BilletHead

Way to go Seth! As Marcus said we are now in the penalty box awaiting the second week, BilletHead

Good luck and will be waiting to hear your adventures on your well deserved time off. Sounds like you have earned it. Remember when that little black puck is heading for your head a hundred miles an hour don't smile either smack it down or duck . BilletHead

Hey Marcus good one, you must be still skating around the rink? Still have all your teeth? Have you been out yet or going this weekend? BilletHead

Nice Drew! I got to get back to the coast sometime. BilletHead

Let me drag you through the mud and briars Ness. Includes big storms and wind. Four of five years and that will be your apprenticeship. After that they start dying more regular. Forty years and you are qualified and deserve a full journeyman card . BilletHead

About time you participated stranger, BilletHead

She thinks I know what I am doing but I have her fooled I am just a lucky guide, We went back behind the house and set up along a field edge. I told her I was hoping the birds were in the timber edge roosting and if so they would pitch out in front of us. If not we would head to where we hear gobbling and reset up. As the dawn began to break in the field the Mrs. spots a skunk. Here it came, turkeys began to talk in the trees close and I mean close like fifty yards. Toms and hens both. The skunk came to four yards and the Mrs. Says what are we going to do, nothing honey he will go by and he did. Three gobblers left the trees and landed in her face. I must admit I was surprised as I did not put these birds to roost last evening. I am not a good turkey hunter although some would think so. We are fortunate we have lived here many years and know everything that goes on around here. Sleep on the screened in porch winter and Spring, Can hear birds and know where they frequent. Ten inch beard and spurs just over the one inch mark on the rule, A lightweight compared to my bird yesterday and much easier to clean, Yes I know the BilletHead's suck BilletHead

We will be thinking and praying for her Lee, BilletHead

Thanks Lee, Ha JD! Funny you should say that. The farm where I shot him is managed for deer. The Farmer who farms it leaves standing crops for the landowner so the deer have his share to winter on. Last years crop was corn. Farmer is a friend of mine. He claims turkey are rougher on crops than the deer are. I had never thought of this but he says they will jump and rake the ears off of the stalks. I have never witnessed this. AND this was the toughest bird I have ever skinned. It will be tasty for sure but tough! Good eyes John, Yep right under the dogwood tree too. Did not carry the camera to the field this morning. Should of staged the photo better. Mrs. BilletHead was bummed when the pounding rain took the petals off the blooming flowers. Here is to hoping I can get her on a bird in the AM on her day off. At least it should not be storming. Once I had her out and we got caught along way from the house in a bad thunderstorm. It scared us both. I made us separate a hundred yards and I carried the shotgun home. We were looked like wet rats when we got home. Going to share another thing. Where I shot this bird this morning is near and dear to the Mrs. and I. Eleven years ago during turkey season is when Pat was told she had cancer. A couple of days later we were in this same spot. I called her a bird. I told her to take the shot, she did not, told her again and still she did not fire. Bird finally walked off. I looked at her and she had tears in her eyes. Asked her what was wrong and why did she not shoot. She said I was afraid to shoot thinking it would jar her and make her cancer spread. We both began to cry. Actually we look back on that as a fond memory now she is cancer free. I again tear up thinking of this. BilletHead

One down, 8:30 0n day one. Ten inch beard, 7/8 inch spurs. My largest weight bird I have taken, BilletHead

I figured you were eating tomatoes already? Please excuse me I have to clean a wild turkey . BilletHead

Always wanted a rain barrel, So we ordered one and got it installed. Where we put it water drains from approx 1/4 of the house roof. Had an inch and a quarter of rain and this morning the barrel is full. Sixty gallons. We have it close to the garden pond. We will use this big time watering and topping off the pond due to evaporation. Do not know why it took us this long to get one. May get another. So we are now beyond the last day of the average killing frost in mid west Missouri. How many of you all have tomatoes and pepper plants out ? I think I will start putting them into the ground today. BilletHead

