BilletHead

Hey @tjm, Hey, we both learned something. Ferocious little beasts, What Do Muskrats Eat? - Feeding Nature Funny though the link picture is a Beaver 🙄

I have seen those real fat ones eating fish guts at Bennitt springs.

Ding,ding,ding! @Johnsfolly winner, winner, chicken dinner!

That looks allot like the one I posted on January 11th!

Yes, the top one is what I see in ponds. Really thin and easy to break. That bottom one is more the river type thick shelled.

Between Stockton and Truman Lake on the sac river. Wasn't your grandpa the one who told you whitetail deer were not Native to Southwest Missouri? I would say racoons would eat them if they could get inside a weak one. There is also a thin shelled one like I said they might be able to crunch into. I will tell you those thick shelled ones that are healthy and strong are hard to open without a tool. Where floods and big flow discharge events occur and when river goes down gravel bars are littered with them. They dry and die. Now that would be a feast for the coons! 🤪

I can show you a river full of them. How hard do you look? Coons cannot get into a healthy Mussell. Maybe crunch a tiny one, Otters can, and they will go to one place on the bank to feast. A racoon is NOT going to pile them in one spot.

Thats it!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have been trying to remember and it was driving me crazier than I am already. You are spot on Glen, thanks.

Outstanding Rick!

As Rick said best time is when sap is down which is now.

You are darned tooting!

Middens or trash piles and here too Jeff. Evedince on bluff overhangs where erosion is exposing along upper Osage and sac rivers.

Great Pictures Seth! Thanks

No but don't think I have never thought about it . On the way back machine I remember during examining they were very meaty looking and very good drum and channel cat bait. Do know that the MDC put out recipe for the introduced clams from Asia but thought those little things would be so much work to utilize. If it is OK Harry, I will do a little hijack on your question. Now to another interesting deal I ran into. For what it is worth about mussels. While fishing the lower Sac way below Stockton on my way back to a mud ramp access I seen a guy with a younger lady out wading the river on a gravel bar. I got out of the boat and watched them. One was looking through a glass bottomed viewing deal into the water looking at the bottom. My first thought was looking for projectile points. I asked about that, and he responded no looking for shellfish. Like crawfish and quickly he corrected me shellfish and crawfish were not a shellfish ;). Right then I knew he was an academic professional. I am inquisitive and wanted to know more so asked more question. He said they were out of SMS doing studies. I told him I knew Professor Jack Ray out of the CAR (Center for Archeology Research) department out of SMS. Then he opened up and a great dialog was started. They were tracking mussels. What? Movements of and specific types of mussels on mussels-on-mussel beds. That was a mouthful. So, I knew they moved but not very fast and you can see tracks in sand where current has not washed the tracks out. He told me of types which was all Greek to me. Then this study was partially being done because of extra erosion created by generation from Stockton dam. Some of the mussels were endangered. Then he said one of these mussels had a host fish that carried the larvae. His question for me was are there and walleye in this river? Yes, and I catch quite a few I answered. I explained there are year-round river residents and then quite a run out of Truman reservoir. He then went to explain how they mark mussels and how they track the movement. He pulled one out of the gravel bar and said to look here on this part of the shell there will be a number marked. Dang pretty neat I thought. Asked me to report if I found one dead or alive. Some mussels spend their whole life in a small area. I have since picked up a few and looked but no luck. I figure a needle in a haystack deal, but I suppose if you found a studied specific mussel bed chances would go up. Next time I seen Jack Ray, he told me I heard you met (forgot the guys name). So, good or bad I made an impact on the Mussell professor to remember me.

To say she was just a fishing dog was an understatement. Gone but never forgotten. Some of you on here have had the chance to meet Sadie. Besides fishing around here in Missouri she made several trips out west and has been in some of the best trout water available and then places we found you have never heard of. Never a problem and she made friends wherever we went. Once at the Ponderosa campground right next to the dairy Queen in Cody Wyoming she spent the day being the greeter at the check in counter. We had asked where we could board her for a day and night (Long day fishing not feasible to take her) No leave her with us up front. Like really? Oh yes, she will be fine. Fine she was . Miss her everyday especially when I am alone here at the house. Green river lake, Bennitt Spring Upper Green River near Pinedale Wyoming,

Just whoever might be using your phone or laptop once and awhile. Wife maybe? 😆

If makes any difference I use hand held device around neck. On my model foot control optional. I realize yours is cable control.

I agree totally but it went the way I was wishing. I cannot lie I had pretty much given up and my heart had sunk to a low point.

Good question, I have such a mis matched bunch of reels, and all seem to do fine. Have has a couple not happy with I have returned. I will tell you one thing I am most happy with the reel I am catching with at that time. A couple have had the drag loosen up but never tighten. I mostly palm reel for drag anyway even on my larger hybrids. If I lose a fish, it is something I have done. I can understand large pelagic fish needing the best drag available but not most of the fish we deal with here in the Midwest. Striper maybe but I have not caught many of them to be an expert.

I Was like Wrench, Normally don't get that nutty like I did last night. Got pretty loud in the house last night. OH MY GOSH.

Could be but power lines are a good ambush point along the road either for live or roadkill critters. That and are you watching them constantly? They don't just sit on the road and eat. they do like fast food grab and haul off to consume. If it is a big critter no.

They are patrolling the road for roadkill. Vehicles take our more game than you could imagine. Grandma said they ate allot of "chicken hawk" when times were lean. Also said white meat. I cannot attest to either but makes me wonder.

He knows who he is and, Ok fair enough I will call you your given name. Harry

Same here unless you find a good rabbit patch there are not too many to see. We have a few yard bunnies, and I took two last year. I just don't hunt them like I used to. IF I was to run upon a patch though I would get after them. With predator populations at a high the ones on the lower part of the food chain suffer.