That crawfish cook-up in the last photo looks absolutely sensational.Mumbleypeg wrote: ↑Sat Nov 21, 2020 9:53 pm Same here cudgee. Here they’re called crawdads, crawfish, crayfish and probably other names depending on region of the country. Very popular food in the south, usually boiled with corn, potatoes and spices. Lots of other recipes also. A great time can be had every year at the Crawfish Festival in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana. Big party!
Ken
Growing up...we had a pond, out in the woods, we would catch them, over in Euless, Texas. No one I knew ever ate them. When I got stationed in Alexandria, La...was the first time I got introduced to eating them. Love them. Now, our grocery stores, here in San Antonio, carry them live, when they are in season.Mumbleypeg wrote: ↑Sat Nov 21, 2020 9:53 pm Same here cudgee. Here they’re called crawdads, crawfish, crayfish and probably other names depending on region of the country. Very popular food in the south, usually boiled with corn, potatoes and spices. Lots of other recipes also. A great time can be had every year at the Crawfish Festival in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana. Big party!
Ken
I forgot to say, they are excellent fish bait as well. We have a native species called Murray Cod which can only be caught in certain river systems, they can get as old as 100 years and grow to 4-5 feet in length weighing in at 80-100 pounds. The really old ones which were fished out were even bigger, they were massive. But all fish will take small to large yabbies. Here is a photo of a Murray Cod, and an old photo of a massive one. There are now strict limits on catching them now, bag limits and no longer than 20 inches, and catch and release is recommended. If you get caught breaking these rules, there are heavy penalties, with confiscation of ALL your fishing gear, including, boat,trailer and car. The biggest i have seen is 5 foot, and if prepared properly are sensational eating. I had one done properly and it is the best fish i have ever eaten.Doc B wrote: ↑Sat Nov 21, 2020 10:44 pmGrowing up...we had a pond, out in the woods, we would catch them, over in Euless, Texas. No one I knew ever ate them. When I got stationed in Alexandria, La...was the first time I got introduced to eating them. Love them. Now, our grocery stores, here in San Antonio, carry them live, when they are in season.Mumbleypeg wrote: ↑Sat Nov 21, 2020 9:53 pm Same here cudgee. Here they’re called crawdads, crawfish, crayfish and probably other names depending on region of the country. Very popular food in the south, usually boiled with corn, potatoes and spices. Lots of other recipes also. A great time can be had every year at the Crawfish Festival in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana. Big party!
Ken
They are, but hard to catch, the older they get the more craftier they get. Very territorial and the big old ones usually inhabit a deep hole covered and surrounded by big gum trees, so getting bait or lures in there without getting snagged can be difficult. Have been caught on ping pong balls with a big hook through them, the cod think they are birds eggs fallen from the nest.
WOW!cudgee wrote: ↑Sun Nov 22, 2020 12:20 amThey are, but hard to catch, the older they get the more craftier they get. Very territorial and the big old ones usually inhabit a deep hole covered and surrounded by big gum trees, so getting bait or lures in there without getting snagged can be difficult. Have been caught on ping pong balls with a big hook through them, the cod think they are birds eggs fallen from the nest.
Smallmouth bass can’t resist them. How they know the difference before they strike, I don’t know. 
I know what you mean, but know they do, how, i'm buggered if i know how.Mumbleypeg wrote: ↑Sun Nov 22, 2020 1:24 am Possibly the absolute best live bait for channel catfish, bass (especially smallmouth) and other fish is what we call soft shell crawdads. Immediately after they “moult”, or shed their old outgrown tail covering, the new tail is soft. When we seine for bait if we find a soft shell crawdad, that’s a big plus.
Ken
In my opinion, slowly, slowly, but surely, the idea of buying a boat is brewing in you.TwoFlowersLuggage wrote: ↑Sun Nov 22, 2020 3:58 am Ahhh - crawfish etouffee in New Orleans! Love it, love it, LOVE IT!!!
