Who loves fishing ?

[Psychobilly]

I do tend to look in all the right places these days
Years ago, I felt like a magnet for defective souls but they seem to steer clear these days...they must sense the zero fucks to give, the older I get
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It's like someone took me to a dispensary to make me try Cookies crosses, hahahahaha.

 

[belleswell]

I started feeding fish in our pond a few days ago. This morning,
while standing on the end of the dock and throwing the pellets with a plastic measuring cup, I had some jumbo perch coming up to feed on them right at end of the dock where I got a good look at them. Many of them were over 12". A few looked like 15 inches which is a monster perch.



Last week, I drove an hour to the hatchery to get minnows for the perch, another 100 2-4 inch hybrid bluegills, and some Zieglers
floating fish food for the hybrid gills. Unfortunately they will not have the minnows or the bluegills until the end of the month, so I’ll have to make another trip. My wife volunteered. She’s a keeper.


Normally the perch do not come up to the surface to feed on the pellets that the bluegills eat, unless they are low on bait fish. I buy two gallons of fathead minnows each spring. $72 per gallon this year, up from $50 last year. I’ll buy another 2 gallons of them late fall to get them through the winter.


The 2-4 inch bluegills are now $1.20 each this year, up from .35 cents last year. Insane price increases.


At least the fish food cost remained the same from last year to this. These 15 bags should get me through the end of October which is when their metabolism slows going into winter.







My largest fish caught in Michigan:

42lb King Salmon - Released… into my smoker.

40lb Buffalo Carp - Released

32lb Flathead Catfish - Released

31lb Channel Catfish - Released

 

[Mr Jay]

Saw coyote, lynx, deer, moose and raccoon tracks

Still thinking about this, even days later.
There are too many 'found in Alberta' animals that I have never seen.

Stone Cat is prolly the rarest I have seen. Found in select pockets of the milk.
I once saw a Cougar, but never Lynx or Bobcat. They are occasionally seen in Calgary, but I have only met one person to have claimed to see one down here.
Plenty of Coyote and Red Fox, in fact I know where there is a 'black' red fox hanging out, these days.

Another rare one was a Toad I found out on the prairies, about 30 years ago. I never could confirm a picture of it, in a book. I still remember what it looked like, I should check online, now that that's a thing.

Any wolves up your way , @Amarok ?
I have never seen one. My brother offered to take me on a hunt; with a bow - I could do, although I wouldn't have the heart to use a rifle.

Top of my wish list would be wolverine, SwiftFox and Spiny Lizard.

 

[Amarok]

Any wolves up your way , @Amarok ?

They are around, but I've never had an encounter. I'd love to though. Wolves and cougars are yet to be checked off.

Personally, I would only ever shoot a wolf in self defense, I would never kill one for sport.

The other day was cool, because there were coyote and lynx tracks close together on the trail so it was easy to compare and contrast them. The size is quite similar, but the overall shape as well as the shape of the toe pads are distinct. I'm slowly learning tracks and it's very rewarding.

 

[Psychobilly]

They are around, but I've never had an encounter. I'd love to though. Wolves and cougars are yet to be checked off.

Same

Cougars are a little easer if you leave a box of cheap wine near an 18 year old.

Personally, I would only ever shoot a wolf in self defense, I would never kill one for sport.

Yeah, it'd have to be pretty damn serious for me to consider that... I'm more likely to try and pet it. I bet that shocks no one though.

The other day was cool, because there were coyote and lynx tracks close together on the trail so it was easy to compare and contrast them. The size is quite similar, but the overall shape as well as the shape of the toe pads are distinct. I'm slowly learning tracks and it's very rewarding.

Coyotes and Wolves both do a "double tap" print; The back paw goes into the track the front paw makes, and the only way I can tell a Coyote or Wolf print apart, is the size honestly.

Cats are usually pretty easy for me, because the way they walk is so distinct.

