BilletHead

After fishing Cottonwood for almost a full day and most of the next morning it was time to move again. Further up into the Wyoming range of mountains on the forest service road which by the way for the most part better than my county roads here. Over McDougal gap down the West slope along sheep creek. There was a big rain up top and quite the mud plug going down the hill towards the Greys river. At the Greys we turned North and then diverted up Murphy creek for a spell. When turning off of the Greys up Murphy the Greys was still clear. Way up Murphy we went, way up until we found where we had been before. Smallest creek we had fished yet. Pretty tiny, to the point you could step across it. Again rain off and on. Mostly on. We cranked up the camper and dressed up ourselves to fish. Soon we caught. Small cutties but pretty nice for the thin water. We even found huckleberries and feasted on the treats. Some of the murphy fish, The Mrs. working it, Camp for the night, With all the moisture had to make a temp cover. Worked well as duck was being cooked on the grill, Duck with cheesy fried potatoes and grilled cubanells, Again Sadie pre washing, The wet mess trying to dry, Woke up to a giant omelet the next morning. Dog tired we all have become, But once again time to move on. Some of the upper Murphy road, When we got to the Murphy Greys river junction here is what we saw. Mud coming down the Greys. Thought about putting a down payment on a retirement home:) Out towards Alpine and civilization, a shower, laundry and a few grocery's. Then heading North! BilletHead

After the Green we headed to South Cottonwood creek. This little gem is in the Wyoming Range Mountains, Bridger Teton National Forest. A drive across the valley to the South West of where we were on the Green and up into a higher range. We had found this place in 2010 when doing our cut-slam. The stretch of bottom where we will be fishing. A mix of turns, bends and beaver ponds. Small water and could be crossed about anywhere. I would say max depth of four feet? Camp for that night, Starting a trend of wet weather. Rain, mist and low hanging clouds. Low hanging clouds? Not really I would say we were in the clouds. If it was dryer we would of wet waded but with the dampness we would stay dryer in waders. I got this fish in a beaver pond. We caught cutthroat and brookies. More cutthroat though. Notice the pink and purple hopper? A trend for the wife that continued to pay off. Another pink hopper hook up. She is kicking my rear in big fish, The fish of the day, Swimming off. Dinner for the day of stuffed cubanells, dessert of blackberry crisp. Sadie prewashing dishes. Did I tell you how spoiled I am? What better place for a pedicure? Next morning fishing like the day before. Beaver pond sneak up. Hard to see but in the first one you can see the take. Second one a swirl about to be landed. We will be swimming off to the next spot soon, BilletHead

Ok here we go, This is going to be picture heavy, really heavy so I will split up the places we went. Going to start with the upper Green and Cottonwood creek. Started off at home and left about five PM on a Friday night. Drove until we pooped out and took a three hour power nap in Lexington NE. then back on the road until we made it to a campground in Boulder WY just South of Pinedale. Got showers, a good meal and a much needed nights rest. Up early and to Pinedale for stuff and then to the Green River. We have in the past fished the Eastern side of the river but I had been studying the West side roads on google maps. Specifically a bend in the river where there is a blue hole. What we might call a bend in the river where during high water it makes a deep spot. Then also a creek that dumps in the same area called Tosi creek. It I was told had brookies in it. Small but plentiful. We took the West road where a bridge crossed the Green and up we went. Found Tosi and drove up it until a parking spot was found. As soon as we stopped a cloud of mosquitos formed around the truck cab. Pat cracked the window and they began to funnel in! We started swatting. I got out to take a wiz and walked a ways from the truck skeeters in tow. Got job done and got back in the truck with my bride giggling. We drove a bit more looking for another access. The road got farther away from the creek so we turned around and decided to bug dope up and try the first spot. When we got back we seen another fisherman had got there and was swatting as he got out. We gave up on Tosi and went to the blue hole bend on the Green. Got there and rigged up. This is in a slower swampy bendy meadow scene. No real riffles, deeper water shallow water fast and slow current. We sprayed on bug dope and had a breeze. Hopper looking stuff but I ran a dropper with my hopper. I was up and down here and there but Mrs. BilletHead was glued on one spot. She had put on a pink hopper. She thinks pink all the time. Soon she was squealing with delight and I seen her rod bend, I could not believe it. Again first fish and biggest of the day, We fished more without more catching although I really studied the blue hole corner and thought next time we bring out the kayaks then we will fish the large deep blue corner. We then dropped out and headed for the Warren bridge access. When you get off the highway onto the dirt road There are twelve camping spots on the river spread out. Room for one to several campers per spot. We drove towards the end where we had camped a couple of years ago. Fished there the rest of the day only catching some smaller rainbows. River kind of high for wading, definitely no crossing. High enough a flotilla of rafts fishing all afternoon. Camped there for the night. Chief cook and bottle washer, Dinner being cooked, Just because you are camping doesn't mean you cannot eat good. Steak, mashed taters, salad and wine in a paper cup! Lots of bugs out, One for Phil Got to let my fingers rest and then off to South Cottonwood Creek, BilletHead