Out here on the California coast, it is currently Spiny Lobster, Dungeness Crab & Rock Crab season. All the bait shops around here sell hoop nets & crab traps. Although some people fish for crabs & lobsters from the rocks or piers, you really need a boat or kayak to be successful. The spots you can get to from the rocks & piers are all too heavily fished to get any keepers. I've never fished for crabs or lobsters - but I sure do like eating them! There is a type of crab snare that you can throw with your fishing rod that I might try some day, but the beach near me is really not known for crabbing. You just load the wire box with fish parts (I have even heard some people use chicken) and chuck it as far as you can onto a sandy bottom.
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Woohee them is some fine looking victuals there Ken, few years ago we took a little trip to your great state of Texas spend a few days with my wife's cousin in Fort Worth, we planned to get hotel room around Shreveport then drive on in the next morning. Well to our surprise there wasn't a room to be had. They were having the annual mud bug festival and something elsewhere was happening. We drove close to a hundred miles before we found a motel with a vacancy. I guess all that to say that they are called mudbugs too, a term that I'd never heard until then.Mumbleypeg wrote: ↑Sat Nov 21, 2020 9:53 pm Same here cudgee. Here they’re called crawdads, crawfish, crayfish and probably other names depending on region of the country. Very popular food in the south, usually boiled with corn, potatoes and spices. Lots of other recipes also. A great time can be had every year at the Crawfish Festival in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana. Big party!
Eat soda crackers. Ask any of these old Squids on here. It works (personal experience)
Mumbleypeg wrote: ↑Mon Nov 23, 2020 3:04 am Mazie says, “I promise, I never touched it. It just died!”
Ken
P.S. I called her away from it, and about a minute later it resurrected itself and toddled off.
That is one guilty dog, the face gives her up. 
What has she caught by the way.? 
That’s a possum. Aka Opossum. It’s a marsupial native to most of the Americas. This wasn’t her first encounter with a possum. The dog never touched it, it just acted like it was dead (it wasn’t) which when threatened is their defense mechanism.cudgee wrote: ↑Mon Nov 23, 2020 3:34 amMumbleypeg wrote: ↑Mon Nov 23, 2020 3:04 am Mazie says, “I promise, I never touched it. It just died!”
Ken
P.S. I called her away from it, and about a minute later it resurrected itself and toddled off.
That’s a beautiful scene.
That looks like a very nice trail, and a lot of fun! Poplar trees grow, literally like weeds on my place. I have a section on top of the hill in the back pasture that if I don’t keep mowed, they will over run it. Beautiful trees and great wood though.just bob wrote: ↑Sun Nov 22, 2020 9:59 pm I live very near the Wilbur Wright Trail. It is a 3 mile long paved walkway. On a good day you will find 50 -75 people out there enjoying the sun. It is a great community resource and open to bike riders, skateboarders, walkers, dogs, and almost any non - motorized vehicle. It does you good to see people on crutches and walkers out there. The trail meanders around and gets very near Blue River. I took the picture of the beaver dam in early summer. It is much bigger now. It's not unusual to see deer, squirrels, rabbits, many birds, and even a coyote or fox occasionally. I do a lot of volunteer work on the trail and help support it. We have about 75 trees planted alongside the trail. People can sponsor a tree and the money is used for the upkeep of the trail. The tree behind the bicycle sculpture is a Tulip Poplar Tree, which is the state tree of Indiana.
Bless her heart. I’ve got a couple of first class possum killers in the back yard. They come up to eat dog food and don’t last long.Mumbleypeg wrote: ↑Mon Nov 23, 2020 3:04 am Mazie says, “I promise, I never touched it. It just died!”
Ken
P.S. I called her away from it, and about a minute later it resurrected itself and toddled off.
Sounds reasonable to me. Possums are scavengers. Their diet consists mostly of carrion and rotting vegetation.Quick Steel wrote: ↑Mon Nov 23, 2020 2:24 pm Not from experience but I have read that possums have exceptionally filthy mouths. If man or beast gets bitten by one, prompt treatment is advised.