jdmidwest

Yes it is a shame. They should have waited till it actually killed a cow and shot it off the carcass. Bears, Mountain Lions, Elk, Otters, and Rattlesnakes. All harmless and perfectly natural in a world with out man and domestic animals. Reintroduce them and you start having problems. Unless you get rid of man and domestic animals and then all will be in balance in the natural scheme of things. We really can't have our cake and eat it too. Mammoths, Saber Tooth Tigers, and Dinosaurs were here before us too. If by some means of modern science we could bring the back, should we have them too?

If there had not been a bunch of killer tornado's on New Year's Eve, I would not have believed the hail storm either. That was a severe line of storms that came thru. But, when did they find the birds, what day, I can't seem to find that info. Large numbers of blackbirds have been moving thru in migration lately, I have watched clouds of them in strings that stretch out for a long time. One lightening bolt, downdraft, explosion could wipe out several in one swipe. Interesting to see what wiped out the drum, probably low water and O2 levels due to cold temps.

Who cares if man survives, I thought you guys were out to save the planet!!! Man is a species involved in evolution, there is no assurance we are to survive the next step in the grand scheme of planet earth.

Just drink the koolaid and simmer down, we will survive this global onslaught....

In that case, welcome, you are not a spammer. Barbless hooks are great for catch and release. I have been using Orvis barbless hooks for years. And I pinch barbed hooks down too, because, for the most part, I practice Catch and Release. Even if I am keeping, the barb does not seem to make a difference, I still land the fish, with or without the barb.

8 Botched Environmental Forecasts from olden days... Looks like some of the forecasts did not really take the reality tour. Happy New Year. 2011= year of truth.

Mine is to get a more honorable job. That way, I can fish more.

Another shameless plug? I hate barbless hooks, it is too hard to snag fish with them.

Another shameless plug? I hate barbless hooks, it is too hard to snag fish with them.

Some of the studies actually show they may affect the groundwater with the embalming and other byproducts. Of course, it may be a scare tactic. I have requested a simple pine casket, and burial on the family farm in an unorganized location, no vaults. I want to return to earth as I am, no byproducts. Cremation causes pollution which causes global warming,"sic". The processes of decay should be simple. Why embalm, I don't need to look good after death? Why a vault, I don't need protection of my remains? I think the state requires a casket of some sort, it does not have to be elaborate, it needs to decay as the body does. It amazes me to the lengths some people go to during the funeral process. I have attended the burial of a friends dad, so I thought, only to scatter the ashes during the following duck season. We buried an almost empty elaborate coffin in a vault with full military honors. And we scattered a vial of ashes around his favorite duck hunting spots. No matter what, all we are left with is the memory and the spirit of the individual that has passed.

It is a 1999, one of the non interference motors. When it shot craps, my mechanic thought it would be valves and pistons and head work. But when we found out that from 1996 up it did not affect it to lose the timing belt at high speed, I started breathing a little easier. When we cracked it open yesterday and I looked at the mess, my only thought was "wow". Looks like the tension idler was failing and causing the other failures. Everything was fused together and all the bearings were locked up from the heat of the belt. Except for the cam bearings, they were intact and unharmed. It is really a rugged design. I have grown to love Toyota engineering in the past 2 years.

Don't know what an off season is, maybe it is the time I spend in my duck waders and not in my fishing waders? But sometimes I hunt in my fishing waders and fish in my duck waders, so they all get some exercise throughout the year. Since I have switched to all breathable waders, I let them dry and stuff them back in the sack or bag. Wash them in the washer every once in a while when they start smelling funky inside. You don't have to worry about creases. Neoprene was the same way, I have some that are 15 years old and still water tight. Rubber, you hang by the boots in a temperature controlled place away from rodents and cross your fingers that they won't leak the next time out. One thing I have done with all my waders is to store them inside the house in a temperature controlled environment. They seem to last longer than my buddies that keep them in garages or storage buildings.

Its been a while, but we used to butcher and process pork at the farm when I was a kid. The bacon and hams were salted and smoked in the smokehouse, which was about the size of an 8x8 portable building with a hole in the floor that the smoke entered. The smoldering fire was underneath and it was cold smoked for a time I can't remember. I think we just salted the hell out of it and hung it in there. I long for one of those hams, it was the best I have ever had. I have not run across a ham like it at any store. I am sure there are several recipes, I buy bacon at a local guy that is wonderful and his smoked cheddar and brats are great too. Old Hickory Specialty Meats

I have had a chattering noise in the front of the engine for a little while but could not pinpoint it. Could not tell if the timing belt had ever been changed, should be changed every 70k, odometer at 225k. Coming home tired and wore out from the gun show a week ago Sunday nite, I heard a noise and the temp gauge started rising. It stabilized and was not leaking bad, tried to limp on to town instead of walking (left cell phone at home that day). Finally about a mile out of town running 60, she sputtered and dies, coasted in to a gravel lot. I had to hoof it back into town. Here is the mess, timing belt still in one continous piece, held together by steel cords. Idler and water pump seized up, belt tensioner blown up with ball bearings all over the inside. Belt melted to the components, not sure what really failed or was a combo of all. $400 in new parts and some labor, back on the road and running good so far. Word to the wise, if you have a belt, check it from time to time. My engine was the "non destructive type" luckily, no damage to pistons, heads, or valves.

