An Old Farts Outdoor Thread

[paulinkansas]

Paul, that is the biggest corn feeder I have ever seen.

It has a 650 pound capacity. It was an open box purchase and there were no assembly instructions. It took 2 weeks before I could put it together in my garage once I received the instructions. It took 4 adults to pick it up and move it in place.

[Mark1T]

It has a 650 pound capacity. It was an open box purchase and there were no assembly instructions. It took 2 weeks before I could put it together in my garage once I received the instructions. It took 4 adults to pick it up and move it in place.

That is seriously huge. People around here use the typical 100 to 150lb. I have seen a 200lb capacity, but rare. My neighbor sets his timer at about 3 seconds and it brings in deer, raccoons, birds, squirrels, fox, hogs. Probably similar to yours.

[paulinkansas]

These 2 bucks came up this morning. The small one on the right had no problem eating corn. The big one on the left just kept walking around the feeder and looking at the chains and would not go near it. They left and some does showed up and they were not bothered with the chains.

[Payton1221]

You're a great shot with that 12 gauge. But, I think I noticed three different guns or maybe two? A pump-action, double barrel and semi-auto?

I used to go Quail and Dove hunting and my friend had his bird dogs when I was in my 20s and 30s, but the Quail have mostly disappeared. I think because of fire ants. We have Dove and White Wings here. Quail are one of the best eating wild game there is.

Thanks for posting that. Very impressive.

Thanks for the kind words. I actually hunted with three guns. The double barrel was bought this fall at a gun show (it was made in the 40's!), and it's the first 16 gauge gun that I've ever owned. I was hunting with the 12 gauge Ithaca 37 pump (it's a great bird gun as it weighs less than 7 lbs even with three shells in it) and when it "didn't fire," I assumed that I hadn't chambered a shell and then tried chambering one. Something malfunctioned because I couldn't get the (12 gauge) shell to go more than an 1" into the barrel. I later discovered that the first shell that I had chambered was a 16 gauge shell! When I tried chambering the 12 gauge shell, it pushed the 16 gauge 1" into barrel

The other pump gun is a cheap Remington 870 that I bought from Walmart 30 years ago. I had the barrel cut back but then rethreaded for the choke tubes so that it would be a faster swinging bird gun, but even with the cutoff barrel, it's a little heavy to carry all day. But because of its weight, I do prefer it for dove hunting as it's just easier to continue your follow-through with a heavier gun.

I've had fun with the YouTube channel. I currently have over 3,500 subscribers, and I became monetized last year making a whopping $479 in 2023 (woo-hoo). I actually have my first shotgun video that I'm finishing up instead of the dog training/hunting videos that I have been doing. I should have it uploaded within the next 2-3 weeks. With a little luck, that could really help my channel since that should appeal to a broader audience.

[Mark1T]

Paul, you produce huge Whitetails. That is a 10-point if not more and big body. Guessing the big one is about 4 to 5-year old.

Mr. Payton, very cool stuff. Hope you can post here more often. 16 gauge, between 12 and 20 is a good gun. I had an 870 a long time ago and it served its purpose. 12 gauge is just right for me. Very versatile.

[mtpockets]

Payton I enjoyed the Video, I bet your channel will take right off. I have never hunted quail, they look fun.

Paul that is a big feeder. I have never seen a deer feeder in person but that looks huge. When are those deer going to drop the headgear? In our area they have dropped them already for the most part.

Any more critters Mark? I think you got them thinned out pretty good.


It was a beautiful day on the hard water. I left at O dark early and had the lines set up about a half hour before sunrise. and fished till about 2 pm and I got skunked. That doesn't happened often but today was the day. ha ha

Not even a hit. They were down there, I could see them on the finder, lake trout like to chase their prey so taking it away from them and they will follow it and normally hit. I had many chases this morning, they would follow it up to about 15 feet out of 27 feet of water and then turn back.

