Utah Fishing Reports
Today is Grandson Cody’s 8th birthday and he has invited Grandpa to go ice fishing with his dad and a few of his buddies! It looks like he has the day pretty well planned out as we are leaving town at 10:30 and going to Hyrum to enjoy the fishing. His mom is making each of us a tuna fish sandwich and Grandpa is bringing hot chocolate. How much planning is needed?
I doubt it will be as enjoyable as it was New Years Eve day because of a new storm that is coming this way. It is currently 45 degrees outside and it’s been thawing all night…we can expect some slush on the ice. Then as the front comes in, the winds are expected to kick up to even 50 mph…I doubt we will see that strong of winds, but for sure we will see some. I think I’ll leave the ice tent home, it won’t be that cold and the wind would want to take it away.
Sitting with Winemaker enjoying our morning cup(s) of coffee, it suddenly dawned on me that my license is expired! I’ll make the trip to Smith and Edwards right at 9 to get my new one! That would have made for an interesting lesson for a bunch of 7 and 8 year olds to see Grandpa get a ticket for fishing without a license! Not a good lesson at all!
Let me explain officer……
So, how many of these kids will be prepared for slushy ice, cold feet and hands and just how long will be actually be on the ice fishing today?
Cody said when he called last week that a couple of the kids he has invited have never been fishing. This will be a real treat for me today. I can hardly wait, new kids to fishing…I love it!
More to come on here after we return!
Bears Butt
January 11, 2014
PM Edit:
The weather was quite nice in spite of the forecast! There was a time today when wearing anything other than a t-shirt was too much! But then the front came through and changed all of that really quick! Before that happened the boys had made sure their clothing was good and wet…hats, gloves, snow pants, socks…it was all wet! When the wind started to blow, it didn’t take but one announcement that we were going home and they were on the run for the truck!
It was a very fun day!
Everyone caught at least one fish even if it was with their hands (3 fish were caught that way). The perch were small and the trout were all perfect for the pan, but all the fish went back into the holes!
For an eight year olds birthday fishing day, I’d have to say it was perfect!
Thanks for the invite Cody! Happy Birthday!
Bears Butt
PM, Jan. 11, 2014
Today, since the snow Gods have thus far favored my schedule and I don’t have to plow as yet, I decided it would be a good day to make up a batch of Corned Elk Brisket in anticipation for whenever we decide to have corned meat.
I thawed out 6 1/2 pounds of brisket meat I had saved just for this when we cut up the elk. I now have a batch of brine cooling and when that is cooled I’ll put the meat into a plastic bucket I have and pour the brine in on top of it.
The meat should be ready to go back into the freezer on Tuesday!
Bears Butt
January 9, 2014
This morning I tried a new to us recipe on Winemaker. Unlike the vienna, kipper, enchilada this one turned out pretty good. It’s not a new one by any means, it just saved on having to do any dishes.
On this site, you have probably seen the recipe for “Bowern Omlettes”, well this is pretty much the same with just some tweaks to make it interesting. The end result was very good!
I’m calling this the “Bowern Buritto”.
For two people:
Toss in a pretty good handful of hash brown potatoes into a pan with only the spray non stick stuff as the grease. Begin to get them frying.
In the mean time, cut up some ham into diced chunks, about 3/4 cup of ham chunks, toss them into the pan with the spuds.
Dice up some onions, green peppers and whatever other veggies you like, toss them into the pan, stir often.
Dice up a very nice sized dill pickle! Yes Dill Pickle…toss it into the pan with the other stuff. Now heat it all for a bit. You want the pickle juice to permeate the rest of the ingredients.
Break and scramble three eggs into the mix!
Now, add a handful of shredded cheddar cheese. Stir it up until the cheese is melted and thoroughly mixed. Set the pan to the side.
Grab onto some burrito shells or even tortilla shells (they are smaller, but do the same thing). Heat them one at a time flipping them over in a pan (please, NOT the same pan that has the mix in it) a few times, until it’s almost too hot to handle with the bare hand.
