BilletHead

Neat chief! Is that a heddon tadpolly you caught the goggleye with ? BilletHead

Nice Johnsfolly, The other finds look like dryads saddles. I thought you were going to give us a lesson on how mushrooms grow in the ground. They have a network of mycelium, fine threads. What we see is the fruiting body of that type of mushroom. I am careful when I pick my shrooms. A slice with a knife leaving the base in the ground. Do yo all know it is illegal to pull wild mushrooms in Colorado? Yep it is. One year when bow hunting elk I stumbled upon some king boletes. I had read this before so I sliced them off. Shot a grouse too. As I was preparing the grouse and mushrooms a fish and game guy rode up on a mule. Seen the boletes. Asked how I picked them. He than said I did it the right way, checked out licenses and rode off. BilletHead

Jtram you didn't have to look . I said in the topic snake photos. It is kind of like telling a kid not to touch something. See there you looked and are safe. Should of been there and seen his little beady cat like eyes, the forked tongue flicking in and out. If he hadn't of made it to shore and under a rock I would of messed with him longer. Should I tell you when he swam under the boat I grabbed his tail and pitched him out a ways? BilletHead

Made a trip to one of my most favorite rivers. Fishing sucked, wind beat me up but the snake hunting was good. There are some huge rock bluffs and cottonmouths winter in the caves and cervices. They migrate out in the Spring to swampy lower ground across the river and do it in reverse in the fall. My buddy was there last week and killed one on sight. I don't agree with this but he has a phobia about snakes. Just says he hates them? These are shot with a short lens. Up close and personal. Could of been much better but trying to keep him corralled running the boat and trying to shoot him with the camera, He was a nice fat one just the kind you want to reach out and pet . NOT BilletHead

Snakes! see lone survivor post on the morel and wild edible thread BilletHead

Nick, All I can say is I have tried to dye a section of tail chartreuse. Washed it thoroughly in dawn and rinsed to remove any residual oils. Used a couple of fabric dyes from hobby lobby and michaels craft store. Not much luck and then read chartreuse is a hard color to get to take. Even used some vinegar to set the dye from a recommendation from another. Have not tried since although somebody is doing it right because you can get dyed tails in every color. Good luck and let us (me) know if you have any luck, BilletHead

jtram, I am deathly afraid of bears and did not ask him. I did have a close encounter with one in Canada and had to stick him with an arrow before he ate me. His name is DECEMBEAR. He now resides in my family room. Sometimes in December we hang a red ribbon around his neck with a tree ornament hanging from it. Christmas presents go around and under him. Hence his name. I can hardly look at him now and think of that fateful day he lost his life and I was spared. I can now understand some guys fear of being eaten by a snake. I shudder at the thought! Ronnie we can hang out anytime. I have smoked cheese . Mitch I was looking for a toy army man or cowboy figurine for the photo op. Maybe a pair of tiny hands would of been better? A matchbox car driving through the giant morel? Here is DECEMBEAR, BilletHead skin is crawling thinking of bears Oh My

Well had to take a look see at a couple of patches today. After three days of drizzle and rain the sun came out and it instantly got steamy in the woods.First thing I found was a mushroom poacher. Footprints, and a pile of dried too far along morels that had been dropped by the road ditch. Wish they would of at least left them in the spots where they had been picked to do their thing in the decayed leaves and proper soil. I suppose they had been taken to the suspects vehicle to be shown to the partner in the trespass crime. I did find one lone survivor next to the house where I had found the first two of the season. I also found some wood ear fungus. Pretty neat and fresh. Might have to try it? I see where it is edible but not choice. More of a medicinal quality used by the Chinese. Sometimes found in sweet and sour soup too. One of the biggest disappointments of the day was a dead snake. I think it may of been killed by an OA member who is deathly afraid of snakes. It was run over . I can only imagine the driver of the vehicle was running my rural dirt (mud) road doing fifty mph. At fifty yards it could be seen, at twenty-five yards identified as a ten foot long rattleheadedcoppermoccisanspittingcobraconstrictor. They then had time to swerve to where the snake was to run it down. I have photographic proof, This is not trick photography either. This serpent is compared to black bear and a morel the size of a giant redwood. The kind of redwood that you could once drive through in California redwood forest. (As a child I did ride through one with my parents) Actually it was a big fungus and the poor little snake was a midland brown snake. Still feared by the serpent haters! And finally the wood ear fungus. BilletHead

Ha, Love it Jesters! I once visited a friend in Oklahoma. They did not have Eastern like we do but I think they were Rio Grand's I witnessed the birds come into his yard and see their reflection in his car's paint. They would attack the car and actually scratch it up. IT was an older vehicle and he did not get bent out of shape about it. I would of been eating the culprits, BilletHead

Finally the first has arrived in BilletHeadVille!