I started out knowing Deer and Bunnies, but now I can tell if it's a dog, or a Coyote, and though we've had a few times where something weird happened in the woods, I haven't actually SEEN any wild Cats as of yet. Only heard one once. Though I admit I've seen some pretty damn big prints out in the snow.... No idea what they were though; I know we have two species at least of wild Cats here, but I'm not that good.

 

[Mr Jay]

"True hunting is over
No herd to follow
Without game, men prey on each other
The family weakens by the bite we swallow

True leaders gone
Of land and people
We choose no kin but adopted strangers
The family weakens by the length we travel"

I would never kill one for sport

Because you are well rounded, and just.
Kindness comes from self esteem. You have no motive to exercise your advantage.

To me, a rifle is for harvesting, a bow is for hunting.
If I manipulate a water course, and install a net after a dyke, I can capture every fish that comes down that creek.
Alternatively, if I dove into a pool, how many fish could I catch with my bare hands?

The last wolf killed in this watershed was pre 1900's. She was perused for hours, concurrently, and consecutively, by multiple riders. She was eventually taken, by a doctor, who had refreshed mounts mid ordeal.
I find that shameful.
If they had been on foot, armed with bows, we would still be pursuing that wolf today.

I ended up declining the hunt, and I missed the opportunity to commune with my younger brother. The invitation came almost 10 years ago, and I am still thinking about it.

 

[Amarok]

Kindness comes from self esteem.

That is a fascinating take that I haven't heard before. It absolutely computes though.

I know my capabilities, so I don't need to display them to others to inflate my self worth.
I already like me, so I don't need to bring you down to make me appear higher by comparison.

 

[Senokai]

Every once in a while I bust this bad boy out on a mountain hike.

 

[Amarok]

Every once in a while I bust this bad boy out on a mountain hike.
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I was confused until I remembered which thread this was.

 

[Psychobilly]

Alternatively, if I dove into a pool, how many fish could I catch with my bare hands?

Noodling is the one type of fishing I personally have no intention of trying. Though I do find it funny that the French Canadian dude from Monster Fish? Anyway, one of those shows... He brought in people from the American South to Spain, to Noodle a Wels Catfish. He was smart enough to do it when the water was freezing cold, as most people don't take it lightly when a 7 foot Catfish grabs the first idiot trying to "get it to bite them" and swims off with the body. I couldn't believe he was even trying it to be honest, but then, as soon as they hopped in the water, and everyone said how cold the water was, it made sense; the Wels was likely lethargic and not hungry in water that cold, so, they survived the encounter. The one they caught in the Po River that is the current world record that was on camera (I say on camera, because 16 footers were caught in Germany 500 years ago that would be capable of eating grown men, which they have done) was also large enough to take on a human. Scary fish but SUPER cute when they're babies. I'd love to have one, but I don't have an Olympic pool to house one. So far. They're illegal too sadly. They eat Sturgeon in Italy....Imagine a fish with a mouth big enough, to take on a Sturgeon.

 

[belleswell]

2 gallons of fathead minnows keeps the perch happy.
I get 2 gallons every spring and another 2 gallons late fall
to get them through the winter. Pure O2 infused into the bags
allows longer trips to get them home from the hatchery which is
about an hours drive without having them die.

I planted these a few days ago, and I don't know how the Kingfishers know,
but they do. For a week or two after putting minnows in the pond they take advantage
and pick off the stragglers by watching from their perch in trees next to the pond.







Perch up to 16 1/2", Hybrid Bluegills to 13", LM bass to 7 lbs,
and Red-Eared Sunfish. The Red-Eared Sunfish were added two
years ago to help curb the snail problem. I’ve only caught a couple since planting them. When they were planted, they were
2-4 inches from the hatchery. The two I caught last time I fished it a couple weeks ago were both around 6". Love the pond.





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[Mr Jay]

I don't think these guys have much teeth to speak of, but I wouldn't want to share a canoe with one.