Batteries and Battery Maintenance

We live in an age where marine electronics, whether for open water or ice fishing, are commonplace. We hear about their uses and advantages all the time. We seldom hear about the batteries that supply them with power, or how to take care of them. All batteries, regardless of type, have certain maintenance recommendations. For ice fishing electronics such as Vexilar sonar flashers, underwater cameras like the Fishphone, and other accessories that run off a 12 volt lead-acid battery, the recommendation is to recharge the batteries once per month. Most electronics run off of 12 volt lead-acid, or deep-cycle, batteries which are basically made up of plates, lead, and lead oxide surrounded by a solution of 35% sulfuric acid and 65% water called electrolyte which allows for the flow of electrons between the positive and negative terminals.

My basement charging station makes it easier to
maintenance charge batteries during the busy summer season.

"To help avoid sulfated batteries, and get the longest life out of them, you should maintenance charge your lead-acid batteries once per month when not in regular use."

When not in use, the sulfur bonds to the negative terminal inside a battery. When you recharge your battery the sulfur is broken up and returns into the solution. However, if left uncharged for too long the sulfur that accumulates on the negative terminal becomes too thick for a regular charge to break up, and you have a battery that will not charge, or a sulfated battery. There are devices on the market that claim to de-sulfate a battery, but guess when you typically find out that you have a bad battery? When you go to charge your electronics for their first use of the season. Who wants to deal with de-sulfating a battery the night before a big trip? To help avoid sulfated batteries, and get the longest life out of them, you should maintenance charge your lead-acid batteries once per month when not in regular use.

Clam Drill Plate with Dewalt drill powered by a Lithium ion battery.

"Simply put, it is best to store your lithium batteries at half charge during long term storage."

Lithium ion batteries are another story. Typical lithium ion battery consists of two electrodes. A cathode, or positive electrode usually made out of lithium-cobalt oxide, and an anode, or negative electrode usually made out of graphite. Like lead-acid batteries, there is also an electrolyte, typically a gel, which allows the flow of electrons between the cathode and anode. When you charge a lithium ion battery, an electric current forces the lithium ions to move from the cathode to the anode. When you discharge the battery the opposite occurs. To kill a common myth, lithium ion batteries do not have a memory. If you only drain them part way every time you use them the battery will not develop a memory and only allow you partial capacity, as was the case with older NiCad batteries. Lithium ion batteries are far more technical than lead-acid batteries and I could go on for days about how they work, but I won't.

Simply put, it is best to store your lithium batteries at half charge during long term storage. This keeps a relatively even amount of lithium ions on each electrode and is your best shot at preventing a battery failure. Some resources tell you to maintenance charge your lithium ion batteries every six to eight months, but remember to drain them down half-way if you do. Storing your batteries in high temperatures or at full charge can also cause damage to one or both electrodes and ruin the battery.

I have a charging station set up in my basement. I set up a power strip which I can plug all, or most, of my chargers into. Once a month I simply flip the switch on the powerstrip and the chargers do their thing. Most marine electronics such as Vexilar flashers come with automatic chargers that stop charging when a battery is full so I don't have to worry about remembering to turn off the powerstrip. My basement is relatively cool which helps prolong the life of my lithium ion batteries. Maintenance charging batteries will keep your batteries ready for when you need them most, and cause less headaches when you need them the least.

You Can't Make This Stuff Up!

Some stories you just can't make up. Like the one about my three turkey hunting clients who all shot turkeys at the same time. Or better yet, my client Brantly seeking redemption after a disappointing miss on a beautiful mature longbeard. I guide Brantly and his wife Vero on a regular basis. They hire me to guide them ice fishing, deer hunting, and turkey hunting every year. Early in the first week of the New Hampshire spring turkey season I took Brantly out for his turkey hunt. I called in a beautiful longbeard and unfortunately Brantly missed. The next day it was Vero's turn and after a close encounter with a mature longbeard, we ran out of time and had to walk away from him, heads down, tail between our legs. Brantly scheduled another hunt for just over a week later in hopes of a little redemption.

