Favorite team:LSU 
Location:Folsom
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Number of Posts:5993
Registered on:5/7/2008
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re: outboard troubleshooting

Posted by Da Hammer on 5/13/26 at 12:30 pm to
I have an ETEC and still like it a lot but it's a bitch to get worked on.

Rookie Boats on the MS gulf coast does good work on them I typically go there if I have issue. They can still seem to find parts for them so thankfully they are still fixable for now.

re: Turkey Hunting

Posted by Da Hammer on 5/13/26 at 12:28 pm to
It was a really nice season this year. We really had a lot of birds on our place this year. I quit loading my gun for turkeys about three or four years ago.

I called in 12 this year (some were likely duplicates), got some great pictures of them in close. Helped little hammer get his first limit of three this year and just enjoyed the season immensely.

May look to hit the road with little hammer next year to help him start on his first grand slam but not sure we just enjoy hunting together on our place in MS and he isn't begging. I'm curious how many of the places I killed birds on OOS are still good from 20-30 years ago.. I think it would be fun to retrace my many road trips of my younger days with him. Time will tell
I am by no means an expert on catching them however we normally catch most of our triple tail later in the summer when it's sweltering hot.

They are around other times as I see others catch them but that's when I can figure out how to catch them.
I would actually say over the years it's almost the majority of the guides now that mainly target redfish only.

OP are you looking for trout, reds, or both?

The Carters (Reel Shot), Ron Price (Fish Intimidator), Anthony Randazzo, Raymond Schmidtt (Saltgrass) are guys who have been down there a long time and do both very well.

Boola (Venice Charters) and a slew of others specialize in redfish and will chase trout when the conditions are perfect for them.

If you can book a week day trip will be easier to get in with some of the better known guys. However there are also a bunch of younger newer guys that are trying to make a name for themselves down there that may fish their asses off for you. I just don't know the majority of the new guides (New being those that are new in the last 10 years there)

re: Turkey Season

Posted by Da Hammer on 4/27/26 at 6:39 am to
We have had pretty good gobbling this year. It slowed a bit on the limb the last 2-3ish weeks but it's been a good year for it all by me.

I am done for the year hunting as have something this weekend but I rate our season as very successful.

re: Turkey Season

Posted by Da Hammer on 4/25/26 at 12:16 pm to
In SW MS they are absolutely killable mid day right now. Won’t pay a lot of attention early but hens are leaving them and mid day they are very vulnerable. I no longer shoot them just chase them without a gun. Have had 3 within 15 yards the last three days. All after 9 am. Little hammer limited out this am at 1023.

re: Digging my sweet pups grave

Posted by Da Hammer on 4/17/26 at 5:53 am to
There are never any good words for the loss of a dog. No matter how long they live no matter how great of a life they live it's never long enough.

Relive and enjoy the happy memories with her. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

re: Turkey Gun

Posted by Da Hammer on 4/14/26 at 5:59 am to
I got this same gun last year as a du gift. Set it up for turkey in 20 ga with a scope and it's deadly. It's also lightweight and easy to carry like the pistol grip a lot.

re: Turkey Season

Posted by Da Hammer on 4/9/26 at 6:48 am to
I agree with you but when they get desperate at the end of the breeding season they get pretty crazy.

The problem is the end of the breeding season doesn't always align with the end of hunting season. This year hens are nesting with many eggs per nest so I think we are absolutely in the "gobbling lull" right now. If it works out the last week or so will be very good. Last year that desperation was the last week of May things were so delayed. Previous year was last week of the season.

Time will tell this year

re: Turkey calls

Posted by Da Hammer on 4/2/26 at 6:10 am to
My go to after about 40 years is still a Neil Cost box call, It gets them gobbling when nothing will.

I use Primos, Pinhoti project and Preston pittman mouth calls.

Some home made slate and glass calls, and a wing bone call occasionally.

However 85% of my calls are with the box and a mouth call.

re: The second pirogue build is on

Posted by Da Hammer on 3/27/26 at 5:47 am to
I think you are right.

I know Fish tried to lay everything out in the posts so for prosperity they could be re built. However loss of images and website failure/dissapearance over the years took most of it I think.

