Fishing Feb 7, 2009

Well, I figured I would post some pictures from this weekend's fishing trip. My "Grand-pappy" went with me on Saturday. This is usually the scene every time we go fishing. I drive, and he sits up front and enjoys being retired. We always have a good time together.



And he always enjoys the bragging rights and rubbing in my face whenever he is ahead of me on the count of how many fish caught. I believe at this point, he was two up on me.


We always release our catch, unless they are ill-releasable (i.e. have damaged them in the process of the catch). In this case, they go in the live well, to be "et" at a later date. See yummy fried trout recipe at bottom.



This is a picture of my newest (and favorite to date) rig. This is last year birthday present, and last year's christmas present. I have a whole-nother rig for fly fishing, but this is my everyday ole faithful. My rig consists of:

Reel - Shimano Sahara 750FB
Pole - Bass Pro Shops BIONIC BLADE (Ultra Light, 5'6 length, 1-6 lb test, Fast action)
Line - Bass Pro Shops XPS Flourocarbon line, 6 lb. test (I use 4 lb. test line when using monofilament. But Flourocarbon is much more highly sensitive, is almost invisible when under water, and has a low stretch feel. This means more sensitivity, even on the smallest "bumps").
hooks - I prefer Eagle Claw brand hooks. They seem not to chip or break as easily as other brands.
Weights - The brand doesn't matter to me. But I prefer BB size split shots with removeable teeth on the back. To be more eco-friendly, I stear clear of Lead sinkers.
Bait - Depends on what the fish are bitin on that day. Usually stick with worms, powerbait, or lures such as the Trout Magnet.



One of my favorite places to be. It was so nice that morning. I had a feece pullover on, so I stayed fairly warm. The weather was around 50-55 degrees, so it was cool, but not cold. We launched around 7:30 and left around noon. The sun never came out while we were there, but on the way home, the sun came out and it started to really warm up.



All in all it was a really nice day. Since I had the camera, figured I would take a picture of myself....I'm a dork, I know.



Grandad seemed to enjoy himself. One of his favorite passtimes.



I don't have any picture of the recent meals of fried trout but you can look back at my camping trip in October of 2008 and see the "remains" of our fish fry.

Brandon's Fried Trout

1-2 clean Trout fillets per person (depending on size of fish)
1-2 cups yellow stone ground cornmeal to dreadge
1-2 Tbl cayenne pepper (more if you like the heat)
1 Tbl kosher salt
1 Tbl garlic salt
Peanut Oil

Mix together in large container cornmeal, pepper, salt, & garlic salt. make sure trout fillets are cleaned well and place wet fillet in meal and press down into cornmeal mixture. Flip and coat other side well.

Let breaded fillets sit for 5-10 mins. During this time, place large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat and add enough oil to come up half way up the side of fish. Heat oil to 360-375 degrees. Do not let oil get above 375! Also, while your fish are resting and your oil is heating up, you can clean your prep and breading station.

Once oil is heated, slowly place fish into hot oil. Depending on size of fish, cook between 3-5 minutes on first site, and 2-4 minutes on other side. place on cooling rack inside a cookie sheet.

Enjoy with your favoriate condiment. My favorite is to eat it with raw sliced onion and a little mild hot sauce, with fresh cole slaw on the side.

Fishing

So another Saturday of not being able to fish has come and gone. Oh I could have gone fishing, but the gas expense of loading up the boat, heading to the river, around 45 minutes one way, driving all the way back can be a bit of a strain on the wallet these days, especially with gas prices so high. Two of my fishing buddies were not interested in going, my dad was gone in Louisiana for a ballgame, my wife would rather snooze in bed all day, my brother lives too far away and is now raising a family, and my best fishin partner is recovering from Prostate cancer surgery. So needless to say, I didn’t go fishing this weekend.

I love to fish. Anyone who has been around me long enough knows that. I have a lot of things in life I am passionate about, but one of my favorite things in life is to fish. Now I know what you are thinking. “Any dummy can fish!” Well, you may be right, but not all people can fully enjoy the experience the way I like to. This is just a sample of a typical Saturday morning of fishing.

Yes, when the alarm goes off at 5:15 on my day off of work, I sometimes think, “What an idiot I am! The one day of the week I can sleep in for as long as I want, and I am getting up even earlier than I have to during the week!” But after getting washed up a bit and heading to the kitchen, the smell of coffee engulfs me. My face turns from an expression of crusty eye boogers, bad hair, and squinting my eyes to find the light switch, to one of those cheesy foldgers commercials when the person is taking a whiff of the coffee and their face lights up. There is just sometime about the quiet sound of clocks ticking in the background at 5:30 in the morning on Saturday taking in the fragrant smell of the first cup of coffee before a wonderful day of fishing. The taste and warmth of the coffee was better than the warm covers I was so comfortably nestled under just moments ago.

With Coffee mug, thermos, and fishing gear in hand, I head out the door to my favorite fishin partners house. There, I am greeted by the sounds of early birds chirping, the rattling of fishing poles, and the pitter patter of little toy poodle feet running to greet me. As I meet my friend with a handshake, and sometime a hug, I can feel myself getting excited. When we have all the gear loaded up and the cooler ready, we head out in search of God’s most beautiful places on earth…the Trout stream.

On the way, we usually start of by asking each other which part of the river we are going to fish that day, usually telling each other about stories from the previous week, quoting the AGFC river report, and telling each other about what we have heard through the grape vine, where the fish are bittin. Usually, the topic turns to religion, politics, economy, health, retirement, food, TV, etc… Once we arrive at our destination, the anticipation mounts as we prepare the boat and supplies for launching. Once launched and ready, we start the motor and are off to “our spot”. The smoking of the cold motor drifts down the already foggy river and fades into the fog. As we start to give it gas, the most wonderful and pure smell awakens my senses to fully awaken my yawning face; cold, clean, pure air. I wish I could breathe the oxygen that has been lingering over a foggy river in the middle of the Natural state every day. This air doesn’t have smells, smog, carbon monoxide, or a “city smell”. Once on the river, you don’t hear traffic. You don’t hear people. You don’t hear TV. You don’t hear cell phones. The only thing you hear is Nature... the sound of rapids going over rocks, streams flowing through forks in the river, bird chirping, otters running along the riverbed, fish jumping for bugs on top of the water, leaves and twigs falling. All of these things make up one of the most peaceful place in the world. As I light my pipe or even a stogy, and puff on the sweet aroma of aromatic tobacco, I am at my full extent of relation. That is until…my line jerks and I catch one of the most stunningly beautiful animals in the river. This fish with its hunter green, silver, gray, and bright pink colors highlighted by black freckles, are one of the most colorful fish you will ever see. Once we observe, reflect, and release the species back to its home in the river, we usually say a couple of our “sayings”. “Well, fish, keep your mouth shut and you’ll stay outta trouble” or “That was fun, I think I’ll go and do that again”.

The only problem we have with keeping ourselves totally relaxed is hunger pains that usually come around the 3^rd or 4^th hour on the river. At this time, we usually break out the cokes and snacks to hold us over until lunch. Once we have “had enough" of the fishin, and have caught pleny of fish and are out of coffee, we start to head on back to go get some lunch. On the way back to the boat dock, the cool breeze that was originally on the water that morning has been replaced by warm sunlight baking on our faces and necks. Once loaded up and strapped down, we head over to our most favorite eatin place after fishin, The Café. We always order sweet Ice tea, big ole juicy burger, and a big order of waffle fries. Once satisfied, we head back to Searcy. The conversation this time turns to our hard day’s work, what football games will be on, and how good the word “nap” sounds…