Mornings in the turkey woods are often the best part

When I picked Brantly up for his hunt I told him he had two choices. He could hunt three mature longbeards I had found in different area, or he could head back to the spot where he missed his bird in hopes of redemption. He chose redemption. We arrived at our hunting location and headed out to the exact same place we were set up the week prior, with only a minor adjustment to blind placement. I set up two hen decoys and the wait began. We sat and watched the sun light up the sky in hopes that we would hear tree gobbles at any minute, but nothing. A little later Brantly told me he heard a gobble, but I hadn't heard it. We continued to wait, making a few yelps every 20-30 minutes. Then we both heard a gobble, but it was too far away to tell where it had come from. As the dew began to dry from the grass we heard another distant gobble. Again we discussed how we couldn't tell where it was coming from, only a general direction. Then, at about 6:55am I saw movement through some brush in the distance. I was pretty sure it was a turkey based on the speed, color, and size. Within seconds Brantly spotted a huge tom working his way down the hedge row of the field we were in. Then I saw him, a huge tom in full strut, working his way along the far edge of the field. I remarked that if I could coax the big boy into stepping off the tote road and into the field, we had a shot. Otherwise he would likely hang up and walk away when his prospective hens (my decoys) refused to close the gap.

We sat and watched in anticipation as the big tom strutted back and forth. Would he break and come our way, or would we be disappointing having had a look at such a nice turkey? He was huge! Then, as if we were being rewarded for our efforts, he stepped off the tote road and began making his way across the field. He was headed straight at us. I knew that if we could sit still and not get busted, he would come right to our decoys, especially since he was all alone...or so we thought. The bird made his way toward us and into shooting range, but we decided to let him get even closer. Brantly didn't want to miss again and I had the video camera running. Just then I noticed movement out of the corner of my eye to our left. To my shock, another mature tom was headed right for the other one! They headed toward one another and the fight was on. Seconds later the bigger of the two was chasing the smaller tom away. When I refer to him as smaller, I don't mean by much. Luckily, the big boy turned around and headed back toward the decoy setup, but the smaller bird was persistent and kept the bigger one distracted. Finally, the big tom made his way back toward us and I told Brantly to take the shot. He made a great shot and the bird toppled over. Our troubles were not over though. The other tom decided he wasn't finished and wanted a little payback. He proceeded to pummel the dead bird, ripping out feathers and getting a little redemption of his own. I had to run over and shoo him off...three times!


Brantly and I high-fived and had our celebration, but our living feathered friend wasn't finished. He wanted what he came for...what he thought were the two hens looking poised and ready. I decided to take a chance and called Brantly's wife Vero. I told her to get her hunting clothes on, grab her license, and meet us at our hunting location. We tagged Brantly's bird and headed out to my truck to wait for Vero. She arrived about fifteen minutes later. Brantly handed her the shotgun and decided that he would stay behind.

As Vero and I made our way back down the edge of the field I spotted the turkey. He was in the middle of the field, about 60 yards from our blind. We backed out and headed down the opposite side of the field through some glossy buckthorn hoping we could get to the blind without him seeing us. About halfway to the blind I spotted the tom, snood raised, he was on high alert. We were busted! We attempted to wait him out, but he wasn't moving. I had to make a decision. I decided we were going to walk to the blind and hope that, with some of my most enticing calling, he would come back after we ran him off. We got in the blind and once we were both settled I made a few yelps followed by a couple of purrs. We had been in the blind for about 3 minutes when I leaned back to get a look out one of the rear side windows of the blind. To my amazement the other mature tom had returned and was crouched in the grass just 20 yards from us! Once Vero had a chance to see him I started the video camera and told her to take her shot and, BOOM! She made a great shot. We called Brantly, who was sittng in the car, and told him to come back into the field for photos. We tagged Vero's turkey, took photos and video comentary, and headed to the registration station. Like I said, you just can't make this stuff up! Be sure to watch my YouTube channel (and subscribe) for the turkey hunting episode in the coming week or so.

Here are the stats.

Brantly's Turkey:
24 pounds, 10 1/4" beard, 1" spurs

Vero's Turkey:
19 3/4 pounds, 10" beard, 3/4" spurs

My New Hampshire Spring Turkey Hunt - Part Two

Once I finished cleaning and replacing parts on my Dad's old 11-87 I vowed that I would return to that field for my shot at that same bird. I had no grudge against him, he was just doing what turkeys do, I just wanted to see if I could get him after missing him the day before. Plus, I only had one more day to hunt before i began a week straight of guided hunts. After a disappointing miss the day before I wanted to harvest that bird more than ever.

