Beiträge von LenHarris

  • Great Lakes Brown Trout Strains

    Seeforellens and Domestic browns are different strains of the same species. Domestic browns are typically more darker brown colored and have more spots throughout the entire body. Seeforellen have more of a silver look to them and the spots are fewer and the spots less defined. Seeforellen can grow to really large. Typical domestic strain trout are released in the great lakes and small streams in Wisconsin. The brown trout in the small streams grow slower because they eat different food. The lake brown trout have bigger food available and more abundant food. Seeforellen are not stocked in small streams in Wisconsin. Seeforellen literally translates to Sea Trout in German. This does not mean they are exclusively from Germany. Many lakes or Seas in Europe and the surrounding areas have Seeforellen.



    Ted Kirkpatrick is pictured with his male domestic strain brown trout he caught and released in a Great Lakes tributary.


    The Wisconsin state record lake run trout is 41-pound, 8-ounce brown trout and 40.6 inches long . It was caught in Lake Michigan waters north of Racine. It appears to be a Seeforellen strain. The largest Wisconsin inland brown trout on record is 18 pounds, 6 ounces and was caught in Lake Geneva and it was 34.3 inches long. Both record trout were females. Typically female trout grow faster than male trout. This is also true for the Great Lakes.




    This enormous female Seeforellen was caught and released by Ted Kirkpatrick in a Great Lakes tributary. Ted weighed the trout before release and it was an eyelash under 20 pounds.


    The spawning times of the Seeforellen and Domestic strains of brown trout are different. The age at maturity can be used to distinguish each strain from the other, but physically the fish are very similar. The “German” or Domestic strain of brown trout may begin staging in harbor mouths for their spawning run beginning in July, with the majority of the run occurring in September and October. The spawning run for Seeforellens generally occurs in November and December. The age at which the fish matures is also a distinguishing characteristic of each strain, with the Domestic brown trout maturing at 2-3 years of age and the Seeforellen at 3-4 years. This later age of maturity in the Seeforellen usually allows for greater growth before their first spawning.
    Male adult domestic and Seeforellen strain have a pronounced hooked lower jaw. This area is also called a “kype.” This is also true in the inland adult trout. All of the trout in the inland waters of Wisconsin and the Great Lakes have intermingled the different strains and it is hard to say if a trout is 100 percent Seeforellen or domestic strain or a couple other strains mixed in. Only a laboratory analysis can tell the true ancestry.

  • Smoked Fish/Geräucherte Fische

    plastic 10 quarter container
    1/2 full with water
    1.5 pounds non-iodized salt
    1 pound brown sugar
    2 cups real lemon
    10 tablespoons dill weed
    8 tablespoons red pepper flakes
    4 tablespoons garlic powder
    4 tablespoons onion powder
    3 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce


    .................................


    Viertelbehälter 1/2 des Plastik 10 voll mit Wasser
    1.5 Pfund nicht-jodierte Salz
    1-lbs-brauner Zucker
    2 Schalen reale Zitrone
    10 Esslöffel Dillunkraut Flocken
    des roten Pfeffers mit 8 Esslöffeln
    4 Esslöffel Knoblauchpuder
    4 Esslöffel Zwiebelenpuder
    3 Teelöffel Worcestersoße


    Above is the brine I soak my fish in for 12 hours.


    Do you have any other brine recipes?


    ..................................................


    Ist oben die Salzlösung, die ich meine Fische innen 12 Stunden lang tränke. Haben Sie irgendwelche anderen Salzlösungrezepte?

  • Richland Center Husband and Wife Score Nice Bucks Again!!!

    This photo is from last year. My next door neighbors Dale and Paula Wilson scored 2 nice bucks within 10 minutes of each other last year.



    They have a really unique method of hunting. They have a small flat bottom boat and it is equipped with an electric trolling motor.


    They motor up or down the local river and scout prior to season.


    They both take off a full week of work. They time it to coincide with prime rut.


    The photo above was taken exactly one year ago today.


    Lots of people thought it was quite lucky both of them scoring a nice buck on the same hunt and within 10 minutes of each other. They could see each other from their stands.


    Many people dismissed this as luck. I have watched these 2 practice in their back yard and both are EXCELLENT with their bows.


    Check back on this thread soon because THIS year's bucks the 2 scored are bigger than last years. One was harvest 2 days ago in the morning and the other was shot yesterday morning.


    Their tree stands were 25 yards apart and Dale witnessed his beautiful wife score her biggest buck to date. It walked directly between the 2 stands.


    Luck has something to do with hunting but being prepared and scouting are more important. Paula and Dale are SKILLED bow hunters.

  • The Unique Cowbird

    Brown head cowbirds are very common in the Midwest They are nondescript and blend in with the other birds in the area quite well. There is one thing about them that makes them very unique. They are parasitic birds. They do not make their own nests and they usurp the nests of other birds.


    Definition of USURP
    a : to seize and hold (as office, place, or powers) in possession by force or without right



    This cowbird mother was not very picky and laid her egg in a non-speckled egg nest. The blue bird mother didn't know the difference.


    Brown headed cow birds begin laying their eggs in the middle to late April. They typically stop in the middle of July laying eggs. Cowbirds typically lay about six eggs a day and wait a few days, and then start again. Usually only one Cowbird egg is found in each nest . It is very rare to find two cowbird eggs in one surrogate's nest. It does happen if the nests to chose from are limited.


    Female Cowbirds scout out nests in advance. They perch on shrubs or trees to watch for other birds building nests. They try to flush nesting birds by flying in and landing noisily in the nest they are hijacking. They tend to prefer species with eggs smaller than their own and in active nests with at least two host eggs in the nest. Cowbirds seem to prefer open cup nests and the nests of other birds that also lay speckled eggs. They also prefer to usurp bird nests that the mother bird is laying her eggs after sunrise. They are opportunists and will lay their eggs in none speckled eggs nests.


    Brown-headed Cowbird eggs are usually oval, but the shape can vary to short, rounded and or oval. The shell is moderately glossy. It is white or grayish white with dots and blotches also described as brown or chocolate in color. The markings are all over the egg.




    I watched the mother red winged black bird leave this nest. The cow bird really doesn't discriminate on what nest it hijacks.


    Egg laying usually takes only 20 - 40 seconds. The female usually sneaks into the nest minutes before sunrise to quickly deposit an egg. The mother cowbird either eats a couple of the host's eggs or drops them to the ground. If they are in a hurry they will just break the shells of a couple host eggs so they don't mature and are ejected from the nest by the surrogate mother at a later time.


    The brown cowbird's young typical grows much faster than the young of the nest their mother usurped. The stronger and bigger cow bird takes all of the food offered by its foster mother and the babies of the real mother grow weak and die and are pushed out of the nest. The surrogate mother raises the cowbirds like her own and completes the cowbird mother's assignment.

  • Supper Time!!!!!

    Chicken Soup Strozzapreti



    2 pounds of Cubed Browned Chicken Breast.
    Dash Black Pepper
    Dash Basil
    1 1/2 teaspoon powdered Garlic
    2 small Yellow Onions diced
    1 1/2 teaspoon Celery Flakes
    1/2 cup shaved Carrots
    1 quart Chicken Broth
    Can Hunt's Diced Tomatoes with Fennel & Red Pepper
    12 ounces Strozzapreti Pasta