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

Muuummmmm coffee is good and smokes are bad! Glad you are doing well Scott. I think we have been told our body is a temple and how we treat it makes a difference. It will be nice if we both live a long and healthy life if only to harass each other on this discussion board. I know we will get to meet in person sometime also Marty

Thanks Chief!

Shot these Great Spangled Fritillary butterflies last week. Have a bunch right now on the milkweed and pale purple cone flowers. Soon the various swallowtails and red spotted purples will show up. The fritillaries are so thick when you walk by them they fly up in a great swarm and then circle back down to feed on the flowers nectar, Billethead

Have a good time and be safe. I am sure most members will behave while you are gone and please tell Duane teal season is just over two months away, BilletHead

Yes I have been snipping the yellowish leaves. Might try the ortho max too if it gets any worse. Right now just a couple of plants, Thanks, BilletHead

Sounds nice Ness. Ours have grown with leaps and bounds. Like you lots of tomatoes on. Peppers too. Little baby squash forming. Need to post some current photos. Some of the tomato plants are getting yellowish leaves on the bottom. Is this the fungus you are speaking of? Wet here too and even in tubs with holes in the bottom some don't drain too well. What do you do for the fungus? BilletHead

Have a great Summer up there Duane and stay safe you two, BilletHead

Will do also, BilletHed

You all are most likely getting tired of seeing pond bass? After getting skunked looking for hybrids on the river yesterday I needed a fix. Yes I went back to the "pond" again this morning. Almost didn't go with the north east wind. But after the Mrs. went to work I loaded the yak and headed out. 8:30 as I slid into the water. Went to the shelter and worked it over and caught two out deeper with a slow retrieve. Crap I thought stupid easterly wind, should of known better. This place has a moss that floats and it will pack on one side and ten the other depending on the wind direction. With the crazy south gusts it was all packed on the North side this morning. I kept hearing splashes but could not figure where they were coming from. I paddled to the north side where the stillest water was. The moss flotilla as I call it was breaking up an heading South. Got a bit closer to see small fry jumping from a pursuit of larger fish. I slowly paddled closer as I knew there was only 4 to 8 inches of water where this was going on. Then I seen something I have never witnessed before. I knew what I was seeing but hard to believe. Big green bass backs and tails cruising the moss edge. I mean three to four fish in packs looking for fry and they all the sudden they would attack and run the fry up the bank and even some landed on the moss patches. This is pretty cool and I tied on a baitfish pattern. Stood up slowly and threw the fly. It hit the water, one strip and all I could see was a mouth flare open and fish on! I did this from place to place catching up to three each place until I had to move down the bank to another spot. Clearest I have ever seen this water. In certain places I watched fish chase from five or more feet to intercept the streamer. I will not, or try to not bash and east wind again. Soon the cell phone rang and It was the Mrs. going on lunch break, she says what are you doing? I tell her where I was at and she says YOU SUCK! hahahah Ok a couple of more photos. Hey this 9" bluegill likes fry too, BilletHead

That would be nice Ronnie and I would send you something. Would not quite match up though I would bet. It would catch fish I know that for sure

Ollie I have only seen the shelter dry twice and that was the last two summers when the lake was pumped low for irrigation. Ruthead, depends on the type of kayak you have. We have not fell out of ours yet and I doubt you could flip it but fall out maybe. Flysmallie Ronnie, All I thought was what a dummy I am for not doing the fly swap. What do you think I could of done with your popper? Went back and fought the wind with Mrs. BilletHead on her day off. Most of the bass were up in the moss. You know all the pictures like Al does showing bass coming out of the water for dragon flys? Well we got to see it happen in real life. The bass would come straight up clearing the water chasing dragon flys. IT was awesome to see it up close. More pictures from today. Most of the fish came from top water but a few on buggers. I lost a nice one on a black meat whistle. Came back with curls on the end of my tippet, my bad knot dumb butt kind of curl.

