jdmidwest

I hope I can kill the larva in the ground before the new bees arrive this spring. Those suckers are vicious.

Somebody lost the spellchecker.

This was the culprit. African small hive beetle in a homemade trap. That is a dry swiffer pad I put in the hive when I closed it down this fall. I pulled it out yesterday. when I took a closer look at the hive. Beetles get trapped in the fiber and die. As you can see, there were plenty of them. There are more on that fuzz than I had saw in any of my hives till this fall. I am guessing that that warm spell around Christmas got the beetles active and they laid eggs in the honey portion of the hive. They hatched and slimed the hive again, running the bees away from the inside of the hive. That would explain the large amount of dead bees on top of the hive in the box holding the feeder. They either froze or starved. Time to burn another mess when weather clears up, then spray ground real good again to kill the beetle larva.

I would not get too fired up about a trip down there in the summer. You have to bounce a lure off canoes and rafts to get them wet on a summer time weekend. Weekdays and nights would be better fishing.

I thought about the steel wool, but figured it would leave rusty spots on the trailer. Flex conduit would be a pain to snake thru the holes. They chew thru it too. I usually toss out poison blocks under house and out buildings. Can't really toss them around the boat sitting outside in the open, neighbors dogs may chew on them. Mouse traps work inside the boat. I had one a few years ago that threw the trap or got out of it. He died between the throttle housing and the side of the boat. That was a stinking mess. Best bait I have found is peanut butter and bacon. I have seen them lick the peanut butter off some traps. But the bacon is tough and sticks on the holder well.

What do you use to get the snake out before a trip???? Call the pied piper?

Any thought on how to keep them out of a tube trailer? I have something shoved in the tongue where it breaks over. But there are several access holes along the trailer to drain and for lights. Maybe screens?

I bought a low hour new to me Tracker Boat and Trailer last spring. On a trip to the lake in Oct., I noticed a marker light out on the driver side of the trailer, no big deal. Left out to Pickwick the day after Thanksgiving and noticed another marker light out on the same side. Tail light was flickering. I started getting aggravated at this time. I had replaced the tail lights with LED ones, bulbs should not flicker. Fished for about 3 hours that day and decided to portage from lake to river side. Running across Pickwick coming back from State Line, boat came off plane and started idling rough, Idled back to ramp and called it done, blown coil pack. On the way home, the tail light went completely out. Back at the house that weekend, I started trouble shooting the trailer lights. After a few meter tests, I broke the tongue over and gave the wire a tug. That side wire came out, chewed off about a foot into the tongue. This is a tube trailer with a break over tongue for storage. A friendly little mouse had chewed the marker light wires first, then up near the tongue. Rewired that side today, cost $35 for new wire and a wire snake tape. Just another reason to hate tube trailers. They hold moisture and rust out. Dang wasps like to build nests into them. And rodents seem to call them home.

Male between 5'8" and 6'2" so the autopsy shows. Take the pieces them together and put a tape to them. What a job. Been there a few days too. STL Today report.

Inside the waist band is a good place to carry on the water. Inside pocket of a vest or life jacket. Fanny pack or front pocket of a cooler works good. Most of the time in a boat or kayak, one is in the drybag. If wading, I carry it on me. In all the years I have carried, I have only used it once to stop an idiot from trying something on me. And it was totally by accident. Coming home late from work one night at an apartment I was staying at. Hopped out of truck, reached back in and grabbed the 45 Colt Auto. Turned around and heard "Oh shet, he has a gun". Tires were squalling and kids were running away before I knew it. Someone unknown to me had followed me home and was wanting to start something. Luckly, I never will know what. Lord knows how many times something was averted by open carry. I have no problem openly carrying in public on most streams. Only when there are big crowds does the pistol go undercover. Most modern finishes will survive submerged and come out ok with a good air dry and re lube. Sweaty salt is harder on Blued finishes. But most are stainless with some kind of protective finish on them that is durable and rust free. Internals are different, many untreated parts there. All firearms are designed to be used in all weather. But like a car, they need some care to keep them in good shape. Imagine walking up to the fire pit and finding something like that or arriving while it was in progress. There are many evil people in the world. Then there are the lowlifes that just feel they should make a living off others hard work. It happens, everywhere, everyday, to everybody.