Not complaining though it was still fun and I got to work on my tan it got up to 37 F, how crazy is that? I have never seen a winter like this. My buddy is tapping maple trees already and we only have about a foot of snow in the bush on a normal winter we have about 4 feet at this time of year.

Anyway that's enough rambling, you fukkers have a Great day. Here's a gif from this morning.

[paulinkansas]

Paul, you produce huge Whitetails.

It's not just me.

A guy just south of me has 80 acres where he has put in food plots.

A guy just north of me has 160 acres where he has put in food plots.

A guy just north of him has about 20 acres where he has put in food plots

[Mark1T]

MT, thanks for the update. Crazy how all the fish decide not to bite, as if they have a committee meeting to decide when and where to bite

Paul, I have seen hunting shows in Kansas and most Whitetails are impressive. Great climate, environment and food.

[Payton1221]

I had an unplanned litter this fall, and here's the pup that I kept. This video shows how innate pointing is to pointing dog breeds. Notice that I do nothing except simulate what a wild bird would do: if the pup gets too close to the bird, it flies away!



If the above doesn't work, try this link: www.youtube.com/shorts/fxHbicjsO0M

[Payton1221]

16 gauge, between 12 and 20 is a good gun.

I don't regret getting it, but the shells are harder to find and more expensive when you do find them.

Several manufacturers follow a color code for gauges: yellow for 20 gauge, purple for 16 gauge. The mishap that I had (completely my fault) was that I bought 16 gauge shells that were red. I reached into my hunting coat to reload at some point and just mistakenly didn't recognize that I had grabbed a 16 gauge shell for my 12 gauge gun.

I used to fish quite a bit as a kid, but I haven't done much of it lately. I did fish on two consecutive mornings last May with my father in law on a lake where (primarily) white bass will occasionally "herd" minnows into a small area and then they start eating them. This is noticeable as you'll see several fish "break water" within seconds of one another and all in an area that's maybe 30 yards in diameter. When this occurs, you wait to see where a fish has just jumped and throw a topwater bait in that very area and I was averaging a fish for every three casts. These fish are so aggressive that on both mornings I caught two fish with one cast (I have a grainy photo as proof ), and in my 57 years that had NEVER happened before. We allowed another boat to come up and fish near us a couple years ago (a father and young son) when they said "looks like you guys are having a lot of luck," and when they joined us, we four fisherman were simultaneously reeling in three fish. It sort of spoils you. IIRC, this is predominately a morning pattern, and the two mornings that we fished we were on the water less than 90 minutes and caught a total of over 20 fish both mornings.

I recently bought an inflatable kayak and there are some "stripper pits" (it's what we call the bodies of water that remain when the likes of Peabody Coal and other companies left an area after removing coal from underground) that I'm going to fish this spring.

[Mark1T]

Mr. Payton, the video did not post.

Your kayak buy is a good one. MT has one and he recommended one for me and I am going to get one for me and one for my brother later this year. I love fishing close to the water surface, no noise and to be able to go in shallow water with no problem. I hope you can do some fishing.

I have been white bass fishing on a very large lake and we chased them similar to what you were doing. We would see splashes and shad jumping and we would go right there. I was in a friend's bass boat. Lots of fun. We were using Little George spinner baits. Relatively heavy lure that goes fast and the white bass ate them like candy

MT, sorry for the late reply - I believe that one beaver is still out there, but it hasn't come in the culvert for over a week now. Strange. Nothing on the cam except for a possum and a field mouse. Warming up and I spooked a Cottonmouth yesterday. Traps are set and ready to go if there is any action.

[mtpockets]

Mr. Payton, the video did not post.

Your kayak buy is a good one. MT has one and he recommended one for me and I am going to get one for me and one for my brother later this year. I love fishing close to the water surface, no noise and to be able to go in shallow water with no problem. I hope you can do some fishing.

