In Between

Guidlines for Pruning Apple Trees

It looks like we are heading into a long "In Between" period again this year, from the last ice fishing trip until opener.  Just when the snow is finally melting away, we are bracing for another major snow storm to pass through Dayton later tonight, with 10 - 14 inches predicted by Friday evening.  Now I know it snows in April but this is getting old.  There actually is enough ice on the lakes to fish yet my list of things to do before opener isn't getting any shorter.  One of my big chores in the March/April time frame is to prune all of my fruit trees.  I have 3 pear trees and 9 apple trees that need constant attention if I expect fruit from them this fall.  Pruning helps the health of the tree by thinning out the branches and allowing the fruit to develop better.  The pear trees really sucker bad and can grow over 6 feet in one growing season.  These all have to be removed as the suckers take energy away from the fruit development.  Both the pears and the apple trees can grow quite high which causes 2 issues later on.  The first being my hose sprayer doesn't go that high so I try and keep the trees at around 15 - 20 feet at the most.  Second, when it comes to picking time it's a lot easier if I can deal with the fruit using my standard ladders.  It takes about an hour to really do a good job on each tree but in the end it's worth it.  My friend Rick Shermer has a small orchard and last year he really went to town on his trees.  I just shook my head as he basically gave each one a butch haircut.  I promised him that this spring would see me come by the house and take over his task before he turns the trees into wood for smoking.   With the storm coming it will probably be next week before I can get mine finished and head over to do his.  Our neighbor Brandon has been maple syruping the last week and has 4 of my large sugar maples tapped.  His goal is about 1500 gallons of sap which will produce around 40 gallons of pure maple syrup.  It's a nice treat as he brought over a bottle from his first evaporation batch and it's very good. 



Dick's Fried Walleye Louisiana Style

Last week Lory and I attended the Northwest Sportshow at the Minneapolis convention center.  Attending on opening night, which was last Wednesday assured there was plenty of room to look at everything as it really gets busy on the weekends.  The first thing we got was a nice lighted bobber that the first 300 people got free.   It's pretty nice however with the night ban on Mille Lacs this year for the entire season, I probably won't have an opportunity to use it.  The next thing was to pick up some Cajun fish spices from Wayzata Bay Spice Company of Roger's Minnesota.  They have a couple of excellent blends as I needed them for the Redfish caught in Louisiana a few weeks ago.  The rest of the show was pretty normal, nothing really new this year, or at least I didn't think so, yet it is always fun to check it out, especially seeing my friends Judy and Ken Marlow.  We have stayed a number of times with the Marlow's, at their cabins on the Kenai River in Alaska.  As usual, he had a jar of canned smoked salmon, definitely worth the price of admission!  Sunday was our fish fry to try out the fillets sent back from my trip.  Dick Daugard, my Texas friend called me about a month ago and offered to trade me flounder fillets for walleye fillets, if I had any to spare. He reads the blog and had never had walleye before.  Eating walleye is common here in Minnesota and it seemed to be a pretty good deal so I brought a couple of packages from the Red Lake trips earlier this year and gave one to Dick and the other to Robert.  Dick fried them up after we left camp then sent a picture of  his work just before they got consumed.  His comment was that they were spectacular, which we already knew.  Dick is quite a chef and can really cook up pretty much anything you give to him.  We did get catch some flounder as we fried that up on Sunday and although I am a big fan of saltwater fish, admittedly the walleye is better.  The menu was decided as we cooked up 3 types of fish, flounder, redfish, and black drum.  The flounder was pan fried, we put the black drum and a smaller red on cedar planks, then cooked the large redfish fillet "on the half shell".  Describe a couple of posts ago, I was anxious to show my neighbors how it was done.  We all agreed that the pan fried flounder was good, the cedar planked method was good, but the redfish on the grill was absolutely fabulous.  I do have a few more redfish fillets and look forward to our next cooking event.

Opening my Outdoor News Sportsman's Weekly paper, on the front page has the headline: Ice-covered opener: Two years in a row?  All I can say is Uffda!  Living here in Minnesota for 38 years now, I can't imagine this happening again so Team Walleye is simply keeping their fingers crossed.  A lot can happen in 5 weeks so it's no use to get too worried yet to be honest, there is still quite a bit of ice on the lakes up north.  Our best fishing was the year we had significant ice on Leech Lake yet we could easily get out of Brindley's, where we stay.  Oh well, there is little we can do about it anyway as their is a lot to do before opener.