Nice!

We are pretty beat up and recovering right now. Greasy and Ozark trout fisher it helps to have a fly fishing wife. It's going to be picture heavy! BilletHead

Mrs. BilletHead and I just got back late last night from two weeks in Wyoming. I will be posting in the West fishing forum in a day or two for those who might be interested in a trip report. Fished 11 days straight, BilletHead

Mike, Sorry for a late response. Been gone off grid for two weeks. I usually smoke long enough to soften the peppers to the limp side. Depending on temp. Could take an hour to four or more. BilletHead

Good luck Scott. Hope they let you off to shoot a few ducks:) Mrs. Billethead made a job change a year and a half ago. This was after 23 years at her last job. She is so happy and you know how it is. If your better half is happy everyone is happy! BilletHead

Yes for sure a nice gadget. May have to get one of them next season. BilletHead

What can we do with all these peppers? Smoke them for a treat. I run the smoker about 220 degrees with hickory. Time will vary to your specifications or desired doneness. We like ours soft but pliable. When you are ready to use split and scrape our membrane and seeds if you want a milder pepper. We also vacuum seal and freeze. These give chili and anything you might use peppers an added flavor. A slice or two on a sandwich too and nachos, yes! Photos of just picked, in the smoker and done. Jalapenos and chili peppers today. I have a friend in St. Louis that does habaneros and other hotter peppers until done and then puts them in the dehydrator to get totally dry. Then he grinds them into a dust. Sprinkles it on all sorts of foods. Says it is flavorful and not too hot. Disclaimer I have not tried it so proceed with that with caution. BilletHead

You just can't beat a bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich when the weather is hot. Today we had that and something else that helps beat the heat. What a treat for sure. Found the recipe on Chi Wulff's site. http://chiwulff.com/2014/07/25/chi-wulffs-friday-feast-25-july-caprese-salad-with-a-balsamic-reduction/ Had the fresh tomatoes, fresh rosemary and fresh basil from the garden. Wal-Mart had the rest. A nice ice cold crispy cubanelle too.This will be a staple for summer in the BilletHead household. The reduction that was left will top my next salad. BilletHead

Looking good there Scott. We popped open one of the jars of peppers/cauliflower/ carrots we canned. Yummy. you just can't beat putting it up your self. Remember there is sauce waiting up here for you. Maybe duck season? BilletHead

Nice haul Rainbow. We are getting many tomatoes now. Ness if it makes you feel any better we are getting the yellow crud on a few plants now. If there is any good to it the fruit is large and even if the plant dies we will get the tomatoes on them. Peering into the yum-yum peppers I spied this tree or should I say pepper frog? Got some mature yum-yum's today, Todays haul, Then we went to the unruly blackberry patch and picked. On another note the Mrs. made a blackberry crisp a couple of nights ago. I've had many cherry, apple pear and peach ones but this was a first with blackberries. A very tasty result, BilletHead