Later that day I received a text from my friend Katie. She said there were several toms behind her house every morning and one of them was big. She told me I could hunt there if I wanted. Wanting to tag out more than regain my pride I decided I would hunt at Katie's rather than where I had missed earlier that morning. I arrived at the new location the next morning in the dark. Just after I finished setting up my blind I received a text from Katie informing me that there would be someone else hunting out there that morning. She apologized because she had only just found out herself. Not knowing where the other hunters were I decided to go back to plan A, and my chance at redemption. I packed up my blind and headed back to my original spot.

When I arrived at my hunting location I was a half hour later than planned, but given the fact that the birds were not roosting where I was setting up, and that they were not arriving until around 7am, I figured I still had plenty of time to set up without getting busted. I also knew that if I used the same setup as the day before, in the same spot, that there was no way that bird was going to come in again. So, I decided to adjust my location as well as the position and number of my decoys. I patiently waited as the sun rose through the trees in front of me.

One thing I noticed about the toms in this are was that they almost never gobbled, not even from the roost, which I think was to my advantage since most hunters scout by sitting on the side of the road listening for gobbles. The sun rose in the sky and the dew began to melt away as I sat and wondered if I made the right choice by coming here again. Just before 7am I watched a lone hen walk out about 20 yards in front of me and hop up onto a log to sun herself. There was no sign of the tom from the day before. I wondered if he had left the area, but a few minutes later he assured me he hadn't with two thunderous gobbles when he spotted my decoys.

He made his appearance in all his glory as he worked his way toward my decoys in full strut, spitting and drumming the he owned the place. His bright white head glowing like a beacon for me to aim at. I wasn't going to miss this time. I waited and watch as he worked his way in behind my decoys and then around to the side. As he strutted around in front of my decoys I waited for him to turn broadside and gave a couple quick alarm putts with my mouth. He quickly came out of full strut and stuck his head upward as if to say, "here you go." I squeezed the trigger and down he went. I had my redemption, and also regained my confidence in Dad's old 11-87. The fact that I was able to get him to come in only a day after shooting at him and missing didn't hurt my hunting confidence either. The bird weighed 19 1/2 pounds, had a 10 1/2" beard, and 1" spurs. Just the way I wanted to kick off my 2015 spring turkey season. I could now focus on my clients without feeling the disappointment of watching one of them kill that bird.

Clam Outdoors - Elite Hunter Ground Blind

For years I resisted the peer pressure to turkey hunt, or hunt anything for that matter, from a ground blind. I never thought the effort to carry it into my hunting location and set it up in the dark, or risk having it stolen by setting it up the night before, was worth the reward. That was until I began guiding youth turkey hunters. Youths have a tendency to get antsy and fidgety when they have to sit for long periods of time with nothing to do, which will ruin a turkey hunt for sure. Then I had the opportunity to turkey hunt with my good friend Mike P. at his place in Vermont. I was successful at harvesting a mature tom turkey from Mike's ground blind and I was sold on hunting from one. After seeing how much movement we were able to get away with I knew I would eventually purchase one, but which one? There are more ground blinds on the market than you can imagine.

Price wasn't my main hurdle, as long as I was able to get a blind that was light enough to carry long distances into the field, would last long enough to justify the cost, and was easy to set up in the dark without the aid of a light. As a member of the Clam Outdoors pro staff I knew about the Elite Hunter Ground Blind, but Clam is so well known for ice fishing that hunting blinds are probably the last thing you might think to buy from them. Clam Outdoors makes the highest quality and most functional ice fishing equipment on the market. They also make Quick-Set screen houses which were born from their hub-style ice fishing shelters. I knew right away that if they put the same standards into this ground blind that they do their Quick-Set screen houses and hub-style fish houses, I would be happy with it. I was also pleased at the fact that the Elite Hunter Ground Blind comes with a lifetime warranty against manufacturers defects, so there went my concern about it standing the test of time provided I took care of it. Here are a few things I noticed within the first few times using my blind.

The Elite Hunter Ground blind has a 60" x 60" footprint with 78" x 78" elbow room dimensions. It is large enough for myself and two other people, but I would likely limit it to two people (myself and a client) if there were a bow hunter with me. It weighs in at 27 pounds which is on the heavy side for a ground blind of its size, but that's because it is made with 600 total denier fabric. It also has Clam's Thermal Trap Technology, that retains heat and reduces condensation. I found the insulation especially useful on opening day of the youth season when it was 35 degrees. I was able to kick on the Mr. Buddy Heater and keep my youth client and his father nice and toasty. I'm really going to love the added insulation come deer season. I found that the Thermal Trap Technology also helps deaden sounds such as whispers and movements of fidgety clients.

