I suppose that it's time to update the fishing reports. I had wanted to use this blog partially as a fishing diary which could then be referenced year to year. Anyways, several fishing trips have gone unreported. Here's the August report!
July 30th: We arrived at dawn and were pretty hopeful of the conditions but were greatly disappointed at the beach front. A fairly light southwest wind had managed to stir up the mud and so visibility was very limited. Still, I think we tried for about 3 hours to catch something and only ended up with a hardhead or two. Conditions along the coast had been not too favorable for the entire summer and this day was simply a continuation of that trend. We decided to give the bay side a try and here the visibility was much better. Both Harry and I landed a new species (to us) that being mangrove snappers. As the water movement slowed at the bridge a better bite came into play. I also landed an 18" speckled trout. We left and headed back to Houston at around 11:30.
The mangrove snapper is not considered a game fish in Texas as it has reached its habitat limitations. Were we to get a cold winter, this fish would not survive very well. Nevertheless, it is an occasional catch within the Galveston Bay area. The water body record for Galveston Bay is about 13.7" and the one I landed came in at 12.5". Perhaps this is a lagoon record! Anyhow, the mangrove snapper is a very pretty orange fish though I read that their coloration varies widely during the course of the year. It is not a bright orange and may be somewhat mixed with brown and green vertical stripes, it is also known as the gray snapper. The fish is wonderful table fare, probably the best that the near-shore gulf/bay system has to offer. While only 12.5" long the fish has some shoulders and you can still get a legitimate fillet from them. The juveniles of this species will spend there time in the bay system before moving out to the deeper gulf waters as they mature. All of the fishing was done with live shrimp.
August 13th: Again we arrived at the beach front though probably about 15 minutes late. We were fishing with live shrimp. The water was flat with fair clarity and the baitfish were extremely active. We were very encouraged by these conditions, so much so in fact that I tried to draw some strikes on a bone colored topwater. After about 40 casts I became a little discouraged but still wanted to give artificials a chance and so went with a suspending plug for about 20 casts. Still, nothing. So I had to go with the regular old shrimp under a cork method that we usually employ. Here we had an OK day though certainly not the day we had hoped for. We landed a few sand trout and I caught an 18" speckled trout. There was a fair amount of luck in that as the major bite had by then wained.
Of note: we saw a guy out fish our naturals with his use of D. O. A. Shrimp artificials. He came off the jetty with 9 very nice trout. Also, had a salty person tell us that the best mega -bite under such good conditions usually is most notable on the first day of that green tide (green tide meaning fairly clear water). I believe we were also handicapped a little bit by the effects of an outgoing tide rather than the more preferable incoming tide. Still, to get massively out-fished by artificials, geez!
August 27th: I especially did want to comment on this particular day - a really big, REALLY BIG, day! We faced a moderate incoming tide until about 10:30 in the morning, fair visibility and wave heights at about 2 to 2-1/2 feet. A slight wind was present generally from the southeast. The moon had been full.
Anyways we hit the fish lottery! Harry landed 6 speckled trouts and I landed 4, I lost another 2 or 3 up close as I was experimenting with my knot. So, I least I know what doesn't work and I'll continue to use the uni-knot with half hitch.
One of the four fish I landed, at 22 inches, was the second biggest trout that I've ever caught. The weight difference between an 18 inch trout and a 22 inch trout is really surprising. As a matter of information, every inch above the 15 inch minimum seems more significant than one might expect. This day was Harry's best fishing day ever and was a very good day for me too. Natural live bait came through in a big way today!
Monday, August 27, 2007
Saturday, August 25, 2007
I wanted to add a fish dinner recipe inspired by a similar one found in cookbook written by James Beard:
FISH PASTA DELUXE!
1 fennel bulb
1/4 cup olive oil
1 medium onion
14.5 oz. can chopped tomatoes with zesty green chile's added (Del Monte)
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup pignoli
1/4 teaspoon saffron
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1 can anchovy fillets (drained and chopped)
1 lb. fish fillets cut into 1/2" strips
1/2 lb. pasta, preferably large pieces of a colorful type (spirals would be OK at a minimum)
Salt and pepper to taste
Cut off and discard the fennel top and cut the bulb into thin lengthwise slices. Cook these in a big pot of boiling water until they are tender, about 5 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to skim them out, set them aside. Leave the water at a simmer for when you'll cook the pasta.
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet and saute the onion until it is soft. Add the tomatoes, raisins, pignoli, saffron, basil, and anchovies. Cook this for 10 minutes.
Cook the pasta in the fennel infused water brought back to a boil.
Choose a time to cook the fish in the tomato sauce mixture so that the fish and pasta will be done pretty much at the same time (perhaps with 5 minutes cooking time left for the pasta). Don't forget to stir the tomato/fish sauce a couple of times along with an occasional stir of the cooking pasta! Just before the pasta is finished add the sliced fennel back into the pasta pot in order that it too will be reheated.
