Bluegills

In the dream Peter and I and one more were out in the new boat with three buckets of bluegills when the boat seemed to not ride the waves but be swamped by them with water coming in the boat, sloshing the buckets and the bluegills all swimming in the boat.  I had to turn back.
Perhaps that part is anxiety about my boat. 

Rather than head home I went to Guzik's house and Bruce was there and talking to me again with a beer in his hand.  He was young again.  He said I was missing a meeting about something that he and Nancy were doing with Elizabeth and me and two other couples.  I tried to call on Guzik's phone, but it was an old plastic phone with static and two voices talking.  Gail looked at the phone to see what was the matter.

I wondered how in fifteen minutes I would be able to make the meeting and also bail the boat and clean the bluegills.

It was a strange dream, disturbing, and very intensely real.

Bird fishing with bread

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10152279337900342&set=vb.251101605341&type=2&theater

Fishing in florida

Porgy for breakfast

This is the last of the porgy we caught in the Gulf.  Amazing that such a grand breakfast is passed up by most fishermen because these fish are so small.  With lemon and pepper they are delicious.

 

Asian Carp

http://gardenandgun.com/article/conservation-trouble-asian-carp

Great article on this invasive species which is certainly scheduled to become a major food fish in the near future, bones or not.

Jack Crevaille

No one eats these, but some have tried and they liked them.  They have to be bled at the boat and then the blood vein needs to be removed when cleaning.

One commenter put it this way

"Much to my surprise after a couple hours in the buttermilk it was a nice light pink color and the milk was red! I season all my fish the same. Alot of garlic powder, a little pepper, after a little rub down with the olive oil then on to grill it goes for as short a time as possible to flake with a fork. She told all she could about the best fish she had tasted. She did not remember the type of fish at the time and when she started telling those people what it was, she got the funniest looks. I feel 9 out of 10 folks who say it is inedible have only heard that from someone else. there was even an article in Florida Sportsman kitchen about jack recipes but they looked to goumet for my simpleton cooking methods!"

Crystal river pond

We took a nature hike and passed a pond where there was some fish action.  Perhaps bluegills as they are in the pond.  Or perhaps this little fellow

 

First use of the fish grill

Successfully grilled fish

Well, after almost a month the swiveled fish grill basket arrived, and so I decided to cook fish on the little grill.
I have used the little barbecue grill twice now and not been pleased at all with the results.
This is the first use of the fish basket on the grill.

I thought that charcoal ash had plugged up the bottom so no air could feed the fire.  Actually, once I cleaned out the little grill, I discovered there are no holes for air to enter the grill and that explained why putting on the cover did not concentrate the smoke but eliminated the fire entirely.

Normally I see a folding fish grill basket as an impediment to grill cooking because it does not allow the cover to seal the rim of the barbecue grill.  However, here it was a great benefit because it created the only source of the air that would feed the fire while the cover still did contain enough smoke to give that distinctive barbecue taste to the fish.

I had some of the sheepshead fillets that we had caught and some small portions of wild caught salmon which Target and Walmarts sell.  This salmon is not as tasty as the Scottish salmon we had a few nights ago, but it still has good flavor. At about ten dollars a pound it is a good bargain for Alaskan wild caught.   I put the salmon down and covered it with the sheepshead fillets because I was afraid that they would easily dry out.  Sheepshead are not as oily as the salmon.  It worked great!. 
I'm going to experiment with slicing thin salmon and sandwiching it with bluegill fillets when I get home.  The beauty of this wire grill mesh is that it is flexible, so thicker fish is just as easy as thinner fish.  That is a great benefit in keeping fish from drying out and still giving it time to absorb the smoke.

For spice I used the Seafood magic seen in the photo.    I know that real cooks don't use packaged blends of spices, but I love this stuff for fish, especially salmon.  We use it all the time.
And I did add some olive oil to keep the fish moist.

For wine I drank the L'Oustalet which is not white, but I only drink red wine.

