Fitty's Angling Ramble 7.0

[Nainoa]

Les is awesome and I wish they'd send him with a cam crew or at least some asshat making minimum wage to tote around his cam gear and run back to get his stuff. It's hard enough half staved and dehydrated and then you have to WORK too. You're right the quality of the show suffers because of it, and it takes a toll on the person as well. I think Bear would be cool to go camping with, but his "survival" TV show kinda sucks.

No way would I go camping with Bear Grylls...

Every morning I'd be like "Sonuvabitch man! What the hell did you put in the cooler last night! You need to get this F-ing Rattle snake covered in goat urine out of there so I can get at the eggs and bacon!"

[GREENFEATHER]

Here's to swimmin' with bow legged wimmin'!!

[Nainoa]

Here's to swimmin' with bow legged wimmin'!!

My Dad used to sing that song when I was a kid!

[Nainoa]

Ah... One more day and it gets warm enough out that I can get back to my wood working in the barn and still be able to feel my hands. Trying to drive metal screws when you don't have enough dexterity to touch you thumb to your pinky is not "Safety First."

[HairyScandinavian]

It's kinda cold down here.

I just found out that it's technically legal to kill a Bigfoot in Texas. Reason being, TPWD doesn't have authority to protect anything until it's a verified species.

[Nainoa]

It's kinda cold down here.

I just found out that it's technically legal to kill a Bigfoot in Texas. Reason being, TPWD doesn't have authority to protect anything until it's a verified species.

Oh yeah... I personally set out Havahart traps for them, just so I can sell the pelts!

MN has been getting more and more "Sightings" of big foot... I'm sure all the Squatch Hunter shows (Or whatever they're called) have got people seeing some things that aren't really there.

I "think" it's probably also a factor that Grizzly are starting to cross back into MN from Canada, but the DNR doesn't want to confirm until their they know there is a breeding population. And for that to happen someone is going to have to shoot a "Sasquatch."

[Nainoa]

So of course I've got a bunch of pest problems up here that rotate through the garden season. Last year I spent $25-$30 on "Organic" solutions, soap sprays, diamotacious earth etc... Just to keep the garden safe.

My wife's gramma (An OLD SCHOOL farm girl who's taught me and helped me preserve a lot of the old ways) told me back in the day she knew someone who raised preying mantis, bought some and they were like Navy Seals picking off all the bugs in the garden. Well one of my seed catalogs came in yesterday and sure enough... $9.99 for 200 preying mantis eggs.

Anyone ever tried?

[HairyScandinavian]

Those Squatch guys are absolute morons and I think the head guy is mentally retarded. I like "Bobo" though, he looks like a squatch himself. lol

I haven't tried anything, had an amazing lack of bugs in my garden for the few years that I ran it. My area is full of spiders though and my plants always had webs all over the place. I never kill spiders unless I find a Black Widow or Brown Recluse. I'd imagine the Mantis would have a similar effect, although they may develop a preference for only certain species and you need to have a decent population of food for them otherwise they'll all just die. Spider webs kill indiscriminately, so any bug that flies or crawls onto them is pretty much a goner.

[Nainoa]

Those Squatch guys are absolute morons and I think the head guy is mentally retarded. I like "Bobo" though, he looks like a squatch himself. lol

I haven't tried anything, had an amazing lack of bugs in my garden for the few years that I ran it. My area is full of spiders though and my plants always had webs all over the place. I never kill spiders unless I find a Black Widow or Brown Recluse. I'd imagine the Mantis would have a similar effect, although they may develop a preference for only certain species and you need to have a decent population of food for them otherwise they'll all just die. Spider webs kill indiscriminately, so any bug that flies or crawls onto them is pretty much a goner.

The ad talked about how the one draw back of the Mantis is that it kills ALL bugs, good and bad. Well the only good bugs I need for what I grow are bees to pollinate the flowers of only some of the plants. (Most are even self/wind pollinated) And I'm sorry, but to me, watching Bumble Bee vs Preying Mantis, sounds like a fun show to watch!

I guess this far north the eggs don't live through the winter, so I'd have to rebuy everything spring. But you've got to figure I spent $30 fighting all the random bugs out here last year... If I can spend $10 it's a win... And I get a show!

[HairyScandinavian]

The mantis is cool man, wicked little creatures and fun to watch feed. When they mate I believe the female lops off the male's head to make him finish. Don't quote me on that, but might be an interesting google topic if you're bored lol.

