BilletHead

Thanks for the report Griz! Fish Fry in GrizVegas this weekend I am betting , BilletHead

Curtise thought it may be time to make the run West again yesterday, Glad we did before this next front. Water temp cooler than last trip. 48 to 50 is what we found. Air Temp at launch 44 but stiff South Winds created 67 by the time we quit. Ran up the Spring and tried first to fish the faster water. A tad higher and faster than last trip too. I started with the fly rod and Curt flicker minnow crank. No love for the BilletHead there but Curt got one. I put the fly rod down and rigged up a flicker. We traveled up to some slower water working a transition area from mud bank to rock bank. Water depth tapering to approx. 7 foot deep. We began to work that shore and both started picking up more whites. Curt said we can catch these on the fly and grabbed my rigged fly rod. He then caught two back to back and I said that was enough of that give me my rod back . He than rigged his and soon it was on. We began to put the hurt to the fish in that stretch . If I would guess a 50 yard long piece of bank. We were the first to work it but soon we pulled in a crowd of more boats. Friendly bunch of folks. Every one going by said we had it figured out. Some asking questions about what are you using? What is a Clouser? Boy that looks like fun with a fly rod. We did our best showing our flies and how we were doing it. We did move up a ways further without a hit and finished off our day back at the hot spot. Did talk to a local that said last weekend in the higher dingier water that was four feet higher he had caught a hundred sows in and around the same area. Also told us the water temp had made 60 degrees at the warmest before the cold fronts. Clouser colors that worked. Standard pink over white and I caught some on chartreuse over orange. Mine were 2 to 2.5 inches in length tied on #4 B10s. Curts looked the same sized. Sink tip lines. mine was a bit more aggressive than Curts and I lost three or four Clousers to the rocks and wood on the bottom. We caught fish from 2 to 7 foot deep. We both kept a few to eat and released the rest. Between the two of us numbered catches totals in the high 50s. A couple bonus fish. A buffalo and yes it wouldn't be a day complete if I did not catch a drum. Whites were a mix of males and females fat with egg laden bellies. I got three pictures to post and I know Curt has some if we can get him to post or send to me to post, Fun time for sure. BilletHead This post has been promoted to an article

You know i never said you did. I don't like what you are seeing either. I need to see it myself but don't want to as it could be a bad thing happening. It needs to be figured out for sure, BilletHead

You may even like it, no peas allowed. I kind of figured that the glands dried up when he realized that a few cilantro leaves were involved but not needed, BilletHead

There you go wrench a possible smoking gun. BilletHead

Today more use for yesterdays extra mole, Enchiladas. Chopped some onion and minced garlic. Onion first into a hot skillet with a spoonful of goose fat. Softened to a light brown and in went the garlic for a minute or two. Then in went a pound and a half of ground venison that had been seasoned with KC steak seasoning and some ground cumin. Cooked this up and put on the porch to cool. As this was cooling grated some sharp cheddar cheese. Planned on using corn tortillas. We know they like to crumble. Typically to soften they are fried for three or four seconds in hot oil. I make enough of a mess cooking while the Mrs. is at work so I looked for alternatives. Struck pay dirt finding if you give both sides of the tortilla a shot of cooking spray and place on a pan in 350 oven for five to seven minutes. So this going on brought in the cool cooked meat and added the shredded cheese and mixed it up well. Out came the tortillas and got me an assembly line going. Same sheet I heated the tortillas was my work station. Put a spoonful of mole and slathered the tortilla on both sides. Spooned in some of the meat and cheese. Rolled this all up and put seam side down in a pan where I had already spread a layer of mole. Repeated another eleven times. Topped off with more cheese, Still had some ingredients left. Oh what shall I do? Make a couple for now . Heated me up a couple more tortillas and wrapped them up the same way. Popped into a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes. Plated them up, A smear of sour cream, a few snips of cilantro and some chives from the BilletHead garden. The feasting commenced. Hot dang it is and was good. Mrs. BilletHead will be very, very happy with me when she gets home from work. Even more happy if I clean up the mess I made . Still have mole that I will freeze up for another time, BilletHead

Nice! Fishing partner for life right there . BilletHead

Sounds like you have now opened a shooting gallery. I could send you Mrs. BilletHead's collection of teddy bears for prizes . BilletHead

Trout? Brown Trout? Guilty as charged! Ok just in some places. In New York they are being killed where they have displaced native brook trout. Same in California displacing native golden trout. Pheasants? I think you dodged a bullet on that one Ness . Good move buddy, BilletHead

Lets let the poor Hybrid debate rest for a minute, just temporary I am sure, What have we shared with the world that they no longer want? Google is my friend . Red-eared sliders. You all remember them as dime store pets. American Lobster Bullfrog Gray Squirrel Raccoon Mink Louisiana Crawfish Largemouth Bass Rosy Wolf Snail Colorado Potato Beetle

.....Poison oak and ivy......Brown recluse spiders...........armadillos . Lets export them to those who think they will be beneficial to their respective ecosystems. BilletHead

Lets bring this up to some one. I will here on my end. BilletHead

May be a timing thing Mike. Spawning at different times. I know Whites are the first up, I see very few Hybrids at the same time I catch my spawning whites. I do know it takes just one though to make it happen. I have never seen what Wrench sees in my area. All other fishermen I have asked have not noticed either. So this being said it is the same when I catch my hybrids I only seen one or two whites at that same time over many, many years, BilletHead

Again Wrench is there a problem? Yu are the only one that I have heard this from and I have been asking around. Will continue as I want an answer too.

