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Spaulding Smails

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Posts posted by Spaulding Smails

  1. 32 minutes ago, Hank_Hill said:

    Actually 1065. Amistad I think? $65 a day for three days for 3 yaks and $480(!) for the shuttle. 

    See if you can find three more to join you.  They can take six, and I think the increase in shuttle cost is nominal with more people.  You'll pay for extra permits and kayak rentals, but the increased shuttle cost won't be much.  

    I think we were $120/man the last time we went.  That was permit, shuttle and tip for six guys.  We all had our own kayaks, though.  

  2. What was the all-in cost?  The permits are cheap, but the outfitter to drop you off and pick you up can add up, especially if you have a smaller group.  Plus, kayak rental can add up.  I did the math on it, though, and those outfitters still aren't necessarily cutting a fat hog.  Those guys are in the truck for 4+ hours just to drop you off or pick you up.  

    If you're re-scheduling, May is a great time (especially if there's some spring rain).  May and October are peak times.

  3. 17 hours ago, Izhmash said:

    Interesting that his G2's have progressively gotten smaller since 2016, but the G4's seem to be growing.  Are my eyes deceiving me, or based on his left ear, he has gained another 1/2-1" in inside spread? (think it might be the picture angle).

    Between the two, I'm more a fan of the tall rack with strong / masculine G2 / G3's.  That is prettier than width (if I had to chose between the two).  Both are good looking bucks!

    It's pretty amazing how you can identify specific antler traits and almost develop a lineage within a herd.  I hunted on the same low-fence 1400 acres lease for 7 years in South Texas between 99-06.  The majority of the deer had G3s longer than G2s.  That was an almost universal trait throughout the herd.  But, we noticed two basic sub-lineages throughout the herd.  We had a ton of deer with forked right G3s.  Another group had split left brow tines.  It was pretty predictable, and you could almost discern the genealogical history of each buck based on the antler development.

  4. I agree with all of the above.  10-12' rope tied to the front.  Get a soft, nylon rope about 1/2" in diameter.  I actually throw one on the back as well and tuck it under my gear.  As @PatrickMcHorn mentioned, you may want to ease the boat ahead and hang onto it from behind.  

    Don't bring a cooler.  Water is going to be super low.  Box wine (with the box removed aka "space bag") or whiskey in a flask is the correct answer.  When you set up camp, drop wine into the river and let it cool.  

    IMG_2711.jpg 

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  5. Other key components are as follows:

    -Pictures of featured food items on the menu

    -Receipt given to you by the waitress, but you pay at the register

    -Chicle at the register

    -Horchata fountain behind the register

    My recommendations.  Most are south-ish.

    Taqueria #3 La Escondida (Ben White just east of Manchaca.  I drop my truck off at Discount Tire to get tires rotated and balanced and enjoy a nice huevos rancheros breakfast with nopalitos).

    Taqueria Arandas (multiple locations around town)

    Casa Linda Taqueria (way South First)

    Taqueria Peloncitos (Stassney near Kizer GC)

    El Chanclas Taqueria (183 S @ 812)

  6. 10 minutes ago, Fuck Tim Beck said:

    Yep. My old man fell for this.  Twice. Luckily nothing got stolen. 

    Same.  My mom fell for it about five years ago.  Once she found out that it was a scam, she was so freaked out and paranoid that they were going to be able to get back in she ditched the computer and bought a new one.   

    To make matters worse, my grandmother (85 y.o.) relies on my mom as tech support.  My mom went to her house earlier this year to set up her printer.  She was there for six hours and still didn't get it to function properly.  

    • Haha 1
  7. On August 17, 2018 at 2:54 PM, Brisketexan said:

    You. Stupid.  FUCK.

    The key to consuming a flavor-bomb snack like chili cheese fritos is no secret it all.  It's what any self-respecting man should know already.

    Eat half the bag.  The chemical flavor-bomb assault will overwhelm your tastebuds.  Set the bag aside.  Drink some of your beverage.  Peruse some interwebs posts.  Double check your TPS reports.  Or, if driving, tune to the Sirius XM Willie's Roadhouse station.  Sing along with some Ray Price tunes.

