Johnsfolly

I just hate the potential for losing meat with a high shoulder shot. So I do normally go for a double lung or heart shot. May have to reconsider as I get older.

I agree with Ham. I have met a bunch of great guys from this forum and have been fortunate to fish with a few and hope to fish with a few more this year and hopefully for years to come. This is place where we can each feed off or each others addictions (have fun JoeD). I don't see that as a bad thing. Ham and I caught a bunch of fish yesterday including a couple of real toads, but it may have been these two fish that got us the most excitement. Ham's first Northern Hogsucker of 2017 on a zig jig. My 19" chain pickerel, which was my 48th different species for my 2016-2017 season. This trip would never had happened if Phil hadn't set up this forum for us to talk about fishing here in the Ozarks.

I just got one done for $100 by a guy in Sedalia. He did a great job, but he did not mount the head on a plaque, but still worth the money spent. Since he just moved and has not fully setup a sop, he does keep the mounting supplies on his garage. I did get one cleaned up by putting the head in our composters for 9 months. Skull cleaned up well, but the bone stained a bit. Also it took a couple of weeks after soaking in bleach/water mixture to cut back the smell. I love the look of European mounts. I would love to have a warthog or wild boar skull. TrophyFishR - you got a couple of nice deer this year. Congrats. I had one hunt where I was hunting near an out building not too far from my vehicle. A buck showed up and I had shot it. If it had dropped where I shot it I could have driven right up to the deer. Instead it ran 80 yards into a mass of thick brush before it died. He made me work to get him out. Pretty good pay back.

JHK - I was being stubborn and didn't really want to fish BPS real hard. I'm sure that we could have done better if we moved around. Also we only fished from 8:10 to about 9:25 at BPS. I certainly would have felt a whole lot better not being in swift water up to my navel (which if you ever met me isn't really all that high ) and in clear water to be able to see where I was stepping.

Congrats on a very nice brown trout! Must have missed you at Bennett's access. We didn't make it to Barclay access on Saturday, but do agree that it was a great day to be on the river!

BH - It still is. James gives me a hard time because he know how much I want to catch different species. Back in the spring he had caught a 8 lb walleye and hybrid on the same trip. He has also caught flathead catfish and smallmouth buffalo on one of the times that I went with him. These are two fish still on my must catch list. I know that he was almost spooled by either a paddlefish or gar. Back in December he caught a goldeye on a spoon. You know that both Ham and I would like to catch one of those. So the allure is still there for me. It is just tough fishing conditions most of the time. Lately they just haven't been running any water.

QB that is great to hear! Can't wait for more fishing reports.

I have had several hooks in my hands, legs and once even got a fly in the neck. My son even got a hook just below my eyebrow and I was able to stop him from finishing his cast. However only one of these hooks went in as deep as the barb. I had to pull that one out from the back of my calf myself. I really hope to avoid doing that again.

