retired but keeping my sense of humor
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California Barracuda
The body of the California Barracuda is very elongated and slender, and almost round. The mouth is large, with canine-like teeth. It has a sharply pointed snout with a projecting lower jaw. The color is grayish black with a bluish tinge on the back, becoming silvery or white on the sides and belly. The tail is yellowish and the dorsal fins are widely spaced.
Most of the Barracuda caught in the Southern California area will be in the 5 or 6 pound range (there is a 28" minimum size limit on barracuda). If you see a very large barracuda, in the 10 pound range, chances are it's a female. Positive identification can be made because the female has a charcoal black edge on the pelvic and anal fins, whereas the male fins are edged in yellow or olive.
The California barracuda's main forage is anchovies and other small fishes. Most California barracuda are taken with live bait fished at or near the surface; however, they will take an assortment of trolled artifical lures, or cast jigs with a fast retrieve.
Appropriate tackle for barracuda is a rig in the 10 to 20 lb. class. Light tackle fisherman can have a ball on the barracuda. Barracuda are one of the most often caught fish in the Southern California waters. Though not as powerful as the tunas or yellowtail, they put up a respectable fight and their willingness to bite, makes them popular among area fisherman. Barracuda have saved the day for many fisherman.
Most Barracuda are taken on live bait, anchovies or sardines. To increase your catch, put away the wire leaders, they are just not necessary. Tie hooks directly to your line. Sure you may loose an occassional fish, but you will get more bites without the wire. I routinely catch barracuda on 6 to 8 pound line without the wire leader.
Barracuda will agressively take most artificials with iron jigs and flashers, like the Crocadile, being among the favorites. A lure that is often overlooked these days, but very effective, is the feather jig. Presented properly, with long steady tugs, these lures will often outfish all other styles of lures. For light liners, this is an especially attractive lure.
Although barracuda are still one of the most commonly caught fish along the Southern California coast, their numbers have been adversely affected in recent years. Whenever possible fisherman should practice "catch and release". The 28" limit is helping, but, as fisherman, we need to do our part as well. Although I know many fisherman disagree with me, as a food fish, the value of Barracuda is minimal. As a sportfish, they are extremely valuable. So please release these fish if you can.
One word of caution. Barracuda are very slippery and hard to handle when in the boat, so I recommend not using treble hooks for these fish.
Other Common Names:
barracuda, scoot, scooter, snake, barry, Pacific barracuda.
Largest Recorded:
Reported to 5 feet, but recorded to 4 feet; 18.1 pounds.
Habitat:
Pelagic Environment
Source: Marine Sportfish Identification, California Department of Fish and Game, 1987
Calico Bass
Family:
Serranidae (Sea Basses)
Genus and Species:
Paralabrax clathratus Description:
The body of the kelp bass is elongate and compressed. The head is relatively elongate, compressed and has a pointed snout. The mouth is large. The color is brown to olive green, with light blotches, becoming lighter below. Kelp bass can be easily distinguished from sand bass by the fact that the third, fourth and fifth dorsal spines of kelp bass are about the same length; while in sand bass, the third dorsal spine is much longer than the fourth and fifth spines.
Range:
Kelp bass occur from Magdalena Bay, Baja California, to the Columbia River, Washington. They are taken regularly from Point Conception south to central Baja California in depths down to 150 feet.
Natural History:
Small shrimp-like crustaceans are very important in the diet of kelp bass of all ages. However, with increase in size there is a corresponding increase in the amount of fish eaten. Anchovies, small surfperch, and other small fishes are part of the diet. By the time kelp bass are 10.5 inches long and 5 years of age, nearly all are capable of spawning. The spawning season usually extends from May through September with a peak during July. As with most members of the bass family, growth is slow and a 9 year old fish is only about 16.5 inches long.
Fishing Information:
Kelp bass are caught primarily with live anchovies fished at or near the surface in and around kelp beds. They may be taken throughout the water column by trolling near kelp beds with live or dead bait. Numerous anglers also catch them on cast plugs, spoons, lures, and jigs. These anglers obtain their best catches with a yellowish, bronze, or white colored jig. In localities where kelp bass are not spoiled by offerings of live bait, they willingly accept hooks baited with strips or chunks of anchovy, mackerel or squid. Kelp bass are noted for their fighting qualities regardless of the type of bait or lure used.
