BilletHead

I am almost afraid of what he might say . Forgot to mention Chief brought lunch too. I don't want anyone to think also I am against skin viewing either but in this capacity it was a mess. This morning my eyes feel better! BilletHead

Not really sure where to post this but here it is. See there is content on canoe and kayak, fishing with fly rods and conventional gear, smallmouth and panfish, streams,wildlife viewing and photography, food etc. so it fits many places. Chief had been wanting to take us on a float on one of his favorite streams. I have not caught but a handful of small mouth and rock bass on the fly and Mrs. BilletHead none of these at all. Chief made the call and tempted us with a float and have fish fry on the river. Promised us that eight to ten inch rare Neosho small mouth were real good fried up . When we got the shuttle figured up I asked where the oil and fry pan was. Oh yea I forgot that. See no one wants to fish with me because they think I am a jerk so I have to fib to them to get fishing partners he said, believe what you want with this remark because most of you have made an opinion on the chief I say! We think he is a pretty nice guy and if you ever get an invite you had better go and have some fun. We started pretty early and floated, watched critters and fished. Mrs. BilletHead caught her firsts of small mouth and rock bass /goggleye. We will share our pictures and Chief can share his if he wants to. Pat gives her permission even if it embarrasses her. Actually she and I did pretty well in our not so speedy and maneuverable yaks. I will narrate as we go on our pictures. The float was quiet at first but as it warmed up the hatch started. Good grief it got crazy and we were told this was nothing. We are not used to this kind of stuff at all. Not only was there a rented canoe hatch but rental kayaks and anything else that could be floated in. Plus a hatch of lawn chairs in the waters edge with some pretty fried/ well done burnt to a crisp well inebriated folks that could cuss up a storm. We laughed pretty hard at times people watching. There were tattoos in places on ladies that are forever burned into my corneas that I may never get out of my mind. I am sure on some of these women at one time they were itty bitty petite tattoos but are now rather large, faded stretched out destroyed artwork. Too much skin exposed on some people. You would round a bend and see on a gravel bar a mini city had been formed. Most in the water taking their weekly bath maybe? All seemed to be having a good time which is what we all wanted to do. Ok here we go with some pictures, Mrs. BilletHead with her first fly caught smallie and rock bass, Her laying out some casts and floating, They we spied an empty kayak and no Mrs. BilletHead A getaway and a retreve, More general floating stuff, Some wildlife, geese and the largest softshell I have ever seen. Big as a trashcan lid, BilletHead even caught one. Doesn't look like it but it did measure sixteen inches. Now Chief caught many fish too but he hid when it came to photo taking We did catch him going after a hung up bait, So this is where I will up him in his own fishing world one time. He was casting over this large jam and he did catch fish there but hung up too. I waited until he got done messing around. Paddled down to the end of this jam and into it from the bottom up to the hot spot. No hang ups for me and three landed in there on the fly and missed three more. It was like looking into and aquarium. I would catch one and have three more try to take the fly from the one I had on the line, way cool I thought. Fun time and fishing trip with another OAF member. Hope to do more. Where are you Chief? Your turn to tell lies about the BilletHead's, BilletHead

Have not JD but it is a cheap peace of mind having it there. If I happen to be gone I know I will still have a good wife to come home to. That lady is not replaceable. Every thing else is. BilletHead

I knew I could count on a scientist to get me some answers. Got any native suggestions.

It could be John, I thought it was a vetch as it has the same type of head as what MODOT plants on steep banks. Do you think it will work? Is it invasive? Is it native? Guess I should look it up huh? . BilletHead

You got it, BilletHead

Yes JD there are some future plans for other shelter accessories. Got to leave room for us and the dog also . Will be extra watering as the top will dry out pretty quick I think. BilletHead

