Outdoorsman Thread

[carrmillus]

Treefarmer and JerryZ - you two are killing me with those food photos! So tantalising that I am going to have to stop reading this topic before dinner. I will get my revenge by posting a photo of my fried fish. Seriously, great photos and stories, fellows.

Nice shots of those old reels, too, Joe and Scott. JerryD, interesting that you should mention backlashes. I used a similar reel when I was young and spent a goodly amount of time getting the backlashes out. A couple of months ago I bought a new Daiwa baitcast reel made on the same lines. Well, I hoped that after fifty years things would have changed: guess what, it is still backlash city for me! I was out in the driveway this afternoon getting the backlash from yesterday out of the reel. Sigh... I just need to stick to my spincast reels.

...mel, you have to put "salve" on your thumb!!!................. ..........................

[Old Hunter]

Enjoying all the fishing gear, talk, and pictures - I'm a late bloomer in the fishing world, still just playing around as a fisherman. OH

[Dinadan]

Dale - great photo of fish and granddaughter!

I have not tried any of the Mitchell reels. I was at a store yesterday looking at spinning reels and rods, just could not make up my mind on one. This year is the first year in a couple of decades that my wife and I have done any fishing, and when I bought gear I did not want to spend a lot at first, since I was not sure what kind of fishing we would be doing most. Now we have pretty well decided to concentrate on saltwater, and I want to upgrade our gear. The thing is, we mostly fish for white trout or speckled trout, and a very light reel and line is fine for those. But occasionally a big redfish grabs the bait, and I want a decent chance to boat a ten to thirty pounder if I hook it.

Right now I am using a Zebco 733, as you can see in the photo below. Not a bad reel at all - I was able to boat a 30+ pound redfish a few weeks ago, but certainly not top of the line either.

[carrmillus]

.........mel, get yourself a ROUND ambassaduer 5000 series baitcasting reel!!......you'll never go back to spinning reels!!!.......... ...................

[Dinadan]

.........mel, get yourself a ROUND ambassaduer 5000 series baitcasting reel!!......you'll never go back to spinning reels!!!.......... ...................

You may have a point ...

I fried up a redfish and a Spanish Mackerel tonight and my wife made potato salad - good eating!

[treefarmer]

Well Mel, looks to me like you're doin' fine with a Zebco, ain't none of the rest of us havin' fresh fish for supper .
Treefarmer

[Colonel26]

.........mel, get yourself a ROUND ambassaduer 5000 series baitcasting reel!!......you'll never go back to spinning reels!!!.......... ...................

Daddy collects and fixes up OLD Ambassador reels. I have a few my favorite is an old 4500, a 5000, and a 6000 for catfishing.

Dale that's a great picture of your granddaughter!

I sure wish I had the patience to be a decent fisherman, unfortunately I really don't.

[313 Mike]

Great pics and stories guys! Mel, you sure are having some good success for having been out of the fishing game for a while.... those are some beautiful fish you are hauling in

When I used to fish musky regularly in the north woods of Wisconsin, I used an Ambassador 6500 C baticaster with 30lb test braided line.... and I had my share of backlashes let me tell ya. (birds nests are what we called 'em )...I still have an old Mitchell spinning reel that I got in the 80's, and use it all the time, love that reel! As a matter of fact that is what I used to haul in all those bass on our recent week long trip, great piece of equipment. I have had many other reels come and go, but the Mitchell has always been the ol' faithful.

[carrmillus]

......baitcasting vs. spinning-the reason I changed-2/17/68-i caught an 11 1/2 lb. bass using a Mitchell 300 and a limber 7 foot shakespeare rod(state record that year), my neighbor netted it, laid it in the bottom of the boat,it opened it's mouth and the bait fell out-wasn't even hooked!!!....next day, I bought an ambassaduer 5000, 20 lb. test line, and a 5 1/2 foot fenwick rod!!!!..............end of problem!!................... .........................

[treefarmer]

Back in June, zp4ja (Jerry) mentioned the Wildlife Guzzlers and showed some pictures.
That got me to thinkin' about tryin' to dig a small "waterhole" on the side of a clay hill where we have a hunting lease. This is very sandy dry land and in a few places the clay is almost on to the surface of the ground. The old timers used to refer to this as a "clay gall", a bad spot in a cultivated field where the clay is too hard to work. Turns out my food plot on this lease is a "clay gall". Adequate moisture improves the ability to till this type ground and it will grow a crop if the season is right. There is very little surface water on the lease, so if I can catch rain water in a hard clay lined hole, maybe ol' Bambi will utilize it.
Here it is September 1st and I'm just now gettin' around to this project. Our rifle season starts on Thanksgiving Day, so there is time for it to rain and fill the hole and the deer get used to it .
The area is surrounded by 10 year old planted pines and the plot is now covered with Bahia grass, not exactly a preferred deer food. There is some clover mixed in and in the past it had been planted with iron and clay peas and various wildlife mixes. There is a mineral lick in the middle of the small plot that has been there for over 20 years, the deer have dug down into the clay as the minerals and salt leach into the clay. The plot falls about 10 feet toward the northwest corner and here I dug my little holding pond. Using the clay and what little topsoil was there I created a small dam on the low side and on the ends, figurin' the rain run off will one day fill the hole with water and because of the hard clay it should hold water for a good length of time, especially when the normal rains return.
As Jerry asked, here are a few pictures of the project as it progressed this mornin'.
Treefarmer

[313 Mike]

Great idea Phillip! Standing water can definitely be a draw for whitetails, especially if you can trim a trail off of one of their normal travel routes leading them into your little reservoir. ..then set up a stand on that lead in trail. Thanks for posting the pics, be sure to follow up with more when she fills up!