Other Common Names:
kelp bass, bull bass, kelp salmon, cabrilla.
Largest Recorded:
28.5 inches; 14.5 pounds.
Habitat:
Shallow Rocky Environment
Source: Marine Sportfish Identification, California Department of Fish and Game, 1987
Barred Sand Bass
Description:
The body of the barred sand bass is rather elongate and compressed. The mouth is large and the lower jaw protrudes slightly. The color is gray white on the back, white on the belly and there are dark vertical bars on the sides. Barred sand bass can be easily distinguished from kelp bass by the height of the third dorsal spine. In barred sand bass, this spine is the longest of the dorsal spines, while in the kelp bass, the third, fourth and fifth dorsal spines are of about equal length. Barred sand bass can be distinguished from spotted sand bass by the lack of spots on the body.
Range:
Barred sand bass occur from Magdalena Bay, Baja California, to Santa Cruz, California. This species occurs from shallow water to depths of 600 feet; however, most fish are taken in 60 to 90 feet of water.
Natural History:
The barred sand bass diet includes crabs, octopus, squid, and small fishes. The adults aggregate and spawn during warmer months. The eggs are free floating.
Fishing Information:
The best method for catching barred sand bass is to search a sandy area with an echosounder until a school is located. The boat then can be anchored and fishing commenced with live anchovies. Barred sand bass will usually "build" or gather under the boat when chummed so it pays to wait for awhile before moving.
Sandies can be targeted year round, but in the spring they move up to spawn on the broad sand and mud flats just off the California beaches. Tremendous fishing can be found during this time at places like Imperial Beach and Oceanside. Sand Bass can be found in good numbers in the bays as well. Sand Bass range from Santa Cruz, in north-central California to Bahia Magdelena in southern Baja California along the Pacific Coast.
Sand Bass prefer very lively, live bait, sent to the bottom with a sliding sinker so that they don't feel any resistance when they hit. They'll eat sardines, anchovies, squid or cut bait. Strip squid is especially effective.
Sand Bass will strike plastics jigs and swim baits regularly and this is a popular method of fishing for them. You can greatly increase the effectiveness of these swim baits with the addition of a thin strip of cut squid on the lure hook to give it the right scent.
Other Common Names:
Sand bass, sandy, ground bass, sugar bass, kelp bass, rock bass.
Largest Recorded:
26 inches; 11.1 pounds.
Habitat:
Shallow Sandy Environment
Source: Marine Sportfish Identification, California Department of Fish and Game, 1987
California Halibut
Family:
Bothidae (Left-eyed flounders)
Genus and Species:
Paralichthys californicus
Description:
The body of the California halibut is oblong and compressed. The head is small and the mouth large. Although a member of the left-eyed flounder family, about 40 percent of California halibut have their eyes on the right side. The color is dark brown to black on the eyed side and white on the blind side. Their numerous teeth, very large mouth and a high arch in the middle of the "top" side above the pectoral fin make them easily distinguishable from other flatfish.
Range:
California halibut occur from Magdalena Bay, Baja California, to the Quillayute River, British Columbia. A separate population occurs in the upper Gulf of California.
Natural History:
California halibut feed almost exclusively upon anchovies and similar small fishes. At times they are observed jumping clear of the water as they make passes at anchovy schools near the surface. Males first mature when 2 or 3 years of age, but females do not mature until 4 or 5. A 5 year old fish may be anywhere from 11 to 17 inches long. Spawning takes place in relatively shallow water during the months of April through July.
Fishing Information:
California halibut are pursued by anglers throughout the year, but the best landings usually occur in the spring. In central and northern California fishing is best in summer and early fall. At that time California halibut move into shallow water to spawn. Drifting for halibut is the most successful fishing method with anglers using live anchovies, queenfish, white croakers, shiner perch or Pacific mackerel as bait. Artificial lures work well at times although they are not always effective. California halibut are found over sandy bottoms.