Outstanding! And it's a keeper too Mr. and Mrs. BilletHead

Oh my that looks good RPS. I will have to try that on waterfowl. Did you happen to find wings on sale? Man I remember when they were cheap. Many times we have went looking for wings and ended up buying thighs. It drives me nuts to give the price they ask for wings! Thanks for posting it looks like an epicurean delight. BilletHead

TrophyFishR, The deer above are not infected. Just the cycle of the tick here and I am sure it is like that everywhere. We see the one that has the droopy ear daily. She has twin fawns this year. None of the deer above are carrying ticks like they did this Spring. BilletHead

Busy this morning reaping benefits. Picked peppers to can, Sliced them and added onions, cauliflower, and carrots into sterilized jars, Added the vinegar salt water mix, Lid and screw cap attached as we waited for the tell tale ping of the final seal. Mrs. BilletHead did the freezer salsa thing too. Seems to stay more solid and not turn to mush freezing, Did all this and made a batch of BBQ sauce. We feel accomplished, BilletHead

Good idea Scott. May try it on a few. I let them get out of hand before I knew it. The stems are so large they will not give. I will get a photo of cane diameter, BilletHead

Nice RPS looks yummy. Are those tater tots? If so guilty pleasure, BilletHead

Got a problem, well not a bad thing but some unruly blackberry canes. We are limited in space for our blackberries. Have three rows about ten foot long. Planted a year ago this Spring. Have had a super harvest this year but the new vines without fruit that will produce next season have went bonkers. Growing tall with bases and lower stems like saplings. Right now it is like picking in a tunnel. So what do I do with the big stalks? I realize if I get some to turn down into the ground to re root for more plants in the future. They will not bend downward in to much of and angle without breaking. I have turned some kind of and wound them back into the cattle panels. Here is my idea. I think at the season end when they loose some leaves I will attach posts on each row end up higher from existing metal fence posts. Again I will attach panels, shorter 3 foot tall on top of existing panels. Keep the shoots growing upward and onward. Can you imagine picking blackberries off of a ladder? I can! Some of the vines are ten foot long, BilletHead

Nice looking tomatoes everyone. We are getting lots of smaller ones right now. Am wanting some of these behemoths to ripen though, Peppers still coming on like crazy. Some cubanelles and hot bananas pictured. Bookoos jalapenos and chilies too ready. Sweet yum-yum peppers thick but not ripe yet. I think I will do some pickling soon or sooner! The try at summer lettuce might work. Package said this variety (baby romaine) would grow spring, summer and fall. Got four tubs growing and not too good of a stand in them. We will see if it will grow with the upcoming high temps. Ness, remember where you thought wild gooseberries might not ripen and stay greenish? Here is some turning. I ate a few and they do turn pretty sweet. They aren't wormy or maybe I don't know what worms taste like? BilletHead

Been pretty quiet here since Scott posted his good looking walleye meal so lets spice things up a bit. Took some goose breast, yea I know waterfowl again. Sliced it thin on the bias. We had some Canadian steak seasoning and I put it into the coffee grinder and gave it a whirrrrrr until it had turned to a fine powder. This I dusted the sliced goose with. Heated up the grill and tossed the goose into the grill basket. Grilled until the goose was rare to medium rare. Sat meat aside and then grilled veggies. Green, purple, red orange and yellow peppers. Some onions and chilies too. Cooked these veggies hot and soft on the edges but still crunchy. Put the meat with the veggies and heated again on the stove. Put the mix into flour tortillas with a bit of sour cream and topped with some smoked sharp cheddar that I had smoked this morning. Awesome good. BilletHead

Thank you woodman. This is one of the best threads I have ever viewed. You and your trailer are the bomb! BilletHead

Sounds good Mr. Freezer. Mrs. BilletHead makes a lime bases sauce for our fish tacos. BilletHead

Looks to me like they have dead in a bucket of water or on ice for a while causing the fading. I'm with Mr. Smith on this one, BilletHead