BilletHead

This is kind of flysmallie inspired. I wanted to start making and tying poppers. By seeing Ronnie's work it got me kick started. Started by buying kits with hard foam bodies. Glued some up and started to paint. Used a combo of brush, stippling (various dot sizes) and spray paint from cans. This gave me the results I wanted and I am getting better as I go. Tried to use a clear spray paint finish with mixed results. It did water proof the paint but not too durable. if you had a bad back cast or shot the line too far and hit a rock on the river the popper would explode and loose a chunk of foam. Trial # 2 was with epoxy. I was a bit scared with this as the only epoxy I have ever used was 5 minute. It got hot and runny. Worked fine on my epoxy minnows setting quick and I did not mind turning the vice for a couple of minutes on them. I have a epoxy motor driven driver that I had never used so here we go with 2 ton 30 minute stuff. Ok I picked a popper, mixed up a small batch, took a small disposable paint brush and give it a coat. Hey this stuff is pretty thick! Put it on the drier and let it spin. Watched the puddle of unused epoxy on my mixing paper and when it started to set up I turned the drier off. Checked out my prize, very happy with the finish. Then I started tying, making more and painting. They fish good too! I will start off with a few untied bodies. Please have patience with my photo taking:) The one that looks like a clown Mrs. BilletHead painted. Don't laugh, she will catch fish with it. More that are tied and finished Some of these are kind of ragged because they have been munched on by bass. Ok now I have been messing around with balsa and doing it all, Various stages of the process with three stages. Ok here is Pat's favorite, And one of her bass from the other day The one I was using that morning and me with a fish, I hate to say it but Saturday morning she out fished me with the pink one but Sunday morning early I got even. Ok one more of the Mrs. Her first hybrid on the fly rod, on a popper to make icing on the cake I am not sure who had the biggest smile that day her or me, POPPERS ROCK! BilletHead

You are a funny man Scott! I thought of you too. Helping some of us, you know that and not the outdoing part:) I kind of need your e-mail so I can share some of the secret outdoing stuff . BilletHead

I can count at least one I know, That guy? I think his name is Bird Watcher. Thing is he backs up what he does. Blow by blow text messages, also there are photos attached. Seen him in action once too. This same guy does it with waterfowl, rubbing it in just to get under my skin. I try and try to get one up on him. No dice! hahahahaa Have learned things from his friendship though. That is worth the harassment Expect more from me buddy I just don't know when, BilletHead

Neat photos Al. We have also fished at the campground up there a ways. One time many moons ago in 1984 me, my cousin and a friend went up bow hunting with three flat land horses. Hauled them up there in a fifth wheel trailer behind a half ton truck. Broke an axle on the truck on the way back near Ogallala Nebraska. Fun times when you are young and not so smart. Back then you could get a sportsman tag for 325 bucks. Included bear, elk, deer, small game and fishing. We parked at the end of the mill creek road and rode in a long ways scouting. We camped on a mountain top. It is amazing I am still alive from that trip. This was before I started fly fishing but I remember riding next to a pond in the timber up there where you could see trout swimming around. I also remember my cousin leaving a wool Pendleton shirt my grandpa gave me, I outgrew it and gave it to my cousin. It was hanging on a tree branch up there somewhere. We ended up hunting behind dome mountain just East of the Carbella access. Up the Joe Brown trail. Boy I love that country. Will miss it and Wyoming this August. BilletHead

oh yea, The bear jams, wolf jams, bison jams. They will get you every time. We used to rubberneck gawking in the park every trip. Love the sights there but now we just keep moving along getting to where we want to be. That would be fishing somewhere with the fly rod There will be another day Greasy B. In the meantime we will have to enjoy Al's Reports. A couple Mill Creek photos BilletHead

Sounds good Chris. We may take you up on that. Also if you have that empty seat let me know. Thanks too for the text message. I have and even half way know how to throw a cast net

Mill Creek, neat place. Been there done that. Caught a bunch. Even did well way up at the camp ground where you would think the pressure would effect the catch rate. No trip this year to Wyoming/Montana for the BilletHeads because of a job change for the Mrs. Next August though we will make the Pilgrimage again, BilletHead

Nice Chris, I wondered if you were going this weekend and was getting ready to text you. They pinched the water down more where we had been going. It is done now for sure unless we can find them deep. Thanks for the report, might have to drive up to the big lake and watch you catch, BilletHead

Neat pictures chief. We have quite a few around here. Spring storms bring them out. We called them chimney crawdads as sometimes they build quite the mound of mud upright from there holes. When the storms hit we find them crossing rural roads seeking wetter pastures to make home. I catch them and pitch into our koi pond where the channel cat and perch tear them to pieces. Baby dads try to escape and the koi suck them up like candy, BilletHead

55-200 zoom. I had it cranked up most of the time until I got so close a couple of times I had to crank it down a bit. You always hope your camera can match what your naked eye sees. How many times have we taken photos to only be disappointed to see what you really end up with? Well this time It turned out how I had hoped, BilletHead