Like all of Clam's hub-style houses, the Elite Hunter Ground Blind has the largest hubs in the industry making it easier to set up and ensuring a long life in the field. It takes me around 60 seconds to set this blind up in the dark with no help, and without a flashlight, which is huge when trying to get in close to roosted gobblers without waking them. There are 12 window openings with shoot-through mesh and each window opening has magnet and zipper closures. Yeah I know, blind owners hate zippers, but the only zipper I really need to operate is the entrance opening. I removed all of the shoot through mesh from the large window openings so that I can use any window I want without worrying about the Velcro. I use the magnets for the window enclosures making opening and closing them completely silent. My clients and I will be mostly gun hunting out of it and I frankly want to get the muzzle outside when possible to save what's left of my hearing.

To summarize, the Elite Hunter Ground blind is exactly what I needed. I can set it up fast and quiet, it's warmer on cold days, it's virtually bullet proof, and at $369.99 it still comes in less than some of its "top of the line" competitors. As far as I'm concerned it is worth every penny. So far this season me and my clients have had birds around us every time we have been out in it. I harvested my bird from it, one client missed his shot, and another client killed his first turkey ever from it. So far, everyone who has used the Elite Hunter Ground Blind this season has loved it, including me.

Interested in turkey hunting from the Clam Outdoors Eliute Hunter Ground Blind? Visit www.TimMooreOutdoors.com to book your guided turkey hunt before the remaining available dates fill up.

For more info on teh ELite Hunter Ground Blind and all the great products from Clam Outdoors visit www.ClamOutdoors.com.

My New Hampshire Spring Turkey Hunt - Part One

I know this is technically a fishing blog, but those who know me know that I also have a passion for turkey hunting. As a licensed hunting guide, I pride myself on the fact that I do a lot of scouting prior to the start of turkey season. This season is no exception. I begin scouting occasionally three weeks before the youth season, which opens the weekend prior to the regular opener, and ramp up my efforts as we draw nearer to opening day. I typically scout every day during the week before the regular opener. Why don't I scout more often before that? Because, during the main breeding period, which is just prior to the hunting season, hens are on the move to their breeding grounds with toms almost always in tow. Since they are on the move, there is no way to effectively pattern them until they arrive at their breeding grounds. Once there, the hens are what I often refer to as anchors since they will hold a tom (or toms) in place for as long as three weeks. Not every spot will have good numbers of birds every year, but I have been hunting and guiding turkeys in New Hampshire long enough that I know of a handful of spots that are breeding grounds on an annual basis. One such spot paid off huge with nothing except mature toms hanging around.

I picked a couple of nice mature toms that I knew I wanted to harvest and scouted them intensely several days in a row. I like to tag out early due to all the guiding I do every season. This way I can focus all of my attention and excitement on my clients. I knew exactly when the first tom was appearing each day, and then when the second tom would appear, and decided I would be set up and waiting at least an hour before legal shooting time. The first tom was showing himself at 7am with a lone hen. The second would arrive around 8am with two hens in tow. I don't call much, but I had been making a few yelps every 20-30 minutes and, like clockwork, I heard a gobble as the first tom entered the field at 7:05am. I made three yelps on my Finger Lakes Custom Calls copper surface pot call and within seconds I could hear a tom spitting beside my blind. He walked right into my decoy setup which was only 7 yards from my blind. I took careful aim and squeezed the trigger, only to watch him fly away unscathed. I couldn't believe I missed. I know the pattern is very tight at that distance, but I still couldn't believe I missed.

The shotgun I use is a Remington 11-87 Premier that I inherited from my father when he passed away from dementia. I have had several problems over the past few years that I thought was bad ammo or me rushing my shots, but something about that shot seemed off, so I decided to take the shotgun apart and inspect it thoroughly. To my surprise there were five missing (and crucial) parts. The extractor, plunger, and spring were all missing from the breech bolt, and the barrel seal and gas piston were also missing. I scrounged up the missing parts, got the gun cleaned and put back together, and headed back out the next morning to see if I could somehow convince the same bird back out into that field for one more go around, and my chance at redemption. Check back in a few days for the rest of the story in part two.