Trout Day

The big steelhead, er MY big steelhead, spooks easily.  So, if he sees me before I see him, he takes off down the creek!  The trick is to ever so stealthy, drift a hook right to him from a bit of a distance.

The trouble with that plan, is these young'ins like to ride the hooks!

They are some cute little steelies and browns, but after a few dozen tries to get the hook to the big daddy, catching these little ones starts to wear on a gal!

 

They are lucky they're so dang cute and painted up so nicely.

Sadly, that can't be said for all the fish in the creek.

I do not know what happened to this poor fish.

I have a feeling the trash in and around the creek might have something to do with it.

 

Luckily, the trout all looked good!


The sizes of the little ones varied from 5" to just over a foot.

Midway through the day, I decided to change things up and fish the pond for gills with some buddies.

The gill bite was extremely slow and I only caught one.  Besides MY big steelie was still waiting for me in the creek! 

We might have an extra hour of daylight, but there never seems to be enough time!

I didn't photograph all the little ones.  Some were just too cute not to, with those big ole eyes.  Actually, most of the young-ins flipped right off the hook as I reeled em in.

They are extremely flippy little fish!  I practically have to squeeze the life out of em to keep a grasp!

No worries, none of the fish were harmed.  They dart away, happy as can be! Even the BIG ONE I EVENTUALLY GOT!

Sooo, I propped up the camera, set the timer for 10 seconds, AND MY BIG STEELHEAD FLIPPED RIGHT OUT OF MY GRASP!

I was concerned he was going to die, so I put him back in the creek.  Flippy Fish!

My 44th Birthday & Creek Fishing

Jean and I fished Coffee Creek the other day.



We were searching for big Steelies, but all we found were little fish.



The weather was cold and rainy on my birthday.  Glenn and I had plans to take the kiddos to Chelburg Farm for Maple Syrup Days, but the weather made us change our plans.



We went to the mall instead, as it's been quite a while since I've been there.  Check out the new, electronic ponds:

And folk's riding around on motorized stuffed animals:

We didn't stay long, just long enough for me to shop my favorite clothing store!  ;-)

Back to what I like even more than shopping-- FISHING!

I have no idea who/what this is?  At first we thought it was some sort of water snake, and it might be.  Jean nor I was going to touch it to find out!

I caught a crazy mix of fish on Mill Creek, all within a couple hours.  Gills, crappies, rock bass, lm bass, creek chubs, and carp.

For the most part, they were all fairly little.

We gave the fish a mix of presentations, a hook with a wax worm, nymph flys, and a jig.

It didn't matter what we casted, the fish went bonkers for it all!

The SNAKE was the biggest critter I seen that day!  Why this snake isn't still sleeping I'll never know!  It's cold out!!!

On a remarkable note, I caught more rock bass that day than ever before!

It was like they were all pilled up on a certain section of the creek and as soon as the jig hit the water they gobbled it up!  If the jig landed in a shallower section, the creek chubs ate it!

The bluegills were attacking everything quite fierce as well!

Having a mix is fun.  Ya never quite know what you will get!

Mostly as were reeling in we play the guessing game of, "What do you Think It is"!  And if it gets away before we get it in-- it's the biggest fish we ever almost caught!  ;-)

Happy fishing to ya!

House Hunting

When it comes to olden day houses, I am a sucker for them!

This house, located in Wanatah, Indiana, is a good candidate for a fixer upper/flip.  It's supposed to be vacant, but clearly "someone" has moved in!

The house is currently connected to city water and sewer, even though the old cistern remains in place.

Clearly some tuck pointing is in order.

The partial crawl space was dry.

The small back porch had a invigorating feel to it as the sun shinned in!

It was set up as the laundry area.

The basement stairwell was nice and bright!

The large kitchen has potential.

Some upgrades, like brand new countertops, had been put in place.

Several of the appliances were fairly new as well. 

I was definitely able to picture this being one fabulous kitchen when I got through with it!

The bathroom had a leak in the ceiling, which I found somewhat disturbing.

Throughout the house, the old plaster was falling off the walls.  I am eager to try a new product that restores old plaster!

Another issue regarding this house is the floors are uneven due to settling over time.  I, personally, find it charming, but the general market tends to prefer the boring, even, walking surfaces.

I did enjoy seeing some remaining unpainted trim, which I find charming too.

The basement didn't have anything that I wasn't willing to deal with.

I can fix that!

Plus, it comes with a chance to use the Sawsall and make feeding bins for farm animals out of the old tanks!

The upper floor was in fairly good shape.  It even had some new windows!

And attic access, which I have not been in yet!

I wasn't crazy about all the old lathe and plaster, but it's nothing I've not worked on before.

The drop ceiling will have to go.  I am a fan of the olden day, high ceilings.

The outside needed a fresh coat of paint.

The backyard is big. Behind the house is a park and creek.  I could see the old shed being restored, with some paint and a few new boards.

The inside of the shed didn't look all that bad.

It was full of junk, but at least it had what appears to be, fairly new electric.

If the Wanatah house remains on the market, I may make an offer.  It does have potential to be my next big project.  In the meantime, I have experienced my first Tax Certificate Auction.  Prior to the day of the auction, Mom and I went for a drive to scope out some of the properties up for bid. 

The dirt road lead us to an abandoned farm. 

I really liked this property, and the fact that it came with 5 acres of land!  When it came time to bid on it I did!  I didn't win the bid though.  :-(  It went for way beyond what my budget was.

However, I did win 2 bids at the auction!!!  This place being one of them:

It's not all that bad of a little house and lot in town!

The yard is plenty roomy.  Of course, we're not supposed to go inside the houses.  Not unless you happen to be selling Avon or Tupperware!  ;-)  JK  I haven't seen the inside yet.

The way it works is I must wait for 120 days from the date of the certificate sale.  During which time, the property may be redeemed, which means the current owners have a last opportunity to get caught up on the taxes.  If that happens, then I get my initial investment, plus interest, back.  If that time passes and they do not pay, then I can ask the county judge to deem the property to me.  There's a bit more to it than that, concerning notifications and oddball liens, but that pretty much sums it up in a nutshell.  Luckily for me, I found a lawyer who is willing to mentor me through the process.

I could tell from the smoke coming out the chimney that the house is currently being lived in.  Also, a very large amount of back taxes is owed, so it is unlikely this property will be redeemed.  Come this summer, I will most likely have this place as my next project.  The other bid property I won is a non-habitable, dilapidated, house close to where I live.  I anticipate cleaning it up and selling it as a buildable home site.  I find this process to be an exciting learning experience, and fingers crossed, hopefully a profitable one!  :-)