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Beyond Me.....at why anyone would eat this crap. Stick to Muskie

I'm currently on week 2 of my extended summer vacation and have been hard on getting some cabin building done. First thing needed was a dry, shady and bug free zone to chillax in when the working was done. Threw up this temporary shack in a weekend. Now onto the cabin building segment. Took a lot longer than expected to layout the foundation. Drilled 1/4" holes in the granite to drop my nails into to run my string lines. Then it was time to drill 1" diameter holes 8" deep to drop my pier saddles into. Then the saddles had to be set in non-shrink grout to hold them in place, before running my water level to figure out pier heights. Then it was time to install my piers. Now I need to frame in between the perimeter piers and once that's done I can install my floor joists. If all goes according to plan I will have a floor by next week sometime. Oh, and to keep it fishing related I did get out here and there and even managed to catch some troots!!!

Great year for summer mushrooms. Got another nice batch of chantarelles tonight and a nice chicken of the woods. Tasty treats.

Way to go, I am glad you passed the course. Enjoy your bike. Art

If you’re worried about eating too much red meat, get my MIL to cook it!! It’s really more of a cremation than a bbq.

Froggin is one my favourite techniques, and I've learned a ton over the last couple years. - Use a soft body frog like a Live Target. They compress really easily. I use these in slop and pads. I use Spro Bronze eye popping frogs in grass or more open water. The spro's are not as soft, so spend some time "working it in" with your hands when you take it out the package, kind of like working in a new baseball glove. - Trim the tails. I trim the length to about 2-2.5 inches in length. This creates a more compact profile, and a fish that only wants to "smack" the bait comes closer to the hooks this way. - Bend the hooks out. Flip the frog over the hooks and turn it around so the hooks are totally exposed. Take two pairs of pliers and put one one each hook, and bend each one away from the other at the same time. This will expose the hook points more (yes, a bit less weedless but will hook up far better) - Sharpen the hooks!! This never gets talked about. While you still have the hooks exposed, take a hook file and sharpen each hook until they are sticky sharp (if your thumbnail "sticks" to the hookpoint, rather than slides across it, you're good to go). Think about a bass hitting the frog, and maybe not grabbing it totally. Dull hooks will allow the fish to just slide right off if you don't get a solid hookset. The sticky hooks help to keep the bait just pinned enough to give you the time to react and set the hook. I've noticed my hook ups have gone way up since I've started doing these things.Another thing is to make sure the rod you are using is stout enough and has a fast enough tip to set the hook quickly. Yes, many times a frog will get "smacked" instead of eaten. I've found if a larger fish smacks the frog, the sticky hooks sometimes help to pin the frog to the fish and you can set the hook. A lot of smaller fish will smack the legs and may not hit again. Hope this helps

Chanterelles only grow under oaks around here. If you had someone show you them in the ground first hand you will see how obvious they are.

I checked out some youtube videos but still have some hesitation. Might have to try to find a group to join. I think I might have the chantarelles figured out, but I never see them around my place. Wrong type of forest.

fish die. we don't even net many fish. shake the hooks boatside helps a whole lot. too many pictures of folks that just have to have that photo..while we love muskies remember a person is entitled to keep a fish in most waters. its not my cup of tea,but some do eat them.

I am relatively new and I stick to the ones that really do not have poisonous look alikes. Once you know what chanterelles look, feel and smell like, there is no risk of mistake. But you need someone to show you.

1st Simcoe laker of the season. It,s been a grind for some reason,but finally managed to put one top side. Came out of no where when I was reel up to cover the water colom. Was a quick red streak at 60 ft and strike.

Been out on Erie 4 of the past 7 days and although the numbers aren't as good as last year, the fish we have got have been significantly bigger including two 8 pounders.

Lake Erie walleye boom’s cause is a mystery, but no one is complaining - cleveland.com Lake Erie walleye parade not slowed by mayfly hatch, hot weather: July 12 Fishing Report - cleveland.com Just info.

Been following the Erie scene for a while and even get to fish there occasionally with great success. The 2015 spawn was the best record back then, and we benefited from it starting 2017 when these fish reached ~16-17 inches in length. Now that year class is in the 20s and it's awesome fishing out there. 2018 was an even better spawn than 2015, and somehow 2019 is looking better than 2018. So expect Lake Erie walleye fishing to be bananas from 2020-2025 at least. Hopefully this trend continues!

I normally pick a few pounds of chantrelles each year, blanche them and freeze them. I'll go check my spots this weekend, thanks for the reminder. I took a close look at yours, they look really clean, no bugs. One year I experienced a hot flush after eating some... hooo boy! After that I was far more careful to make sure they were super fresh, with no slug damage and no pin holes (where bugs lay eggs). Only the cleanest get kept now.