Drain the pasta, add pepper to taste and salt if desired. A splash of olive oil into the drained pasta helps too! Everything should be ready to serve.
NOTES OF INTEREST
This has been a very successful dish two out of the four times we've tried it. The other two times it has been okay though a bit dull. This implies careful selection of ingredients and I will try to further ascertain the exact brands to use.
Saffron can be bought over the internet and it's kind of a fun low risk purchase at about $4.00 per gram plus $3 shipping. Hey! It is the world's most expensive spice and a little bit goes a long ways!
FISH PASTA DELUXE!
1 fennel bulb
1/4 cup olive oil
1 medium onion
14.5 oz. can chopped tomatoes with zesty green chile's added (Del Monte)
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup pignoli
1/4 teaspoon saffron
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1 can anchovy fillets (drained and chopped)
1 lb. fish fillets cut into 1/2" strips
1/2 lb. pasta, preferably large pieces of a colorful type (spirals would be OK at a minimum)
Salt and pepper to taste
Cut off and discard the fennel top and cut the bulb into thin lengthwise slices. Cook these in a big pot of boiling water until they are tender, about 5 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to skim them out, set them aside. Leave the water at a simmer for when you'll cook the pasta.
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet and saute the onion until it is soft. Add the tomatoes, raisins, pignoli, saffron, basil, and anchovies. Cook this for 10 minutes.
Cook the pasta in the fennel infused water brought back to a boil.
Choose a time to cook the fish in the tomato sauce mixture so that the fish and pasta will be done pretty much at the same time (perhaps with 5 minutes cooking time left for the pasta). Don't forget to stir the tomato/fish sauce a couple of times along with an occasional stir of the cooking pasta! Just before the pasta is finished add the sliced fennel back into the pasta pot in order that it too will be reheated.
Drain the pasta, add pepper to taste and salt if desired. A splash of olive oil into the drained pasta helps too! Everything should be ready to serve.
NOTES OF INTEREST
This has been a very successful dish two out of the four times we've tried it. The other two times it has been okay though a bit dull. This implies careful selection of ingredients and I will try to further ascertain the exact brands to use.
Saffron can be bought over the internet and it's kind of a fun low risk purchase at about $4.00 per gram plus $3 shipping. Hey! It is the world's most expensive spice and a little bit goes a long ways!
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Goodbye Girard
Our beloved Uncle Girard passed away yesterday morning. He taught me several lessons in life and for that I am greatly indebted. As a young person I was able to look at Girard and see many adult male attributes which I wanted to mimic. He was social with everyone and could be very funny. He also worked hard on his farm and was involved in his community through his support of the local schools, colleges and universities.
The summer visits between our families are among the most vivid memories of my youth. Often our visits to Washington coincided with the harvest and the sight of those big machines working the golden-hilled fields was unforgettable. We'd join the crew for lunch out in the big country openness and later get to ride the combines as the crew got back to work. Most notable in my memories are Girard's father Asa Clark, Sr. and his brother Asa Clark, Jr. and of course Girard himself. All combined a confident friendliness and openness that was kid terrific and is somthing worth emulating.
Goodbye Girard. Godspeed to you! THANK YOU!
Love, David
The summer visits between our families are among the most vivid memories of my youth. Often our visits to Washington coincided with the harvest and the sight of those big machines working the golden-hilled fields was unforgettable. We'd join the crew for lunch out in the big country openness and later get to ride the combines as the crew got back to work. Most notable in my memories are Girard's father Asa Clark, Sr. and his brother Asa Clark, Jr. and of course Girard himself. All combined a confident friendliness and openness that was kid terrific and is somthing worth emulating.
Goodbye Girard. Godspeed to you! THANK YOU!
Love, David
Friday, January 19, 2007
In this post I am attempting to upload a photo to use as my avatar. My photo site and web site are both disallowing me to post a URL connection to use as my avatar which is kind of disappointing and makes me wonder why am I paying to have these!
I was not able to make this work and so my blog shall remain avatarless
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
We are in a state of semi-suspense tonight as we anticipate feezing temperatures tonight with the possibility of icy roads tomorrow. I've read where Oklahoma has had several deaths while having been hard hit with icy winter weather and this reminded me of the time Debbie and me had to travel through that state under similar circumstances.
The year was 1978 thru 1979 as the new year turned just as we began to encounter some serious ice. We were on a highway and did not realize that we were on an upward incline except that the car wheels would only spin but gain no traction whatsoever. This required me to push the car and then to chase after it as to do otherwise would have put us into the same spin/no traction scenario we were trying to escape! It was while chasing after her Camaro that the new year was rung in. For some dumb reason both Debbie and I felt a pressing need to get back to Missouri, so we decided to press on.