What can I say? The BilletHead needs a project or hobby going all the time. This was a project and kind of a hobby and yes garden related. We got a concrete storm shelter put in a few years back thanks to a tax refund. I think I posted the paint job we did on it. Well still not happy I told Mrs. BilletHead of my plan. I always get a really and what do you think it will look like? Most projects I do turn out pretty well. First thing I did was clean it out and build a bench. We had a couple of chairs in there just in case we needed to use it. No real seal around the door and a couple of mice made it in, died and dried up. Got that taken care of and figured out a seal. took care of future bugs, spiders and mice. Made a bench with storage underneath. Got a case of water in the box. The 2x4s you see in the upright have a cross member above them where I will hang this years harvest of wild garlic. Now to the outside . Using treated decking boards I built what is now a sod roof. Got some sweet potato vine in there so it will be neat when it fills in and drapes over the sides. Some ground cover in there too. This will be an annual flower bed from here on out. Then the sides were built all the way around and then a cover for the door. There is no point of attachment made into the concrete shelter or door to compromise its integrity. Looks like a sod house kind of. Now that it is done Mrs. BilletHead says I don't know what i question you .I would say this may be one of a kind but then again I have been told I am one of a kind. Don't know if that is a good remark but I will take it. There will still be some dirt work around it and then I will try a year round ground cover. Thinking a crown vetch. It is tolerant of dry weather. The Department of transportation plants it on roadsides. Mostly on off and on ramps. I have found some along some dirt roads that is a bright yellow. About time for a digging wild flower trip, BilletHead

Well done and good complete report. Thank you, BilletHead

Well done you two and we all know you would of not wanted it any other way Ronnie! Totally Awesome, BilletHead

Curtisce invited the BilletHead for a morning of Stockton fishing. Got launched pretty early near the State Park. Proceeded to hit some places throwing the jig and tiny worm. More recently called the Ned rig . We both caught bass of assorted sizes. Smallmouth, spots and the green stinkin type. The BilletHead got bored with this and put on a small crankbait. Last trip Curtisce had caught some walleye on the Ned pretty shallow and I thought what the heck. I had on the shad rap SR5 size in bluegill. Several casts later I pulled in a walleye. Curt perked up, then I caught another and he really perked up! Thinking they may be a bit deeper I put on a SR7, same color and caught again. Soon Curt put on a flicker shad and caught one. I changed again to a MR7 minnow rap in perch color. It worked too. Cranks caught a few bass also. All said and done we had landed six walleye and numerous bass species. Three walleye went to dinner with the BilletHead. Missed some bites and lost next to the boat. Caught the eyes on the transition from a long sloping bank next to a steep bank. Get this though fellows. They came from four foot deep to eight foot deep. Curt did catch some bass pretty shallow but most of them were deeper that the walleye. There you all go, now get you some . Sorry no photos today, BilletHead

Dang Griz, Now i want to go for a walk in the tick infested woods! http://foragedfoodie.blogspot.com/2014/05/dryads-saddle-mushroom-teriyaki.html http://foragerchef.com/dryad-saddle-ramen/ Never tried one but will be looking for a tender one. BilletHead

You and I both know John that we both let the majority of our catches go. We all seem to fish in stages or mature in stages in our fishing lives. Some people get stuck in one stage while others even skip stages. When beginning as a first time fisherman it was man I just want to catch one fish! Then it was wouldn't it be nice to catch a limit. That soon changed as I got better to catch a limit of the target species and have that possession limit in the freezer. Then back to catch a limit once and awhile. I soon matured to it is the process of how I try to catch that fish and how much I enjoy that. Eat some off and on and be satisfied. I for one would rather catch a four inch native Columbia river redband rainbow trout in the far North West Montana that anything. Just like you do a rare species of minnow in it's natural environment. I say do it if it trips your trigger but don't belittle those who do what they like. I see this so much nowadays. Would I clean the fish you and Jesters caught that time of the morning? Big no way! I like my sleep! Oh by the way buddy, How many minnows does it take to make a one person meal? I see on naked and afraid it only takes a few . Keeping this food related we had frozen chocolate peanut butter cup pie for dessert , BilletHead

Just like RPS did a few days back Mrs. BilletHead and I went fishing and decided to invite fish home for a meal. Haters get ready we will be grilling black Bass ! Trucked over to our favorite irrigation lake and launched the kayaks into the pretty stiff breeze fly rods in hand. We fished the same section of shore line Curtisce and I did yesterday but with more wind today. We even had white caps forming before we quit and took a few splashes over the side of the yaks. We caught a bunch and I strung up the first four I landed. Weighed the stringer and the four totaled fourteen pounds. I assure you we even threw bigger fish back during our outing. The owner keeps fish they catch and encourages us to do the same. We will keep fish maybe twice a fishing season. Filleted the four of them two will be todays meal and two with be vacuum sealed for another time. This will be cooked over charcoal and wood in a basket. A touch of S&P olive oil and rosemary. Throw the basket on the grill, When the dripping oil flares up put on the lid and let it smoke. As the translucent meat begins to turn opaque flip the meat and repeat, Does not take long. Side of fingerling boiled potatoes with a dab of butter on them, a small side salad and some toasted bread. Wanted it simple as the star is the grilled fish. . The thicker the fish fillet is the better it is. For those of you that claim bass does not taste good you just do not know how to cook fish. I will stand by this. Some bread and fry thin crappie to where you are eating and tasting nothing but the fried batter. You eat fish to taste fish not breading. I have also done this with hybrids and walleye. We cooked some braised squirrel aurora for a couple evening meals when the Mrs. gets home late, BilletHead