I have been white bass fishing on a very large lake and we chased them similar to what you were doing. We would see splashes and shad jumping and we would go right there. I was in a friend's bass boat. Lots of fun. We were using Little George spinner baits. Relatively heavy lure that goes fast and the white bass ate them like candy

MT, sorry for the late reply - I believe that one beaver is still out there, but it hasn't come in the culvert for over a week now. Strange. Nothing on the cam except for a possum and a field mouse. Warming up and I spooked a Cottonmouth yesterday. Traps are set and ready to go if there is any action.

Loved the fishing story Mark, it sounds like you had fun and pierced some lips.. Smart on keeping a trap set... Good way to keep things in check because you know full well that it's just a matter of time before something moves in.. It's prime country for critters.

MT, thanks for the update. Crazy how all the fish decide not to bite, as if they have a committee meeting to decide when and where to bite

Yep, I think it's something they learned in school ha ha...

We get a lot of peekers in this thread and that's great. I hope they are enjoying it.

I know that you and many others know this but for some who are peeking may not so I'll throw this up here.

I am a huge believer in fishing a moving barometric pressure. My experience is that steady pressure sucks, I have caught fish during steady pressure but it can be tough and moving is better. Yesterday was a steady pressure day, that's my excuse for being skunked and sticking to it. ha ha



Even a small change in barometric pressure can make a big difference in fish behavior. It can totally change the dynamics of the water column and will cause things to float, suspend or sink. A rise in barometric pressure can cause plankton and other microscopic life to rise up off the bottom. These are at the bottom end of the food chain and smaller fish will take this opportunity to feed and this will entice larger fish to feed and so it begins.

Today the pressure was moving because of a cold front moving in, this morning it was 33F when I left the house by 10 am it was 18F and 0F when I left the ice, the wind was whipping at about 20+ mph with a continual increase, so the windchill increased significantly but other than the holes freezing over quickly it was a better fishing day fish wise.. I released several in the 3-5 lb range, lost a couple and missed a few more, the best day I had this winter.

I was fishing the lake behind my place and a buddy was passing by, saw the smoke from my fire and dropped by on his snowmobile just after I set up and wanted me to join him to fish a lake that is about a 5 mile ride away. It's another great lake for Lakers that doesn’t get a lot of pressure. I was tempted but I was already set up and seeing some fish cruising on the finder so I declined, he texted me about 2 hours later telling me that he released a 21.6 pounder, a personal best for him.

Wish I had gone now, you don’t get to look at a fish like that every day lol. Good for him, he’s a lumberjack who works almost everyday in the winter and doesn’t get to fish as often as he would like, so it’s really nice that he got into a brute. Hope he got into a few more. It couldn’t have happened to a more deserving person.


It's always a good day on the hard or soft water when you get to see the sunrise and moon rise in the same day. Here's a shot of the sunrise from this morning and a shot of the moon as I was coming off the ice.






Well that’s it for my rambling for now..

You fukkers have a great evening and an even better weekend... Keep smilin!

[Mark1T]

MT, awesome shots. The way you explained barometric pressure changes and how it affects the food chain, it makes a lot of sense. Pretty smart fishing technique.

I will take 3 to 5lb fish any day. That 21lb Laker - holy smokes. But, aren't the 3 to 5 pounders better eating? I wonder how old a 21lb Laker might be. Cold water, I bet it might be 7 to 10 years old?

I say that because Small Mouth Bass in cold environments grow slow and one that is several pounds might be 5 to 6 years old. All beautiful fish up there.

Nothing on my cam and no Beaver. I might start placing my cam out on some points to see if I can locate any Beaver action. I will do that tonight.
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steffonolopolis call out - Where are the animal shots? Were you and the animals kidnapped?

[paulinkansas]

There are 3 Mexican contractor guys renting a place from me. So I stenciled this outdoor sign and put it on their carport.

Tres Hombres was the first album by ZZ Top.

[Mark1T]

Paul, I am sure they got a kick out of that Creative

[mtpockets]

MT, awesome shots. The way you explained barometric pressure changes and how it affects the food chain, it makes a lot of sense. Pretty smart fishing technique.

