KayakMacGyver
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jun 8, 2018
- Messages
- 353
Hi everyone, new to the posting on the forum but I’ve been lurking for a while. For those who might not be interested in my bio below, this post is essentially a classified, wanted and for trade ad all in one. In a nutshell, my hunting buddies bailed on another Western Elk trip (it’s always “next year”, every year). After 3 years of this, I’m saying screw it and going solo if I have to. With that, I’m hopeful that I may be able to find a hunting buddy (or two) on here that might be interested in swapping opportunities. Hence the title “Colorado for Florida swap”. At this point in the year I’m able to “swap” for a 2018 Alligator hunt, Offshore/Inshore fishing, Diving/Spearfishing, Hog or Deer hunting. All public land (or water), DIY, with high likelihood of success (guaranteed on the Offshore/Inshore fishing front…hunting is never guaranteed).
I live in a Florida sportsman’s paradise (Just south of Tallahassee in the NW part of the State). As you’ll read in my bio below, we enjoy everything the great outdoors in this State has to offer. If there’s anything you could ever want to experience on land or in the waters of Florida, I can make that happen. Whether it be Grouper, Snapper, Cobia, Redfish or Seatrout in the Gulf of Mexico or Alligators, Wild Hogs, Turkeys (eastern in my portion) or Deer in the mosquito and snake infested swamps….I have the knowledge, skills, equipment and areas to put you in an excellent position for any one of those things.
Having followed Randy’s show, podcast and Youtube Channel, I figure his core audience (probably everyone on this forum) are a segment of the hunting population that I can share a like-mindedness with. Among my circle of friends, I’m the outlier segment, in that I like to figure it out for myself and do it the hard way.
What I’m looking for in return for a Florida experience of your design is someone (or multiple) with the same level of understanding about the Colorado landscape that I have for Florida and a balls to the wall tenacity for getting after it who is willing to have me along as a hunting partner this archery season. I have the means to hire a guide, but that’s not the experience I want. The experience I’m looking for in Colorado is back country, DIY with lots of hard work. My preference in any hunting situation is escaping a crowd (I’m sure difficult on an OTC hunt) and I don’t mind suffrage. I’ve been acquiring all of the necessary equipment for a DIY solo back country trip, so I shouldn’t have to be a leech. I’m also in very good physical condition, albeit a flatlander, and have been training the best I can for elevation gain (minus the thin air).
My current plan to Colorado for an OTC archery Elk September 15-23, saving my 3 Elk Points for a future cash in. I’ve been to Colorado several times over the last 5 years, but never to hunt. I naively believe I understand the risks of a solo DIY undertaking and have been preparing both physically and mentally for that grind. My current plan is Unit 70 or Unit 77. Within each of those units I have 3 primary spots picked out and I expect to select my primary unit choice by the beginning of August and add at least 2 more back up spots within the unit for scouting purposes. That said, if I get an “offer” here that’s not within my listed units, I am flexible. I plan to fly into Denver on September 12th with option to go wherever I want.
If this sounds like something you are interested in…please PM me. If Florida deal doesn’t interest you, or isn’t immediately doable, and you’re in a similar situation I’d also love to talk.
A little about me…..
Growing up, hunting was something I always wanted to do. Unfortunately, I didn’t have mentor or the means (single mom) it wasn’t something I’d be able to enjoy until later in life. That said, there were many squirrels and rabbits that met their demise at the hands of my slingshot and BB gun as a kid. For me, the number one driver that interests me in hunting (and a pretty strong motivator for fishing too) is eating what I harvest.
In 2004 I moved to Tallahassee to attend FSU and quickly found out that this part of Florida is a sportsman’s paradise. Hundreds of thousands of acres of public land and excellent fishing. Aside from my goal of getting a degree, I had a couple other primary objectives.
My lifelong dream was always to work on a fishing boat and become a charter captain. I worked on a 46’ fishing/diving boat from 2005-2010 and earned my Captain’s license in 2009. I chartered exclusively on my own for a year after college but had to find a real job to support a family and now only guide on the side. If anyone is familiar with the offshore fishery regulations in the Gulf of Mexico, particularly in Florida, you know that I’m part of the wrong generation for this game.
Second priority was getting into hunting. I met a girl at school with similar outdoor interests and we took hunters education together in 2006. From there we began learning the Florida deer and Turkey woods by “just going” as much as we could. I’m really proud of what we learned and how we learned it. Mostly public land DIY and we’ve always processed all of our own game ourselves. Since then, we’ve had an opportunity to harvest some really great animals with endless sunrises/sunsets enjoyed and these days we enjoy wild game as our primary source of meat year-round. Now, with two kids of our own I’m super excited for the chance to give my kids the experiences I always wished I had growing up.
