spotting.. groundhogs, snakes, frogs..edible?

K

kevshin21

Joined
Jan 17, 2007
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108
hey guys today I went hiking for my geology class and we came across a baby rattler (a girl almost sat on it and almost bit her) and I know those are edible but as we went further into the canyon I noticed some frogs, they seem to blend in really well with the water. Now my question is how do I spot them before they spot me? most of the time my buddies spotted those animals before me. Also are lake frogs edible? and how about ground hogs? can you place a snare on their hole and will it work? thanks for reading :o

edit: oh yea one more thing, how can you track an animal down if there are no footprints or droppings?
 
kevshin21 said:
hey guys today I went hiking for my geology class and we came across a baby rattler (a girl almost sat on it and almost bit her) and I know those are edible but as we went further into the canyon I noticed some frogs, they seem to blend in really well with the water. Now my question is how do I spot them before they spot me? most of the time my buddies spotted those animals before me. Also are lake frogs edible? and how about ground hogs? can you place a snare on their hole and will it work? thanks for reading :o

edit: oh yea one more thing, how can you track an animal down if there are no footprints or droppings?
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Kev,
You hit the jackpot because I am the frog eatenist feller you ever met. I gig a lot of frogs and the best way to find them is at night with a light, you hear them bellow shine there eyes and then gig them with a spear. In the daytime they are a bit harder, sometimes you can spot them in the weeds or when you spook them and they jump in the water, freeze and wait a few minutes and they will usually surface and can be speared. Another favorite way to catch them is with a cane pole, about 3 feet, of at least 12 pound test line on the end, and the biggest, gawdiest fly you can find, or even a bare hook with a small piece of red cloth on it. Spot a frog and then dangle your hook in front of him, the frog will startle you he will grab it so fast, it is great fun. Remember to only eat smooth skinned frogs, bullfrogs, and not bumpy skinned frogs, toads.

Groundhogs are easy to trap or snare and are rather greasy but in my opinion tasty, I like them boiled until tender and then baked/browned in the oven with vegatables like a pot roast or better yet sweet taters. Good hunting, Chris
 
hey running boar how do you know if its poisonous or not? and what happens if you eat a bumpy skinned frog or a toad?
 
Tracking ? If you use a large bore gun ,45-70 or 44 mag , there will be a nice blood trail !! You should be able to see trails that have been regularly used and sometimes disturbed leaves tell of a recently passed animal .Even when not on a trail disturbed leaves , weeds that have been bent ,etc,buds and other things eaten , can tell you an animal has passed. The trick is to learn to really use your eyes to see every little detail.
 
kevshin21 said:
hey running boar how do you know if its poisonous or not? and what happens if you eat a bumpy skinned frog or a toad?
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If it is slimy and green and lives in water and makes a big, loud BAAAROOOOOM sound at night, break out the skillet and get the fat hot.

If it is dry and bumpy and lives on land, don't eat it.

Do a google image search for American Bullfrog, and another for toad and the differences will be clear.

I don't know about eating a toad, I have never done it, but it makes my dogs foam at the mouth and puke. Chris
 
Kevshin,

One thing that you can do to improve your spotting skills is to look at a lot of animals! What I mean is: Get used to seeing them. Pay attention to shape, color, pattern, and size. Our brain is pretty fantastic at pattern recognition. Consiously, as you are scanning an area, you are looking for "a deer" (for example). What you want your subconsious brain to be doing is searching for "deer-like" shapes and colors. Maybe it is the tan color under that bush, or those ear shapes sticking out of the grass. These triggers can draw you to where to look and then you can pick out the critter.

This is a skill that can be learned and improved.

Of course, it also helps to know where to be looking. . . ;) Whenever you observe animals in the wild, absorb as much data as possible. What is the area like? What time of day is it? If the animal is feeding, what are they eating? Look at its size in relation to other objects.

You'll be spotting animals first before you know it because you'll know where to look and you'll pick up patterns more quickly than your classmates.

-- FLIX

-- FLIX
 
Good advice Flix:thumbup: :thumbup:

Having a good game eye is a developed skill and takes practice. Try going to a place with lots of animals like a nature park, or just lots of walks in the woods looking for animals. Try to look through the brush not at it and look for unusual shapes, lots of times I spot a rabbits eye and once I see it, it is like the rest of the rabbit materializes around it, also the horizontal line of an animals back. Good luck, Chris
 
Kevshin, I think a good investment would be to pick up a couple of audoban field guide to mammals/ reptiles/amphibians insects and edible plants for your area and gradually read em....than in your free time just go for nature walks (this can even be done in a suburban park and try and spot things...birds, squirrels, rabbits what ever the more you look the more you'll atune your senses to seeing these things and after a while you'll wonder how come noone else sees them...and you might be suprise at what you see creeping around and where.
 
Watchful said:
Hang around fresh water. And sit still.