Other Common Names:
flatty, fly swatter (small), barn door (large), alabato, Monterey halibut, chicken halibut, southern halibut.
Largest Recorded:
5 feet; 72 pounds.
Habitat:
Shallow Sandy Environment
Source: Marine Sportfish Identification, California Department of Fish and Game, 1987
The body of the albacore tapers at both ends. The head is long and the mouth fairly large. The color is dark gray to metallic blue on the back becoming white to gray below.
Albacore are easily distinguished from the other tunas occurring off California, by the extreme length of their peoctoral fins. They extend well past the anal fin.
The food of the albacore varies, depending upon where they are feeding in the water column and what items are available. A majority of the food consists of small fishes, but at times squid and crustaceans are also important.
Most fishing for albacore takes place 20-100 miles offshore in central and southern California. They are rarely taken near shore. Albacore have a preferance for deep blue oceanic water and mild temperatures.
Albacore travel in loosely-knit schools which are located by trolling. Once located, they are fished with a hook and line using live anchovies for bait. They may also be caught on a trolled feather jig. (see Yellowfin Tuna for mor info)
Most Albacore will run around 20 lbs. The largest recorded Albacore in California was 90lbs. caught in 1997. This fish should have been recognized as the world record, but was disqualified by IGFA.
Like many other tuna, the bluefin has a robust, cigar-shaped body. The color is dark blue over gray. Similar in appearance to the Yellow fin tuna, it can be distinguished by shorter pectoral fin. Also characteristic is the liver, which is striated with blood vessels. Other short-finned tuna either lack this characteristic, or have striations only along the edges of the liver.
Bluefin tuna are seasonal, visiting the California coast earlier in the year than Yellow fin. They are generally present from May to October, depending upon water temperature.
These tuna are generally caught with fly-lined sardines or on the iron. They are very cautious fish, often biting only on light line.
Most Pacific Bluefin will be in 15 to 30 pound class with fish upwards of 100 pounds caught each year.
The White Seabass is a sport fish that reaches sizes up to 80 pounds. They are shallow water or in-shore fish and usually are caught within three miles of land. They are typically fished around kelp beds, rocky points and piers.
Before 1950, White Seabass were plentiful and provided anglers a big, good eating, near shore sportfish. Since that time, the quantity of White Seabass has dwindled so low that most of us have never seen or caught an adult (28") fish. However, many of us catch young ones, 10-16 inches long.
White Seabass reach sexual maturity (28") at five years of age. It is very important that anglers be able to recognize and release the young White Seabass so they can reach maturity and obey the 28" size limit.
The Department of Fish and Game's Ocean Resources Enhancement and Hatchery Project is using your money from fishing license sales to raise White Seabass for release into the ocean. During 1997 over 100,000 young Seabass 7-10 inches long will be released. The sport fishing public must help restore this important game fish by recognizing and releasing White Seabass under 28" which resemble mature White Croaker and Sand Bass.
The body of the yellowtail is elongate, somewhat compressed, tapering to the sharp snout and the slender tail. The head is more or less conical. The color is olive brown to brown above, with a dark streak along the side of the body. The fins are yellowish. Yellowtail are easily distinguished from other fishes by the darker horizontal stripe along the side of the body, as well as a deeply forked yellow tail.
One of the most popular gamefish in San Diego area waters. Prime yellowtail areas are found around the Coronado Islands and the La Jolla Kelp.
Most yellowtail taken by California anglers are landed on boats which find the spots where yellowtail are known to congregate and then chum the fish to the boat with live bait. Yellowtail may also be taken by trolling jigs or feathers in areas where these fish occur.
The body of the bigeye tuna is cigar-shaped. The head is pointed and the eye is relatively large. The color is dark metallic brownish-blue to dark yellow on the back, fading to gray or white below.
In most individuals, the length of the pectoral fins should enable one to identify the species properly. Both bigeye and yellowfin tuna look similar, but bigeye tuna have pectoral fins which extend well past the anal fin, while yellowfin tuna have much shorter pectoral fins. The diet of bigeye tuna includes fish, squid, and crustaceans. They are opportunistic feeders, eating whatever is abundant in the area.