[Nainoa]

The mantis is cool man, wicked little creatures and fun to watch feed. When they mate I believe the female lops off the male's head to make him finish. Don't quote me on that, but might be an interesting google topic if you're bored lol.

Yeah I hit a quick google on it... Sounds like it's a 50/50 thing if the male gets away. But they don't do their mating until I'm basically near the end of the pest cycle here... All I'd have left by that time of year is the grasshoppers (Which don't do that much damage) and all that's left on the vine is bumper crop.

When I was in the city the only thing I had to worry about for pests was river moth's and their larvae. But out here because there are so many farms that have been established for over a century, basically every pest is lurking somewhere waiting for me to give it opportunity.

The previous owner left a bunch of stuff behind for the garden to basically give me the clues I needed to spray and put out whatever.

But one of the things about organic pesticides is that they don't have any binders (They're water soluable, because they don't have a petroleum or hydrocarbon base etc...)

So after every modest rain, I'd have to go out and reapply to the whole friggin' garden all over again. Give it 12 hours without applying, and the plants would be re-infested again. (Especially by the Colorado Potato Beetles!)


So Best case scenario, I figure it saves me time and money at a time in my life when I need to make the most out of time and money. Worst case scenario... I put a bunch of bugs in the garden that don't do jack and I wasted $10 more, so I could go out and buy the same damn Organic pesticides.

[HairyScandinavian]

Yeah for $10 I'd do it. Question is will it be enough? You can't spray unless you're willing to kill them off too.

[Nainoa]

Yeah for $10 I'd do it. Question is will it be enough? You can't spray unless you're willing to kill them off too.

It said that 1 case of eggs will handle 2500 square feet. The new Garden expansion will bring it up to 3500 square feet. However about 1200-1300 square feet of that will be tomatoes and peppers, which have the least amount of pest issues. And they'll be hedged by basil (Which helps repel pests)

So if we "Assume" that the Manti will act like most predators and concentrate near the best prey opportunities... Then I should just be able "In Theory" to set them out in the more pest prone part of the garden.

[lhprop1]

I just found out that it's technically legal to kill a Bigfoot in Texas. Reason being, TPWD doesn't have authority to protect anything until it's a verified species.

If someone shot and killed a bigfoot, it would make me a believer. All of this other crap, not so much.

[44hunter]

I have taken a couple of geese w/ bands.

One was the first goose I called in using decoys. I was hunting w/ my brother who had never killed one, so I let him shoot....3 times. I then made a perfect shot. Great memory etched in my head.

Another was my youngest brother and I. We saw a flock land in a pond about 1/2 mile away, walked over, slipped up the bank, and jumped them. The odd thing about this one was the band was thin, almost sharp. I couldn't find the paperwork just then, but I think that goose was about 13 yrs old and had that band on for 12 years.


I was also hunting w/ kids once and told the kids when this flock of geese comes in shoot until your empty. I dropped one on my side and told the kid next to me "Great shot". It had about every kind of band/tag you can imagine. I hope that kid still has them.

What a gentleman. I probably wouldve said tough luck kid! Have you got out this year any?

I saw that. Dude is way too cinematic and over dramatic with everything he does. Killing the pig almost looked like a soap opera actor who had 5 minutes to rehearse a scene and got thrown into it. I liked Canterbury, too bad he lied about some stuff on his resume I guess. What's funny is I was following his YouTube vids and such before that TV show was ever on the air.

Hate the new guy. Hot headed and not entertaining at all. I only watch for Cody

[storm1507]

All of the Sasquatches down here in the south are smaller.....bout 6'4'/258#.

[Hartski]

Well, my first loaf of bread turned out ugly, but tasty. It was from a kit, but it's a start. There's some recipe's in my Fanny Farmer Cookbook that I want to try, soon.
I really need a Kitchenaid mixer now......

[Nainoa]

All of the Sasquatches down here in the south are smaller.....bout 6'4'/258#.

LOL... I'm always afraid to go in the woods, because female squatches might abduct me and make me their sex slave!

[Nainoa]

Well, my first loaf of bread turned out ugly, but tasty. It was from a kit, but it's a start. There's some recipe's in my Fanny Farmer Cookbook that I want to try, soon.
I really need a Kitchenaid mixer now......

Negatory on the mixer, and the kits...

The best bread comes from doing it by hand.

