ColdWaterFshr

Boy Scout Camp Arrowhead, 1983. Just east of Marshfield. Oldest Boy Scout camp west of the Mississippi. I think I was a Tenderfoot rank at that time. Week long camp of misery. Chigger bitten on my privates, sunburn, and nearly drowned twice while trying to earn the Lifesaving merit badge, . . . but my fishing skills were well refined and extremely sharp, even at that delicate young age, I was a bada$$. I had my eye on the prize for "big fish" trophy which was to be awarded at the end of that week long slog on closing night ceremony, with parents in the audience, a large bonfire and torches and all the pomp and pageantry with the Order of the Arrow indians, all standing guard and scowling . . . .they didn't play around. I schemed on this prize early in the week, and I knew the fish wasn't going to come out of that gobdanged cesspool lake. It was going to come out of the creek down by the old abandoned swimming pool, that was springfed, crystal clear, and just a few hundred yards down from the haunted Soapstone cave. Extreme upper Osage Fork of the Gasconade, or a feeder creek I suppose. When I wasn't drinking orange soda up at the cantina and listening to Devo on the radio there, or in the wall tent perusing contraband of Hustler and Penthouse magazines . . . I was out on the hunt for THE fish, and I found one on a nest in that creek where shimmied out on a fallen down parallel sycamore over the creek and I dangled a jig in its face. Landed a 17" smallmouth that blew all the competition away. It wasn't even close. Was awarded the trophy in front of all the troops and parents present. I think my mom sold the trophy in a garage sale about 18 months later. Will never forgive her for it as it was one of the proudest moments of my life. Here is mom and dad (Paul Dallas) visiting me and my brother at Camp Arrowhead, circa 1983. Miss them both.

Tapped the keg tonight. It’s a dandy….turned out exactly as I wanted it. Not sweet at all. Fresh raspberry aroma comes through nicely. Flavor is not too tart, and finishes smooth without lingering.

Kegged and force carbing. Should be ready in 10 days or so. What little I sipped out of was left in the siphon, ….this is going to be a dandy… the raspberry aroma and flavor was all there but not overdone. And the malt backbone balanced with a punch, but not too much diacetyl, and perle and leaf hops all present.

Been traveling the past few days. Primary fermentation has settled way down, but still going (day 6). I’m so out of practice with brewing that I think messed up by not using enough water in my boil. All DME, not full grain. So forgive me. But I’m about a gallon light which will make this beer bigger towards the imperial side. We’ll see. Was too lazy to do hydrometer readings. Never could read that thing very well anyway. So I got home and decided to rack to secondary and add my 3 lbs of fresh raspberry that I had crushed wit a potato masher and colander and then threw a couple campden tablets into a vented ziplock and stored in the fridge. Have them in mesh bags in secondary and waiting to see if secondary gets a second wind with fresh sugars added. I don’t like the head space in my secondary, but the o2 should scrub out quick enough as it’s still bubbling. Stay tuned.

Forgive my improper thread placement as my memory betrays me yet again . . . . yes, I do recall that now . . . . . . though technically this is still "cooking", and not yet brewing . . . . at least not till I pitch the San Diego Super Strain yeast here in a minute. It smells wonderful.

Imperial Raspberry Wheat with homegrown hops.

Very witty, Net Boi! Find that on the Net I Bet? 🤪

pretty bright here in Ballwin a half hour ago

Yeah, its very low. Didn't do much rowing at all, but we weren't in any hurry.

Enjoyable day out on the water yesterday chasing some bronze against a backdrop of burnished amber and gold. Didn’t catch a lot of fish, but enough to keep things interesting. My buddies new drifter is super sweet.

Very sorry to hear this about your son, Ollie.

Same here. Never once have I fished soft hackles. That looks like a giant one.

My middle daughter, age 23, is halfway through an accelerated nursing program in downtown St. Louis. She came home today saying she had a tough day at work, and I replied that I did too . . . .but it didn't compare. She said she was assigned a patient today who intentionally laid his arm across a train track, up to the armpit, and let it be severed. He brought the severed arm with him into the hospital a few days ago and is recovering. She accompanied him to a group mental health therapy session where some artist came in with his guitar and played Bob Dylan songs, which he seemed to enjoy as if nothing had happened. I'm sure much worse is ahead for her in the years to come. So much incomprehensible suffering, and I worry about her own mental health in dealing with it.

I think Roaring River was my first real fishing trip.. Not sure if that was my first fish catching experience or not. Possibly my first fish ever caught was a bluegill at one of the lakes at Southern Hills subdivision in Springfield around 1976. A small chunk of hot dog under a red and white plastic bobber. This later led to many early morning expeditions at Lake Springfield, Fellows Lake, Lake McDaniel, Taneycomo, and Stockton lakes. Zebco 202's progressed to 404's. Then Daiwa ultralight spinning rod combo's. Was really impressed with Shakespeare Ugly Stick and its unbreakableness . . . until I fished with a Fenwick graphic rod mated to a Browning Mitchell and later a Shimano Cardinal spinning reel. Trout and crappie were the first obsessions. Largemouth, smallmouth, and walleye all came later.

Tell us more about this girl. Is she pretty? If so, you should at least take an interest in learning about them machines. But then you run the risk that your wife might pick up on this phony interest of yours and get jealous which could lead to unintended consequences. Yeah, probably better to stay in the man cave.

Brown to Blue, please pardon me this detour on such a fine occasion for a day of dual enjoyment of a magnificent Brown and the mighty Blue (Angels). I went into a reverie, though of different meanings. One of my favorite songs.....

Hella nice fish. Congratulations. Would love to fish with you sometime to learn your tactics, corn chumming and such. Seriously though, kudos. That’s a tank.

So in summary, you paid a guide for the use of his livescope, and to catch these very average fish from docks and deep water, in places you already know, using nightcrawlers while watching on a video screen and teaching yourself to wait for the hook set from said video screen. Ouch. This sounds like a confessional more than a report. Say 3 hail Mary’s and go forth and sin no more.

Fond memories of the Ozark Empire Fair from a very young age. Dad worked at Paul Mueller Co and their dairy tanks were always on display near the entrance. That was my first prideful memory of Dads line of work when I saw those tanks at the fair. But my mind was more on the rides, the funhouse and roller coaster and the A&W root beer in those mini jugs, and also extreme curiosity in a different type of jugs, you know the ones,,,,barely contained in the fashion of the time, tube tops. And the smells….of livestock mixed in with corn dogs and funnel cakes, and the general suspicion that hung in the air that everything was a rip-off and a hustle.

Nice report. How do you like that Orvis Superfine?

Thanks, Snagged. I was too lazy to google it, but I just did. Severe gastrointestinal pain and diarrhea. Nice.

What kind of mushroom is this? Is it edible?

When you say "according to the state" . . . is that printed somewhere?