These fish are occasional visitors to California,usually from June until November. They prefer temperate water in excess of 70 degrees, but have been caught in water as cool as 65 degrees F. Bigeye tuna travel far below the surface during the day, surfacing only momentarily while feeding. Most bigeye are taken incidental to albacore or marlin fishing.
Most bigeye tuna taken in southern California weigh 50 to 100 pounds, with an occasional 150 to 200 pounder being landed. The largest recorded in California weighed 435 pounds.
DORADO (Coryphaena hippurus)
OTHER NAMES: Dolphin fish, Mahi Mahi
RANGE: Worldwide in tropical warmwater currents. Bahamas, Florida, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Bermuda, Mexico, Panama, Costa Rica, Ecuador, tropical Australia, Papua New Guinea, Hawaii, Fiji, Tahiti, Mauritius, all Pacific and Indian Ocean islands, Oman, east and west coast Africa. Dorado are seasonal fish in our area, appearing when warm currents move up from Mexico. Usually located in areas containing floating debris. When hooked it changes colors rapidly.
HABITAT: Dolphin ream the open sea in a continuous hunt for food. Anglers seek them along rafted weedlines and around any sort of large floating object. The location of schools may also be given away by feeding birds.
DESCRIPTION: A blaze of blue and yellow or deep green and yellow when in the water, and sometimes shows dark vertical stripes as well when excited. Small dark spots on sides. Dorsal fin extends nearly from head to tail. Head is very blunt in males (bulls); rounded in females (cows). The Pompano Dolphin, Coryphaena equisetis, is often mistaken as a female or juvenile male Dolphin. It is found in most of the same waters, grows to about 5 pounds and can be distinguished by the rounded shape of the underbelly.
SIZE: Schooling fish run in similar sizes, from around a pound to nearly 20 pounds at times; larger fish are loners, or else pairs; bull and cow. Big bulls often reach 50 pounds in weight and can exceed 80 pounds on rare occasion. Large cows generally top out at 40 pounds or so. World record 87 pounds. A 30 pound fish is considered good in our waters with the average probably closer to 10 or 15 pounds.
FOOD VALUE: None better. Great for sashimi!
GAME QUALITIES: Top of the heap in any weight class speedy. Strong and acrobatic. Best jumper of all?
TACKLE AND BAITS: With the Dolphins, anything goes. Private-boat anglers seek to find a school by trolling or by running and searching for visual signs. Once a school is located, it can usually be kept around the boat by restrained chumming with cut bait and/or by keeping at least one hooked fish in the water at all times. A hot school will eagerly accept jigs and all sorts of casting baits, including flies and popping bugs. If strikes slow down, cut bait often does the trick. Big or wise fish may insist on live baits. Countless Dolphin are also caught, both by design and incidentally, on the entire gamut of rigged trolling baits and artificial trolling lures.
FISHING SYSTEMS: Casting; Drifting; Trolling.
Source: Marine Sportfish Identification, California Department of Fish and Game, 1987
Striped Marlin
Family: Istiophoridae (Billfishes)
Genus and Species: Tetrapturus audax
Description: The body of the striped marlin is elongate and compressed. The upper jaw is much extended, forming a rounded spear. The color is dark blue above becoming silver below, with light blue bars or vertical spots on the sides.
Of the billfishes that occur in California waters, the striped marlin is difficult to confuse with the others. Marlin have scales, fins on the belly, and a rounded spear which set them apart from swordfish which have no scales or ventral fins and have bills that are flat. Sailfish have an extremely high dorsal fin not found among the marlins, and shortnose spearfish do not have the long spear on the upper jaw nor the body weight of the marlin. The striped marlin normally develops conspicuous stripes along the sides of its body after death. This feature is unique to striped marlin.
Range: Striped marlin occur in tropical and warm temperature waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. On the west coast of the United States they range as far north as Oregon, but are most common south of Point Conception, California. They usually appear off California in July and remain until late October.
Natural History: The food of striped marlin is predominately fishes, squid, crabs and shrimp. The latter three make up lesser portions of the diet than do fish.