Thanks for the heads up Tho1mas! Mrs. BilletHead got a feeder up and just like that her first hummer of the season. Got to get a 25 lb bag of sugar to get started, BilletHead

Well the best way I can explain is it is a bit more fishy tasting. More like sea or ocean type fish. Everyone rants and raves about the taste of crappie. It is good and we like it but it is the most tasteless of fresh water fish. The thin fillets are coated to death and that is what you taste. White bass have along the skin fatty red layer. You need to trim that off. You are left with great tasting fish, with some fish flavor. The meat also has some texture that flakes in chunks. Best eaten as soon as you can. If it is frozen too long it gets stronger. If I get into more after turkey season I will fillet and vacuum seal you a package. BilletHead

Yep to quote Phil and Duckydoty "just another stinkin' bass" . BilletHead

White bass sauteed in olive oil and rosemary, Steamed Wild asparagus with Asiago cheese. Mashed taters. Thought we might go more healthy instead of fried, fried and more fried . BilletHead

A bottle of white, a bottle of red Perhaps a bottle of rose instead. A bottle of red, a bottle of white It all depends on your appetite I'll meet you any time you want In Ness's Restaurant. hehhehehehe BilletHead

Love a good fish face ! BilletHead

Got it and will do Jim, BilletHead

Mrs. BilletHead has learned to duck as the Clouser wizzzzzzzzs by her head , BilletHead

Fantastic! The sign of true friend. Just what will this cost me? BilletHead

You see Ronnie I like to use something Curtise doesn't have in his fly box, make him sweat some before giving him one to use. Please don't tell the Mrs. because she thinks my flies are special . BilletHead

Got to keep you and the fish guessing. I need to go on a pink over white Clouser tying spree. Oh yea white woolly Buggers too. BilletHead

Atta boy Joe D. Bet he got his invite. Hope he approves of the food BilletHead

Up early and on the road to a different river than I have reported on earlier this week. Got to the ramp to find this where you are supposed to turn around to launch boat. Two guys passed out and asleep in the front seats. Note the no parking sign behind the sedan . Walked down the ramp to see if anything needed moved to launch and found this beside the ramp next to the water. Empty beer cans and box, empty still wet chicken liver containers, discarded line and other assorted trash. If I would of had a bag and rubber gloves I would of picked up the mess and put in the open sedan window. The guys recovering the night fishing and drinking would never of known. Finally got jacked around and backed down the ramp to get boat off the trailer. Drove right past the car , parked and walked back down the ramp and neither guy even raised their heads from the slumber. I don't want to profile and be politically correct so I will let you all make your own conclusions. (MOPanfisher I am jerking your chain so please take it this way) This is what we all deal with from time to time and it is a bummer we have to do this and people are this way. End of mini rant on to fishing trip report. Reset the trip on the depth finder and ran upstream. Was surprised at the water level as the lake had the river backed up along way. Where I wanted to fish was still and no current so up farther I motored, way up. Finally found where the current was meeting the back water. Pretty tricky run there as where the waters met the water depth and current combo was hiding the rather large rocks in the river channel. Continued up until I found a shoal I would not try even in the jet. Drifted back until I had sufficient water to begin fishing. One foot to three foot depth. This ran for about a half mile until it met the backwater . I would anchor and work an area until I got snagged, pull anchor get fly, reset anchor at the snag and repeat. I did this long drift twice catching 17 whites. Some real nice and some little males. Water temp started at 62 and when I quit 65 degrees.Some of the fish, One that surpassed my fifteen inch rule, Fish Face! Sink tip line. When I lost my only pink over white Clouser I changed to the fox tail ASP streamer. They liked it too and did not snag as much. I did try in the deeper water with no love from the fish. Tried my crappie spot. No back eddy and no fish there either. Ate a steak sammich on the way back to the ramp. There was the mess I had witnessed and the sedan was gone. Checked and reset my trip log. I had been on the water five hours and fifty one minutes. Thirty mile round trip. The neat thing about this day was I never seen a soul from the time I left the ramp until I got back there. Pulled out and there were five other rigs parked and all of them went downstream. BilletHead