Reasons I have been away for a few weeks

[Boerrancher]

I know it has been a few weeks since I have been around, and I thought I would take time to explain. It is Kidding season so I have to pay special attention to all of my Doe's that are expecting. It is also time to prep the fields for planting, so I have been trying to plow and disk every dry day I get. I also have a couple of rifles that I am building. I am almost done with my 308 to the point that it is ready to take to the range and shoot. If it is a shooter I will put the finishing coats of tru-oil on the stock and polish and blue it. If not I will toss it in the closet until I can afford another new barrel. I also have a 25-06 I started and need to finish.

But... one of the main reasons I haven't been around much is the following:
http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk155/Boerrancher/Hunting%20and%20Fishing/BigFish.jpg

So as you can see I have been really busy as of late, please forgive me for not hanging out here as much as I was, but as things start slowing down in a few weeks I will be back to hanging out with here once again with some of the finest people I know.

Best wishes from the Boer Ranch,

Joe

[BPCR Bill]

Nice Paddle Fish, Joe. Where did ya catch him?

Regards,
Bill

[PatMarlin]

Boy... That doe's got a skin aliment.

What crop are you planting Joe? Is it grass for the pointy nosed sheeps?

I've been considering goat or sheep for meat milk someday here. I've got area that I can plant grasses now. ..:drinks:

[Just Duke]

Welcome back! :-D

[quasi]

what caliber of boolit did you use on that thing? Are you going to mount it?

[Boerrancher]

Bill

I caught that one where the Osage and Missouri Rivers come together. He put up one heck of a fight before I got him in. The sad part is my buddy lost one about 2x as big because I missed it with the Gaff on its first pass by the boat. He had fought it for about 30 min, it is just a shame that I couldn't get the gaff in him.

Pat,

I have been planting clover, about 20 acres worth up until yesterday, when I started planting sugar beets, Turnips, and Rape for the deer and turkey. I put out about 4 acres of that, and I am going to put out about 10 acres of soy bean. I plan on using the beans for a feed and possibly try making some Bio diesel. It has got to dry up some before I can get my beans in though. I should get more than enough clover for next winter and be able to sell quite a few bales as well.

Quasi,

No boolit, just a couple of 10 aught hooks and a half a pound lead fishing weight cast from the finest range scrap to have been dug out of a berm. As far as mounting it, I have already eaten it. That one is just a baby compared to some that I have seen. That fish weighed in at 47 lbs, and I know the state record is over 100 lbs for a single fish. I bet that day we had 6 of those that totaled over 250 lbs. We also had caught over 500 lbs of carp that day. The carp ranged from 65 lbs on down to about 8 lbs. It only takes a couple of hours of fighting fish that size to turn a well rested fairly tough man into a glob of jelly.

Best wishes from the Boer Ranch,

Joe

[monadnock#5]

I knew there had to be a good reason. You're looking fit and well. Thank you for checking in.

[Old Ironsights]

And that is a freshwater whatsit?

Never seen a freshwater swordfish...

[quasi]

WOW, thats some fishing.

[MT Gianni]

It'll be a while before ours start to run. MT went to a #8 hook maximum last year. It is supposed to cause less damage on the one's that are released. WE have a one fish limit in all 3 areas I believe, down from a 2 fish limit 3 years ago. Nice eater. Gianni.

[Bret4207]

Joe, we're still up to our knees in mud here. Sent two kids to the Easter sale and got around $70.00 a piece, pretty good wages for what I put in them. Of course these are Nubian/LaMancha mixes and lack the meaty frame your Boers have, but at 3 months old I thought they did good. It's keeping those early ones alive in -30 temps that's the hard part.

On your bio-d, rape is supposed to be much higher in oil content than beans. I thought about putting in some rape for the same reason but there's a lot more to it than I can handle right now. OTH sheep reportedly like to graze the rape and it's an easy grower compared to beans. Plus I don't believe you have to roast the rape like you do beans to get the most out of it.

Nice fish, do you eat them?

[sav300]

Joe,sure am glad to see you are ok.When working I worked with a goat breeder and some days he would come to work looking like a wreck.We both train drivers.

[Alchemist]

And that is a freshwater whatsit?

Never seen a freshwater swordfish...

That's a paddlefish, or as they known around here...a "spoonbill". Since they're plankton feeders, you hafta snag 'em.

Nice catch, Joe.

[JIMinPHX]

Nice Catch!

[Boerrancher]

Thanks Fellas,

This was my first year trying for the spoonbill/paddle fish. I have landed some nice sized fish in the past, but there is something to be said for hooking a 45+ lb fish in the tail where you have no control over him like you would with a hook in the mouth. We have had fish on big enough to pull the boat around. For a few moments you think you have hooked on to a log that is floating down stream, until it turns and starts going back up stream, pulling a fully loaded 18 ft long river fishing boat. Those are the ones that you never get to see. I don't know how big they are but when they tear up 120 lb test line like it is nothing, or strip the gears and clutches out of our big snagging reels, you know you had a monster on.

Best wishes from the Boer Ranch,

Joe

[waksupi]

Joe, I enjoy paddle fishing. We generally would go the the head of the Charlie Russell Refuge, around the Missouri Breaks for them. We use heavy surf casting equipment for longer casts. Spark plugs are our choice of casting weights, as they are free at any mechanics shop.
We would only need maybe one rod for every three people, as it would wear you out casting. That gave you a break for a beer or whatever.
I think the largest we ever got was around 137#. These were generally females, and we would release them and keep the males that ran 40-60#.
One of the funniest experiences I remember, was someone had laid a walkway of slab wood out on the mud flats, to get closer to the river edge in one area.
Some of the natives from the Rocky Boy Reservation were fishing there while we were. One of them was a big ol' gal. She lost her balance,and fell from the boards, getting stuck up to her waist in the gumbo mud.
Well, that gal could certainly screech, and in no time everyone knew she wasn't happy with where she was. It took a lot of maneuvering around with more planking, lots of beer, and all available hands to get her out of the sucking mass of mud, and back to dry land. Most female types wouldn't have found it all that amusing, but she joined in the merriment, only bemoaning the loss of her shoes, that are still buried as Adidas Indian artifacts in the Missouri River mud.

As for cleaning a paddle fish. You hang them by the bill. Then make a cut around the tail, being careful to not sever the central system. You then bend the tail back and forth, and are then able to pull the nerve and blood system out in one piece, that reaches to the nose. There is no skeletal system. After that, split the belly, and gut them.
You then steak them out. Once they are steaked, you cut off the outer layer, which is pink meat overlying the white meat in the middle. If you leave the pink on, it WILL give you the scoots. When steaking them, don't cut them too thick. These are primitive prehistoric animals, with a peculiar nervous system. You will see the flesh cringe at each cut of the knife, assuming they are fresh as the should be during butchering. If you cut the steak too thick, you will believe, right or wrong, that they are still alive and trying to get away, even after being cooked. Sliced thin, though, paddlefish tastes a lot like bass or shark, to my palate.