The spear of the marlin is sometimes used as a weapon for defense and as an aid in capturing food. Wooden boats frequently have been rammed by billfish, and in one instance the spear penetrated 18.5 inches of hardwood - 14.5 inches of which was oak. When it uses its bill in capturing food, the striped marlin sometimes stuns its prey by slashing sideways with the spear rather than impaling its victim, as some believe.
Fishing Imformation: Most striped marlin are taken by trolling artificial lures in areas they are known to inhabit. Blind strikes are generally the rule, but one can occasionally tempt a "finner" or "sleeper" (marlin swimming along the surface) to strike if lures are trolled past the fish. Live bait also works well but requires more effort since the fish must usually be first spotted visually. Once a striped marlin is located, the angler should cast a bait in front of and past the fish so it can be reeled back towards the animal. Strikes usually result from properly presented live bait. Most striped marlin anglers prefer Pacific mackeral as bait. The best California fishing locality is in a belt of water which extends from the east end of Santa Catalina Island offshore to San Clemente Island and southward in the direction of the Los Coronados Islands.
Other Common Names: striper, marlin, Pacific marlin, spikefish, spearfish.
Largest recorded: 13.5 feet, 339 pounds (California); 494 pounds (New Zealand)
Source: Marine Sportfish Identification, California Department of Fish and Game, 1987
The body of the yellowfin tuna tapers at both ends, and the head is conical. The color is dark brownish blue to dark yellow on the back, becoming gray or whitish below.
Most yellowfin tuna taken in California weigh 15 to 50 pounds. The California record for Yellowfin, or Ahi tuna, is 239 pounds.
Yellowfin tuna feed on fishes, squid, crustaceans, and are generally opportunistic feeders.
Yellowfin tuna are fished in the same manner as albacore; jigs are used to locate the schools, and live anchovies or sardines are chummed to keep the fish around the boat. Like all fishing, there is a method to fishing tuna that should be practiced. Tuna are school fish and have a tendancy to follow the trolled fish to the boat. Conversely if this fish is lost, he will make a quick exit from the scene and the other fish will follow. For this reason it is adviseable to get the "jig fish" to the boat as quickly as possible. As soon as the fish is within range, drop a hook with a live bait over the side. If all goes well, you will get bit quickly and there is a good chance that the rest of the school will stick around the boat for awhile. Many experienced private fisherman have learned that the best way to fish tuna is with a 3 or 4 man team. One to man the trolling rod, one for the bait fish rig and the third man to throw a chum line in the hopes of getting the fish up to the boat and into a feeding frenzy. When this works right, the result can be a wide open fishing experience.
For trolling, tackle in the 60 pound class should be adequate, although many party boats have an 80 pound minimum line weight. Reels in 4/0 or 6/0 class are ideal. Many fisherman prefer 2 speed reels in order to get the fish to the boat quickly, but the standard reels should be sufficient for most conditions.
Bait fishing rigs for yellowfin should be in the 20 or 30 pound class for most conditions. It is a good idea to have 40 pound rig ready just in case you happen upon a school of bigger fish. The heavy stand-up rigs popular further south are not necessary in California waters. Rods of about 6 feet with a fast action are the preferred bait stick and should be matched with conventional reel capable of holding 200-300 yards of line. A good quality spinning reel may be used, but leave the cheaper reels at home. These fish are capable of making long, powerful runs and most of the drag systems on spinning reels will just not handle it. This is really the domain of the conventional reels with their superior drag systems. Private boaters will often light tackle these fish and it is a wonderful way to fish, but this isn't advisable on party boats since you will be fishing in crowds. Leave the bass tackle at home, most captains frown upon using this gear.
Feathers are probably the most popular jig although plugs such as the Cedar Plug, Rapalas and others catch their fair share. A good safety tip when dragging the latter is to remove the belly hook and replace the standard treble hook with a single or double hook. This is a requirement on most party boats and just makes a lot of sense. Two or three treble hooks bouncing along the deck with a fresh fish is a lot of hooks and easily can find the unwarry fisherman. A big hook in the leg, hand or even worse, the face can ruin a good trip quick. After a couple of experiences with this, I prefer to use barbless hooks on my trolling plugs, but that is a personal preference. It is a good idea however if you plan to release your fish. My experience has been that since I am really musceling these fish to the boat, the barbless hooks work just as well.