I wanted to take advantage of the great weather on Saturday to take a break from our home improvement work. So I took out my brother in-law Herbie on a trip to three different fishing locations. We started with catch and release in Bennett's Springs. I knew that we would end the day at Truman Dam. So I had planned on at least fishing a spot that we could get bites just to know what that felt like in case later we get noting later in the day. We fished off of the whistle bridge. As to be expected there were fewer fish than you would see during the "season". Also these would be tougher bites since these fish may have been caught before or have seen most if not every bait in my box. I gave Herbie a 1/32 oz tan marabou jig. I started with a 1/125 oz white microjig, then a yellow/gray crackleback, then a John deere microjig, then and egg, then a 1/32 oz tan and brown marabou jig. I got nothing on any of those baits, but a couple of follows and three missed strikes. Meanwhile Herbie caught a 8 inch rainbow followed by a 12 and a 14 inch rainbow on the tan jig. I eventually caught a 15 inch rainbow on a 1/125 oz chartreuse microjig. We left Bennett's and headed to the Bennett's spring access of the Niangua. I did plan on trying to keep some fish on this portion of our trip. I wasn't able to get a pair of waders for Herbie. So he was going to stay on the bank and fish while I wade fished. So I left him at the boat ramp with small hooks and red worms along with a variety of hard and soft baits. The water was flowing pretty quick and was off colored. I met a guy named Chris from Springfield. He was going to be wading and flyfishing. He and I headed down the boat ramp to cross over to the opposite side of the river, but not knowing the water depth and with the fast flow neither of us wanted to risk a good soaking. So we headed upstream to a know shallow spot. The only other issue was the ice slick limestone flats between the gravel bars. We both made it across without incident. I headed well down stream of the boat ramp. I started with a 1/8 oz green/white zig jig. I had one bump but no hook ups. I switched to a countdown rapala and threw it towards any cover I could reach across the river. I did finally hook up to a 12" rainbow. Since the fish were not coming to the bait as quickly as I may have thought, I released the fish. It was now 11:45 and we had to get rolling again. As I headed back upstream, I was talking with Chris about spots he could try upstream. As I left him, I just couldn't resist throwing my bait into a sweeping run where I have caught trout previously and hooked and landed a 13" brown trout. I nice ending to my Niangua fishing. Herbie caught and released three small rainbow and two chubs on the worms in the hole below the boat ramp. Now we were heading to Truman dam. This was the second trip that we have made to the dam in 2017. Only one guy in our group of four caught two 15+" walleye while the rest of us left without any fish on the line the last time out. Even with the poor catch rate on my trips I keep going back to the dam just in case I could catch the elusive walleye, a fish that I have never caught before. When we got to the dam the water was flat with no movement. It was a pond. So the conditions looked like we would be in for a long day without a bite. We fished on the west side of the dam for about two hours. I had already lost at least ten 1/16 and 1/2 oz jig heads and a flicker shad to the rock piles. We ended up leaving that side, headed to Cody's, and picked up two dozen minnows. Once we have the minnows, we headed back to the docks to soak them and hope for a bite or two. I rigged a 1/32 oz tube jig head with a minnow and dropped it straight down off of the dock to the bottom. While I was soaking the minnow, I was casting out a Johnson thinfisher blade bait out from the dock. After several casts, I hooked and landed a 7 inch white crappie. Then I had a hit on the minnow and set the hook on a keeper white crappie. Since it swallowed the jig completely, I put it on the stringer. Though it looked like the fish may be turning on, it was a long time before we caught another fish. I had a couple of hits and hooked into the brush pile below the dock. James caught a 6 inch crappie and Herbie did not catch any. The last time we fished this dock, I had a good strike dropping a white marabou jig between the dock and gangway. So I put on a fresh minnow and dropped the minnow to the bottom and then brought the bait up about a foot above the bottom. As soon as I set the rod across the rails, I got a good hit and I set the hook. The initial pull felt like I had hooked more brush or a fishing line. Then the fish started to really swim away. I fought the fish so that I did not get tangled in the anchor lines or the dock itself. James asked what I might have caught and if he needed to get his net. It felt like a nice fish, possibly a catfish. Then it got close to the surface and we both saw that it was a walleye. I immediately insisted that James get the net. Once in the net I could relax and savor the fact that I have just landed a walleye, a fish that I have been trying to catch for the last couple of years. So I was finally holding a 17.5" walleye! This was the 20th new species and the 47th different species that I have caught since the 4th of March. It was an awesome feeling.

Ham - I hope that we don't have get a free hook removal this Weds.

Well sticking with the slow braise dish with carrots, I made a reprise of my squirrel and mushrooms that I made earlier this year. I collected all of the squirrels that I could find. The three that I shot last week, plus the two that I shot with my daughter's boyfriend after Christmas, plus one that I had shot back in November. That still didn't look like enough for my brother in-law, son, and the rest of us. So we were able to find a vacuum pack with two others from the freezer. This pack didn't have a date on it, but I do not recall when I last vacuum packed squirrels. Usually the bones poke through the bag. So I stopped freezing them that way a while ago. Could be three or four years old. I opened the pack and the squirrel pieces still looked and smelled as fresh as the ones I shot after Christmas. Definitely a testament to vacuum packing meats. Once I trimmed all of the squirrel pieces I dredged them in flour that I mixed with some chili powder, garlic powder, and galena spices. I browned the squirrel pieces in olive oil in the dutch oven. While I browned the different batches of meat, Olivia peeled all of the cloves from 2 bulbs of garlic, cut two onions in half and then into sixes, and rustic chopped a pound / pound and a quarter of carrots. I also had her slice 6 ozs of white and baby portabella mushrooms and then quartered 8 ozs of baby bella mushrooms. I had my wife powder 1/4 cup of dried chanterelles from this summer. We mixed the powdered chanterelles with 4 ozs of dried porcinis in 2 cups of chicken stock. We microwaved the mushroom stock for a couple of minutes to make a licquer. Once all of the batches of squirrel were browned, all of the meat went back into the dutch oven, also added the garlic and onions. I poured in the mushroom licquer and a cup of chardonnay. The liquid covered most of the squirrel. Covered and put into 350 deg oven for 2 1/2 hours. I added another 1/2 to 3/4 cup of chicken stock to keep the liquid level in the dutch oven. I also then added the carrots and mushrooms and back into the oven for another hour. My brother in-law had never had squirrel fall off the bone, but that is the beauty of long slow braise. Served it with a prepared chicken and rice mix. There weren't many leftovers.

