Johnsfolly

Never threw them, but did a lot of special hikes out onto conservation or national forest lands to let the coyotes enjoy. I do agree that holding the back legs and the high low spin of a hammer throw would get the height for maximum distance 🤣

Still working out some details with my Betterhalf that will affect my final goals. I have a starter list going: 1) Fish for roanoke bass and lake trout 2) Catch at least three species of darter; at least two different species in MD and one lifer. 3) Catch at least 15 lifers with targets of a ) two lifer goby, blenny, and/or sculpin; b) two lifer sunfish; either Lepomis or Enneacanthus (banded) species; and c) two lifer bullheads. Still need to catch a spotted, snail, and flat bullhead.

@FishnDave I tried on the warmouth 🙄. What about longear sunfish? I thought those were a first for you or just a first in MO? Also I seem to recall that you traveled to fish with Ham. I can get you on a few lifers if you ever get out this way, including a redbreast sunfish 😉👍

This was a challenging process. Lots and Lots of research and second, third guessing fishing spots. When as @Ham put it that you are investing in the gas, time, mental anguish to travel to an unknown spot to fish and then get skunked or worse just catch the same fish you could have down the road it puts a big strain on family and mental stability. Also so glad for the support and tips provided by my friends and I was so happy to help others are well get on species that they may have not even heard about. I ended up with 115 total. I had to drop one misidentified fish. After hitting 100 my focus was to get Livie hers and to help Ham were I could when he got out to Delaware. Livie ended up with 100 and Sue got stuck at 48 (and no real interest to get to 50 even with my pushing 🤨). Between the three of us we caught 138 different species in 2021 (listed below). Lots of lifers were caught in Florida as well as all over. Interesting that none of us caught a brown or brook trout though we did try. Also no chain pickerel, which was the first year that I hadn't caught one since moving to MD. We all caught yellow bass which completed my quest for all of the temperate bass species. Sue and Livie followed suit when they both landed white bass. I came within a hybrid striper of catching them all in 2021, which I know that Ham completed. All in all a frustrating and then unltimately rewarding time. Not sure that I would do it again, but if I have a trip that could get me 20+ non-local species planned, then maybe 😉. American (White) Shad Goldfish Rosyside Dace Atlantic Croaker Grey (mangrove) Snapper Sailor's Choice Grunt Atlantic Silverside Gray Triggerfish Sand Perch Atlantic Stingray Green Sunfish Sargent Major Atlantic thread Herring Hickory Shad Satinfin Shiner Ballyhoo Hornyhead Chub Schoolmaster Snapper Banded Killifish Houndfish Scrawled Cowfish Bantam Sunfish Inshore Lizardfish Scup (Porgy) Bermuda Chub Irish Pompano Sheepshead Black Bullhead Jack Crevalle Sheepshead Minnow Black Crappie Knobfin Sculpin Silver Perch Black Drum Koi Skilletfish Black Sea Bass Largemouth Bass Slender Mojarra Blackspotted Topminnow Lined Topminnow Slippery Dick Blackstripe Topminnow Little Skate Smallmouth Bass Bleeding Shiner Longear Sunfish Smallmouth Buffalo Blue Catfish Margined Madtom Southern Kingfish Bluefish Mayan Cichlid Spanish Mackerel Bluegill Sunfish Mud Sunfish Spiny Dogfish Bluehead Chub Mummichog Spot (Norfolk Spot) Bluespotted Sunfish Naked Goby Spotfin Shiner Bluntnose Minnow Northern Puffer Spottail Pinfish Brown Bullhead Northern Redbelly Dace Spotted Seatrout Buffalo Trunkfish Northern Rock Bass Spotted Sunfish Channel Catfish Northern Searobin Spotted Tilapia Channel Flounder Northern Studfish Starhead Topminnow Checkered Puffer Ocean Pout Central Stoneroller Cocoa Damselfish Oscar Stoplight Parrotfish Common Carp Ozark Darter Striped Bass Common Shiner Ozark Minnow Striped Blenny Coppernose Bluegill Peacock Bass Striped Killifish Creek Chub Pigfish Striped Searobin Crested Blenny Pinfish Summer Flounder Cunner (Bergall) Plains Orangethroat Darter Swallowtail Shiner Dollar Sunfish Porkfish Tautog (Blackfish) Dusky Damselfish Pumpkinseed Sunfish Warmouth Duskystripe Shiner Rainbow Darter Western Mosquitofish Eastern Blacknose Dace Rainbow Trout White Bass Eastern Mosquitofish Red Hake (Ling) White Catfish Eastern Mudminnow Redbreast Sunfish White Grunt Fallfish Redear Sunfish White Perch Fantail Darter Redfin Pickerel Whitetail shiner Flier Redspotted Sunfish Winter Flounder French Grunt Redtail Parrotfish Yellow Bass Golden Shiner Reef Croaker Yellow Bullhead Golden Topminnow River Chub Yellow Perch