Have a variety of colors available. Purple and black, dark blue, yellow and green, Mexican flag, and red and white are all very popular. As a general rule of thumb, try dark colors in the morning and switch to the lighter colors as the day wheres on. Don't be afraid to experiment.
Tolling speeds are usually between 6-10 knots, but here again there will be days that you will have to slow down or speed up to trigger a strike. Be sure however that you keep the lure in the water.
Fish Recipes
TROUT & FRIED APPLES
This is one of my favorites camp breakfasts and it is easy to prepare. Goes great with biscuits and honey, and really gets the day going right on a cold mountain morning.
Fry bacon until crisp and set aside.
Next fry peeled apples in bacon grease until soft.
Last fry trout in the bacon and apple grease.
Serve trout covered with fried apples and crumbled bacon.
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Pan Fried Baby Trout
1/4 cup virgin olive oil
2-3 large cloves of garlic
2 lbs of tomatoes peeled and crushed
salt
pepper
1/4 cup parsley chopped
6- 6 ounce trout, cleaned
Heat oil in a frying pan until hot but not smoking. Add garlic and turn the heat down. When garlic is lightly brown add tomatoes, salt, pepper and parsley. Stir everything well and simmer the sauce for 15 min until it becomes a little dense. Place trout into the sauce so that it is covered with the sauce. If there is not enough sauce spoon over trout and try to cover it. Cook the trout for 5 to 8 min the flesh should flake when you test it. Serve with sauce on it.
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TROUT WITH ALMONDS
4 trout, each 8 or 9 inches long
flour, salt, and pepper
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/4 cup slivered almonds
3 tablespoons butter or margarine
Dredge trout in flour, salt, and pepper. Fry them in 1/4 cup butter or margarine until done. Remove to a platter. To the frying pan add 3 tablespoons butter or margarine and 1/4 cup slivered almonds. Cook the almonds until the butter is browned. Pour butter-almond mixture over the fish and serve immediately.
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BARBECUED TROUT
4 7-inch trout
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup tomato juice
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Mix all ingredients together, except the fish. Place the trout, preferably freshly caught, on a grill about 4 inches above a bed of fine coals. Cook about 4 minutes without turning. Turn the fish and baste with the above sauce. Cook the fish no longer than 10 minutes. Either spread the remaining sauce over the fish or serve it as a dip.
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CRAPPIE SCAMPI
Spray cookie sheet w/ PAM.
Spread crappie fillets evenly.
Drizzle w/ crushed garlic in melted butter.
Sprinkle w/ bread crumbs.
Season w/ salt & pepper or fish seasoning.
Broil until slightly browned.
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JOE'S CRISPY CRAPPIE
Joe and his wife Sue are Black Lake Angler's
This is really a great recipe for a lite breaded fish fry.
25 large crappie filets and cut into 1 - 2" pieces.
Place in a bowl of ice water and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
Store bought Tempura Fish Batter, follow mixing directions.
Add 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Add salt and ground black pepper to taste
Add ice cold water and mix (follow mixing directions)
Mix should be thick enough to stick, but thin enough to easily drip.
Add 1/2 teaspoon soy sauce (optional) and mix.
Juice from 1/4 squeezed lemon (optional) and mix.
Remove cut fish from ice cold water and dab with paper towel to remove excess water.
Dip in batter, let excess drip off and place in deep fryer or frying pan with enough hot oil to cover fish pieces completely.
Remove when lightly brown (about 3 minutes)
NOTE: it is very important to use ice cold water. This helps the thin batter stick!!!!!
ENJOY!
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SAUCY CHEESE CRAPPIE
1 Lb. of Crappie Fillets (6 to 8)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
paprika
Spray baking dish with Pam, season fillets and put in baking dish. Put cream of mushroom soup over fillets (undiluted) top with grated cheese and sprinkle paprika over top
Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes
Can be put over noodles or rice or just as a main dish.