If anyone has something I wouldn't mind building a few more with my boys, they are the right age. I can somewhat remember how to do it by looking any mine...

I remember cutting the bow stems was a big step for him.

re: The second pirogue build is on

Posted by Da Hammer on 3/26/26 at 5:59 am to
What a great man. He gave so much to us with ideas and suggestions.

Building those pirogues was truly an awesome experience. So glad I did it and I still have mine and still use it and think of him.

Do we have anything that survived the progress of the internet as far as his plans if we ever wanted to build more?

re: Timber Management Plan

Posted by Da Hammer on 3/12/26 at 6:09 am to
Wildlife Investments really seems to have a great group of people to help handle most everything. Their Podcast and youtube videos are very well done and informative as well.

If we ever try a consultant on our place they would be my first call.

re: Turkey hunting question

Posted by Da Hammer on 3/2/26 at 6:11 am to
To me the value of sitting on my porch and listening to him gobble in the mornings before work with coffee far outweigh me killing him.

If I decided to hunt him it would be in the last few weeks of the season to make sure the hens get bred. Lots of recent studies show when the dominant gobbler gets killed early in the season it leads to breeding issues which is contrary to what most of us think. I would keep driving to hunt and enjoy him....

There is a gobbler hammering on the limb in my back pasture right now, I hunt 2.5 hours away.

re: CWD questions

Posted by Da Hammer on 2/19/26 at 6:32 am to
I think you will get very mixed opinions on CWD.

Myself would prefer not to eat an infected deer nor would I want to feed it to my family. That being said I don't get my deer tested.

The second part of your question processing. I process all my deer myself, I don't trust anyone with it. Many processors will mix your deer with others when making ground meat or sausage. Once that happens you have no idea how someone else cared for their deer after the shot, how clean they got it or anything else.

I can skin and quarter a deer in about 20 minutes by myself. To de bone, cut and trim the meat takes about an hour and a half. It's not hard at all just a little time consuming. After that stage you need equipment to grind or stuff sausage. However up to the grind stage you don't need any special equipment except a knife.
My suggestion keep an older boat to duck hunt out of it gets beat to hell down there.

I have a 2001 24' bay boat that does everything I want down there looks like shite but runs well and hunts and fishes well. When the season ends I pressure wash it and move on. I don't think there is a way to keep a boat clean and duck hunt out of it.
The weather was late but better late than never I suppose. We hunted my place which is a deer/turkey place with some flooded duck holes south of Vicksburg.

Saturday I had myself and a friend go hunting and birds were everywhere literally couldn't shoot them out of the pond. Called guys at the camp and they came out after we had our limit in under 30 minutes. Ended up with 6 limits of mallards and non mallards by far the best hunt we have had there in over 8 years. Went back the next day for the youth hunt with my sons and they picked up right where we left off.

I hate it got like this the last weekend but at least it did. Our duck hunting has never been that good except when the conditions become perfect as they were last week. We still have birds all over the place...

re: Big Glides and Big Swimbaits

Posted by Da Hammer on 2/2/26 at 12:21 pm to
I use them quite a bit but more for saltwater as I don't bass fish much. However my lifelong best friend helped develop the swimbait revolution so I do use them a lot.

Can't speak highly enough about Bull Shad swimbaits they work

re: Electronic Ear Protection

Posted by Da Hammer on 1/27/26 at 12:26 pm to
If you can sort out the search function on here, this has come up a few times this year and in past years. Lots of info in those threads.

I use both Wild Ears and ESP which are both made off an ear mold and work very well. I recommend both highly.
I had a conference at the Crowne Plaza that same weekend. Visited with several confident WVU fans at the bar the night before game 1 tried to brace them for the heat.

I haven't ever seen a group of players/fans that looked just totally shot from the heat like they all did after game one. It was of course really hot, but damn it was hard on them. I felt bad for at least 30 seconds.

re: Hunting SW MS this weekend

Posted by Da Hammer on 1/25/26 at 8:34 am to
We hunted yesterday and came home after evening hunt. Deer must have been bedded down for the weather as cameras and deee sightings were really low to non existent. We managed a few does but I expected it to be a pretty good hunting day in front of the weather.