SALISBURY ó A Salisbury bow hunter bagged a trophy whitetail deer recently while hunting in southern Ohio on the first day of bow season. Jeff Beaver, 46, took the buck from a tree stand from 25 yards. The buck featured a non-typical rack with a rough Boone & Crockett score of 208.
ěItís unbelievable,î said Beaver. ěItís the buck of a lifetime for anybody that hunts, no doubt. And I never thought Iíd put my hands on one like that.î
The buck had a rack that was in full velvet when he approached Beaverís tree stand with several does.
ěOne of the does pegged me. And the buck walked in right behind the stand. The lead doe actually spooked off. I looked back and the buck was still standing there. I think he just didnít know which way to run. I had time to draw on him.î
The buck was taken on property that Beaver owns adjacent to that of another hunting companion. Together, they have been very aggressive with the management of the local whitetail population.
ěWe knew it would be real good if we had a big chunk of land tied up to pretty much hold out for mature bucks there,î said Beaver.
It seems vanity may have been the downfall of this particular buck since he showed a particular fondness for having his picture taken. ěI probably had 60 to 70 photographs of him this year,î said Beaver. ěHe liked to have his picture taken. We had a real good pattern on him.î
The deer is being prepared for a full-body mount by noted taxidermist Vincent Fleming of Yadkinville.
n Fishermen Seagle, Jones qualify
Local anglers Tommy Jones and Kenny Seagle have qualified for the 2012 Fishers of Men National Championship, to be held April 12-14 on Pickwick Lake in Florence, Ala.. The duo earned the spot thanks to an eighth-place finish in the east regional tournament at High Rock Lake Sept. 23-24.
Oddly enough, Jones and Seagle earned the trip to Alabama despite the fact that they were unable to compete together during the east regional. The problem was that High Rock Lake was put off-limits to competitors for the week prior to the event by the Fishers of Men tournament organizers. That forced the pair to decide whether or not to fish the FLWís Bass Fishing League tournament the week before. Seagle chose the BFL tournament, and Jones was able to chose another partner for the Fishers of Men regional.
Jones knew just who to turn to in such a situation. Cooper Grubb, 13, an eighth-grader at East Rowan Middle School, is Jonesí partner in the Fishers of Men Legacy Series that pairs veteran fishermen with young anglers just learning the sport. Jones and Grubb focused on fishing docks with jigs and topwater lures during the tournament.
ěMainly, for me and Kenny, weíve fished a lot of years together locally and its going to be fun to take it on the road for a change,î said Jones. ěWeíve never gotten a chance to fish a big tournament like this out of town. Their will be some good fishermen in it and theyíll be some local guys to beat. Weíll see how it goes.
The winning team in the Fishers of Men National Championship will receive a 2012 Skeeter 21FX bass boat powered by a Yamaha 250 SHO four-stroke outboard. The package is worth $72,000.