I will take 3 to 5lb fish any day. That 21lb Laker - holy smokes. But, aren't the 3 to 5 pounders better eating? I wonder how old a 21lb Laker might be. Cold water, I bet it might be 7 to 10 years old?

I say that because Small Mouth Bass in cold environments grow slow and one that is several pounds might be 5 to 6 years old. All beautiful fish up there.

Nothing on my cam and no Beaver. I might start placing my cam out on some points to see if I can locate any Beaver action. I will do that tonight.

Howdy Mark, I bet it’s just a matter of time before you see another critter that needs to be taken out, I bet within a month you will see activity.. Just a wild ass guess…

Yeah nobody I know eats big fish for a few reasons. You are correct 3-5 lbs are a good size and the best eaters.

That 21 pounder was only out of the water long enough to get the hook out and then it was sent on its way.. (Recycling Smiles) Hopefully someone else will catch it and it will give them a big old smile as well.

I would put that Lake Trout at least 20 years of age. It’s really hard to tell because different lakes depending on genetics, food, water quality, depths etc will produce fish that grow at different rates.

I recall reading a tagged 22 pounder from Lake Erie was caught and the tag aged it at 35 years of age.

My other neighbor and his wife in 2008 or 2009 were fishing that same lake one evening in their 12 foot aluminium. She doesn’t fish much, she was just with him because he wanted to have a few beer and she was the designated driver lol..They were trolling for a while without success and decided to do some vertical jigging in just over 100ft of water.

When she left, she grabbed a pole but somehow she forgot the top piece so it was just the bottom with the reel and only one eye. She was quite content to just sit there but he said let's rig it up anyway. She did and threw a line over and wasn’t even jigging, it was just sitting there and hit a trout that almost pulled the rod out of the boat. Long story short it was just over 28 lbs. Lol. You just never know when you’ll get a good one and it’s usually when you least expect it. She fished a lot more often after that.


I went for Rainbow Trout today and boy were they tough to catch. They were hitting but biting ever so lightly and sitting with it, so there wasn’t much of an indication they even hit before they spit it out again. I released a few in the 2 - 3 lb range and lost a couple in the hole that were probably the same size. Fun though!




My Jaw Jacker hasn’t been doing anything for the last week or so. just jigging away so at least it wasn’t gathering dust. Lol. I was about ready to put the fukker on ebay and be done with it and when I was packing up it fired off. The fight was on. The fish was screaming line and after a 10 - 12 minute battle I was able to coax a beautiful 5.2 pound Rainbow through the hole but unfortunately I was unable to release it. It had inhaled the lure and was bleeding heavily. It’s sad but it happens, it won’t go to waste though. I dispatched it and now a part of it is supper with the rest vacuum sealed and in the freezer.

So maybe I will keep the Jaw Jacker for a bit yet

Here’s the supper part.



Most of you probably know this, but I'll post it in case it's of value to someone.
For those of you who cook fresh fish especially with the skin on they have a tendency to curl and make cooking difficult. An easy solution is just let the fish rest a day in the fridge and they won’t curl. An easier solution is to score the skin on both sides and get into the meat a bit. They won’t curl and cook evenly. Here’s a pic of what I mean about scoring the fish. (not my pic)

steffonolopolis call out - Where are the animal shots? Were you and the animals kidnapped?

Mark I was reading the Photography thread..

Steffo was talking about equipment. I didn't understand much about it but that boy sure knows his stuff. I did understand Macros, that's about it.

So it's my guess we will be getting close up shots of something soon, maybe even some insects. Wouldn't that be great? But we will take flowers too.

Bring on the pics Steffo..



That’s about it for me today, you outdoor freaks and geeks have an awesome weekend,

I’ll yell at ya when I am older..

Stay safe, stay happy!

