August Fishing

[beekeeper]

Made a few trips but the catching was not as good as earlier in the year trips. That's no reason to stay home. Did a lot of paddling and became more familliar with my boat.

Sunrise on Lake Bistineau:

My son crappie fishing:

Launch site. Had to push through mud to get to the lake. But worth it. A hint: Go with a young man who is willing to get out of the boat and push.

A dirty boat:

Fish for frying:

Another day on the lake:

Only caught three. Best one:

3rd. Trip Dixie Inn, Bayou Dorcheat. Only caught one. My pirogue with new length paddle:

4th. And 5th. Trip Bayou Dorcheat at Sibley:

Only caught a couple each time. This was a pretty one:

Landing was all concreat and asphalt chunks. Not kind to the bottom:

beekeeper

 

[Kayak Jack]

Re: Augest Fishing

Nice fish, good story. I must advise you that getting up before sunrise threatens your standing as a geezer. Next time, tell'em it's sunset - (no one will know the difference.)

 

[beekeeper]

Jack I thought only seeing one or the other was OK. :? In the 114 deg. heat index in the afternoon we were haveing I'll take sunrise.

beekeeper

 

[Kayak Jack]

Yes - but label it as sunset. You'll have geezers all atwitter all over the place. Geezers just don't get up that early. well, maybe to hunt, paddle, or fly. But not to fish. :wink:

Do you fillet those big ones? When I was a kid, Dad never filleted a fish, so never taught me to either. When eating them, I always got a scale or two - and BONES. Gawd I hated that. And, then they tasted like fish. A good fish fillet, steamed with lemon and spices is good.

 

[beekeeper]

We do fillet. That's why the electric fillet (carveing) knife was invented. I stopped hunting because if you kill something you have to clean it. When I fish and catch something I can release it. I don't know about flying or the steamed fish but we can still be friends. :wink:

beekeeper

 

[Kayak Jack]

Ohh (scuffing feet in the dirt here, squinting inta the sun, hand in hip pockets.) OK; we'll be friends. (Where's my Hershey bar?)

 

[beekeeper]

After Hurricane Andrew devestated the bass fishing we started fishing the "marsh" for red fish (drum), and speckle (sea) trout. The red fish were large and hard to fillet. Some times we would fillet the sides off the back bone, but leave the skin, and scales attached. Placed the scale side down on the grill. Swabed with butter, and a little lemon juice, and some seasonings they made for some good eating. Don't turn the fillets over, but do stop eating when you get to the skin. :lol: It also works for bass.

beekeeper
A cleaning tip for large red fish (27"+) to be baked is; nail it's tail to a board and then use a dull garden hoe to scrape the scales off. Scales are too big and tough to scrap with a knife and the bones are too thick to cut with the fillet knife.

 

[oldsparkey]

After you fillet the fish and have that slab of meat laying there. Take a knife and , at an angle insert it between the skin and the meat at the tail.
Using the tips of your fingers ( the finger nails ) hold the skin in place and slide your knife forward to separate the skin and the meat. Cutting forward towards where the head use to be. Keep the knife blade at a slight down ward angle but not enough to cut the skin , just slide over it.
It might take a couple of fish to accomplish ( learn how) the cut correctly but when done right the meat will be separated from the skin in one cut.
It's called Slip Skinning.

I have a way to fillet a fish where you do not have any bones in the fillet when done , in fact there isn't any blood or a mess only thing left is a nice fillet of white meat when finished. It would be difficult to explain but basically I make a cut just behind the front fins down to the backbone but not threw it, then run the knife blade down one side of the backbone and then move the meat away with a finger and continue to make the cuts down to the ribs , run the knife over the ribs ( not cutting them ) on the outside of them and on down the tail. Then repeat the process on the other side. When it is done there is nothing but the fillets with the skin on it , then I slip skin the fillets and have a good chunk of boneless and skinless meat.

Try broiling a fillet with some fresh squeezed orange juice. Not the bottled crap ... the fresh juice. Enough to cover the bottom of the pan. ( Lemon juice can be substituted )
Line a pan with tin foil , squeeze the juice in the pan and put the fillet in there... Season to taste ( I like a little garlic on mine) ....in the oven at 350 till done ( does not take long )

Chuck.......

 

[beekeeper]

Chuck, I may have not explained myself well. The point was to leave the skin on for grilling. You don't have to use foil to keep the meat from falling through the grill. I usually fillet the meat from the backbone and skin without detaching the skin from the carcass. The ribs can then be cut out. If a fish is too big to fillet or to fry, it is too big to keep. :roll: :lol:

beekeeper

 

[oldsparkey]

I got into the habit of removing the skin on the fish.
Overhear if you get some and leave the skin on it changes the taste of them. One good example is the Sergeant Fish , Robolo or Snook. The name changes with the location. Leave the skin on and they use to call it a soap fish because the early settlers said they taste like soap and ended up using them for fertilizer. Take the skin off and some dam good eating.

Might say it is a habit , I don't even like Salmon with the skin still attached so you can see I do not grill fish. :wink: Steaks , Shrimp or Lobster on the grill ..... YES , Fish ...No.

 

[rpecot]

After Hurricane Andrew devestated the bass fishing we started fishing the "marsh" for red fish (drum), and speckle (sea) trout. The red fish were large and hard to fillet. Some times we would fillet the sides off the back bone, but leave the skin, and scales attached. Placed the scale side down on the grill. Swabed with butter, and a little lemon juice, and some seasonings they made for some good eating. Don't turn the fillets over, but do stop eating when you get to the skin. :lol: It also works for bass.

beekeeper
A cleaning tip for large red fish (27"+) to be baked is; nail it's tail to a board and then use a dull garden hoe to scrape the scales off. Scales are too big and tough to scrap with a knife and the bones are too thick to cut with the fillet knife.

Redfish slabs seem to be the preferred method over here (at least, for the folks cleaning the fish :wink: ). Marinate the slabs with Italian salad dressing and throw on the grill. Mmm, mmm, good

 

[a Bald Cypress]

I have reached the point of giving up my beloved fried fish for baked.

Now all Ido if filet the fish and put it on a pan with some Zaterans and a couple of dabs of butter. 350 for 8 + r - min depending on the thickness and when finished with what I cooked, wonder why I didn't cook more.

Oh, some fries or slaw help to round out the meal. NOTE: wife is alergic to corn so hush puppies are out.

 

[Kayak Jack]

NOTE: wife is alergic to corn so hush puppies are out.

Boy! There goes all my jokes!