For as long as I can remember, I put out my trail cameras on 4th of July weekend. I’m not sure why I picked that weekend other than it’s easy to remember. I think it also has to do with bucks now sporting enough antler to determine what type of racks they’re going to produce. This all changed a bit for me a couple years ago when I bought into the CuddeLink system by Cuddeback.
The main reason I bought a system of cameras three years ago is the Horseshoe Hills property presents some challenges related to poor cell service. The upper section of the property gets a good signal while the lower end in the hollow gets almost none. The CuddeLink system is designed for the cameras to talk to each other and report back to a central hub that collects photos from each camera and then serves them to your phone, tablet, or computer. It’s a daisy chain effect where a camera with no service can connect to a nearby camera that may connect to another camera or cameras until the loop is connected at the hub. While I found this system to be a little complicated at first I’ve become an expert and it works perfectly for me.
The last two years I left my cameras out without bringing them in all year. Not only has this proven good for surveillance, it has also made it a fun way to track what’s happening on the property throughout the year. Now instead of having to put out cameras on 4th of July weekend, I just go for a walk to check on them, clean them up a bit, and provide any service that’s required. This year was unique in that I had a firmware update to do and I also replaced the fresnel lenses on every unit.
It took me about five to seven minutes per camera to do the update and install the new lens. I got quicker at it as I moved along. They all took the new firmware without a hitch and installing the lenses was pretty straightforward. Only one of the cameras required special care as it disconnected from the system several weeks ago. After some tinkering, I found that completely killing the power and restarting it did the trick. Interestingly, this is the camera that told me the buck I ended up shooting last year had entered the property earlier that morning.
The other interesting thing that happened on my journey was I was being loosely followed by a young black bear. I never saw him, but I heard him three different times. On one occasion he stalked in pretty close before I heard him run off. On another, I heard him huffing about 50 yards away. I got a picture of a young boar the next day and I assume it was him.
Bears have been quite active lately and I’ve gotten photos of several since the bear rut kicked in. A couple of them are bruisers! I’ve seen a few bears on the property since we bought it but never when they are in season, of course. I’d love to get a black bear in Pennsylvania before my hunting career ends. Maybe this will be the year.
My cameras are all in good form heading into the season after this excursion. I’m excited for the new Generation 3 firmware upgrade that will allow me to upload full resolution versions of photos I want. I have to admit this is the first time I’ve felt a little bit of excitement that comes with getting a little bit closer to hunting season. Next up, fall food plots.