Fishing Cajun Style, Part 1

Nice Black Drum, First Fish

Well, the big weekend finally arrived on Friday as I met my brother Steve at the airport on our way to Cameron, Louisiana.  First stop was Houston, Texas to meet up with our fishing party consisting of the both of us, Joe Stanfield, Mike Schubert, Jim Cox, Professor Doug Hopkins and Matt Davis.  After getting our rental car at the airport and loading everyone up, we headed east towards Port Arthur, Texas before turning south along the coast towards Cameron.  This area of Louisiana was hit hard by Hurricane Ike, which in 2008 cause extensive damage due to the exceptionally high water surge that occurred.  Not the strongest hurricane to hit the gulf, it ended up being one of the costliest as it changed much of the area where we fished.  Traveling between 100 yards to a mile from the Gulf of Mexico, evidence of the hurricane was all around us from slab foundations where houses sat to damage yet to be repaired.  Traveling east on Louisiana Highway 82 to Cameron it was amazing to see all of the refineries and oil related industries that went on for miles. Basically following the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, a shipping channel stretching from Brownsville, Texas to Carrabelle, Florida, I was amazed at all the barge traffic moving up and down the canal, a superhighway for ships.  In addition we drove over many very high bridges which would allow ocean going freighters to travel up to a 100 miles inland to drop off and pick up cargo destined for who knows where.  Just before getting to Cameron we had to cross one of these shipping canals that had many refineries all the way up to Lake Charles, Louisiana via a car ferry.  Prior to getting there my friend Joe called to remind me that I needed a Ferry Pass, they were $8.00 and you could buy them at the store on the right, about a mile from the ferry.  Looking for the store that didn't exist all of a sudden we were at the ferry gate. Now what?  Assuming I could buy one through the guy directing the cars onto the ferry I had rolled the window and asked "Can I get a ferry pass here?"  "You don't need one" was his answer.  Damn Joe as our waiting in line to board the ferry allowed him to catch up, he was beside us with the whole car laughing hysterically as they asked the guy if that silver car inquired about a ferry pass. Well, at least the trip was starting out on the right foot.

34 inch Redfish

A short drive via a dead end road across private land, we arrived at Camp Dilligas our home for the next 2 1/2 days.  The camp sat on the top of 12 foot pilings to prevent any severe damage against the next hurricane that might hit.  Unloading our stuff I was anxious to get fishing from their famous dock next to the water control weir, one of 4 on Calcasieu Lake.  Fish congregate at these weirs and it was up to us to catch them.   Using raw shrimp as bait, the first fish I got was this nice Black Drum.  A great eating fish, it went straight into the cooler for Saturday night's dinner.  What we were really after was Redfish, often called Red Drum.  I've caught these before for they fight like crazy and are delicious to eat, as it wasn't long before I had one on and it was a nice fish. Bringing a 6'6" medium heavy casting rod paired with a Shimano reel and 12 pound  mono, it was the perfect match for these hard fighting fish.   It's amazing how hard they hit the bait and simply run.  It took about 10 minutes before they could net this 34 inch redfish, my best ever. One of the locals figured it weighed about 10 pounds but I knew better as it was a workout to hold that fish up for the picture.  Trying to get a few nice shots, my arms would only last about a minute before I had to let it down.  Checking the internet, the weight vs length charts put the fish around 18 pounds and it felt like at least that! The fish themselves are very beautifully colored with a distinctive metallic bronze hue along the back, reddish fins and a white belly.  They are members of the drum family, related to the pictured Black Drum as well the freshwater species we call Sheephead or sometimes croakers (they make a croaking noise after you catch them).  The world record is 94 pounds, I can't imagine.  Apparently as the fish get larger they head to the ocean and once over about 30 inches are then classified as Bull Reds.  I couldn't imagine what a 60 pound fish would fight like. Together Mike, Steve, Jim, Matt and I all got a few fish on Friday night, an great way to start the weekend.

