All About Pocket Knives

Scott, I'm thinking WB is the king of land lobsters!

Creek Lobsters, OH!
Scott, the "Longpincered" crawdad is indigenous only to the Whiteriver Basin, which Bull Shoals lake is a part of. They're the largest species in North America and real fine eatin'!! You boil them up, just like you would lobster or can do a Cajun boil, with spices added to the water. Either way, a little butter, hot sauce and/or soy sauce and you got yourself a real feast.
You can harvest 'em year round, but May, June and July are the most productive. Last night was actually my first attempt at using traps, we've always either grabbed or gigged 'em. You simply wade the creek, shining a flashlight down to the bottom (the water's crystal clear) and grab or stab any that you come across. Usually it's an all night affair, but with my 7 yr. old grandson along, I decided to try the traps and come in early.
The traps are basically a small version of a lobster trap. A wire mesh cage with funneled ends. You bait it with a partially opened can of dog food. The principal is, they go in after the bait, but can't find their way back out. Well, last nights statistics stand at, grab and stab-8, trap-0. The trap skunked me!! I don't know what I did wrong, but there wasn't a single creek lobster in either trap!!
So, i'm thinking it over as to what to do next. I really enjoy the wading and snatch method,(even though the snakes can be a little unnerving ) but the trap method is hailed as being very productive. I'll probably do like last night and try a little of both. I know the traps work, I just have to perfect my method or something.
Another benefit with the wade and snag method is the big ol' croakers I heard just upstream. I may have to bag me a few of them while i'm at it. Hopefully in another month, it'll be a catfish, crawdad and frog leg feast. If I can wait that long.

Wish me luck,

WB

That's cool WB! Thanks for sharing.

Good luck buddy!

Dam neer as big as a Maine Lobstah Aya

look what i caught...

Whoa, dude! Is that Turquoise or Azurite? Just guessing, never seen either one in raw form.

WB

Gringo, It's been over an hour since you posted that picture and I guess everybody but me knows what you caught. They look like blue rocks? Being from Florida we don't see a lot of rocks, so tell us what kind of a prize you found. Treefarmer

Looks like lapis but not sure Don

the deep blue is azurite, the small light blue is turquoise...green is malacite...

the rocks are from up around jerome, arizona...united verde copper company threw that stuff in the leech for the copper content.

Just got home from a couple more days fishing @ Santee Cooper Lakes ( about 2 1/2 hours south of my house )__my fishing partner & I took the wives,for some ""Catfishing Adventures"" __his wife fishes quite a bitt , mine hardly ever goes (reads a book,most times when she does go with me, )__ anyways, the fish were "not biting" much at all, we only caught (7) catfish, in two(2) days talked the wife into fishing,and she caught her ""first catfish & first white perch""__we could have caught 100's of the little perch,but were after the catfish, for fillets !!!!!!!___as you will see,my wife got ""bored""( me too !!) so after lunch, the second day,we road the two lakes and got some photos to share,with you guys ___Monk

Mrs. Monk (Nancy)---Big Bird--Pelcan--Buzzard--Alligator--Dragonfly___Monk (the one with hat & shades )

Fish or no fish Mr. Monk, looks like ya'll had a great time! Congrats on your wifes first catches! I gotta ask though, what ya'll doin' with them pliers in them poor ol' catfish's mouths?

WB

Cool pics Monk! Thanks for sharin'!

whitebuffalo58 wrote: I gotta ask though, what ya'll doin' with them pliers in them poor ol' catfish's mouths?

WB

Holdin' On,to keep them "fins" outa' my tender hands

Nice job Monk,my wife is the same way she tends to the dog and catches up on her reading.Them sum pretty Cats

big monk wrote:

whitebuffalo58 wrote: I gotta ask though, what ya'll doin' with them pliers in them poor ol' catfish's mouths?

WB

Holdin' On,to keep them "fins" outa' my tender hands

Gotta do what ya gotta do! Nice pictures, good times - looks like fun.

big monk wrote:

whitebuffalo58 wrote: I gotta ask though, what ya'll doin' with them pliers in them poor ol' catfish's mouths?

WB

Holdin' On,to keep them "fins" outa' my tender hands

Yep, I can relate! When I was a kid, I actually used to pass out when I got horned by 'em and my finger/hand would swell up twice it's size. I guess i'm alergic to 'em. It sounds kinda disgusting, but if ya rub the slime from the catfish's skin into the wound, it takes out the sting and kills the effect of being horned. It's been several years since i've been horned by one, but i'm still a mighty cautious citizen when handling them.

WB

WB ...this is turquoise...raw..difficult to find on a tailings pile...or in the wild.
best to go out when it is raining...or just after...the blues pop in the wet...not so much in the sunshine.

Pretty neat, Gringo! Sure looks alot different inside then outside. I can see how it would be hard to spot. Watcha gonna make with it?

WB

muskrat man wrote:

big monk wrote:

garddogg56 wrote:Those are going to make a GREAT fish fry ::tu::Do you guys nail the heads to a tree to skin those cats,thats how we do Hornpout

We fillet them all____ no bones !!!!!!!

The only way to eat'em

Here's how we skin em out,nail'em and skin'em

Tryin' my hand at a little gar fishin' with homemade lures. Works a treat got 10 two times out in just a couple hours fishin'. This was the biggest, an honest 48 1/2". You can see the homemade rope lure still in his mouth. I normally stick these with a bow but they are a blast on rod and reel too. I ate some I shot out of the river and they tasted horrible. I tried these out of the creek and they're better than most of the catfish I've eat. Tastes just like frog legs, YUMMMM.

That's right men; I took a few hours off to wet a line, don't worry though I'll be back in the shop first thing in the AM after these babies are in the freezer (if they make it that far)

Nice MM! And on a homemade lure is something else. Something about a lure that you made versus store bought when you catch one on it is awesome.

Thanks for sharing. Jerry

Ya, homemade is always nicer but there really isn't anywhere you can buy these. Besides, they are so easy to make who would want to?

[ I normally stick these with a bow but they are a blast on rod and reel too. I ate some I shot out of the river and they tasted horrible. I tried these out of the creek and they're better than most of the catfish I've eat. Tastes just like frog legs, YUMMMM.

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Way to go ,Kaleb !!!!!!! ________but for eatin', I'm going to stay with my bass & catfish you can eat my share of them ol' gars !!!! ____

Knice catch dude! I bet that gave a heckuva fight!!

Nice catch Kaleb! I have to say though, i've lost way too many redfins and goldfish off the trotlines to have any great love for 'em. Only tried eatin' one once, and that was enough for me.
So, i'm assuming the rope tangles them up, is there a hook and are you running the lure off of a steel leader? Never really tried fishing for them, but i've seen a few 3-5 footers swimmin' around the ferry dock at night. I might have to give it a try, just for the sport of it. How about a close-up of how the lure's made?

WB