Johnsfolly

I participate in the MDC turkey surveys and through the end of Aug have only seen a couple of hens and no young at all. I was out yesterday hunting small game. I usually bring a call or two and get out early enough to hear them on the roost. I got no response to my turkey calls on a property that seems to always have birds in the spring and fall. Not sure how this fall or next spring seasons will be for turkeys.

Just came across this post. Sound like a great trip! That's an awesome walleye.

Congrats on catching fish at a place and a time frame that can be very difficult to entice those fish. Of the four trout parks, I think that Meramec is the most difficult. Then adding the additional cost to the day pass usually heads me towards Bennett's or Montauk instead. I use mostly artificial baits, but will use worms, salmon eggs, or dough bait to catch trout. However, I just get myself to use cheese or even corn for trout. All are effective and legal methods. So I am not getting on a soap box about what legal method is better than the other. Congrats again.

If you decide to go to Barren Fork, send me a PM and I can give you information about the creek. I had a great time fishing marabous jigs in Spring creek in the fall a couple of years ago. Had fish fighting over them. The fish I landed fought incredibly well, they just did not want to be landed I need to work in time to revisit a bunch of the wild trout streams. Some of the best fighting rainbows that I have encountered in MO.

Eric82 You just keep bringing in those wild trout. Great post. I have only fished BSC once and felt like I lost a year's worth of tackle, but did land a 13-14" rainbow. I would love to see what you could do on Barren Fork creek. Have you ever fished BFC? I only caught one rainbow there as well also about 14". I was fishing spin tackle with flies and jigs on both streams.

Here's what was for dinner. I bought four turkey thighs. I deboned three of them and rubbed the inside with chopped fresh sage, garlic, ginger, salt and pepper. I wrapped the thighs up with twine and coated them with a mixture of powdered sage and ginger. Then into a marinade of rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, and sesame oil. Let them marinade for 5 hours covered in the fridge. I cooked the thighs in a 400 deg oven for 30 minutes and turned and cooked until internal temp of 165 to 170 deg. I steeped jasmine tea in 2 1/2 cups of chicken stock. I used that to make rice. The other side dish were brussel sprouts following RPS' recipe that posted on this thread. It turned out to be a really tasty meal. Had water, but this would have gone well with a dry white wine.

After our persimmons discussion I found this at our local Hyvee. A bit more expense than I would spend on a whim. Talk about a pucker factor. I found this when I went our hunting this morning. May need to get Ham's expert opinion on this one, but sure looks like persimmon seeds in this scat. They can't possibly be ripe this time of the year.

Some photos of the caterpillars.

I agree with trythisonemv that a hopper with a dropper fly will work. Less likely to spook the fish and one may take the hopper. I've had success with copper johns or prince nymphs under a hopper on Crane. Good luck.

We have a couple of areas in our yard that we plant for pollinators. This year we have had a bonanza on common milkweed. These plants have been keeping hundreds of bees happy throughout the summer. What we haven't been seeing were many monarch butterflies and no caterpillars during the summer. This last week we saw our first caterpillar and yesterday we found over ten caterpillars. They ranged from less than a centimeter to almost ready to pupate. Every year my daughter will collect several caterpillars and rear them and release the adults. Not sure that she will do that this year. These guys seem to be bit late. Hopefully we don't get a cold snap before they mature and can migrate this fall.

What's a few dozen (or 30+ lbs) crawfish between friends. You can tell me the location, I won't take too many or tell anyone else .

GJ It's likely that the change is in response to the drop in overall deer numbers. RFD515 is right that folks that wanted a doe would have to give up their any deer tag, which most folks are unlikely to do. Thus the does are going to have a small bit of protection to allow the overall population to recover or be stabilized from the disease outbreaks.

No doves or crayfish for us last night. We had panko coated pork cutlets, green beans, and mashed potatoes. Added a little mushroom gravy.

That's a great tradition! Thats a mess of doves on that tailgate. Also the food sounds and looks great. Where were you catching the crayfish?

Great big bass! Congrats! Imagine what she would weigh in the spring while full of eggs.

Awesome walleye! Congrats on passing the 10 lb mark!

So its a 15 bird limit for mourning doves. Is there a limit on pigeons, i.e., rock doves? How do they taste compared to the mourning doves? I haven't had either before, but am really interested in trying some. Other than turkey, I typically don't hunt birds because I am a bad shot. However, I am always intrigued by doves and ducks. I really like to eat ducks, pheasant, and quail.

Ness Can't say that I agree with loving the White Castles. We didn't call them sliders without a reason . However, we did only frequent WC after a beer binge night. So maybe the day aftermath shouldn't be attributed only to their burgers.

John and Marty Congrats on your doves. Great way to start that season.

Mike Congrats and good luck! Will be looking for any posts with some big NY smallies. Let us know if you see Champ. I believe that is the name of their sea monster in that lake.

I found the article fascinating and never knew of the man or how he influenced the areas and species that I love to fish. Thanks for posting this article and memorial. Sound like a guy I would have like to have known.

Looks like he is really getting a hang of fishing that Ned rig. Great job on getting out and keeping him interested in fishing! Love catching fish on those little creeks. Just a lot of fun. Keep us posted on your next trip.

My friend has planted chestnuts on his property. I don't think that they look as good as yours do BH. Do you know if they will still have nuts in Oct/Nov? I may be up on his farm around that time and would like to check them out. Planted them for deer mast.

Flysmallie Looks like you are enjoying the kayak and the Olympus! This time I won't poke fun at your bass, since that one is pretty chunky. About 14"? I like the reflections shots. Nice post.

Awesome fish! Congrats! What test line were you using? Must have been a heck of a fight.