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BATTER-FRIED PANFISH
1/2 cup flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup water
1 egg white
Approximately 1 pound panfish fillets
1 lemon
Oil for deep frying
Combine the flour, cornstarch, pepper and salt and sift together onto a plate or piece of waxed paper.
Beat the egg yolk and water to a smooth cream then incorporate the flour mixture a few tablespoons at a time.
Just before using the batter, beat the egg white until stiff enough to stand in peaks when lifted on the beater.
Scoop the egg white into the batter and fold it gently with a spoon or spatula.
Heat the oil in a deep heavy pan.
Pat the fish fillets dry with paper towel.
Pick up fillets with tongs and dip into batter and carefully drop into the hot oil.
Deep fry for four to five minutes, turn them as they brown. This will require about three minutes.
After they brown, transfer the fillets to paper towel or a brown paper bag to drain excess oil.
Arrange fillets on warm platter and serve at once accompanied with wedges of lemon.
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FRIED CRAPPIE
1/3 pound Crappie fillets per person
2 cups dry Pancake Mix
Salt
Oil for frying
Lemon and Pepper seasoning
Cocktail Sauce
Wash and dry fish. Dip fish into water. Sprinkle with salt and lemon pepper. Coat lightly with pancake mix. Fry in deep fat for four or five minutes, or until fish flakes easily.
Serve with cocktail sauce.
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DEEP FRIED CRAPPIE
1 1/2 cups of yellow corn meal
1 egg
1 cup of milk
salt and pepper
6 or 8 crappies fillet
Peanut oil for frying
Soak fish in milk for 1 hour (takes out fishy flavor).
Remove the filets from milk
Sprinkle with salt and pepper and then roll the fish in corn meal.
Drop the fillets into a deep frier and cook the fish until it floats
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OVEN-FRIED PERCH
1 lbs. Perch Fillets
2 Tbsp. Parmesan Cheese - grated
1/2 Cup Dry Bread Crumbs
1 Tbsp. Margarine melted
1/4 Cup Milk
1/2 Tsp. Thyme
Dip fillets in milk.
Combine crumbs parmesan cheese and thyme.
Coat fish with bread crumbs.
Lay in single layer on greased shallow baking pan.
Drizzle with melted margarine.
Bake in oven at 450 degrees for 12 minutes per inch of thickness of the fish measured at te thinckest part or until fish flakes easily with a fork.
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Following recipe works best with FLAT beer.
Open bottle or can of beer 24 hours before using.
BEER BATTER
1 cup flour
1 cup flat beer
l/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Cut fillets into pieces about 2 inches.
Dip in batter.
Deep fry till golden brown--about 6 minutes.
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BROILED PANFISH
Lay a layer of fillets in a broiling pan.
Sprinkle with a little white wine.
Dot with a little butter.
Cooking;
Broil a couple minutes-until flesh is white.
This is very fast-depending on fillet size.
Turn and briefly broil other side.
Total cooking time usually less than 5 minutes.
Broiling is easy and the fish are delicious!
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BLUEGIL CHOWDER
First catch your Blue Gill and filet them.
1 Can of Potato soup
Pint of milk
Fresh Minced onion
1 tsp Parsley
Dilute a can of potato soup with a pint of milk; heat to just simmering.
Add fresh minced onions, to your taste, and a level teaspoon of parsley.
Simmer until onions are transparent.
Add salt and pepper to suit.
Add your Bluegil fillets (do not allow to boil).
Stew until fillets become translucent.
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GRILLED LEMON-SEASONED FISH
Put fish on some foil with a few drops of lemon juice on each side of fish, add half a teaspoon of Old Bay Seasoning or other seasoning. Cover and set over charcoal or wood fire for 20 to 30 minutes or until fish flakes easily. Put on a drop or two of lemon juice and serve
This works great for campouts!
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FISH CASSEROLE
2 pounds boneless fish fillets
2 cans condensed cream of celery soup
3 cups milk
10 small potatoes peeled and halved
7 tablespoons diced ham
5 tablespoons diced onion
6 slices American Cheese
4 tablespoons grated mozzarella cheese
Coat inside of two-quart casserole dish lightly with oil then lay in fillets. Place potatoes along the sides. In a saucepan heat and mix soup, milk, onions and ham, then pour over fillets and potatoes. Sprinkle on the grated cheese and bake in a 200 F oven for three hours. Lay cheese slices on top and heat until melted.