Eventually, they'll come to you.
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Fishing at night in the country with a Coleman lantern Ive seen deer mice scampering all over the rocks. A skunk with little ones, a family of porcupines, a good sized fish swim past the shoreline, etc. Surprisingly enough many of these critters make a fair bit of noice as they forage for bugs.
 
runningboar said:
Good advice Flix:thumbup: :thumbup:

Having a good game eye is a developed skill and takes practice. Try going to a place with lots of animals like a nature park, or just lots of walks in the woods looking for animals. Try to look through the brush not at it and look for unusual shapes, lots of times I spot a rabbits eye and once I see it, it is like the rest of the rabbit materializes around it, also the horizontal line of an animals back. Good luck, Chris
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Yes, and once you see a rabbit or whatever you seek in its natural habitat, it seems like your minds eye can pick them out of the bush easier after that, thats probably what RB just said. As to the incredible diversity of mushrooms in the Boreal forest, I can only identify (4) sure fire tasty, safe eaters with any positive assurance. I guess it helps that my wife picked some of them, with her parents at their cabin, when she was a child. Her parents are both teachers and they worked all over the north. Chanterelles, Boletes, Shaggy manes and Orange Caps. The Chanterelles and Boletes are bought by restaurants all over the world from commercial pickers and sold as a semi gourmet shroom. All I know is that Borscht with Botes in it and a dollop of sour cream is to die for. :D I know were and when many indigenous berries, mushrooms etc. come into fruition, with that said, this is a harsh climate half of the year if you arent in a city . If I cant get meat or fish, and A LOT of it up while in the bush, Id be screwed. I have limited gathering knowledge, but I sure know how to stock up and preserve plenty of meat and fish. The Indians up north would knock down 3-4 Caribou and be high off the hog all winter. A net through the winter ice fills their freezer quickly, or their outside shed as dog feed. There was one guy up there that fed his dogs lake trout all the time. He also guided Americans that paid big $$$ to catch a few of these big lakers he was using as free dog food. I cringed when I saw that happening up there, but thats how it is.
 
I find that first you must train yourself to scan constantly in the field, dont just look forward on the trail, Look up look down, look left, look right, Repeat.

You may actually have to tell yourself to do this at first, but it is amazing how much more you see in the woods when you avoid tunnel vision.

I can't tell you how many times on a trail I will stop to observe an animal only to have others Seem not to notice until I show it to them.
 
kevshin21 said:
what happens if you eat a bumpy skinned frog or a toad?
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Some toads (or frogs for that matter- but not in North America) are poisonous- some are poisonous in the way psilocybus mushrooms are poisonous- meaning won't kill you- but might cause you to be nauseous and/or hallucinate. Some people actually lick toads for this purpose- no I am not kidding...
 
As you move through the woods, keep your noise level as low as possible. Move slowly, and take only a few steps at a time, then stop and pause while looking around, and listening. Use your peripheral vision to help spot movement to the sides or in the trees.

Rabbits will often try to sit still and wait until you walk by. They sometimes will sit in plain view, but have excellent coloration which helps them blend in well. Their ears and their eyes often give them away to the human eye.

If you move a bit then stop, they will panic and dash off, but being territorial, they will usually just make a circle and stayin the area. They will often try to bolt around and past behind you.

Squirrels will freeze in the trres pressed tight against a tree trunk, but as you move, they will move in an attempt to keep the tree between you and them. They still want to see you to know where you are, though, being curious little animals, and they forget about their tails, which often are still visible.

One good squirrel spotting trick which may only work in places with shelterbelts is to walk in the field about 50 yards away from the trees with the sun low on the other side. Works best in the early mornings or late evenings.

The leaves must be thin or off the trees, and you will be able to see them moving through the branches.

Andy
 
Back in Hong Kong, people can buy frogs in the street market. One cut down the back of the neck, and a silt down the back. By pulling the head down towards the belly, and the skin should peel right off.
 
kevshin21 said:
hey guys today I went hiking for my geology class and we came across a baby rattler (a girl almost sat on it and almost bit her) and I know those are edible but as we went further into the canyon I noticed some frogs, they seem to blend in really well with the water. Now my question is how do I spot them before they spot me? most of the time my buddies spotted those animals before me. Also are lake frogs edible? and how about ground hogs? can you place a snare on their hole and will it work? thanks for reading :o

edit: oh yea one more thing, how can you track an animal down if there are no footprints or droppings?
Click to expand...

If there are no footprints or droppings there may be feeding signs such as pine cones chewed by squirrels or patches of bark stripped from trees by deer.I would invest in a book on animal tracks and signs and then just practice ! Don't expect to become Tom Brown Jr overnight this stuff takes years to learn well !!!:thumbup:
 
I had two favorite methods for harvesting big honkin' bullfrogs;

1. Get a headlamp, waders, a pneumatic or Co2 pellet pistol with good power, and a long-handled dip net. Put a lanyard on the pellet pistol and the dip-net. Find an inhabited froghole (at night). Wade out a few feet from the bank and turn the light off. Stand very still for a few minutes, then turn the light on and slowly scan around your area. Usually the frogs will pop up to see what you are doing and their heads will be visible above the water. Very slowly take aim between the eyes and pop the frog, but be ready to rapidly change out the pistol for the dip net as live frogs float but dead ones do not. It will sink rapidly, so be quick!

2. Find an old tennis racket and securely tie a longer handle to it like a cut off broom handle or similar. This as another nighttime hunting technique, so you will need a flashlight or headlight. This works best with a team. Have the person with the light walk ahead of you along the bank with the light off. After a few steps, the lead person should stop, and wait a bit, a minute or two, then they should shine the light back along the bank back towards the second person. The frogs will pop back up and be looking towards the light. The person behind will have the long-handled tennis racket, and tehy will then slowly move the head of the racket up behind the frog and either scoop it up and out of the water onto the bank (where the fun will begin), or will slap the racket down on top of the frog and attempt to pin it to the bottom.

A combination of the two methods is to use a pellet gun instead of a tennis racket in method number two, but you will still need the dip net.

Check you local fish and game regulations! Most places, frogs are a game species and have their own limits and guidelines for hunting.

Andy
 
Kevshin it is early Feb , where in America do you live that you are seeing baby rattlers and groundhogs this time of year ?
 
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