Foraging for Deer Again – The Cauliflower Mushroom

Creeping along a thick laurel edge, I paused, listening hard as the silence broke with a deer snorting a few hundred yards ahead in the thicket. My eyes flicked to the windicator—a strand of unwaxed floss tied to the top limb tip of my bow—and confirmed my scent was blowing safely away.

Then a sudden movement behind me made me jump. I spun, coming to half draw, just in time to see a large white dog explode out of the thicket. A whistle followed, and a guy in a plaid shirt and ball cap appeared. Ugh. Just another Saturday on popular public land.

The rest of the hunt was quiet, aside from a squirrel I irritated when my judo point lodged in the branch he was running down. I used the slow morning to scout, exploring a few promising spots for when the rut gets the bucks moving.

Oddly enough, the highlight of the day wasn’t wildlife—it was a fungus. While scanning beneath some oaks for the dark, rounded shape of hen-of-the-woods (a little early yet), I noticed a mound of yellow-tan folds that looked like egg noodles piled together. I had a strong suspicion they were edible, so I cut out the mass and slipped it into my cargo pocket. A little farther down the edge, I found more. By the time I was done, both of my big shirt pockets were stuffed with five clusters of mushrooms.

Back home, I confirmed they were eastern cauliflower mushrooms. Cleaning them turned out to be the real challenge—so many tiny specks wedged in those folds. One cluster was basically hopeless, but I painstakingly pulled apart and cleaned the others. Thankfully, five clusters still left me with plenty of usable mushrooms.

I already had a pack of venison straps thawed—my last from the late-season muzzleloader doe whose hide I’d recently tanned. These mushrooms would make a perfect gravy for medallions.

I heated olive oil in my cast iron and tossed in chopped onions. Once they turned translucent, I added the mushrooms, some salt, and garlic. After everything softened, I dusted the pan with about a quarter cup of flour, then poured in a quart of beef stock to simmer into a rich gravy. Outside, I grilled the venison medallions with salt, pepper, and a touch of Cajun seasoning.

The resulting dish was amazing.

The following day, I used the remaining mushrooms to make a rich soup—and it was even better. I’ve now added cauliflower mushrooms to my list of treasures to look for whenever I’m in the woods. I couldn’t be more pleased…well, maybe if I’d had an opportunity at a deer too!

Pop's Poppers - Refurbishing the old Arbogast Hula Popper

Archery season starts in these parts on Friday, so this may be my last fishing blog for a while as I get into hunting mode again.

Meanwhile, my father was a die-hard largemouth bass fisherman and unlike most, he loved the flyrod.  Every weekend he was able in the summer, we would take the old aluminum 12 -foot V-hull mirrorcraft and head to a downstate Delaware bass pond.  He told me when he was younger, he became friends and fished several times with the legendary Joe Brooks.  That may have kindled this flyrod obsession for bass.  He was a frugal child of the depression, so his gear was never top of the line, and he even made his own rods at times.  Sometimes, this put him at a disadvantage, but he always managed to catch bass and spread his love of the flyrod to us boys.  

One of his ultimate favorite ways to catch bass was with the Hula Popper around the lily pads.  He was convinced the skirt, combined with the many white rubber legs, was a bass magnet.  He suspected that those legs and skirt action would flare out on a pause after a pop or two on the surface.  His favorite color was black.  

After his passing, I inherited a fly box that was chock full of popper bodies.  If anyone is familiar with the Hula popper, even the spin version, they know that the skirts just did not hold up.  They would get stiff and dry rot, and if they were anywhere near plastic worms in the box they would melt into a mass of plastic.  The rubber legs were not much hardier as they would get brittle after a couple years.  Well, this fly box was filled with formerly fished popper bodies, maybe about 20 in all, in a variety of colors. There was a smaller and a larger size also.  The smaller will be just the ticket for smallmouth I believe.

I decided to refurbish and use these again but first did a little internet research in case they were still made and I could purchase replacement skirts.  No luck, they are not made anymore, so it was time spend some time at the fly vice.

A little internet research was enlightening.  

I learned that the Hula Popper was created in the 1940's, and was one of the few spin plugs that started out as a flyrod popper first!  Here is a 1947 advertisement from Sports Afield with an earlier version without the rubber legs. 

I received a pack of silicone leg material, that I hope might last a bit longer than rubber.  I needed to use my bodkin, and bobbin threader to pull two sets of legs through the holes from the original locations.  Instead of a skirt, I just tied in bundles of silicone legs doubled over.  Most took some touch up of black UV epoxy for freshening up the paint job.  Sharpened the hooks again and I made a thread dam behind the hook eye.  Some of these eyes had a gap that may fray or turn out tippet.  

I am happy with how they came out!  I may not get a chance to use them until next spring, but I think it is very cool to refurbish these old, no longer made, bass classics.  Maybe my Pop will help me catch a few more fish still.  Thanks Dad.