Nice haul. I wish I could get on some crappie like that. Turkey hunting has sucked since Friday afternoon. I have not heard a single gobble. I setup in a field, this morning, and had a gobbler come into the field about 150 yards out and he completely ignored my decoys. He even ignored the gobbler decoy and that never fails to draw one in. Hopefully they will pick up next weekend and let me jellyhead another one.
Can't... posted land. If this is the same bird, that I have been trying to kill for 6 years, he always roosts in one area of that posted land. Not hard to locate him at all... just hard to figure out where he is going to go. He never gobbles on the ground and he is very unpredictable. I've setup on the property line and been able to see him on the roost, only to watch him fly down 50 yards away and walk off leaving my decoys behind. I've had 4 hen decoys and a gobbler decoy in the field and he will completely ignore them. I have put the gobbler decoy out and watched him try to decimate the thing before I could get a shot on him. And when I do shoot AT him (5 times so far), I miss... I've shot and seen dirt blow up all around him, only to have him fly off. I've had him anywhere from 10 yards to 50 yards and have not been able to kill him. I hope a coyote gets him soon.
Finally made it out fishing this weekend. The water is still pretty high so we didn't do as well as I wanted, but overall it was a really fun trip. I'm already planning my next trip and hope to do much better. We were fishing with crickets and worms, but the people fishing next to us were using grass shrimp and tearing them up. Anyone have a good place to find artificial grass shrimp? Since neither of us own a boat, we have to make do with fishing off the bank.
Get the smallest hooks you can find. Put pieces of hotdog on it. Grill the rest of the hotdogs you don't use as bait.
Flew to Austin on Sunday for some hog hunting, nothing huge but 60 pound hog are very good table fare, also shot 3 piglets to smoke whole. This was a 2 minute flury of a pack that ran through, fun stuff, be sure to shoot enough gun that 223 does not stop them which is why is still use the 300WSM 185 grain soft point.
I finally got out to fish Ray Roberts this weekend. We hit a few sandies using RattleTraps and some CC spoons near the Sanger area, but nothing big. Last weekend I also went out hunting at the same lake but didn't see a single rabbit or squirrel. My son fishes all the time with me, but this was his first sandbass.
Went out fishing this weekend and caught a nice mess of bream and one big surprise at the pond. Bream Spoiler buddy watching Spoiler the big surprise on my bream/perch rod Spoiler
See I always thought bluegills/bream/perch/whatever weren't good eating. So you're implying they are? Well color me stupid. Only thing I'd used them for previously was cutbait. Anyone have some good recipes for perch?
So I'm looking at getting into fly fishing. People say I need to relax more, I figure this is a good way to do it. That and I live in Colorado, pretty great place to fly fish. Any recommendations for a starter set? I'll pay more for quality and durability, however I'd to keep the price of the whole kit below 500.
You can definitely get into fly fishing for below $500. Without going into too much detail, you'll want to find a local fly shop that offers some classes. A beginner's class that teaches the fundamentals of fly casting, knot tying, and fly selection can put you way ahead of the curve and it's usually less expensive than hiring a guide for a day. For example, the beginner's class by my local Orvis endorsed shop is about $150/head. Believe me, it is $150 well spent. I would not buy a rod until I took a class, so for now, your equipment list can be pretty limited. You'll need waders and wading boots. For three-season fishing, look for a pair of stockingfoot breatheable waders and a pair of environmentally sensitive wading boots. You can go with traditional felt-bottomed boots, but areas that are fished heavily (like a lot of CO) are beginning to shy away from traditional felt bottoms. Vibram is one of the new materials that are on the good list. Look for boots and waders on clearance and don't pay retail for your waders or boots. There are deals all over the place. Red Truck Fly Fishing and Sierra Trading Post both offer great prices on core gear. I'm kind of hard to fit, and I've still spent less than $100 per pair on good, name brand waders. Tackle storage and such really is personal preference. I have a traditional fly fishing vest and I haven't replaced it because it does what it's supposed to do, though I see nifty tackle storage options all of the time that seem like a good idea. Just not good enough for me to justify the price. Rod, reel, line, etc. If you even like fly fishing a moderate amount, you will upgrade your rods and such. It's part of the game, so don't go crazy on your first rod and try a few out before you make a final decision. Rod length and line weight will be heavily determined by the kind of fishing that you do. I fish in Arkansas and North Carolina. The Arkie rivers are comparatively huge, you're throwing a lot of weight, and big sinking streamers and clunky nymphs are the order of the day. If I needed one rod for a week, a 9', fast-action 6 wt. with a strong weight forward line would be adequate. It wouldn't do everything great, but I would be able to throw pretty much everything I'd want to, save the largest streamers in my box. When in NC, I could fish for months with a 7' 6" moderate speed 3 wt. and a double taper line and never be outgunned. Comparing the 3 wt. to the 6 wt. is like comparing a bluegill rod to a marlin rod. There really is that much difference. So, figure out what you're going to fish for before you make a decision on a rod. Chances are, though, an 8'-9' 5 wt. will wind up being your rod of choice. Get a four piece. Seriously. If the shop does a great job teaching you, buy from them for your rod, reel, line, and backing unless they take the attitude that it's a $600 combo or nothing. Then go online and buy something on clearance. Don't be scared of house-brand combos for your first outfit, either. Many provide pricepoints for any angler and most aren't half bad. Finally, I'm not an Orvis fanboy by any means (I can make a better rod at my kitchen table), but the clearwater outfits are really nice, actually. I still use my 8' 6" 4 wt. pretty frequently. TFO makes good gear as well at good prices. Finally, don't give up! It takes a little while to learn what works for you. You'll figure it out, though. It's rewarding and a lot of fun.
Too many bones? Sunnies/crappies/perch (they are all classified as 'panfish' up here) are one of the easiest fish to filet and are great eating. In fact, they're probably the most eaten fish here because they're the most plentiful, are easy to catch, and are very good eating.
That's been my experience with them. I fillet catfish and bass and never have as many bones in the meat.
If you have any bones in the meat, your filet technique is probably wrong. You eat bass? Fucking gross.
I agree- bones? Never noticed them in the panfish we have here, and they are very easy to unzip with a fillet knife (and fry up with a cornmeal breading). Now if you are filleting northern pike there's some bones... The flyfishing info is timely because I was just given a fly-tying kit yesterday. Catching bluegills off a dock with bright wet flies and a light spinning rig is some of my favorite fishing but I've never tried real flyfishing (yet).
You're doing something wrong. The only bones are the rib bones and you should cut those out anyway. Your fillets should be J or C shaped. That being said, panfish- Bream, Redear, Bluegill, Perch etc. are some of the best eating in freshwater. Small fish can be scaled, gutted, headed, breaded, and then fried like a motherfucker to the point where most everything but the spine is edible. The more ethnic populous refers to these fish as fry hards. It took me a while to get really proficient with an electric fillet knife, but once you get the hang of it, you can fillet panfish pretty easily.
May dad and his friends did the filleting, at that time.. They could have very well been doing something wrong. Their fishing involved drinking beer, shoot turtles, catch a few fish, drink more beer... repeat. It has been a decade since I had bream.