This turned out to be my worst winter travel experience ever! We made it safely through about 30 miles of intensely icy conditions though it must have taken us close to 6 hours to cover that distance! There were very few houses along the way and very few travelers so we had a dreadful sense of isolation. We encountered both black and white ice which were equally treacherous and on several occasions turned the car sideways even though we were only going 5 miles per hour and did this once as we approached a bridge which of course made for a frightful panic! When we encountered white ice the roadway was difficult to decipher from the surrounding countryside, you kind of just had to stay on top of a crown of ice.
At the time, front wheel drive vehicles were just coming out of Detroit and were much talked about. These cars seemed to have a much easier time dealing with these conditions and I do remember being somewhat amazed when one of these cars passed us by early on in the jouney. But then an hour later and perhaps 5 miles down the road we of course saw this same car run off into a ditch
Anyways, I'll always remember this journey and I am thankful that we made it through!
The year was 1978 thru 1979 as the new year turned just as we began to encounter some serious ice. We were on a highway and did not realize that we were on an upward incline except that the car wheels would only spin but gain no traction whatsoever. This required me to push the car and then to chase after it as to do otherwise would have put us into the same spin/no traction scenario we were trying to escape! It was while chasing after her Camaro that the new year was rung in. For some dumb reason both Debbie and I felt a pressing need to get back to Missouri, so we decided to press on.
This turned out to be my worst winter travel experience ever! We made it safely through about 30 miles of intensely icy conditions though it must have taken us close to 6 hours to cover that distance! There were very few houses along the way and very few travelers so we had a dreadful sense of isolation. We encountered both black and white ice which were equally treacherous and on several occasions turned the car sideways even though we were only going 5 miles per hour and did this once as we approached a bridge which of course made for a frightful panic! When we encountered white ice the roadway was difficult to decipher from the surrounding countryside, you kind of just had to stay on top of a crown of ice.
At the time, front wheel drive vehicles were just coming out of Detroit and were much talked about. These cars seemed to have a much easier time dealing with these conditions and I do remember being somewhat amazed when one of these cars passed us by early on in the jouney. But then an hour later and perhaps 5 miles down the road we of course saw this same car run off into a ditch
Anyways, I'll always remember this journey and I am thankful that we made it through!
Sunday, January 7, 2007
Saddam's Execution
The execution of Saddam Hussein was wholly disgusting. Gone is the chance for Iraq’s new regime to demonstrate its ability to govern in a judicious manner. We had hoped that Iraq’s Prime Minister al-Maliki would somehow have known the importance of symbolism when he signed Saddam’s the death warrant. The Iraqi people needed to see their government exercise a solemn and righteous power over their country’s ex-tyrant. The trial and execution could have resonated down through many generations much as the Nuremburg trials after World War II have done for Americans. Instead, Saddam was executed before an angry and vengeful mob. Even the conspirators in Abraham Lincoln’s assassination when hanged were attended by an at attention military picket.
Symbolically, al-Maliki has made it known that grievances throughout Iraq can be settled in any manner desired. The executioners were dressed as civilians and they harangued the prisoner as they readied him for execution. A chant of “Muqtada, Muqtada, Muqtada” was shouted from at least one witness to the execution. Muqtada al-Sadr is a power-wielding cleric who operates a rogue militia that has been implicated in the death-squad and torture tactics that now terrorize Baghdad. Security at the execution site was so slack that people with camera phones were allowed to record the actual hanging.
We are left to ask whether these oversights were intentional or were they a matter of gross incompetence. Either supposition dims our chances at a hoped for resolution in the Iraqi conflict.
Were the theatrics of Saddam’s execution intentional then al-Maliki’s message is to be viewed as a trenchant threat to unleash the fundamentalist Shiite militia against all Iraqis who would dare to object to the commands of Shiite cleric leader Muqtada al-Sadr. An impending Shiite pogrom against Iraqi Sunnis and Kurds is a real possibility that has been overtly encouraged by Saddam Hussein’s execution.
Symbolically, al-Maliki has made it known that grievances throughout Iraq can be settled in any manner desired. The executioners were dressed as civilians and they harangued the prisoner as they readied him for execution. A chant of “Muqtada, Muqtada, Muqtada” was shouted from at least one witness to the execution. Muqtada al-Sadr is a power-wielding cleric who operates a rogue militia that has been implicated in the death-squad and torture tactics that now terrorize Baghdad. Security at the execution site was so slack that people with camera phones were allowed to record the actual hanging.
We are left to ask whether these oversights were intentional or were they a matter of gross incompetence. Either supposition dims our chances at a hoped for resolution in the Iraqi conflict.
Were the theatrics of Saddam’s execution intentional then al-Maliki’s message is to be viewed as a trenchant threat to unleash the fundamentalist Shiite militia against all Iraqis who would dare to object to the commands of Shiite cleric leader Muqtada al-Sadr. An impending Shiite pogrom against Iraqi Sunnis and Kurds is a real possibility that has been overtly encouraged by Saddam Hussein’s execution.
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