[Mark1T]

MT, I was on the right track on the age of the larger fish, but I was still off a good bit. Knowing that those larger fish have been around some years makes you respect them more. People like you and me put many back and only take what we need. My brother and I practice catch and release a lot on the bigger Bass. But, since the Bass are growing, we have to thin them out more or the lake could get to point where they don't grow big because of the larger population.

Your Jaw Jacker is very cool. I have never used one. I would take a 5lb Rainbow any day. To me, that is a big fish. Oh, yes, it is sad when a nice fish inhales a lure or bait, but you pay respect and do what you have to do. Please keep that Jaw Jacker

Great tips on the filets. When we filet fish, we usually take off all the skin because it can get fishy and we fry it mostly. But, Bass and Crappie are excellent cooked on an open fire.

Thanks for the heads up on steffo. He is a great addition here.

[Mark1T]

Out in the country. This is the whole wheat bread I made today. Before it went into the oven. New technique and it is very good.



Done.



I don't buy bread. I make it.

[mtpockets]

Any twig stove fans here?











Some people call them hobo stoves, I have been making them for years out of cans and almost always had one hanging off my pack. The one in the gif is footage of mine that I took on a recent fishing trip, it's one I purchased and almost never leave home without it.

It's compact, weighs nothing and doesn’t take much wood. It’s a great way to knock the frost off the old beard, warm up or heat or cook some grub. On stand hunting I will pop my trangia alcohol stove inside so I am not creating smoke.

During fly season a bit of smoke sure helps to keep the mosquito's and black flies at bay. Get it pumping with some good twigs and throw some green stuff on there to make it smoke, works like a charm.

Attached to the outside of the pack it can produce enough of that jingle jangle so the bears will hear you coming and beat feet before you meet them.

So many uses for these little buggers they fit into every season.

How about you guys/gals anyone use them?





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Mark, that bread looks amazing, make no wonder the girls were chasing you and you needed to use Gilligan to fend them off lol

Whole wheat bread is the best. Well done. I grew up on homemade bread. Mudder would bake it a couple of times a week. Do you use a mixer or by hand? Well done.

Yeah the Jaw Jacker is safe lol, no man can set a hook as fast or as strong as when that rod fires off lol. Here we are allowed 2 lines and I love to jig with a rod in my hand and the Jaw Jacker fishes another hole lol.

You were right on the cold water thing and I am happy to hear that you and your brother release the bigger fish. It’s the smart and right thing to do.

Just for Sh!ts and Giggles I figured that I would throw this up in case anyone is interested. It's a look at a portion of the bottom structure of the lake that I am fishing for a few hours this morning.

I plan on fishing that 27 - 100 foot depth circled in red. As you can see just to the north about 400 yards the depth bottoms out at 258 feet.




The structure varies so much in these deep cold lakes that a fish finder is a critical piece of gear in hitting the precise spot and depth you are looking for.


Well those Lake Trout aren’t going to catch themselves. So I am outta here.

You savages have a great day and keep a grim on those chops!

[OldFartTom]

Not used one myself, normal if I camp it's a quick bivvy somewhere I'm not supposed to be (can't make any smoke) and probably nowhere near any source of twigs either

But... I have met people enthusiastic for Kelly Kettles, which is kind of like a *heavier* version of what you have there, sort of

https://www.kellykettle.com/camping-kettles

Good for making a hot drink and rehydrating food, but not so good for your bear sausage or frying a fish or whatever

[paulinkansas]

Looked out this morning and one of the chains was effing GONE! Walked around in a 50 yard radius and could not find it.

[Mark1T]

MT, I have not used those stoves myself, but I have seen them and they are awesome. Holy smokes, those lakes are deep. 250 feet? I really want to deepen this lake, but it is probably cost prohibitive. 20 to 25 feet would be great and the fish would grow bigger, as we have discussed before. LOL @ Gilligan

Thomas, that is another cool stove. Similar concept as the Mountain Man's.