    After 15-20 minutes, your tastebuds have recovered.  Commence the secondary assault, and eat the remainder of the bag.

     

    Goddamn, do I have to teach y'all EVERYTHING around here?  Where's Steel Shank when you need him?

    I agree and applaud your method, and it certainly works.

    Another alternative is to consume said chili cheese Fritos with a nice accompaniment of ice cold Big Red.  The Big Red tends to balance out the saltiness and provides a refreshing palate cleanse between each fist full of chili cheese Fritos.  

  8. 20 hours ago, Pescado_Rojo said:

    The boy and I went to the ranch to check on our pet bass. Ma, we need a rain. The water levels in the tanks are waaaay down, and the water looks "thick" if that makes sense. I told the boy we weren't going to fish it...I can't imagine what oxygen levels are, and if we caught one, it might not survive the release. Hoping for the best. 

    I know the feeling.  My little honey hole on Onion Creek is low, low, low.  What's usually a dammed up section of the creek that's 15' deep and about 1000 yds long is now a small pond that's maybe 4' deep at most and 200 yds long.  Lots and lots of bass, catfish, bluegills and a few crappie are consolidated to that tiny little area.  I really want to check it out, but I'm scared to see what I'll find which is why I've stayed away.  We need rain in a bad way, and even with some rain, it may be years before that little fishery recovers.

  9. 1 hour ago, Loco said:

    Yeah, We've got the internet...   I love how all the power boat guys put on life jackets, and the blow boater is just standing there on the phone with his insurance company.  Power boat guys are screwed i would imagine,  sailboat clearly not under power hit by a powerboat with a radar ....opppps .  Kinda surprised it did demolish the sailboat, I bet they hit at a relatively slow speed.

    My guess on the life jackets is they know they're fucked and getting a full body cavity search by the coast guard, police or whoever has jurisdiction there.

     

    "Boys, I know the law says we just gotta have life jackets for enough souls onboard, but put those fuckers on.  I'm in enough shit as is.  Jim, you hold the whistle.  Bill, you grab the horn.  Frank, here's the flares.  Hank, you dump all the beer and whiskey overboard.  I'll hide the coke in the head.  Craig, you know what to do.  The usual.  Dump the five dead hookers overboard."

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  10. 4 hours ago, Brew said:

    Are you cutting the braid back regularly and tieing everything fresh? Braid can get nicked fairly easily from the beach and knots wear down every fish you catch. You need to cut the braid back periodically and do everything over especially if you are catching and not just fishing.

    I lost a sizeable Snook at the beach last trip right as I was grabbing it. I had been catching Spanish on a spoon and the spoon had worn through the circle in the knot over time and the knot failed. I felt like an idiot because the knot was perfect still but the loop was cut through and I hadn’t thought anything about it.

    The drag needs to be set below the break strength of the line. Then if the line breaks you know it is a knot failure, connection failure, or the braid was nicked somewhere.

    This brings back a horrible memory from last fall.  We were doing our annual 3-day Devil's trip.  I had kayak fished the previous weekend back home and still had my favorite frog top water tied to my 6' kayak rod.  When we were putting in at the SNA, I noticed a little snag on my braid just above the leader.  I was hungover and lazy and figured I wouldn't see anything but little smallies on that section above Dolan, so I didn't bother to cut back my braid or re-rig my leader / lure.

    There's a little pond just south of the SNA that I always thought would hold decent fish.  I threw that frog topwater back into the corner amongst some lily pads and WHACK, it got slammed.  I had a decent 3-4 lb largemouth on.  She jumped out of the water and shook, then turned and ran left and SNAP.  My braid broke.  Lost what would've easily been my biggest largemouth on the Devils PLUS my favorite topwater lure.  

    Since then, I check my braid before every trip. 

  11. 2 hours ago, Lurch said:

    Which loop, the one near the eye that you run the tag through the first time or the new loop created by doing so?

     

    I was not familiar with palomar knot. Just looked it up and will retie tonight

    Palomar and FG are my go-to knots.  I've always heard the saying though, "better to tie a decent knot great than to tie a great knot decently."  Practice in the garage until it becomes second nature so you can do it on a rocking boat or in bad light.