Any type of fish will work for this recipe.
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No matter how carefully you fillet your fish, you will nearly always leave some meat attached to the backbone. Many find that you can scrape the meat off the vertebrae with a spoon or a knife and use the bits of meat in a variety of ways.
Here is a delicious way to use what some folks mistakenly waste.
FISH CAKES
1 cup raw, chopped fish (any species will do)
1 cup milk
1 egg
2 tablespoons potato flour (or dehydrated potato flakes)
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon minced onions
Put all the ingredients except the fish in a blender and spin until thoroughly mixed. Add the fish and blend until the mixture is a smooth consistency. Shape the batter into sliver-dollar-sized cakes about 3/8ths of an inch thick, or into one-inch balls, and fry them in butter or shortening until they are brown. Serve the cakes hot--either alone, with a white sauce or a bit of honey-mustard
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Any fresh Pan Fish
One of the problems with fish and sea food is that it cools far too fast. Here is the cure! This process is mostly intended for camping etc. and is not intended for the normal kitchen environment.
Catch some small to medium pan sized fish, and clean them asap. The intent here is to get the fresh catch to pan as quickly as possible.
Dust the cleaned catch with flour, and drop it into a sufficiently heated pan, with a small amount of oil, preferably an oil that has a minimum of its own flavor.
Add salt and pepper to taste as it cooks, flip over when golden brown .
While the 2nd side is being cooked in the pan, use fork to eat the side that is already cooked (now face up) and is obviously still hot. This process usually works well for one or two individuals, but large parties are tough to handle in this manner.
Once the upside is devoured, the side being cooked is about done and merely needs flipping over, and eating may again resume.
There you have it, super fresh pan fish that is HOT while you eat it. Nothing fancy though, just good fish flavor. Yes, you are eating from the pan, but camping and fishing is supposed to be a fun experience.
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Ken's best bluegil
TEMS NEEDED:
BLUEGIL FILETS
OIL
FRYER
STRAINER
1 # RITZ CRACKERS (OR ANY BUTTERY CRACKER SUCH AS HI HO)
2 EGGS
1 CUP MILK
SALT
PREHEAT OIL IN FRYER AT 325
FOOD PROCESS OR GRIND CRACKERS. YOU WANT THEM FINELY GROUND AS POSSIBLE.
BEAT EGGS AND MILK TOGETHER
WASH FILETS AND DIP THEM IN EGG MILK MIXTURE
PLACE IN STRAINER TO ALLOW EXCESS TO DRIP OFF
ROLL IN GROUND CRACKERS
FRY TILL GOLDEN BROWN
SALT TO TASTE
ENJOY !!!!!
What the hell, here's the whole team !!!!
more tasteful.........LOL !!!!
Oh my.....what will they think of next !!!
Wahoo - 31.10.203
Trout
3 pounds Perch, caught on super light tackle
photo 2
photo 4
De boot in volle vaart
Hooked Up
Coming on my rod
Vissen in Ierland
Vangst uit Noorwegen
Nieuwe Waterweg - Holland
Ruwe Haai, gevangen in Ierland
Downings - Ierland 2003
Downing - Ierland 2003
Salmon
White Marlin
HEY TEK !!!!!!!!!
Glad you finally got on board here at IHUB ! Come on over and tell me how much you enjoy fishing !!! LOL !!!
Still strum'n that six string are ya !!!
JC60 remember me !!!!!!!
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/board.asp?board_id=2037
THX BIG !!! and did you get that fish'n rod yet !!!!!
Will do the next time I get around their way or the next time I'm on the phone with her, no problem. Now as far as the sparks are concerned !!!!!!!! We'll just drop the subject before my good persona get's a little ugly !!!! LOL !!!!
Glad you enjoy the pics......thx.
The Blue Marlin III
New Blue Marlin III Boat Record - Skipjack Tuna - 7400 gram/16.3 lbs - C.Pipping - Holland
Mika & Friends from Finland
Stingray caught by Coen Peet from Holland