Paul, what could have pulled a heavy chain like that down? Did you have a cam on it? If not, put one out there. I can't imagine a deer doing that. I can't even imagine a boar hog doing that. We need to solve this mystery

[paulinkansas]

Paul, what could have pulled a heavy chain like that down? Did you have a cam on it? If not, put one out there. I can't imagine a deer doing that. I can't even imagine a boar hog doing that. We need to solve this mystery

It had to be a deer. I've put a cam on it before, but it took me an hour to view and delete 10,000 pictures. The only animals that come to the feeder are doves, cardinals, blue jays, squirrels, rabbits, raccoons, and deer. The first 6 animals are not going to walk/fly off with 40 pound chain. A deer is the only thing that could. I suppose a pack of raccoons could do it if they coordinated their efforts to spread out the weight. One raccoon would climb up the ladder and undo the hooks. Then they would carry it off, like you see a group of soldiers carrying a telephone pole.

[steffo99]

Good day, folks. I keep checking in to see what possible adventures you guys are up to. Just haven't done any outdoorsy stuff myself lately. Picked up a new used macro lens today and waiting for some accessories, so looking forward to getting out there to see what I can find. Heard some little bird sing outside, so that is a good sign I guess. Can't wait for spring to come around.

[Mark1T]

It had to be a deer. I've put a cam on it before, but it took me an hour to view and delete 10,000 pictures. The only animals that come to the feeder are doves, cardinals, blue jays, squirrels, rabbits, raccoons, and deer. The first 6 animals are not going to walk/fly off with 40 pound chain. A deer is the only thing that could. I suppose a pack of raccoons could do it if they coordinated their efforts to spread out the weight. One raccoon would climb up the ladder and undo the hooks. Then they would carry it off, like you see a group of soldiers carrying a telephone pole.

LOL @ the raccoons coordinating how they would carry off a chain. 40lbs is still a good weight for a deer. A deer can do that, it just wouldn't be comfortable. I wonder if the deer got the chain wrapped around its antlers and flailed away so much it unhooked it..?

I have been through 4400 photos before and it was no fun. I check the cams more often.

Good day, folks. I keep checking in to see what possible adventures you guys are up to. Just haven't done any outdoorsy stuff myself lately. Picked up a new used macro lens today and waiting for some accessories, so looking forward to getting out there to see what I can find. Heard some little bird sing outside, so that is a good sign I guess. Can't wait for spring to come around.

We shall patiently await the photographic genius soon

[mtpockets]

[mtpockets]

Been fishing hard the last couple of days, it has been exceptional fishing.

Leaving in a bit to try and get a couple of hours fishing in before the temperatures drop. It got up to 57F yesterday with rain then dropping to -8F this evening with rain changing to freezing before the drop which will result in a flash freeze. I'll be keeping an eye out for that and head home before that happens. I don't take any chances with that sh!t, it's a good way to get stranded or end up in a ditch lol.


You fukkers have a great day and keep a grin on.

[Mark1T]

MT, have a great trip. Careful on that ice. We have wind from the North 20 to 30mph. I cannot fish with that. I will start fishing soon. My electric went out yesterday for 4 hours and ruined my whole damn day.

Check ya'll later.

[Mark1T]

Boar Hog on my property the other evening. Guessing about 130 to 150lbs. Up to no good.

[mtpockets]

Boar Hog on my property the other evening. Guessing about 130 to 150lbs. Up to no good.

Great shot of the hog Mark...

Bummer about your electricity, sucks when that happens for sure. That's some pretty high wind, was that the cause?



We were lucky it didn't happen here, we had a sh!it load of rain and a flash freeze, the ice makes the lines heavy and they snap.

While I was fishing this morning we had thunder snow and lightening and the temp dropped more than 20 degrees in a couple of hours. I am home now and it's a skating rink everywhere. I will be grounded until the weather helps with the ice. Should be good tomorrow.

So I am cooking, made a huge slow cooker full of moose spaghetti sauce and a few batches of weed brownies. lol