Great eating size

On Saturday we were treated to a guided trip on Sabine Lake, a brackish water lake on the Texas/Louisiana border and is known for it's speckled trout fishing.  Getting up at 4:30, we made our way across the ferry and back 45 miles west of the camp to meet the guides. Steve, Mike and I went in one boat while Matt, Joe, the Professor, and Jim went in the other.  Not unlike here in Minnesota, the weather has been unusually cold as the water temps were about 61 degrees, 5 short of when the fish really start coming into the shallows of the lake and bite.  While Matt's boat went quite a ways north, we stopped at the first small reef and about the second cast I had this nice redfish.  Although sea trout was the target, I'll take these any day.  The spot only produced this one fish so we decided to catch up to the other guys and head north to what was called "The Coffee Grounds".  Sabine Lake has a channel on the west side that supports ocean sized freighters that service the oil refineries located between the gulf and Port Arthur, Texas.  All this boat traffic along with the shallow waters creates a pretty stained water although the guide stated it was pretty clear today, you could have fooled me as I thought it was still pretty dirty.  One thing surprising was how shallow we fished with the water seldom over 4 feet deep.  Our lure of choice was a 1/4 ounce jig with a simple rubber body about 3 - 4 inches long.  One of the other fish "bonus" fish we got was flounder.  A flat fish similar to the halibut we catch in Alaska, these were quite a bit smaller and if fact was surprised we even kept them.  The guide insisted that he'd trade flounder for redfish any day for table fare.  We'll have to see! Being about 14 miles from the landing we started working our way back and ran into the other boat.  Getting closer it was apparent the guide had the net in his hands as the Professor was fighting a fish.  Not much of a fisherman I even had to borrow him a hat, the only reason I knew it was him.  Around the boat he was going as they fought that fish for a good 15 minutes.  Finally bringing it in was a huge bull red, 30 pounds.  It certainly was the largest fish Doug ever caught, maybe the only one!  It was good enough for to take the big fish prize we had funded early in the morning.   As stated, sea trout was the target fish yet we fished all day without catching one to add to the cooler until the last place we went before heading back.  In a small shallow bay Mike finally nailed one and it was a dandy hitting over 7 pounds.  The guide claimed that he has only gotten a very few this big and it was truly a trophy fish.  Having finally caught a target fish we headed back to the landing as it looked like rain was about to start.  After getting the boats loaded and parked under the main bridge as the sky opened up.  The guides cleaned the fish and quite honestly I was quite disappointed.  Leaving about 25% of the fish on the carcasses, they simply were in a hurry and did a poor job.  Being fussy I've seen this before with other guides and I guess they simply take it for granted that the cleaning of the fish is simply an option, they should know better or I should have.

The Professor's 30# Red

Mikes Trophy Sea Trout

Crawfish Heaven!

I have to admit we ate pretty well at Camp Dilligas.  Dick's Charity, The Lighthouse Charity Team, provides food for those in need such as serving over 30,000 meals to the volunteers and Emergency Responders working to help those affected by Hurricane Ike.  Food is their deal and food we had.  Friday night was an authentic crayfish feed as Dick's good friend and genuine Cajun Cook, Robert Gaspard took the reins.  Robert is a true gentleman and really knows how to cook everything in Louisiana style.  Unfortunately I am allergic to shrimp, crayfish, crab, and lobster, Robert took pains to make sure the food did not get mixed as his mom has the same problem.  Cooking 20 - 30 pounds of live crayfish, they turned a bright red the minute they hit the boiling water. Robert has a special way of cooking them with a secret process that produces the best, tenderest, flavorful crawdad's as attested to by my brother Steve.  Served in an 18" platter, everyone was given at least one of these and seconds were definitely available.  It's an art to suck crawfish out of their shell and within a short time he was an expert.  For me they cooked up some fried oysters, dipped in a special Cajun coating and deep fried to perfection.  Partnered with their homemade cocktail sauce, I must have at 20 or so.  Truly an authentic meal.  On Saturday Dick had been marinating 18 ounce ribeye steaks again with their special recipe and through them on the grill.  I'd say they were as good as anything I have had.  In the meantime Robert put on a couple of the redfish fillets on the grill, preparing them "On the Halfshell" meaning the skin and scales were left on and that side was set directly on the grill. Coated with hot sauce and salsa, the fish was fabulous.  If you were not much of an eater, this wasn't the place for you!  It's too much to write in one week so stay tuned for next week, just too many pictures and experiences.