The bio was short and sweet. In sum, my life revolves around the outdoors and here are some pictures to support that. These pictures are not intended to be a narcissistic, though I'm sure it could come off that way. Rather, I'm simply trying to "prove" to this community that doesn't know me from squat that I'm legit and not some goofball who just watches hunting/fishing shows but doesn't know how to do it himself. If nothing comes of this post, I look forward to interacting with the forum!
I live in a Florida sportsman’s paradise (Just south of Tallahassee in the NW part of the State). As you’ll read in my bio below, we enjoy everything the great outdoors in this State has to offer. If there’s anything you could ever want to experience on land or in the waters of Florida, I can make that happen. Whether it be Grouper, Snapper, Cobia, Redfish or Seatrout in the Gulf of Mexico or Alligators, Wild Hogs, Turkeys (eastern in my portion) or Deer in the mosquito and snake infested swamps….I have the knowledge, skills, equipment and areas to put you in an excellent position for any one of those things.
Having followed Randy’s show, podcast and Youtube Channel, I figure his core audience (probably everyone on this forum) are a segment of the hunting population that I can share a like-mindedness with. Among my circle of friends, I’m the outlier segment, in that I like to figure it out for myself and do it the hard way.
What I’m looking for in return for a Florida experience of your design is someone (or multiple) with the same level of understanding about the Colorado landscape that I have for Florida and a balls to the wall tenacity for getting after it who is willing to have me along as a hunting partner this archery season. I have the means to hire a guide, but that’s not the experience I want. The experience I’m looking for in Colorado is back country, DIY with lots of hard work. My preference in any hunting situation is escaping a crowd (I’m sure difficult on an OTC hunt) and I don’t mind suffrage. I’ve been acquiring all of the necessary equipment for a DIY solo back country trip, so I shouldn’t have to be a leech. I’m also in very good physical condition, albeit a flatlander, and have been training the best I can for elevation gain (minus the thin air).
My current plan to Colorado for an OTC archery Elk September 15-23, saving my 3 Elk Points for a future cash in. I’ve been to Colorado several times over the last 5 years, but never to hunt. I naively believe I understand the risks of a solo DIY undertaking and have been preparing both physically and mentally for that grind. My current plan is Unit 70 or Unit 77. Within each of those units I have 3 primary spots picked out and I expect to select my primary unit choice by the beginning of August and add at least 2 more back up spots within the unit for scouting purposes. That said, if I get an “offer” here that’s not within my listed units, I am flexible. I plan to fly into Denver on September 12th with option to go wherever I want.
If this sounds like something you are interested in…please PM me. If Florida deal doesn’t interest you, or isn’t immediately doable, and you’re in a similar situation I’d also love to talk.
A little about me…..
Growing up, hunting was something I always wanted to do. Unfortunately, I didn’t have mentor or the means (single mom) it wasn’t something I’d be able to enjoy until later in life. That said, there were many squirrels and rabbits that met their demise at the hands of my slingshot and BB gun as a kid. For me, the number one driver that interests me in hunting (and a pretty strong motivator for fishing too) is eating what I harvest.
In 2004 I moved to Tallahassee to attend FSU and quickly found out that this part of Florida is a sportsman’s paradise. Hundreds of thousands of acres of public land and excellent fishing. Aside from my goal of getting a degree, I had a couple other primary objectives.
My lifelong dream was always to work on a fishing boat and become a charter captain. I worked on a 46’ fishing/diving boat from 2005-2010 and earned my Captain’s license in 2009. I chartered exclusively on my own for a year after college but had to find a real job to support a family and now only guide on the side. If anyone is familiar with the offshore fishery regulations in the Gulf of Mexico, particularly in Florida, you know that I’m part of the wrong generation for this game.
Second priority was getting into hunting. I met a girl at school with similar outdoor interests and we took hunters education together in 2006. From there we began learning the Florida deer and Turkey woods by “just going” as much as we could. I’m really proud of what we learned and how we learned it. Mostly public land DIY and we’ve always processed all of our own game ourselves. Since then, we’ve had an opportunity to harvest some really great animals with endless sunrises/sunsets enjoyed and these days we enjoy wild game as our primary source of meat year-round. Now, with two kids of our own I’m super excited for the chance to give my kids the experiences I always wished I had growing up.
The bio was short and sweet. In sum, my life revolves around the outdoors and here are some pictures to support that. These pictures are not intended to be a narcissistic, though I'm sure it could come off that way. Rather, I'm simply trying to "prove" to this community that doesn't know me from squat that I'm legit and not some goofball who just watches hunting/fishing shows but doesn't know how to do it himself. If nothing comes of this post, I look forward to interacting with the forum!
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