  12. On July 24, 2018 at 2:21 PM, Beau Vine said:

    We still have no water. 

    Supposedly, they "fixed" the pump, but when they turned it back on, so much water came flowing out that it broke again.

     

    Is there a shittier company in the world than AquaTexas?

    I endured their ineptitude for 9+ years at my previous house.  Every summer, you could bank on going at least one day without water.  We were down three days once with similar bullshit excuses.  "Backup pump hasn't been maintenanced properly, so it went out" and "The part that went out never goes out, so we don't keep it in stock" were actual statements that I heard.  When pressed about a discount for service interruption, they pretty much laughed because they knew they had us by the balls.  That company is a clusterfuck of epic proportions.

  13. Thanks for the info!  I like the way you have it set up.  I appreciate your strategy about the timing and the food plot, and it makes sense that open protein feeding is not only expensive but also creates nocturnal behaviors.

    What type of protein are you feeding?  Are you buying bags or in bulk?  Feeding year-round protein or only during spring / summer?

    Our property is similar in size to yours and we're low fenced as well with larger properties surrounding us.  The smallest adjacent property is 600 acres, and we don't think they get much hunting pressure.  So, we're excited to see what we can develop in the coming years.  Right now, we're seeing some decent whitetail and axis on the game cameras.

    We just bought the property earlier this year.  This spring and summer, we cleared a ton of cedar ourselves and brought in a hydro-mulcher for a full day as well.  We weren't overly thick as the property was grazing land primarily over the last several decades.  There's a nice wet weather creek at the back of the property that seems to be the main traffic area for movement.  The property is almost perfectly square, so it feels much larger than it is.  

    We set up three spinning feeders and we're feeding 50/50 corn/protein twice per day at 2 second intervals.  We don't have any tanks on the property, but we're putting in two cisterns in the coming weeks.  Setting up float valves and hoping to keep the hogs from tearing those up.  The goal is to draw more wildlife in from adjacent properties and keep them there.  Right now, I think we're getting mostly deer passing through.

    We do have an old pasture (approx 2 acres) that was fenced and we're assuming was a small food plot at one time.  The fence was in such disrepair that we took it down completely.  I haven't pulled the trigger on a tractor yet, but hoping to do a food plot out there in the next few years.  We've already spent way more than we wanted on fence, a new road and getting the cabin set up, so any additional improvements are probably going to take a few years for funds to recover, but I'm excited to start playing with the protein to see what we can develop.

  14. 6 hours ago, 686 said:

    Thanks. This place is 180 acres, low fence, and we’ve probably cleared about 30 acres of solid cedar that was non-habitat. We spend about $2k a year on feed and food plot seed and fertilizer. I plant about 5-10 acres of fall plots every October, which makes a huge difference; the deer are in the plots from around December-May, and prefer the Turner Seed Fall Deer mix to protein pellets. Dr. Deer says plots have 10x the value to pellets, and I agree. Here’s what the plots look like in February, there will be ~20 deer in this plot at dawn/dusk:

     

    7bd18d424ac0c6a97027901b288c065d.jpg

     

    I have pics of this deer going back 3 years, he’s at least 6, maybe 7. He was an 8pt until this year, and he added inches everywhere this year, including the neat little G1 split on his left side. I’m looking forward to seeing him live, maybe a good target candidate.

     

    97436ed68f62616cb432f9315af36ffd.jpg

     

    We don’t do formal surveys, but try to manage numbers by shooting about 3 does and a few spikes if we see them in addition to about 2 old bucks every year, seems to be working ok. Neighbors on two sides hunt, so I’m sure they benefit by my effort and investment.

     

    Using the timed protein feeder is a huge help for low fence operations, as the bucks can’t pig out on protein all night at my place and then chase does on my neighbor’s place and get shot in the morning. If they want their morning/evening snack, they have to be on my place during shooting hours. Also it helps ration out the protein so I can stay close to my budget.

     

    I can't thank you enough for this post.  We just bought our place in Kimble Co earlier this year.  Put out standard feeders this spring, but considering switching to straight protein next year.  The food plot idea is most intriguing.  I'll PM for more details if you don't mind.