QB - Glad that you finally got back on the water after being laid up after your surgery. So congrats on the fish that you did catch. Now I am really sorry to hear about having to go to the doctor to get the hook removed. That just sucks especially with $150 out of pocket costs. Good luck when you get out again.

Great Job Seth! Your buddy caught a great brown trout! I get that he was in the back most of the time. So who was the guy in the front of the boat? I couldn't tell who that was since there wasn't the "yellow" shirt ! Looks like you had a pretty decent jig bite going. Did you state in Phil's thread that this was the first time you buddy fished Taney? That's a heck of a fish if it was his first outing on that lake.

Girshwinn - I may be headed that way myself tomorrow. good luck and maybe we will bump into each other. Onshot - thanks for the information. Let you know how we do if we head down that way.

Need to hook you up with Flysmallie. he has a camera. Seriously, would love to see photos of fish and scenery. Can't quite remember what a northeast winter even looks like anymore.

Although I like the cut to your jib BH, I believe I'm the one supposed to fill the crazy caddy role as part of my jedi fisher apprenticeship... You guys crack me up. Flysmallie - I really have to apologize for inadvertently highjacking this post. This has gone from a little playful banter to having a life of it's own. Also these posts make me out to be some sort of Sawyerian character that is using this forum as a means to manipulate people into doing things for me. So again I apologize profusely. I hope that we can get together and fish and if lucky get some nice photos as well. On another note, I have met several OAFer's and like myself we are all getting older. I don't know how many of us suffer from back and shoulder pain. I have found a new exercise program that really works on and loosens your back, unfreezes shoulders, and also works your calves. I have just started this program and am willing to show any one that is in Columbia what this program looks like in person. Here are some pictures of the results thus far and the equipment I'm using. So if like me you just don't have the pep you used to, swing on by and we can work out together .

Congrats on the launch for the website. Looks good and Good Luck! Currently on a short financial leash, but will try to sneak in an order soon. We will be trying out the craws my brother in-law won at the meeting this weekend. Also I did have a conversation with Hog Wally at the meeting that the logo really doesn't advocate catch and release. He let me know that was just a spotted bass and that no smallmouth were harmed in the development of the logo. So that's a relief!

So would that be macro micro photos or micro macro photos ?

A man's got to know his limitations . I'd still fish with you if given a chance.

That's a great recipe. Good luck if you feel you need a couple more. Right now I have five. With my son and brother in law I may need to get one or two more. I'm still leaning towards squirrel and mushrooms. Going to have my betterhalf grind those dried chants to see what they taste like. Will post whatever I finally make.

MOPanfisher and Budman - reading both of your posts have made my mouth water. I have neither venison or crappie to make for my family. I do now have enough squirrels to make a great meal. will have to post when I get that done.

Flysmallie - Great photos! Sure looked like you guys had a great time in a great place. Only regret in not seeing a photo of the brown trout. The more that I see your photos, I keep considering an upgrade from our older Olympus. Keep the photos coming.

