heavier jigs ahead of time.

[XWarrior61 @XWarrior61]

Working my way through what's left of my older whitetail meat before I dig into the mule deer. Seared whitetail steak with an onion and chimichurri topping.

[XWarrior61 @XWarrior61]

Got my '25 mule deer back. I need to start a second euro mount tree, I took my '18 off for the pic and still haven't gotten the plastic skull mounts for my '23 and '24 whitetails.

[XWarrior61 @XWarrior61]

Heading to the WHC Expo tomorrow. Getting my mule deer euro mount back too.

[XWarrior61 @XWarrior61]

Starting the day with a small earthquake apparently. 4.7 by Evanston, WY. Barely felt it on this side of the Wasatch. If I didn't hear stuff shifting around my apartment, I probably never would have noticed.

[XWarrior61 @XWarrior61]

@Smith_WessonInc That's my predator defense sidearm. Stronger than a 9 but the recoil is still manageable with my off hand if for some reason I can't use my dominant hand.

[XWarrior61 @XWarrior61]

Spots are locked in on my 2 big fishing trips for the year. Giving a different boat a shot in San Diego for a 3 day tuna trip. Then my usual trip with my dad to Hyannis in July for 5 straight days (weather permitting) of fluke and sea bass.

[XWarrior61 @XWarrior61]

@MeatEaterTV This was from Thursday. Whitetail shank, smoked for 3 hours first. Fell off the bone taking it out of the crockpot after 8 hours.

[XWarrior61 @XWarrior61]

New way of getting around for hunting and shore fishing in '26. Some trails have limits or bans on e-bikes, so I need to look up restrictions for whatever trails I plan to use. Should fit under the tonneau or in the back seat, no getting swiped from a hitch tray in traffic.

[XWarrior61 @XWarrior61]

Mule deer tag notched. Jumped on a guided trip with a tag voucher that opened up 3 weeks out. Wind and rain kept them bedded the past couple days, finally caught up with one during a lull in the conditions this morning (30+mph winds rolling in now)

[XWarrior61 @XWarrior61]

Well, my hunting season went from counting down to Nov as my feed is full of other people's hunts to needing to be ready in 3 weeks. Got called for a last minute opening on a CWMU tag in southern Utah

[XWarrior61 @XWarrior61]

Not a bad day once I gave up on salmon. Open water was getting overcrowded after 9, so I switched to trolling the shallows and started getting perch and smallmouths pretty consistently. Put 8 fish on the stringer, easily x4 released by 1pm.

[XWarrior61 @XWarrior61]

Fish freezer is loaded for the year. But, if I can tag a deer early, I might meet my dad in FL to try for grouper and snapper on the gulf coast the week of Thanksgiving.

[XWarrior61 @XWarrior61]

Total Archery Challenge never fails to remind me that I'm far from ready for higher altitude hunting in terms of cardio. 2 days, 3 courses, 15 hours afield, and roughly 25-30 miles total at 8400-10400 feet of elevation had me stopping to catch my breath pretty frequently.

[XWarrior61 @XWarrior61]

No tuna this year, but I didn't leave San Diego empty handed.

[XWarrior61 @XWarrior61]

Counting down the day until my two main freezer-filler fishing trips. San Diego and Hyannis. Hopefully I'll have a solid plan for hunting season soon too

[XWarrior61 @XWarrior61]

Tuna prep, taking stock of the tackle I usually bring before I start packing. Need more split and solid rings, hopefully have enough heavy jigs if there's a strong current