  15. 26 minutes ago, Hanrahan said:

    I’ve tried the garden the last three years with no experience, talent or advice. Think I’ve grown three deformed carrots from seed to table. This year nothing grew. They sprouted, stunted and died. Another few decades and I’ll get it down.

    Soil

    Water

    Seeds

    In my opinion, that is the order of importance.  Buy good soil.  Water frequently.  Buy good seeds (or seedlings).  It's not rocket science, but it takes consistency.  You need to be out there every other day at a minimum, making adjustments along the way.  

  16. 6 hours ago, Both Tacos said:

    Nice harvest. Yes, shading to keep it just a little cooler on the plants and good watering can get you through a hot summer. Good sweet potato bunch you have there. I plan on doing sweet potato next year. 

    This was the first year I did them, and I learned a bunch.  I waited too long to harvest them and didn't understand how deep they grow.  I harvested at about 125 days instead of 75 and ended up with a bunch of huge, rock hard taters.  Those were the keepers.  Next year, I'll harvest at 75 days and we'll get a much better yield.

  17. 1 hour ago, Brew said:

    First thought that came to mind was a decent size Jack. They are one of the harder fighing fish you will come across on the beach. If you were doubled up though who knows.

    Pound for pound, Jacks are the best fighting fish, IMO.  So much fun to catch.

  18. On August 9, 2018 at 8:55 AM, Cheeseweasel said:

    I know some Schlitterbahn engineers who are out of work who might be able to help.

    After recently reading the article in Texas Monthly about Jeff Henry, this drawing looks to be about as sophisticated as their water slide plans.

  19. Got off the water a few hours ago in Key Largo.  Great guide.  Very knowledgeable.  We caught a ton of fish, but they were all small.  Hot, still and humid today.  Nothing to site cast in the flats.  Water temp was 90+.  Green algae bloom had the water screwed up a bit, too.  Caught a ton of rat reds and mangrove snapper along the back bay islands.  Mixed in a few trout, and a couple of solid jack crevalle in some of the draws closer to the Everglades.  One small snook too early in the morning.  HUGE bull shark almost took a snapper just as my wife brought it to the boat.  Guide estimated it to be 8 ft and I think it was every bit that big.  No bonefish or permit to be had.  Threw at a few small tarpon, but couldn't raise a bite.  Great trip with a great guide.  Would do it again.

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  20. A buddy of mine owns a painting company.  He has a group of Hondurans that are damn good painters.  Basically, his whole crew is a bunch of brothers and cousins.  They were repainting the exterior of a house in Pemberton Heights.  Nice house.  Big house.  Lots of wood siding with tons of sanding.  Homeowners are gone to work and his guys are working away outside.  I guess one of them had to shit and couldn't hold it, so he bowed up in the corner of the backyard, then went back to work.  The family dog proceeds to come out through the dog door while half the guys are in the front and the other half are up on ladders.  The dog is nosing around in the backyard, then decides to take a nice roll in some fresh Honduran man-shit.  The lead guy is up on a ladder and sees the events unfolding.  He hurries down just as the dog re-enter the house through the dog door.  Too late.  Doors are locked.  Dog door is too small to squeeze through.  They watch through the window as the dog decides to continue his rolling escapade on the rug.  And the furniture.  And rub against the curtains.  Shit everywhere.  

    They call my buddy, he thinks it's a joke and soon realizes they aren't fucking around.  There's a dog going hog-wild in the house rubbing human feces all over the furniture.  He had no other choice than to bite the bullet and call the homeowner, have the entire house steam cleaned and knock half off the paint job and beg them not to trash him on social media.

    As a contractor, that's why I include "sanitation services" as a line item for every single project that lasts longer than a day.  $120 for a month's rental on a shitter is good insurance for not cleaning party mud off of Suzie Q Homeowner's sofa.

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  21. Crazy how my garden has continued to produce since I installed the shade covers.  I'm still getting tomatoes daily.  Just harvested all of my sweet potatoes.  Eggplant, melons, bell pepper still producing pretty regularly, and okra is going crazy.  I planted spaghetti squash and pumpkins two weeks ago, and they're starting to take off.  Irrigation + shade cover have literally given me year-round gardening in Central Texas.  This was one harvest last Friday.  

    IMG_6922.jpg

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