I get that too and couldn't agree more. Man has messed up before and we need answers if there is a problem, BilletHead

Ok if this is all true show me. Better than that if it you are so passionate about it you should do the right thing. Be a Dana Scully or Fox Mulder and show us the truth is out there. Be a whistle blower and show us the conspiracy you speak of. I gave you a fictitious couple of characters here but there are plenty of real whistle blowers who have shown us the truth on things. I need to be shown to believe. I read, I study and I ask questions. I am not a scientist and don't pretend to be. Are you by any chance wearing a tin foil hat and have you been to area 51? Been abducted yet? I am not disbelieving you I want to know too and need again I say to be shown. I Like my hybrids like MoCarp likes his carp and you like your white bass. Guess we are more alike that we think . "The Truth Is Out There " Someone needs to find it before you get mad at me, BilletHead

You who are you talking about Wrench? Don't know about mustard greens but the Bradford Pear is proliferating at an alarming rate. If left unchecked they take over fields and pastures and just like other invasive things displace native ones. I can show you places that they have taken over. Like I said before multiflora rose, secrisa lespedeza and Autumn Olive have done that. Can't get enough of those hybrid stripers though . Actually it would be nice if they were as thick as carp! BilletHead

Literally loved the Mole Ness. I found myself when in the kitchen after eating and remaining mole cooling taking it in by the spoonful. Making it was a trip too. The aroma as I blistered the peppers in a hot cast iron skillet, then the seeds and spices individually in the skillet. Then all the toasted spices and nuts spun up together in a coffee grinder before pitching into the blended up chilies and chicken broth. We had to make a couple of substitutions. Missing one type of chili but I looked it up and could sub one and a half of each of two we did have. No straight Mexican chocolate so we opted for 86% cacao. Not really sure the % in Mexican chocolate. You can be sure I will have that and the correct chocolate next time We are in Springfield and hit the Latino market. BilletHead

Again I would like proof friend. Just like proof positive you have threadfin shad in LOZ. . You are the one that says they are in there and hybrids are messing things up. Can you back this? If you can prove it to me I will believe you. What is it they say? Seeing is believing? Proof positive please. BilletHead

Hank's turkey Mole, Pretty complex and time consuming making the mole but well worth the effort. Four different varieties of dried chilies toasted and rehydrated plus other spices, seeds raisins, bittersweet chocolate, onions, garlic, charred tomatoes and tomatillos are just some of the stuff in it. Blender was running overtime. Then a salted half of a wild turkey breast put in it and simmered until a internal temp of 150, yes 150 pink and with a slight blush. Wild game taken care of, cleaned properly unlike domestic fowl does not need to be cooked to death. This temp and cooking in the mole produced a moist tender piece of meat. You could cut it with a fork except for where the leaders and wing butts met, Now to the funny part. Can you believe the BilletHead's have never eaten grits? Wanting to pair something in the theme of this way, way south of the border dish we looked up what may work and ended up doing creamy cheese grits with chilies. Then some bean greens too , Totally amazed at this meal. Oodles and gobs of mole left to freeze and make enchiladas with later. For Terrierman " I would of been a good Mexican" , BilletHead

I said something we cannot live with . Catch them and eat them, BilletHead

That is a fact Wrench, No conspiracy just another human mistake. Same thing happened way back with multiflora rose and sericea (bad spell there) lespedeza . More recently Autumn olive. The Bradford pear was also pushed by arborists for planting in yards especially under and around power lines. The company I worked for way back when pushed them too. Only grew supposedly so tall. You can add these things to other invasive species like carp to mans stupid mistakes thinking all would be ok. I just hope someday the brains that id things such as this do not make the ultimate mistake we cannot live with, BilletHead

Thanks! BilletHead

Just for grins I tried to edit a post. Deleted missing photos and tried to reload them to insert back into original post. While trying to upload the three photos got an error on each one. Just a bit more FYI incase it is needed in the scheme of things, BilletHead

At times. I tie for the Mrs. also but I am the demise of many, many more than she will ever loose. Rocks under water and wood under and over the water eat them quick. Probably an over zealous strip set too . BilletHead