Texas Reds

My well planned fishing trip to Rockport,Texas was everything I had imagined and much much more.  Meeting my good friends Joe Stanfield and Jim Cox at the Corpus Christi airport on Friday afternoon, we located our hotel on the main drag and headed directly for Joe's friends Butch and Penny.  Resident's of Rockport, Butch was also going to join us on the trip Saturday.  Rockport Texas is a smaller city on the gulf coast, nestled behind the Inter-coastal Waterway, 3 hours south of Houston.   Here large saltwater marshes and barrier Islands create a haven for fish and wildlife, including alligators, migratory geese, white pelicans, and the endangered Whooping Cranes.  Aransas National Wildlife refuge is located in this area and the chance to see one of these magnificent birds was pretty good.  Waking up at 5:30 Saturday morning, a quick breakfast and we were off to pick up Butch.  Arriving at the house he had some bad news...............storms with severe hail were due to pass through the area and our captain had called delaying our trip till after the squall line passed, he figured about 11:00.  Killing time we had a chance to view Butch's beautiful house, located on a canal leading to the prime fishing grounds, talk about fishing strategy and envision how good those fish were going to taste this evening. 

Being a fishing guide also means that you have to know your weather, and our guide Dave was no exception.  Heading to our rendezvous point, it was 10:50 and the blue skies were within sight after enduring a pretty windy, rainy morning.  Our trip would be a first for me, first airboat ride, first redfish caught, first time fishing the gulf.  I can guarantee you it exceeded my expectations for all three.  The first order of business was loading up our gear into the 22 foot, flat bottomed boat powered by a huge V8 engine.  Putting out 545 hp, this aluminum blocked, fully blueprinted Cadillac engine drove 2 - 8 bladed propellers, each counter rotating for stability.  This machine rocked.  After securing our noise muffs, hats we took our place on the boat.  Being the one most excited about the trip and my past guiding experience, I got to ride up in the elevated cockpit of the boat, putting me about 7 feet above the surface of the water.  Our guide Dave idled out of the launch area before he hammered the throttle.  I know one thing, being up on the top, right in the main flow of air is a rush that's hard to explain.  It was still pretty windy from the morning's storm so we stayed close to the edges of the marsh, crossing over oyster beds, the Inter-coastal, up small islands, thru channels to our fishing grounds.  Dave would simply take the boat, run it up into the marsh grass, pointing the front end into the waters edge and shut it down.  We fished the channels that ran through the marshes, usually in water less than 2 feet deep.  It actually reminded me a lot of fishing Indian Slough back home with my buddy Kevin.  Our rigs were simple, a 3/4 oz egg sinker with a 2 foot leader, plain hook, and hunk of fish for bait.  Casting it out into the open water, it was identical to cat fishing, wait for the fish to grab the bait, let it run for 10 seconds or so before tightening the line and hammering the fish.  It didn't take long before Jim nailed his first, a beautiful 24 inch fish, one for the box.  Reds have slot limits in Texas with all fish under 20 inches released and you can keep one over 28 but you need to report it to the Fish and Game department, where you will get permission to catch another one.  Few do as the 22 - 26 inch fish are the best to eat.  Moving a couple of times, we had 3 in the box before heading to the honey hole, and honey it was.  Our limit was 12, and with 6 in the box, none caught by myself, the "feel sorry" factor started.  "Here Dave, reel this one in........BS, I catch my own fish!  Well 3 minutes later and I nailed the 26 incher you see in the first picture.  Once the ice was broken, I quickly established myself as a credible Red Fisherman, catching the largest of the day, one over 28 that had to be released.

We ended out the day with 12 nice redfish caught within a span of less than 2 hours.  We endured a once in a lifetime ride on an incredible machine, capable of skimming across anything that's wet, and got to see 2 Whooping Cranes on the way back.  Once at the dock we loaded the boat and watched the guide clean the fish with the efficiency of a seasoned pro.  There were the usual cast of pelicans, gulls, and terns to take advantage of the free meal they were about to experience.  Simply slabbing the fillets off the backbone, he removed the ribs and left the skin on.  Our plan was to have Butch cook them up for us that evening, using a few of his famous seasoning and barbecue grill.  We headed back to the hotel, cleaned up, and stopped at an oyster bar for a little appetizer of 2 dozen raw oysters before heading back over to Butch's.  His recipe was pretty simple... fajita seasoning, lay the fish directly on the grill skin side down, close the cover and cook for 20 minutes.  It was the final reward for what turned out to be a memorable trip for me.  Another item crossed of my bucket list!  There is too much to tell in one post so I will add another later in the week.  I am still in Fort Worth, heading back tonight with nothing left but a sunburn and memories.