Fishing with Elizabeth August 31

It was a fine autumn like day, overcast, but without rain until early afternoon.
I went out in the boat for about an hour this morning, just along the shore here near the house.  The wind was coming from the South, so I stayed close to home.  I am out of shape for the rowing and did not want an hour against a stronger wind.
I hit one perch right in front of Kay's.
Then I picked up Elizabeth and together we took this nice little mess of fish.

Here is a couple nice closeup shots

The boat rowed easily even with Elizabeth in the front seat.  I think the stability makes it less apt to need back seat balance for ease in rowing. 
I'm still using the makeshift oars and one of them squawked like a chicken.  I removed the tape and that seemed to help.
It was so fine to have her along.  She seemed comfortable and happy in one of the plush seats with her feet on the other seat.
The threatened wind and storm never came.  Actually, for a time, all the wind calmed and we had an easy time.

It was fine to be on the water and at least temporarily over whatever it is that keeps me locked inside.
Fall is here and the good fishing will be the next few weeks.  For some of that we won't be here, so I should take advantage of as much of the fishing as I can manage.

Later, I spent a good bit of time on the telephone to  improve my Vegas booking, and then we went to a play in Albany and out to dinner at Basil Thai, so mornings are plenty of time for a short ride and to gather a meal of panfish. 
I need to get that in perspective.
Even a busy social life should easily include boating and the bit of exercise that comes from rowing.

The cleaning went well with just using a serrated steak knife and leaving the fillet knife for future fillets.  The serrated knife is great for scrapping out most of the white belly material and it cuts the bone better although it needs more pressure.

Marinated bluegill on the grill

I dropped five large bluegill in that Civetta's marinade and then cooked them on the grill.  The taste was too strong for eating without something with it.  I liked it.  No one else seemed to. 
I am thinking that the fish meat pulled from the bone would mix well in some sort of salad or perhaps with jacama in a pan fry.

I like to grill the fish with a steak because that produces good smoke and flavors the fish.  Here is the result.

 

fishing and eating

Finally a day of solo fishing with the energy to make it grand.

I rowed across the windless lake.

Nothing was biting.

To escape the sun I decided to tuck myself into the shade along the South bank of the Second Lake. 

In that area is a place where for many years I caught wonderful batches of bluegill, sometimes some of the largest ever seen in the lake.  Of course, they were more plentiful during the spawning in spring, but I thought I'd give it a try.

The house there now is completely different, the deck modern, the dock new.  Missing were old pipes that used to be there in the water, remnants of some old dock.

Now there is a rope swing for swimming.

However, I see that there is still some road drainage of a small trickle of a stream and still a good shade tree.

And sure enough if I cast into the small area I once fished long ago, there were large bluegills and some perch.  Here was action when the rest of the lake seemed slow at best.

There was not wind.

I did not anchor.

I just drifted and kept myself away from the boats moored at the docks.

I did best with no jig, just a small bit of worm on a light line.

At one point I woke the dog and he woke his owners who silenced him.

It felt almost intrusive to be so close in on someone's property.  I remembered how I used to be there almost every night. An older woman  (of the age I am now)  lived there with a little yapping dog.  She never said a word to me, but I wondered what she thought of seeing the same fisherman in the same spot night after night.

 

I did  catch on exceptionally large perch and one very large bluegill and then many that would do and one that would make for a great joke with Elizabeth.

 

 

When I tired, I rowed home and dealt with some of the Peter issues that needed attention.  Then I cleaned them, talked a bit to Chicago son Keith about Vegas, and then did the sink cleaning with a very fine toothbrush with a tip of bristles that stuck out and were great for grabbing bits behind the small rib cage bone.

We had one meal for supper.  Another was frozen.  The largest of the bluegills I cleaned whole with heads and then  put in the barbecue sauce to marinate.  I'll make them tomorrow or the next day on the grill.

 

 

Here are the fish frying in the pan.  Note the little one.

 

 

 

 

 Here is the boat docked again, the scene from the deck we would see when we dined, a fine wild scene as I like it.

 Here was where we dined.  The table is set for Elizabeth to come home.

 

 So I asked Elizabeth how many she thought she would eat.
Well, three perch and a bluegill would be good, she answered.

Three perch and a bluegill?  I asked.

"Yes." 
And so I showed her what I had fried up for her.  Three perch and one bluegill, the tiniest fish I've cleaned this year.




Then after dark I sat by a fire and drank scotch.
Neighbor Jeff came down for a just five minutes to say hello.

 

Peter and Casey/ Night ride

Peter and Casey fished midday off the float end of the dock and caught 5 bluegill.  I cooked up two of the first caught and they had a taste before heading home.

I did not fish last night, but did take the boat out for a ride under the moon in the night.  It was certainly bright and there was very little activity.  I did wake up a few dogs, so I suspect I was not the most popular guy in the neighborhood. 

I drifted for a bit over in the center of the second lake.  There I could escape the glaring light from across the water here and another lighting up the outside of one camp heading toward Gundrum Point.  I like it when the lights are calm.  Even the cars along the road don't bother me as much as the glaring lights.  This one across the way really got to me when I had a migraine two nights ago.  I screened it out. 

It is rare I get a late night row.  The boat has to be launched and I have to have had a good nap that day.  I think it did help my sleeping afterwards, although I also read a good bit in The Goldfinch before hitting the hay.

Sagamore

I have not fished much these days.
However, we watched a boy catch a few smallmouth bass off the pier at the Sagamore Hotel, Lake George when we went to visit son Keith and family.
It seemed like anyone could get access fairly easily.