The BilletHead and forum member Curtisce made a plan to hit a pond or two. We started out at a lake/big pond that the duck club Curt belongs to leases. I brought up the BilletHead's kayaks for us to use. Curt gained permission to use Pat's with the pretty flower sticker on it . Got launched there and it was early enough we thought for a top water bite. We both tied on a BilletHead fry and went to work. Nadda, nothing, zilch and I mean nothing. Funny thing was we did not even see any fish even dimpling the surface? Strange as Curt said some of the guys have caught fish there in the past. So it was a drive to the BilletHeadville area for pond number two try. We ended up at our favorite spot of course. We both started again with the fry but by then the sun was way up and bright. Curt had one boil in the shade of the flooded shelter on the fry but no hook up. I finally paddled over to one spot and tied on an articulated worm and it was game on for me. Four fish in four casts. We than began to work the fish over on the worm and purple bouface. I even used a baitfish pattern and caught a couple too. Best spots were along the pond dam where the wind was stirring up the water. Fish were from a foot deep to six or more feet deep. All of my fish came on the fly rod but someone took out his bait caster and caught some of his fish on it. There was one section of the dam where we caught twenty between us in a fifteen yard stretch of bank. We caught fish that were close to four pounds and out average was two and a half to three pounds. I got pretty warm and toasty eared and paddled back to the truck after I clicked my twenty-second fish. Told Curt to keep fishing for awhile while I loaded my stuff and drank some power aide and not hurry back. As I was doing this he was still pulling fish in. Curt padded over and we loaded up. He asked how many I had clicked. I said 22 and he responded that I had caught more than that and had been forgetting to click. He said he had 23 on his counter. It was after one and we were getting hungry. Went to town and hit burger king where Curt picked up the tab. Good times with a good friend. Yep another friend met here on OAF . Some photos to share with you guys and gals, BilletHead

More good shots of yours and Jesters trip. Well done fellows. John what time of the evening or wee hours of the morning was that last picture with the sucker taken? Looks like you were ready to go to sleep BilletHead

BilletHead had a birthday last week. The Mrs. asked what I wanted, nothing as usual until I seen this. She made it today. As Ness would say "Dang" Pretty tasty. Frozen Peanut Cup Pie, Those are not peanuts on the top they are cashews ! https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/frozen-peanut-butter-cup-pie/ BilletHead

Yes good times the other evening. Still enjoying the trade goods. Farm fresh eggs and strawberry jam, BilletHead

Well done gentlemen and good reports throughout your trip Jesters, BilletHead

Oh my gosh this was good. Poblano mushroom tacos with cilantro yogurt sauce, https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/poblano-mushroom-tacos-with-cilantro-yogurt-sauce/ Guess today will be totally meatless, BilletHead

That is really neat John, If we had not been visiting about this by text the other day I would of thought you were talking about the pretty girls in the neighborhood. Get yourself a predator mouth blown call, hide in your bushes and give it squeal. Have camera ready. I bet they will literally run you over. Better yet have your g-friend the school marm take the pictures for us all to enjoy IT WOULD BE EPIC Better yet catch one in a dip net DOUBLE EPIC BilletHead

Yes she had ,but was dried up. Had one other old female in the fox mix and the other two were young males, young enough their nuts had not dropped yet. Only lost one front leg where the explosive little round took it out. BilletHead

At least they still have the general form of a pea and not baby food or worse baby poop. The dish looks tasty, BilletHead

I am more impressed with the creative use of binder clips . BilletHead

Me too Rolan, It I happening to me on using Firefox browser. When viewing OAF I know use another browser and it works fine, BilletHead