I have always wanted a stake out pole for our kayaks. Seen different types for sale but I am a do it your self kind of guy if I can do it. On another kayak forum I see where a guy had used a fiberglass electric fence post to do his. Here is my take on one and I used it today and I LIKE IT. Material list: 6' long by 1/2" diameter electric fence post. Had MFA farm supply order mine. $ 3.97 what a bargain. A short piece of 1" PVC, 2 slip on couplings threaded on one end and 2 threaded plugs. Silicone caulking and PVC glue. Section of small pool noodle Easy assembly. Cut yourself a handle section of the 1" PVC. Glue the couplings on each end. Silicone the threaded plugs and screw in tight. Drill one end plug so the fence post goes in tight. Silicone the hole and insert the post all the way through until it buts up to the other end of the handle. Another thing I did was to drill through the handle and insert a brass rod through the handle and fence post inside. Then took a rasp and file to round off the sides of the threaded plug to match the couplings. Took some rubber electrical tape and wrapped the handle too for a grip. Cut a section of pool noodle and slipped it up the fence post to the bottom of the handle, pushed it onto the handle some. Here are a couple of photos of it in use this morning. So much easier to use than an anchor where you can in shallow water. Use in the ring in the anchor trolley so you can adjust back and forth in wind or current to keep you fishing in the right direction. I also ran it down through the scupper holes for and aft dong the same thing where I could. If anyone wants other close up photos or has any questions ask away, BilletHead

Another pond report. This is by far my most favorite pond to fish. A little history about the place. It was a family pond with a shelter house, trees, fire pit and a nice peninsula that ran about 60 feet out from the shelter. A few years back a farmer who started working the ground built up the dam so the pond would catch more water so he use it for irrigation. This more than tripled the size of the place and flooded the shelter and killed the trees. Put approx. two foot of water in the shelter plus put the trees way out in the water. Just some of the tree trunks left and when the lake got low the owner pushed what branches were left out of the water, bummer I think but he was cleaning up things I suppose. The peninsula is still there and another hump I found out in the middle. Not much cover now for fry to hide but I think those that survive grow to nice size especially the bluegill. They have to so the bass can't eat some of them. Since farm ground surrounds the water early run off turned the place to muddy water. Now that grass has grown and the soil is not yet turned because late beans will be planted it finally cleared up. I could see one to one and a half foot deep today. Now to fishing, launched the kayak and paddled out. Early the pond was still and a large popper was tied on. Then the fiasco ensued. Bass after bass hammered the popper. Frisky too as they cleared the water many times before coming to my hand and then released. I caught several from in and around the shelter. Pretty funny getting the hit and then having to work the fish from around the posts with the fly rod. Soon the wind came up and the top water bite slowed. I changed to a streamer, then a sex dungeon to catch a few more. Sun was starting to get pretty intense, shorts and barefoot in the yak. Started to get pretty red so it was time to quit. The bass size was nice with nothing under 14" up to one over 16". I know there are some over 5lbs in there because in the last two years I have released many. I guess they were hiding today? Some pictures for you all of a few fish, the shelter and todays flys. The flys are a bit fuzzy but you get the idea, BilletHead

Went over to Mom's to do some son will you do these things morning. Took the fly rods , they go everywhere I go just in case. Long story short some koi ended up in mom's pond with her channel cat, bass and bluegill. After getting things done the Mrs. gets her rod ready and I give her a hopper to tie on. Seeing some koi working she put one in the spot and this little beauty took it. The fight was on and we got it to the bank. This is a small one compared to some of them in there. Too bad she got one in just an orange wrapper. Some of the fish are black and orange, white with black and white and orange. I let it go although mom wants some of them out. She would let someone catch or throw net them if they are wanted by anyone. They are real smart and if you get one that will be the only one caught for a while.

Good looking child you have there. Enjoy every minute with him. They grow up faster than you think. BilletHead JR. is 32 now and it seems like not too long ago we got him fishing and hunting, BilletHead

Thanks Duane. Yes Ness it is a two headed critter. If you watch them long enough one end will eat and the other poop. Problem is if you look too long you get dizzy will all the stripes! Marty

While messing in the garden this today Mrs. BilletHead spied this caterpillar. We have some of the red milkweed. Transplanted a bunch in places here at home. I know a noxious weed to many but a butterfly haven to the monarch caterpillar and to all other butterflies feeding on the flowers nectar. We also have pale purple prairie coneflowers and generic purple coneflowers. Later on this summer there will be hundreds of butterflies in swarms around here. BilletHead