I'm working on completing my "Modern Rustic" cookbook ATM, by working in bite sized pieces, just writing up one recipe a day. This morning I was struggling to choose between writing up my Schweinhaxe recipe or my bread technique.

In light of this post, I'll tap out my bread recipe over my lunch hour... Just give me a couple ticks!

[HairyScandinavian]

^hey send me a copy to review and I'll try out the recipes and tell you if a kitchen idiot like me can make sense of them. Then I'll rate them on a /10 basis.

[Nainoa]

^hey send me a copy to review and I'll try out the recipes and tell you if a kitchen idiot like me can make sense of them. Then I'll rate them on a /10 basis.

First you need to start out with one ox tail and 2 jars of pickled pig dicks...

Next you'll want to add a cup of white vinegar and 10 ground pepper corns to a cast iron pan that is already ripping hot!

As you're vomiting and contemplating washing your eyes out with bleach, you'll want to think about what kind of flour you want to use... King Arthur Bread flour is the best I've found.

[HairyScandinavian]

On second thought I might actually want to just pickup the published copy from Barnes & Noble.

[storm1507]

What a gentleman. I probably wouldve said tough luck kid! Have you got out this year any?

I haven't hunted waterfowl seriously in over 10 years. The last year I went I only went to sit by the shore w/ my old lab. It brightened her (and mine) day when we were able to go and she did get to retrieve a few.

[Nainoa]

On second thought I might actually want to just pickup the published copy from Barnes & Noble.

LOL... I'll never end up publishing ANYTHING with a press that runs it's ISBN through Barnes and Noble.

I have 3 small presses that are interested in publishing a cookbook by me... One is a "Take Anyone" publisher, so that's my absolute fall back.

"Modern Rustic" is as much a lifestyle guide as it is a cook book at this point. But when you get your ISBN from a large publisher who distributes through Barnes and Noble the Author only gets a 7% Royalty.

So for Every $20 a copy sells for (Average price for a book) I'd only get $1.40

The Take Anyone Small Press is 10%
The Small Press is 20%
And the in-house publisher I have in my hip pocket has offered a deal where they split half the print cost with me (Meaning I'd have to come up with $850 or so) and then I get a 50% Royalty.

The nice thing also about doing it the In-House publisher's way, is that Tax wise the profits are incredibly friendly... You only suffer a 7% tax on Royalties. And I could deduct portions of the print and promotion costs.


There are so writers who keep waiting for the big time publishers to pick up their book (Average wait time is 2 years from querry letter to publication) because they want to be some hyper-global writing mogul millionaire. Their dreams die in the process of reaching too high and hard. (Been there, done that) So I'm taking the "Feet on the ground" approach, which seems to be the only way I ever really make a success out of anything in the course of my life.

[lhprop1]

LOL... I'm always afraid to go in the woods, because female squatches might abduct me and make me their sex slave!

It's all fine and dandy until they start forcing you to go down on them. Dem biches don't shave!

[Nainoa]

It's all fine and dandy until they start forcing you to go down on them. Dem biches don't shave!

I think they make sasquatch FDS now... But I hear the Sasquatch version of Summer's Eve Douche is really just Swanson's chicken broth!

[Procta]

I wanted a Gone Squatchin hat for Christmas

[Nainoa]

I wanted a Gone Squatchin hat for Christmas

They don't have Sasquatch in Florida... Because the word Sasquatch is too hard for people from that educational system to spell... Instead they give you guys "Swamp Ape."

[Procta]

They don't have Sasquatch in Florida... Because the word Sasquatch is too hard for people from that educational system to spell... Instead they give you guys "Swamp Ape."

skunk ape cause they stink

[GREENFEATHER]

Oh yeah... I personally set out Havahart traps for them, just so I can sell the pelts!

MN has been getting more and more "Sightings" of big foot... I'm sure all the Squatch Hunter shows (Or whatever they're called) have got people seeing some things that aren't really there.

I "think" it's probably also a factor that Grizzly are starting to cross back into MN from Canada, but the DNR doesn't want to confirm until their they know there is a breeding population. And for that to happen someone is going to have to shoot a "Sasquatch."

We have a guy here that's a Sasquatch hunter and we used to dick with him all the time when it was wet or there was snow on the ground. One of my friends dad made movie props and he made a few sets of feet so we'd go out and stomp around in the woods. It was fun, I'm sure Bobby didn't think so.