jdmidwest

Al, you can find rebuild kits for those old Benjamin pumpers and rework them yourself. A few little o-rings make alot of difference. I am trying to figure out what the orange breast, black back, head and beak bird is. I was guessing Oriole, but I doubt it. I remember standing in the door of the shed 3 weeks ago talking to a friend on the phone, a robin landed on a limb close by. I laughed at him and told him he was way too early this year. He has been hunkering down in the white pines waiting for some open ground.

Just came in from feeding the hogs, aka birds. I have 2 feeders out and things have been pretty quiet until the snow fell 2 weeks ago Sunday. Then things started picking up. I have been thru 80 lbs of hen scratch since then. After the snow, I started tossing some out on the ground because the feeders were too crowded. There has been an assortment. Wood peckers and wood hen, cardinals, blue jays, doves, sparrows, titmouse, thrush, snow birds, and a few I really can't pin a name on. I was out there a while ago feeding and spotted something out of the corner of my eye. I turned around to catch a small hawk swooping in then pulling out when he saw me. No doubt, he has been feeding on some of my customers at the feeders.

Pickwick has been becoming one of my favorite lakes the past few years. We fish out of the lower end around the Wilson Dam. This ole boy is up around the shoals. I have been wanting to take a trip down there also.

I like the rareseed link. I found those ladypeas Grandpa used to raise on that site. Been looking for them all over.

Nice pig.

Try this place. Just got their catalog yesterday. Website and catalog shows how to collect and save the seed. All are heirloom. http://www.seedsavers.org/

Thanks for the link, I have not run across the one fly site. The trouble with my location is I am several hours from a local fly shop, material access is limited. I do have a nice selection of material in house to create from. Nice snowy day today. Going to tye some on today.

Went out to start the lettuce beds yesterday as usual. Valentine's Day is the start of the garden season around here normally. I cleaned off the raised bed of leaves and last years dead stuff. I decided it needed some more dirt. Went in to town and bought a few bags of composted peat. I noticed they were a little stiff. Opened them up at the house and dumped them in the bed. Made a nice little bed of black ice cubes about 12" square. Put the glass on and will let the thermal activity of the sun melt them out. Maybe next week or so. Looks like the garden is going to be a little late this year. 12" snow coming in tonight and tomorrow, low temp of -3 on Wed. night. I doubt if the seed would have germinated anytime soon anyway.

Its coming here tonight, 6 to 12 inches of nice powder. Its about time, not much fun having cold weather without a little white stuff.

Get a room.

I think Mack's and Cabela's has already had their clearance. Might be a few left.

Riverside Resort has nice cabins fully furnished with a kitchen and bath on the river and plenty of stream access. Call soon, the cabins fill up fast. They have camper cabins also with a fire pit, one full bed and a set of bunk beds if you want to rough it a little. http://riversideresort.org/ There are other places along the river. 2 hotels in Mammoth Spring and one in Hardy.

I dug thru my materials and found a patch of fox squirrel and used the approved slf color for body. I now have a handful of new patterns to try on Current River this weekend. Boxes are full, but I am still in tying mode.

Dam Wrench, that pattern from Whitlock is older than I am. People still catch fish on that? But good idea, I don't have one in the box. Maybe I will squash a Fox Squirrel tomorrow for some fur to tye it with. I have been seeing alot of them the past few days. Gramps, I have about all of those in my box except for the jig flies. But, a bead head fly is nothing more than a fancy jig. I can honestly say, I have never caught a fish on a Kruse Leech, but I have one in the box and fished it in the past. I have done well with an egg sucking leech woolly. Joe, that yeller bandana would look kinda queer with my nice pair of politically correct Orvis Advantage Camo non felt sole breathable boot foot waders. I have to slip and slide around the stream on them so rock snot does not get passed around. I might carry a bandana to sling my arm with when I slip on a rock in those waders and bust an arm. Or I could go rougue and wear my nice Orvis Breathables and Felt soles and skip the disco dance tour.

I am not allergic to the spin rod, I use it all of the time when floating. But when I wade small streams, I fly fish. 2 weeks ago on the Current, it was all dry fly for the few hours I was fishing between rains. I was using a CDC Hares Ear Caddis in size 16. They were feeding in the film on emerging bugs best I could tell. The daughter was cleaning up in deeper water with primrose and pearl nymphs. Streamers are alot of work, but it is a good time of year in deeper water from them. I have 2 boxes of them. I just cranked out 10 of the midge pattern that Drew posted a few weeks ago, going to try them. Whats an RFSN Wrench?

I have gotten into the fly tying mode again. Lots of free time till spring and loads of materials going to waste. I spent all day Sunday with the usual go to flies and the staple go to flies. Glanced thru the last 5 issues of Fly Tyer Mag and did not come up with any new inspiration. I have been surfing the net looking for some too. Seems like Streamers and Warm Water pattens are getting all of the news lately. I need something new and fresh for trout in the Current River, 11 Pt, or Spring River. Any thoughts?

The latest 2 cases of CWD was found in wild free range deer. http://mdc.mo.gov/newsroom/mdc-reports-two-new-cases-cwd-found-adair-and-macon-counties

Good looking set up. Next thing to add to my Navy will be a jet. I have to keep it under 25 hp so I can run the 11pt with it.

Too tough to eat. Take the horns and give the rest to feed the masses.

I use cdc in a lot of my patterns instead of hackle. I find they float as well or better than expensive hackles.

I never really have to collect road kill for fly tying materials. I collect many of them while hunting. Duck season brings in many mallard flanks and wings, teal flanks, and wood duck flank feathers. I also collect the CDC feathers from all of the ducks, they are the feathers around the oil glands. Geese bring nice wing feathers for biots. Small game and trapping brings other furs. Fox squirrels have great fur for zonkers, tails of both types of squirrels are used. Lately, my tails go to a friend that uses them predator trapping. In exchange, I will get a patch of fur now and then from muskrats, beavers, skunks, and coyotes. Turkey season brings nice tail feathers and some marabou. Pheasants have nice tails and other feathers, I have some from tame ones we raised. Same goes with peacocks, we had a few of them one time and I have a lifetime supply of tails and swords in a large vase. A few banty roosters were scared around me at the farm also, they were plucked from time to time for saddle hackles. Deer season provides tails and belly strips. Young deer have a great fur on the back. I have been given elk from friends that hunt them. When washed and put in the freezer for a few weeks, all pests will die, and the feathers and furs will last a lifetime.

Squirrel tails just need to airdry some to cure what little flesh in tail. You could bone and flesh them but would waste of time. Wash with shampoo, salt exposed meat and let dry Same goes with hides, skin, flesh, salt then dry. You could tan if you want a supple skin for zonkers. Birds work same way.

One other thing that hurts a score is someone running credit checks. Shopping for insurance results in multiple hits. Cell phone companies run them too.

I prefer to kayak fish without a helmet. But at least the crowds will be thin.

How is the restoration project going?