I had planned on not heading into work today. Got a bunch of the high ladder painting done in our living room this morning and early afternoon. So I had planned to take my brother in-law out for a squirrel hunt for the late afternoon. We both had our scatterguns and in hindsight that was probably a good idea, since there was a lot of shooting and not a lot of killing. We went out to the spot I had taken my daughter's boyfriend on Christmas. I was also trying out the ear muffs that my daughter gave me for Christmas. We started hearing squirrels as soon as we entered the woodlot. I sent my brother in-law into the cedars after that one while I headed to the lower end of the cedar thicket just in case it decided to break out my direction. After about 10 minutes, BOOM, then BOOM BOOM then I heard more shells going into a shotgun. That one must have run the opposite direction. I never saw it headed my way. Since Herbie was wearing blaze orange, I was able to head towards where he was getting out of the cedars. As I headed down towards the creek bottom I saw three squirrels in a large oak tree chasing each other. As I got within 40 yards they headed off across the creek. I set up next to another tree and one of them came running back towards me and up a leaning tree and out of view. The next one ran slower than the first and I thought I had a good shot, but missed. Then it ran up another tree and I missed again. I don't recall the last time I missed a squirrel with my shotgun. Now I had two empty shells and no bushy tails to show for the effort. Herbie also shot a couple of more times at one or two squirrels. I went over to where I last saw the squirrels that I was shooting and found one just on the other side of the fence marking the property line. I kept watching that one to see if it would cross over the line, which would have been a 15 yard shot. It never came across the line. I caught movement to my left well on the public land. I could not get a shot on that squirrel at first. I saw another to my right and it was too far of a shot. Then the one on the left got into a good shooting position, BOOM and he fell into the creek. Figured if I couldn't kill it with my pellets maybe drowning would work. At least I got one in the vest, that was after fishing it out of the creek with a long stick. We headed to another section of the woodlot to wait for a couple more critters before it got dark. We got set up and waited. With my ear muffs, I could hear some commotion in the under brush on the other side of the creek where I figures that I would see some critters. That area was where Jeremiah saw an 8 point the last time we hunted this area. It sounded too big for a squirrel. Never did see it, but I did catch movement near the downed log that crossed the creek next to where I had setup. The squirrel was heading towards me along that tree, but caught me putting up the shotgun and it took off into the brush. I followed and finally it headed up a nearby tree and BOOM. Second one was down. Since I was on the other side of the creek and it was just after sundown or in my experience can be primetime, I stayed put in case another came by. I did see one well up in a tree 50 yards from me. No shot then one headed up into another small tree to my left and I got a shot on it before it got into a bigger tree. When it hit the ground, I didn't think that I was dead. So I got across the creek and to where I saw it fall and did not see it on the ground. I went and picked up the first squirrel and went back to look over the other area again. There was a small hole in the base of a large sycamore and out came the squirrel. I could tell that one of my pellets had broken it's spine since it was only using its front legs to pull itself along. I quickly caught and dispatched it. I put my last shell into my gun and got this last squirrel into my vest. Another squirrel was on the other side of the creek and then ended up running right towards me and up a tree within 6 feet of me. There must have been a hole on the other side, since I never saw that one again. Now it was dark. I called Herbie and we headed out of the woods. When we started the hunt I had hoped to get at least three or four to go with the ones I have in the freezer to make a great meal. Although Herbie didn't get one, we both had a bunch of chances. We'll get out at least a couple more times before he heads back to PA. Pretty happy with these bushy tails. Now the two old men are dragging our aching bodies all over the house.

Mitch it was a great presentation. I enjoyed meeting you last night. Also enjoyed meeting Daryk, Hog Wally, Smallibigs, Evilcatfish, Al Agnew, Gavin, and others. Even though I didn't win any merchandise during the raffle, my brother in-law did get a five pack of green pumpkin bodies. He talked about the places that he could use them for smallmouth when he gets back to PA for most if not the whole time back to Columbia. He was still pretty excited about them this morning. I will make a plea that you guys put some efforts into making the small craw for us wade fishermen. At least after a long discussion with Aaron, I'm more convinced that size would work better in the small rivers that I fish most for smallmouth. Also got to talk a lot about microfishing. Can't wait to get out with a couple of folks to get on those little fish. SIO3 - I hope that your wife is doing well after her surgery.

Marty Great hunt stories. I'm sure that they will remember these hunts. If Payton has a boy, is the name Marty in the mix? Thanks sharing your hunts and your time with the next generation. Pretty certain that they now appreciate the efforts that you put into setting up these hunts and learned a bunch.