Well done Slab Slinger and ciRe! Yes I am with Seth those are some big spurs.. I can't beat the inch and an eighth mark. Have had several around that size over the years though. Again nicely done gentlemen. Couldn't get Mrs. BilletHead a shot this morning. Drizzle and rain. Seen many birds just making rounds in a couple of fields. Not paying attention to anything. BilletHead

Oh contrary to popular belief gentlemen they eat and clean just fine. No plucking just rip off the skin, fillet off the breast halves and have at the wings and legs and thighs. Wrench have you ever had turkey breast cut across the grain and fried in a spicy coating? You are missing out young man! We have braised the legs, wings and thighs in spices and herbs all day until the meat falls off the bone. Shred the stuff and crisp it up in goose fat. Drizzle on some honey and squeeze on some orange juice. Load this into a tortilla, add what you like we add cilantro and diced onion. Another squeeze of citrus this time lime. Chow down brother! Carnitas . Wash it down with an adult beverage. Crappie be darned Timber chicken is where it is at, BilletHead

Man O Man I can hardly wait until my Grand kids get old enough to grunt for me. Right now it would cost me money in broken rods! Well them maybe get them started young and let them tote the poles in aluminum rod tubes ? Better than a guide paying with cash. Just a few M&M's would work. Toss them a few just once and a while, BilletHead

Oh Ness wants special pizza toppings . Yes ditto on the salad deal. I was sharing the garden lettuce bounty the other day. Yes the BilletHead delivers greens sometime. I hit six homes last week with a cooler full. At my old Line Foreman's house. Old dogs know new tricks, He is in his eighties now, he recommended throwing in a very small amount of mini dark chocolate chips. I said with what dressing? Blue cheese of course. He and I both ordered it from restaurants when we worked storms taking a meal break. Say howdy when I tried this it is very good. We also use craisns, dried blueberries, pecans, apple and other assorted goodies from time to time. BilletHead

Got be politically correct Ness, Rod caddy is a unisex term that we now have to use. I have one and SHE makes me carry her rods too . I have been known to stick the extra spinning rod butt in my back pocket but now that I fly fish more that is kind of hard to do. The BilletHead's don't have fat pockets, BilletHead

Sorry Chief did not know you were the jealous type. Just sharing some brotherly love with my OA brothers. Bromance with the pizza dude. Hear that Ronnie? HA Hang in there Chief Bro love the smoker dudes too, BilletHead

Way to go John P. and Seth! Good pictures too guys. Rainy and wet here. Killed my bird in a freshly planted field so the bird looked more like a wet dirty rat. Ten inch beard, inch and an eighth spurs, nineteen and a half pounds. Raining so hard I did not leave the house until seven thirty. Checked out a big field and seen a few birds. Slipped through the timber along the edge and took a wet seat. Just watched eight tom's make a circle along the edge staying way out. At their closest point I made a few bad calls. A couple perked up and gave the timber the stink eye. I suppose they wondered who was making that awful noise on the damp slate. They began to work my way. The closest one got invited to dinner. The birds never gobbled once or paid any attention to the hens across the field. The meat pile, Not much left BilletHead

Ness, I love you man! Pizza party at NessVille. Does that put me in the ones you love? BilletHead

8:45, billethead scores.

Report from a not so dry spot. Got up to a pretty good rain. Waited until daylight. Rainsuit on,trying to keep the slate dry. Rainig harder. Does not look. Good here in BilletHeadVille.

Well done there Miss Folly, I see by the bag in the photo you and John are having Morel Smores . Just missing the grams and chocolate! BilletHead

First trip was to Indian territory Thursday in Oklahoma. I mean this in the most sincere way. I have some of that blood running in my veins and we caught fish in native territory. Drove right by a casino to get there. Forum member Curticse made the trip with me. It was kind of like Custer's last stand. We had a mini white bass massacre. We fished a channel below a gravel shoal. Dry gravel bar on one side, mud cut bank on opposite side. Pretty much anchored in the middle of the channel throwing small clousers towards the gravel bar and then to the eddies that were formed behind downed trees along the cut bank. We conservatively caught 75 or more. Kept 26 between us. We weighed one and it was 2.5lbs. There was more than one that size in the take. The males were milting on us and the boat as we unhooked and released them. Some of the females you could poke their sides and the eggs were just running out. When we cleaned them they had eggs in every stage so this should go on for awhile. Water temp was 60.7 when we started. Quit about one. Took a photo of ten with the other sixteen in the live well ready to be invited to dinner. Second trip was to an upper flow into Stockton lake. Took my uncle for a jet boat ride upriver. I again was throwing clousers on the long rod and he was spin fishing. We ran to the first shoal. Caught some whites of assorted sizes. Above us the river made a small narrow s-type curve. Decided to try it . We did the ride up to the next shoal great only having to duck branches once along the way. Not much room between the shoals and as we caught a couple we could see the river dropping.Witnessed whites splashing and running through the riffles. Not enough room to regain plane going back down it was raise the motor and carom off wood and gravel back down to deeper water (note to self don't do that again in this flow) Dropped trolling motor and caught a few more drifting back down river. Seen more fish caught from shore fishermen. Witnessed three different guys throwing a-rigs. Looked pretty tiresome to me. Flying through the air they looked like little Christmas trees in flight and sounded like fighter jets. I would of just as soon stayed up high in the river chasing whites but Uncle John could only imagine bass along the rock bluffs and banks closer to the lake. I caught the only bass and one rather nice drum if you can call them nice?. More whites and bluegill too. As we neared the lake the wind was getting intense. Gave it up. Water temp 57 degrees. Had fun with my 70+year old Uncle as he did with me. Forgot to throw camera in boat so no pictures from yesterday, BilletHead

Another foraged and angled meal. Today white bass, morels and wild asparagus. Did have a little forage trip to wally world for the beverage. More morels and asparagus will be consumed tomorrow BilletHead

Hit the woods today for morels and then road trip to wild asparagus patches along the roads. Got enough for a couple messes of both. Some of the shrooms were pretty big. I was hoping not to find so many large ones as these are the last we generally find. This will not keep us from looking again though. BilletHead

Another good report and great pictures too. Like the kiddo and his shirt. Boys and dirt go together for sure, BilletHead