Place the hot burrito shell on a single piece of aluminum foil, put a nice glob of the mix from the pan onto the shell keeping it in a heaping row and toward one side. Now roll it up as you would any burrito and then roll that up in the foil.
Done!
You can change things up by adding salsa to the mix in the pan as well if you like. One thing about this is you don’t have to add salt, pepper or any other seasonings. There is plenty of salt in the ham.
As our breakfast turned out, I had used tortilla shells (small ones) and because of the potatoes in the mix and the flour shell, we were both very satisfied with one of these as the main course. Add a half glass of orange juice or milk and you have just had a very, very good breakfast!
You read it first right here on Bears Butt Dot Com!
Bears Butt
January 9, 2014
I just got back from visiting with Mr. White Trapper: Friend and Taxidermist…You have read about “Swamp Man Taxidermy” right?
Well, here is another fine example of his work! My San Juan Elk Antlers!
I’m glad I didn’t shoot a really big one as this is enough for the space I have! He did an excellent job mounting this big boy! I had a tough time finding enough hardware to keep it held to the wall, but I finally did find a big enough molly bolt!
That’s my elk trophy and I’m very proud of it! Thank You Mr. White Trapper for finishing off my dream! I love it!
Bears Butt
January 7, 2014
Today I had a response to an older post about tree climbing steps. It’s the third one since posting up that article and video. All three of the comments have been the same….Do I have any in inventory, how much are they and when can I ship them….
It’s funny how the story begins with me not being associated with the product in the first place, but I guess like a lot of things, when a person sees something they want really bad, they are locked into getting it and no matter what is being said around them, they can’t hear it.
That reminds me of the story that ended with Weasel getting his name changed.
At least I can see where there are a few readers out there that are finding this site. That’s a good thing. As for these tree climbing steps, someone really needs to start making them and getting them out to the people. Go back and check out the story for yourself. If you are into tree stands, or just like to climb trees, these steps are pretty neat!
Look for “Ever Want to Climb up a tree pretty fast” on this blog.
Bears Butt
January 7, 2014
Two straight days of staying indoors, taking meds as prescribed, sleeping way too much and now it’s Monday….time to get out and breath some fresh air!!!!
No fishing or hunting, but plenty of plans on the docket! Picking up something that will be fun and doing some necessary book work with Bones.
Then back home to spruce things up and kill some germs that I know are laying around here and there.
Not sure what the plan is for supper but I’ll figure that one out as the day progresses.
I’ve also been dreaming (in my medicated state) about the possibility of setting some traps for foxes.
Who knows how the day will end, but that’s a good start!
I hate being sick more than I hate plowing snow!
Bears Butt
January 6, 2014
The dreaded Monguu has had me down and out the past few days. Winemaker and I have been sick for FAR TOO LONG! I was able to get into the doc and he prescribed some stuff that really knocked it good! It also knocked me good and pretty soon normality will be back…right now I feel like 45%. Winemaker seems to be clicking in about 60%. It’s just a matter of time. At least the chills and feel bads are taking less of our total daily hours, so that is a BIG plus!
OK, so much for that.
The year is a new one and lots being talked about in our future. Of course when you look ahead, a lot of the yearly plans are already in place…the usual stuff…Trapping, Farm Work, Annual trip to Wendover, Cache Rendezvous, Hay, WCFT Rendezvous, Muzz Deer Hunt….Those are pretty much given activities.
Mixed in with those activities are hopes of helping with some volunteer programs like the Youth Turkey Hunt, Sponsored in part by the United Wildlife Cooperative and R and K Hunting Company. Since being allowed to participate in that event I have met some wonderful people and witnessed some amazing turkey hunting. The kids who have been allowed to hunt at this event have all been such a delight to get to know. All of them are just plain “down home” and all had the same goal in mind…shoot a big old tom turkey. Not all of them got the chance, but those that did sure had some great stories to tell.
Maybe this year will be another one where we get to spend some time in the Crawford Mountains. That is always a fun time!
