coonhunter

Congratulations all around for your family. Grandparents get to spoil away to their hearts content, and then send them home. Doesn't get much better with babies and little kids.

Wow, nice mixed bag for you and your granddaughter.

Now that is a birthday to remember!!!! Hell, I wish I could get a birthday like that!

I have spent a lot of time here in the last 40 years. It is still one of my favorite spots to fish for crappies at night during the winter. I killed one of my first spring turkeys in that area. I got my butt chewed out by the park rangers when my hounds were treed right in the park many many moons ago when I was a teenager and the park was still actively run.

I have seen a lot of coyotes of a few different color variations, but I have never happened to see one black like that one.

When the anti fur movement took hold, the bottom dropped out of the fur market. This made it so trapping became too much work and time for little reward. Over the years the nest raiders and predators have taken over. It is hard for a nest to go undisturbed on the ground, and the hens are vulnerable to all the coyotes, bobcats, and even red foxes will take a shot if they catch one unaware. Now, if a hen is actually able to find a good, undisturbed spot for her nest, the spring weather just seems to be horrible year after year. It is crazy. This weekend alone almost assures it will be a low survival rate again this year. It used to be that in the summer I would see a cut hayfield with 3 or 4 hens in it. There would be 15-20 poults mixed in with them. Now, I feel fortunate to see 3-4 hens with 4-5 poults mixed in. Or to have a small batch cross the road in front of me. I still seem to have a decent population, but a lot of hunters here are complaining about horrible hunting this spring.

No doubt the crappie bite is on fire right now. Glad you got into them for a good fish fry.

If anyone has kids they want to take fishing in the warm weather this weekend, the crappies are in the shallows on some lakes. On the lake I was fishing they were just starting to come in. I was fishing a simple little hair jig under a bobber, and casting it just past the first drop off into about six foot of water. It was almost as fast as we could cast and reel in a fish. The little seven year old girl with me lost count of how many she caught. She was ready because we hadn't been out since ice season. She also took her first spine in the hand. It hardly slowed her down, and she still took her next fish off the hook. Our next outing will be at night, with a fire and lantern for bullheads. Although we didn't keep any of the crappies, we will keep a good batch of bullheads for eating. My mother is already hounding me to get her a batch, "And have them things cleaned and ready for cooking too!".

What exactly are we looking at? Is it doctors, nurses and pilots and more? Is this what it takes for one medical helicopter to fly? I have no idea and I am curious about it. Thanks.

I'm pretty much just a camper or rent a cabin if friends really don't like camping. I just enjoy getting away from the grind, sitting around a fire, hiking, fishing, walking at night just to see all the stars away from lights. I traveled enough running hounds in competition to make some good, lifelong friends. We have shared quite a few vacations just driving to each others states to share some sights and just camp at lakes or state parks and share old stories of the hounds, competition, and money or trophies won and lost.

Nytacker, the Lady Bells are a great eating pepper for kabobs and even salads. They are actually pretty sweet for a bell pepper. I usually grow a mix of these and California Wonders. The California Wonders are perfect for stuffed peppers and chopping up for chili and tomato sauces.

Good to hear you had a nice turn out for the banquet. It is always nice to have a lot of participation in any group or club you are a member of. Crossbows in bow season is nothing I am going to fight over because I honestly don't care. If you guys feel strong enough about it, be my guests. The weapons are all just tools to me, and the more people that hunt, the better it is for the sport of hunting.

That is always cool to see. I have never seen anything but a normal robin. I remember as a kid, we had an albino crow and an albino woodchuck that we saw quite regular for two years

We use to troll for them in the Kingston area. We just used the fish finder to locate the depth they were at, and used downriggers with big Rapalas. Clown color outfished everything day in day out, but blue or black and silver also produced reliably. This didn't produce the huge ones, but caught lots in the 15-20 pound range. We had days where we couldn't bum a bite, and days where we would boat 20 or more. Stripers are a hard fighting fish that is for sure.

I liked that video a lot. Interesting to see the reactions both ways.

I cleaned up the yard and one garage. Then I got my ice fishing stuff all cleaned and put up for the year. I can tell you, I own way too much fishing stuff

I'm like BowmanMike. I start my peppers, tomatoes, and some flowers inside. I do this so that I can get the peppers and tomatoes that I want, instead of whatever the nurseries have. Also, peppers seem to do a little better with a good start inside just to get a headstart on the hot weather.

I would split mine up with a 45/70 lever gun and a new turkey shotgun. The 45/70 is just a lot different than my other rifles. I have shot quite a few rounds through my buddie's Henry, and although it is a pretty stout recoil, it is a fun gun to shoot and packs a good wallop.

Yup, it is so frustrating to watch them come right up and drop back down. I have been getting most of mine on small tungsten jigs as well. I guess if I had to pick a hot color, it would be pink and white tipped with spikes. I have been getting nice perch in the 10-12 inch range almost every outing. The crappies just seem all over the place. One time you catch 15-20 of them in an hour, and the next, I pick up a couple in three hours. Glad the perch and bluegills are cooperating a little better. It is just nice to be back out on the ice. Now I need a nice, strong young man to drag my shanty around for me!

Wow Treeguy, that sure is a beauty. I have been hit and miss on the crappies so far this year. They have been running big, but not as big as that. Are you getting them on a certain color, or are they all over the place like the ones I have been getting?

Yup, seeing that more every year. People with houses on the lakes don't want you near their house I guess. Could be from scumbags littering or being loud. Not much we can do about it, but damn, sure would suck to be them if someone goes through and drowns.

I have been talking about this with one of my ice fishing buddies. People just can't help themselves. They feel like some sort of hero posting a picture of a pile of fish they caught. And, they keep doing it day after day. The whole object of catching perch, bluegills, and crappies is to have some nice fresh fish dinners. My god! Keep a dozen and throw the rest back. No need for it to be an every day thing. It has reached the point that we only share our spots with a select few people because of the game hogs. I like being able to go to few places and know I will get some quality fish, and a lot of them to spread out between us. Or I can take kids to these spots and keep them interested. I have no problem with people using the resources available to us, but if they are throwing out freezer burnt fish or meat, they are keeping too much. Any fish I keep are eaten that night or the next day. This topic is a little bit of a sore subject for me, and I pretty much mind my own business. This nonsense of feeling important because you post a bunch of pictures on facebook is stupid. There are several on this site that I dare say catch as many or more fish as these people, post some quality pictures, keep what they need for a meal or two, or throw them all back. Instead of showing off to all their facebook buddies, they ought to find a few kids, newcomers, or even oldtimers that can't get out like they used to, and get them out on the lakes in the Summer, or the ice in the winter.

I go a lot. I have chased the ice a little this year, but I am good to go local now. I fish for crappies the most, but also enjoy going out for perch and walleye just to change it up. We actually don't eat a ton of fish, so I only keep some when my wife asks. She usually wants perch or walleye, but does like me to keep a good batch of crappies. She even goes out and sits in the heated shanty with me a few times a year, which is always a pleasure because she is not much for hunting and fishing. I go quite a bit by myself, but on the weekends, I like to get together with friends and go as a group with cooking and drinking and just plain enjoying ourselves. I also have a few kids that like to come out and wait for the tip ups to go off. That's about the only time I even put out tip ups.

Treeguy, I can honestly say that I am most grateful for my dad taking me and teaching me the outdoors. It has stuck with me my whole life and I think your son is lucky to have you.

I'm the same way Pygmy. All I know for sure is that some are red, some are orange, and some are green. And I shoot them out of an old westernfield with a mod choke.