You must be feeling better to chime in on this feral cat discussion. I hope that is an accurate assessment 😉

I have looked at this issue for a long time and have always felt that feral cats and dogs were a huge problem to the local wildlife populations. I had some thoughts and then rejected them of offering to help trap feral cats from several areas around Columbia. I rejected those thoughts due mainly on thoughts of push back from the city council on the cat removal. I despise the trap-neuter-release program for all of the reasons provided in this article, still kill birds, etc. for another 10 + years, spread disease, etc. As a family that has had a bad unowned cat issue around our house in Columbia and having gone through a couple of worm treatment programs, we have no love for these creatures. I found out just this week that back when we had a high number of these cats around, we had a neighbor threaten to report us to the police since "our" cat kept attacking him as he ran past our house. That stopped after I began my trap and "relocate" program for these cats. I believe that I caught all seven of the ones that were abandoned in our neighborhood (these were mean cats and only the first caught went to the shelter), also 2 neighbors pets, a couple others that went to the shelter, and the rest (another 9 or 10) that went on a one way trip. I've said all of this before on this site, but during that time there was such a wave of released cats that the local shelter went from trying to place before euthanasia from a week to down to a 24 hr period.

How we see our own social interactions 🤣

Some are lost without one .. and goodnight OAF😉

Back to funny stuff

@MrPickles that is a great brown trout. Congratulations on sticking it out and catching that beast. Can't wait to see what you catch next.

Awesome buddy! Glad that you got out to wet a line.

Here's one of my favorite bits

I made my own style of corn feeders and put them around the Columbia yard for years. I'm always amazed that they only eat the germ portion of the kernel and drop the rest. The birds eat the rest of the kernels.

We have new neighbors. I will have to see if they mind us using the 22's in the back yard for a couple of squirrels. Need some squirrel and mushrooms or Aurora squirrel.

Loved Tim Conway. so much comedy based off of his improv style. Once he got either Carol Burnett or Harvey Korman going he would double down.

https://www.ktlo.com/2022/01/01/agfc-hosting-big-squirrel-challenge-in-january/ Sounds like a good time. Wishing that I was in AR right now!

Very good question. Just how long will it take?

@Quillback mentioned that it would be interesting to see who would catch the first fish of 2022 and what would it be. I'm changing that up to just get folks to post about that first fish (or more) in 2022. Caught mine at 1:20 pm today Jan 2nd. We headed to a spot to try for darters and I caught this spotfin shiner. water was too dingy to effectively sight fish darters. Caught a couple more spotfin, a couple common shiners, and a creek chub before we left. We definitely had better temps at 62 deg than out in the midwest. Well get ours with dropping below freezing temps and with a winter storm coming in tonight.

Ham has caught a fish in two thirds of the counties in Delaware already completed. He just has to come back and catch a fish in the last one 🤣! And yes if you do the math Delaware has three counties😉

@wily we have the same gun for our kids. Shoots great. My daughter shot her only turkey with that gun. Haven't had much opportunity to use it here in MD since we moved. I would consider buying yours for our grandkids if we were still in MO and able to pick it up. Good luck.

A Canadian, Russian, and a French man were in the Canadian wilderness camping. After a long day's hike they set up camp and ate a meal. After the meal the Russian pulled out a bottle of vodka. He drank about a quarter of the bottle then threw it into the air and shot it. The Canadian asked him why he wasted the rest of the vodka. The Russian responded that there us so much vodka in Russia that it is not a big deal to waste it. The French man agreed and pulled out a bottle of wine. He drank almost half the bottle then he too threw it into the air and shot the bottle. He also said to the Canadian that in France there is so much wine that wasting a bottle makes no difference to him and his countrymen. Both the Russian and French man asked the Canadian if there wasn't something in Canada that he felt that there was so much that wasting some would be a benefit. The Canadian thought about it and pulled his pistol and shot the French man🤣!

New years meal - pork and kraft. Probably butt rubbed with Asian 5 spice, ginger powder, garlic powder, and smoked paprika. Sear on all sides in Dutch oven. 2 cups of vegetable stock and cup of chardonnay for the braise. 8 crushed garlic cloves and a chunked onion. Cooked at 350 for 2.5 hrs. Added sauerkraut with caraway seeds. Cook another 30 mins. Served with mashed potatoes and honey ginger glazed carrots.

That's the @Daryk Campbell Sr I remember! Well done my friend!

Stay strong and know that we are pulling for you to get better!