We would catch the bulk of them in the spring before the lake warmed up, so the meat was pretty good. Not much different than the white bass we were catching around the same time. I would like to try them blackened, so I may have to keep a few in a few months during the white bass run. It is funny how people have the wrong ideas about alot of fish and their edibility. We used to can carp and make fish cakes out of them. Pike and pickerel are good eating, just too many bones. We also snagged buffalo in the spring and canned them too. I can count on one hand the grinnel I have caught, never tried to eat one. Caught a many gar, never tried to eat one of them either. Just thinking back, most were hooked in the side of the mouth or roof, never noticed alot of lower lip hooks. There was an old tale about why they are called drum, they drum their head on the bottom of the boat, I have never witnessed it.

We used nightcrawlers and minnows for bait. I have caught them on jigs, cranks, and even the flyrod while bass fishing on the Saline creek. Interesting note about the blackened redfish recipe, may have to try that this year.

The do fight good, they bulldog like a catfish. I have caught some weighing over 4 lbs while crappie fishing that really strained a light weight rod. They are pretty good eating depending on where you catch them. Water quality is always a plus, brackish water produces the worst tasting fish while cool river water makes the best. You can fry them or can them.

Was sitting around bored tonight and was surfing the net, it is that lull between deer season and duck season. My last muzzleloader deer hunt ended Sunday and I can't find the time to duck hunt till Wed. or Thur. Came across this article on Field and Stream and thought I would run it up on here. As a youth, I spent a lot of time on Lake Wappappello and the St. Francois River system. One of the fish we loved to catch and eat was the freshwater Drum. One spring, my uncle and I caught enough to fill several jars with the rocks out of their skulls. The little growths in their heads with the L's engraved on them like Lady Luck. We always made a habit of cracking skulls and extracting the rocks. Pretty good eating, cut off the red meat and keep them fresh. At the same time we would catch striped bass also, so it was always a good fish fry. Any one else on here enjoy the sport of fishing for freshwater Drum? Field and Stream, Freshwater Drum

It looks like they have all 3 species. Largemouth, smallies, and spotted. Smallmouth hybridize with spotted bass creating a bass called "mean mouth Bass". 3 types of bass in Kalifornia. I agree with others that the bass does not look like any smallie I have caught. But they take on different colors based on water color, temps, bottom structure, or agitation.

I had a friend visit his grandfather this summer and he heard the chirp of a dying fire alarm. He started searching and narrowed it to the bedroom. The grandfather stated he had been after a "cricket" in the bedroom all summer and could not find it. Finally, they found the "cricket", it was a smoke detector mounted behind the head of the bed so it would wake him in the night. Grandfather stated "wish you would have come over sooner, might have saved me a few cans of bug spray in the last few weeks". Carbon Monoxide detectors are something to look for too, usually hard wired, but beep when end of life is reached on the element.

I think there is a museum permit you can get for the protected species mounts. Obviously, you can not harvest one and stuff it. But natural death, roadkill, or poached specimens usually are candidates. But you can not use the feathers or parts for flies, necklaces, etc unless you are a native American Indian and are licensed to do so.

Not getting personal, just passing along info about the the stability of the boats. The attack on Oneshot and his fishing methods and now this attack on Kayser about his stability was kinda personal don't you think? Now if you did take it personal, then you might be starting to see how some would be taking some of your posts lately.

Why is it so hard to picture someone doing something other than rolling over in a canoe or kayak when it hits the water? I do more in my yaks than I ever did in a canoe because of the stability. My sit on top is stable enough to stand on, kneeling is a piece of cake. I shoot ducks, gig frogs, and probably catch more fish each year out of them than most on this forum I would wager. I have taken on standing waves that crash over the bow and still keep going while duck hunting in my loaded sit inside yak. Just because you lack a sense of direction, you really don't need to pick on those that know what they are doing. Some of us have a better sense of stability, both physically and mentally.

Possession of Federal Birds of Prey like hawks, owls, and eagles are prohibited unless you are a native American. Waterfowl has its own set of rules. Furbearers are usually not a big deal and you can pick them without any problems. Picking up road kill is every serious flytyer's obsession. But you really can't pick birds of prey up if they were killed by anything, legally.

I don't think this one has brought up religion or baby killin yet.