I bought this  at Whole Foods this week when we took Peter to the Tampa airport.  It is a French organic wine.  I'm not saying it is the best of wines, but it is the best of organic wine I have had and beats many others in the same price range.  Most of the other organics  I have tried have been disasters.  At Whole Foods it lists for about $13, but is always on sale for $9.99 and if you buy six bottles they take another 10% off and throw in a fine fabric bag that holds the six bottles.  I love these bags.  I love the wine, but I can't get it at home.  I may bring some home in April.

http://www.vineyardbrands.com/aspx/..%5CContent%5CTech%20Sheets%5C0105%5C0105-12-06-11-12-35-32-987.pdf

Elizabeth made a wonderful wild rice medley and I did have a bite, but to avoid carbs I complemented the fish with a mixed green salad topped with bits of cut up anchovies, crumbled blue cheese and a bit of creamy Italian dressing low in sugar and without carbs.

It all was a grand feast.

 

It has been a delightful day for food.  We had brunch in Crystal River at at little gourmet diner with great coffee, a nice cauliflower soup and spinach/ feta quiche.

Ah...the good life!!!!!!!

Fisheman in coconut

One cool photograph here

https://www.facebook.com/1mpics/photos/pcb.860418614055090/860415677388717/?type=1&theater

Eating porgy and a red drum

I cooked porgy for breakfast.  They don't compare in flavor to the black drum and the sheepshead, but they were good.  I cooked them like I cook bluegills at home.  I thought they might taste like white perch, but they did not.  Still they were not very strong and with lime and pepper, I sure liked them.  I have enough for one more breakfast meal.  These are fish Captain Rick would never keep,but I keep them and I clean them.  I did that first thing this morning.

Then I took one of the large red drum and baked it.  400 degrees until it flakes easily.  I filled it with lime and lemon and put some in slices on the fish and then put olive oil over the fish.  It was just wonderful.

I took out some of the back teeth that are found really far in the mouth, close to the gills.  I thought they looked cool.  They are grinding teeth.  If  all works out, I'll make a poker card protector from them.  First I baked them with the fish in aluminum foil.  Then I tooth brushed out the fish meat and salted the bones for good drying.

Fishing in the Gulf of Mexico

I did post on Facebook, but it is so much harder to post there than here.  I get lost in it and end up losing whole bits I write or photo groups I've worked on.  Facebook contacts many of my friends, but it does get very frustrating and I can't reorganize things.

This is much better, but I have no audience.

Here are all the photos we took.  I'll edit them later.


It was cold in the morning, but this year we were ready. Captain Rick took us right to fish. We expected the sheepshead, but the Black Drum were a surprise and the number of fish was very unusual. Some of the these fish approach 8 pounds. Jenn caught the biggest. It was fun watching her trying to fight them in. Action was constant. There were few times when nothing was happening. The fish we kept were only half the fish we caught and the catch spread out on the table does not inlcude a bag full of small porgy that I am cleaning tomorrow. At home we pigged out on breaded and fried fillets. I have large whole fish to bakd. An amazing day really. I caught a large chunk of sponge. Very strange. On the way home we spotted two roosting bald eagles.

We saw dolphins on the way out that followed our wake right behind the boat. Captain Rick had an experience with a dolphin landing in his boat this year. His UTube went viral and now National Geographic has interviewed him to be part of one of their articles. The downside of that is he is so booked we could hardly find a day to fish this year. This is the same fellow who connected Elizabeth up with her naturalist work two years ago as she works toward her Master Naturalist certification.

I wore my Eastside Cannery cap but it did not show up much in the photos.

Man,  are we tired!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

One of Chuck's Pickerel

Caught this photo of one of Chuck's pickerel.  He probably gave it to me.

 

Some Days There Just Ain't No Fish

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8O1l-OOJFKA

Sing it out, Pearl!!

Fishing redfish in Homosassa

FISHING

Neighbor Tom, Eric, and Bob took me fishing with redfish as the fish of choice.


 It is rare to get a "keeper" but many are released.  I actually caught one.

I also caught a number of small snappers and one other baitifish as well as this small ladyfish.

I was happy to have bought my license and have just adjusted to the idea that I'll fish but not get anything for the table.

One spot we fished was fight alongside this boat.  Noone has been anywhere near this boat for a while.   It may have been abandoned.

It was a long fishing session.
Bob explained some of the politics of the condominium and the troubles that are currently being faced and discussed.  None seemed to be of the sort that would hurt our future chances of being here.

Here is the only way I could get these three guys to pose for a photo.

 Until we were on our way home with the sunset behind us

 

X

 

When I got home Elizabeth had nice white shrimp and brown rice waiting for a welcome supper. The water increased my appetite.