[TripleF]

Very interesting.......hoping for a properous result my Florida friend!!

[Dinadan]

Treefarmer - your area looks just like mine! I have been taking advantage of the slightly cooler weather to do some much needed yard work, I guess it is the same with the deer plot. And there have been a couple of mornings lately where I could detect a promise that summer will end and fall begin.

That waterhole looks like a fairly major project. Maybe you will get lucky and hold water. Sometimes on construction projects a hole like that will stay wet forever.

[philco]

Great project Philip. I hope it is successful for you.

Today was the opening day for doves here. I made it to a little shoot on a farm nearby. I didn't set any records with my shooting but I thought some of you guys might like to see my decoy spread. This is the first time I've used them and I was quite pleased with how the doves were drawn to them.

[Dinadan]

Phil - interesting decoy setup. I did not know anyone used dove decoys. I immediately thought "stool pigeons" when I saw the decoys!

I used to shoot a few doves: it was a lot of fun - probably the most shotgun ammo expended of any hunting!

[Old Hunter]

Good luck with that waterhole TF - ours wax and wane with the weather. Nice spread Phil - we open Saturday morning - got to get all my stuff in order (decoys, gear, etc.). Good luck to everyone on their hunting. OH

[FRJ]

Wouldn't you love to see a Red Tail swoop down and latch on to one of those?

[treefarmer]

Thanks for the comments on the water hole! Several articles suggested using a galvanized watering trough just like you'd use for your horse or cow in the back yard. However you have to haul water to it and that would be a big deal so if the Lord gives us enough rain maybe we'll have a water hole. If not or it doesn't hold water, well I'm only out a few gallons of diesel and a couple of hours of retirement .

Philco, I believe our dove season starts Saturday September 26th. 1st phase shooting is from noon till sunset, other 2 phases are all day. Love to "shoot at" doves . It takes practice to get a limit without having to shoot 2 or 3 boxes of shells.
When our son was growing up, dove huntin' was a big deal. I still remember his 1st dove hunt. He was probably 7 or 8 and had shot at several birds in the pasture and had not cut a feather. I got him to move down to a pond where we used to have a set of cow pens. We were leaning against a pine tree when a lonesome dove lit in a Sycamore tree. He got that one and was a happy little man! He was a pretty good wing shot when he left home, college, career and a wife has kept his Ithaca 37 12 gauge quiet for way too many years .

We always had a Labor Day "skeet shoot" in preparation for opening day. He and his friends would tear up a bunch of clay pigeons once that got started. One year he shot the clay pigeons with a full leg cast on, thanks to football practice. That event evolved into a peanut boil/skeet shoot and we had 50 or 60 folks show up for several years. It got to the point it was a lot of work and one year our pump went out and Miss joy canceled it and that was it!

Mel, those 97 degrees that showed up today sure have me lookin' for some of that cool weather we know will be coming in a month or so. It was nice a couple of mornin's a week or so back.
Treefarmer

[zp4ja]

Way cool TF! Thanks for sharing the construction photos. I bet that will work out just great for you. Keep us posted.

Nice spread Phil. Been a few years since I tried Dove. Opened today and of course out of town. Need to talk with some buddies to see where they hunt for them around here. Between birds and big game, will be a busy season this year.

Besides the early antelope tag, September 1st is the official start of the hunting season for me. What a great day!

Take care all. Jerry

[Colonel26]

Very cool Phil! I won't get to go until this weekend, but we sure ain't seen many doves down here yet.

I use a motorized Mojo decoy and man does it draw them in. I spread some like yours on the ground around it.

Last year I got my first ever limit! Actually I got two limits back to back.

TF, I use a 1953 Ithaca 37 20 gauge.

[philco]

Wouldn't you love to see a Red Tail swoop down and latch on to one of those?

I'd gladly sacrifice the decoy to get to see that.

[garddogg56]

I like yer style Phil,you should see the Hawks when we reliece the Pheasant in the fall.

[garddogg56]

Laborday weekend Rangley fishing trip BROOK TROUT AND SUM BEAUTIFUL WATERS

[zp4ja]

Looks like some great fishing and good times dogg! Thanks for sharing!

Jerry

[FRJ]

Nice healthy looking fish, dogg. Beautiful spawning colors on those char.
Must have been a great time.