Thanks guys, they say a blind hog finds an acorn once and a while. Thank goodness for auto settings and good light I had the camera on multiple shots and snapped 90 or so. All but one turned out. It was one where he was lose to a log and it focused on that log instead of him. These are the best I thought. I think I may even have one of him taking a great eagle crap. Digital cameras are the bomb. Just delete the junky photos and keep the cream. BilletHead

There is a place on my favorite river a friend And I fish often. There has been an eagle nest there for fifteen to twenty years. That many years back I thought it was pretty special to see it and the adults with young. Now I have been taking it for granted after seeing it there for all those years. Been there off and on for the last two weeks. Young out of the nest. Two of the young we see flying from tree to tree up an down the river. The third one not so much. HE would just stand on the bank and when the boat went by he would go up the bank into the weeds and brush and hide. One morning early he was on a brush pile in the river and looked like a wet rat of sorts. I think he is getting used to us as now he just sits there as we go by. He is flying some now. An adult is never far. Went by him this morning and he was up in a tree. On the way back I told my buddy I was going to shoot him, WITH the camera. As we came around the bend he was not to be seen. Then just up river on a gravel bar an adult took off. The little one had to be there I thought maybe with a meal. Sure enough there he was and I went to shooting. Mother or father had supplied a channel cat for breakfast. Soon he was grabbing the fish and trying to get out of our sight. He then dropped the fish and hopped up the gravel bar then stopped. He than gave us the look of leave me alone so we bid him a goodbye. I will try not to take this place for granted any more. May that nest fledge many more birds in the future, BilletHead

Lee I was doing a little of both. If they flushed I could just wait and they would land again, BilletHead

Emjay, I have a Nikon D3100. Just using the lens it came with for close photos. It is a 18-55 mm . Just shooting on auto for now as I have not tinkered with other manual settings, BilletHead

So what do I have? I know, smaller greener gooseberries............ I need to find or start some more pixwell. They are hard to beat. BilletHead

On the mystery berries they stay a dark green, do not get as large as the pixwell also. You know how the pixwell kind of gets a translucent light green/almost a yellow green? The mystery ones stay a dark opaque green like a wild berry but larger. Make sense? BilletHead

oh yea Ness I am liking the produce porn. Getting peppers out the wazoo right now and a few more cherry tomatoes. Squash too of course. Like the gooseberries too. We had a rather large pixwell bush that was like 20 years old. Pat would get up to four gallons of berries when it was in it's prime. We pick them before they start to turn purple. We lost that bush a couple of years back. I planted five to take it's place. They were all supposed to be pixwell but this year all five produced and only one was pixwell. Not sure what the others were but not extra big berries like pixwell. Pat got a gallon this season. We mainly do jam (grandmas recipe) It is good and makes a lot of people happy in the neighborhood. BilletHead

Had a bald wife at one time after her chemo. Then her hair grew back with the most beautiful streak of gray. I like, no I love it and her. Besides I am too old and spoiled to train another. BilletHead

Chief I think you only have to put weight on them if they are unattended or out of sight. From the rule book, Label Your Jug Lines Keeping track of your unanchored jug lines reduces catfish waste and jug-line litter. Unanchored jug lines in streams must be personally attended at all times. Unanchored jug lines in lakes must be personally attended at least once per hour. Anglers who cannot personally attend their jug lines can still enjoy jug fishing by using anchors. Personally attended means that the angler whose name is labeled on the jug line: •Is in visual sight of and close proximity to the jug line •Can see the jug line bob and move when a fish is hooked and can retrieve it •Can see and talk to a conservation agent checking the line •Can get the attention of or deter anyone who is tampering with the jug line BilletHead

Will be sent from Mr. and Mrs. BilletHead

Well done! Tig-Master, BilletHead

Ness thanks for the link on the sun golds. I will try them next season. The bed sides are some of the composite decking. Our Sutherlands had a bunch on clearance a couple of years back. Two sections tall with caulk between. Used some metal cross arm braces to keep them stable and staked down. BilletHead

Sounds as if mot of you all's gardens are doing pretty well except for yours Tippet. There is not anything worse that all of your hard work going to a invading critter. My labor of love is doing pretty good here. We only have one tomato turning and it is a black cherry. Kind of hidden and Mrs. BilletHead knows it is there too. I wonder who will get it first? I know If I do I will carefully slice it in half so she gets a bite And here it is. More of the same and like Ness one cherry variety is enough but I have planted a bunch, it is a good thing the Grandchildren and friends/neighbors like them too. I can stand and feast right off the vine until I get my fill. The things are loaded. Brandywines are not setting on well but the Black krim are. Peppers 5 types are getting full and have been eating the sweet bananas which have a little fire in them. Picking and eating squash too. I can also relate to the back issues. They have been in my lumbar area four times and If I have my way NO MORE! Happy gardening my green thumbed friends, BilletHead

Thanks gentlemen, My pale purple coneflowers have primed out but now the purple coneflowers are opening big time. I spied a big yellow swallowtail today. Got to capture his image too. Crazy deer flies keep nailing me on the shaved head and when I put a hat on they get mad and drill my neck. BilletHead

Cool beans Ronnie! I really needed this today. Thanks, BilletHead