For sure, and I don’t know when yet, but there will be at least one meeting of the Utah Wildlife Board that I will be attending and hoping my idea of additional Muzzleload Antelope hunting will be accepted and put into the Hunting Guide book for 2015. Shooting a buck antelope with my muzz rifle is one of my last two hunting items on my bucket list!
Scatter into this mix of “stuff” will be the Super Bowl and World Series playoff boards! Always fun to hope to cash in on that. AND the lottery…could we be so lucky as to hit some of that!!!!
So, there you have it and let’s hope and pray we don’t have any more deaths in any of our families. God needs to give us a break after last year.
Bears Butt
January 5, 2014
Today was the first day of the North American Fur Auction (NAFA) local fur pickup for 2014, so I met up with the driver and got some of the bags and tags they insist we use to put our furs in.
While there I saw a couple of guys dropping off their bags of furs and even though I didn’t see into the bags, they appeared to be full of either coyotes or foxes.
This will be our first year to sell our furs through the auction house and it should be an interesting one. The one thing that we won’t have to deal with is the local buyers who like to throw the shaft at the trappers. It actually makes me feel a whole lot better knowing exactly what we are going to do with our furs, what is expected of us in putting them up and bagging them and the schedule for when the bags of furs will be taken to the pickup driver.
I have always hated the haggling over the price we would accept for our hard earned rats. This way, we know we will get whatever the buyers pay at the auction and even though we are at their mercy, so be it. Last year we could have made a bunch more money had we gone through the auction house. As it ended up, my butt still hurts from the screwing we got.
Sure, we will have to wait for the fur check, as the auction that our furs will be in does not take place until June. That’s OK! It will allow us more time in the swamp picking up a few more rats before they start to slip. Maybe we will hit the 1,000 rat mark this year!
Anyway…step one has been taken for this trapping season!
Bears Butt
January 3, 2014
Each year, starting January 1st, Sherry and I have an ongoing rivalry to see who can find the most coins (money) during the year. You would be surprised how much money is laying around in parking lots and store isles.
This tradition has actually been in the family for over 20 years, with almost every one of us participating in the “find the coins” game. You will often see us wandering aimlessly through parking lots, convenience stores and even in old camp grounds, looking for that one penny that someone flipped out of their pocket as they pulled the car keys out. Penny’s now days don’t let you know when they hit the pavement…they are rather dull sounding.
Add to that the fact that high school kids have a problem with penny’s…they toss them left and right when they get them as change! I love to see that happen! If you don’t believe me, check the ground the next time you pull into a McDonalds drive through! Lots of coins laying on the ground there.
My biggest find this year was a $10 bill that floated on the wind in front of my car while I was leaving a WalMart store! I scarfed that bad boy up really quick and I’d have given it back to the one who lost it, but when I looked around there was nobody who was looking like they had just lost it…so…into my pocket it went!
Another of our traditions is that when you find a “lucky coin”, you get to scratch off a scratch ticket from the Idaho lottery! We usually buy 10 to 20 of them when we go get our lottery tickets. So, Sherry and I have been keeping track of who scratched the most winners as well.
It’s all meant to be in fun and we are all about fun!
How did we fair this year? Well, had it not been for that ten dollars, Sherry would have kicked my butt big time! She found $7.28 and scratched a total of $27 worth of winning tickets! That is wonderful! My take was $13.10 and $21 respectfully!
You can see either she has her head down too much as she walks, or my eyes are just getting bad. Take the $10 away from mine and she found WAY OVER twice as much as I did!!! But collectively we found over $20! Not a bad year!
This coin finding is not always fun and games, especially with Sherry, I’ve been knocked into some pretty solid objects as she dashed to pick up a shining coin! Not just once either! As we get older we may have to modify the rules! Things like, no knocking the other ones cane out from under them, or no using your cane to hold the other one back and for sure, no putting your cane on top of the coin and pressing down! That said, I might have to come up with a coin picking up cane tip!
Happy NEW Year everyone!
Bears Butt
January 2, 2013