Quillback

Fire weather warning for this area starting Monday afternoon. They just did a controlled burn on the Pea Ridge battlefield last week.

Didn't know they ran in FL, that would give me an excuse to make a Feb. trip down there.

I got a call last night around 9 PM. It started with "Take shelter now", it was a St Louis alert though and why it called me is a head scratcher.

Confederate loss of the battle of Five Forks was partially blamed on General George Pickett being away on a shad bake: "When George Pickett accepted Rosser’s invitation to what would become a terribly infamous shad bake, it was regional rite of spring for tidewater Virginians. It was just after the shad run has been made and so the local tradition was in process. Pickett, probably desperate for a hot meal and a little relaxation after many stressful months, eagerly accepted the invitation. For this, it’s hard to retroactively blame the man, even with the union so close. He was an experienced commander and should have known what was coming. However, that he failed to tell anyone in his camp where he would be is slightly hard not to judge. He did not tell his second in command nor any other soldier that he’d be in Rosser’s camp, which has been hypothesized as trying not to deplete the shad. While Pickett was enjoying his shad and probably a few beverages, Warren attacked. The full assault occurred without Pickett and, since he had failed to tell anyone where he was going, nobody could find him. Also, between Rosser’s camp and Five Forks there was a thick forest that dampened the sound. So nobody in Rosser’s camp knew what was happening. By the time they (he and Pickett) were alerted, there was nothing they could do. By the time Pickett got to his men, nearly a half of them were wounded, dead, or captured. In concert with the Third Battle of Petersburg the following day, Lee was forced to abandon Petersburg, which led to the capture of Richmond and surrender of his army on April 9 at Appomattox."

1/3 of Arkansas is burning. At least the third across from Hickory Creek COE Park on Beaver.

They are great reels. I still have a couple in boxes from last year.

Doing a little reading - Shad were introduced into the Sacramento River in 1871 also. I don't see how 50,000 fry would've stood a chance in the AR rivers, mkaes me wonder how many they put in the Sacramento as that was successful. Looks like they are spreading north on the west coast, quite a few were seen in the Lake Washington tributaries last year which is on the west side of Seattle. They weren't there when I lived there.

Picked up a bit of fishing trivia from the latest issue of Arkansas Wildlife. "American Shad were one of the first fish ever stocked in Arkansas by the US Fish and Wildlife Commision. In July 1877, 80,000 American shad fry were stocked in the Red River at Fulton. This was followed up in 1878 by stockings of the Saline River at Benton and the Caddo River at Arkadelphia of 50,000 American shad fry." They didn't take obviously. It worked on the west coast, Columbia River is full of them when they come in to spawn.

Game Changer is a new color I have had success with.

Wind is howling today, it ought to knock a few out.

It was hard for me to use it, it just don't look right. 😃

Yes - Dutch turned me on to that color.

Spring is springing on the way home today I saw some Forsythia blooming and a few daffodils popping up. Some of the hayfields are getting green. Looks like tomorrow the wind will beat everything back into submission. The ol' March rollercoaster. The fish were a little more alive today, I caught 17 bass with 4 being keepers. The early bite was good, but once the sun got up I had to really work for them. The long rock runout held some in the 10-14 foot range early. And got a few more around cove mouths and steep banks as the day went on. Caught my first five on a little 2.5 inch tube on a 1/4 oz jighead. After I broke that off on a snag, I went back to the old reliable Ned. WT ranged from 51 to 54.

Interesting to hear the perspective of the younger folks.

My catfish and striper fishing buddy has made a good living repairing restaurant furniture. Most of it is replacing the covers on seating. That stuff gets torn up. He buys the material, makes the covers, then goes to the restaurant and recovers the seating. One man show.

Talked to one of my old friends a couple of days ago, he has 2 daughters, one in Med school and the other in Vet school. Both of them were taking college courses while in high school, they have gotten scholarships, work as interns during the summer, and study all the time. The vet in training is probably going to specialize in horses, she lives in FL and there are a lot of horse owners in that state with deep pockets that keep vets busy. Medical field is wide open, lots of schooling needed to get in, but the opportunities are there for sure.

Sory for your loss, I hate losing a dog.

Great day to be out!

I did get to take another picture of Dutch with a nice bass. Pretty much all I do on these trips lately, net Dutch's fish and then take a pic. I'm not bitter or anything. 🙄

I have seen ball lightning once. Driving on the interstate, got caught in a thunderstorm and right in front of me in the median was a lightning strike and right above the ground where it hit was a big blue ball of electricity that was there for maybe a second. Only time I've seen it.

The wind was cranking here too. Interesting to hear about the dying shad, I have not seen any yet but thought it was about time for it to happen. Hopefully you'll get another chance to get out.

You'll have to use your imagination and put yourself in that pic.

Here you go!

Remember this one? Steelville man convicted of killing a man on float trip | FOX 2