Nixon did fight several wars about spending funds meant for other reasons on State Park lands. Does that count?

I officially called this one dead today. Have not been around them since Thanksgiving weekend on a warm day. Went down this afternoon and checked them, nothing moving around the opening. Opened it up and found many dead bees, no live ones. I guess the cold was too much for the weak condition they were in going in to winter. I am down to 3 on the farm. They were working and flying on Christmas during that warm spell. Still have my doubts about the condition of one of those, will probably only have 2 at the end of winter there. Skunks were working the hives this fall, there was signs of them around each of them deer season. Digging in the dirt, claw marks on front entrance. They pester the bees till they come out to defend the hive, then eat the little sweet morsels. Stings do not bother skunks much for some reason.

I saw them all over the place in STL yesterday. Collinsville show had them all over the place. I ran into them at Cabelas or Bass Pro too. Not quite sold on them. I have used some of the River to Sea products that work well. But don't know about that one.

I guess it is Hazelwood. Just crossed the bridge to Chesterfield to Bass Pro.

At least in Chesterfield. I was up there yesterday, almost everything with a Cabelas logo on it was on sale and going fast. Bare shelves, large holes in inventory. No sales on other branded material. From the looks of it, that store is closing soon. And maybe the Cabelas brand. That location has been failing for a while, almost everything around it has been on decline in the past few years. Not really sure of anything, but that is what it looks like to me. Keep an eye out, there may be some real good deals soon. Bass Pro on the other hand was fully stocked and not real agressive about clearing out any fall inventory.

Fish have been smaller than that. They have been getting 11" fish from Norfork last few years because of a bug in the State Hatchery. But they have it cleaned up now and stock bigger fish. I usually go down in Jan and Feb. Hope low water stays around.

HAPPY NEW BEER TO ALL OF YOU TOO....

Nice. My last fish came on a plate in Paducah Ky. today. Not quite as eventful as yours. Congrats.

That is about right, They washed over the dam 3 and where I watched them eat trout was on the slow east fork below the dam. At that time, it was a young fledgling about a 18" er. Back in that day, you could go down and catch all 4 species of trout also. But that day is long gone. Every now and then, I will catch a brown. But is has been a very long time since a cutt or brookie has taken my fly on the Spring River.

We used to have one of those motors back in the day. It powered a little ole 12' jon boat my buddy had. I remember a cold winter day running the Diversion Channel with 3 of us in the little boat. Never even thought about a life jacket back then, just the cushions we were sitting on. I have a kayak that size now. I am pretty sure that little jon boat was over loaded and over powered on most trips. Not something I would do anymore as I am older and wiser.

I have stared at an ice hole and wondered what I could do with it. Lucky for me, she left and went on her way.

Went in today and all the low dollar stuff was gone, but still some great deals. Other than the crank baits, I picked up a Booyah frog or 2 cheap, some shad imitations by Strike King, and some interesting jig heads with a gold willow blade made for the ole Ned rig. I am a sucker for gold when it comes to lures, I hope this will be the killer combo for next season. Gold flash added to a Ned Bait, has to be a winner. At .48 for 2, I will toss one in the trees and laugh if it don't catch a fish.

Picked up some firetiger 4ft Rapala cranks here for 48 cents each here locally. Walked out with $70 in lures and spent $12.

I have had good luck with Orvis guide weight waders. I even have a pair of their breathables in camo for ducks. They hold up well and are comfy. Their preformed foot can be tough to get in a dry boot. I have never seen a custom wader. I have always bought retail. Lacrosse, Drake, and Ball are other brands I have worn, but they were neoprene or rubber. Talk to a fisheries guy and see what they use. They spend a lot of time in them.

I would say its a first production and maybe worth something one day, maybe. But it is a nice work of art, probably will not see a piece of mono on the front end.