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Thread: It’s May

  1. #1
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    Default It’s May


    I loaded up the raft and took my bride for a dip in the lake. She thinks it is always too cold, so we waited until about 11:00 am to depart. This time though when she slipped off the raft to cool off, something touched her foot. The look on her face was one that indicated it had her good. She scrambled back aboard the raft just as soon as she went in. She only dipped one more time and that was equally quick. Didn’t look like she had time to even get wet. Poor thing was traumatized.

    We saw two boats, and for that lake that was weird. Both were bass master types.

    For my part I managed four small fish. Pitiful. When we got home I put the TM batteries on charge, and readied everything for today. Yup I am off work today and will be trying a different lake.




    I spoke with some folks about the club stuff and got some sound advice. Seems there is a consensus. I will simply stay out of it altogether. The membership is far far too old to attempt a save. The new location would be far too costly. I could never get done enough to make it work out- without a pile of cash. Much more than they have managed to save up. So if the club is to die, I will simply be a witness. I do not have the money to save it, nor do I think it would be appreciated enough to satisfy me. Those that do have the money can save it, but it may not be worthy of their money. Most of the members don’t really do anything to help out other than complain about paying dues. They sit around and stare at me. Oh well.
    Maybe they will bite this one……

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    Good luck on your fishing trip.
    Tough call on the club. Seems both sides of the coin have there own set of difficulties
    The love for fishing is one of the best gifts you can pass along

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    Yes, probably best to stay out of it.
    Bob

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    Well been keeping busy. Been hot hot and slaving over hot stoves. Off to work early today again.

    Yesterday I went fishing and they cooperated for the most part. Tossed back a dozen or so for being too small. Kept these.

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    They liked my Tickle Me Elmo jigs, but I wanted to try out crank baits. Three of these fish hit those lures, and they seemed to be the nicest fish of the day, too. I set them out to swim just behind the boat, and kept the boat speed at normal jig speed. This Summer I plan to utilize these lures on four of my rods, and jigs on the other six. I understand that speed is an issue and why most don’t mix jigs and crank baits. I used deep divers so they would wobble at slower speeds. Saw rod tips wiggling so I know they were working.

    I took the bride to Salt Springs on Sunday for a swim in the natural pool- 75 degrees and crystal clear. This spring has three upwellings and large mullet and blue crabs. Mothers Day and the ranger came up to the truck while in line and said it was our lucky day. Last car to be allowed in. There were at least a dozen others wanting in but having to sit just outside the park. We left after a couple of hours and I am sure someone appreciated that very much, as there was room for them.

    I bought a new gas grill. Portable model from CharBroil. Has that fake infra red cooking surface. Takes little propane bottles, or the big tanks. Perfect to sit on a small table on the porch or to take on the boat. At the springs people were grilling and after swimming their hotdogs smelled worth stealing. We plan to go back to Salt Springs soon, with the boat and with the grill. LOL

    Take a river cruise and explore, swim in the springs, and eat hot dogs. Can’t wait.
    Maybe they will bite this one……
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    Sounds like a great trip to the springs. Fresh mullet is rather tasty as I remember from childhood
    The love for fishing is one of the best gifts you can pass along

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    Quote Originally Posted by DockShootinJack View Post
    Sounds like a great trip to the springs. Fresh mullet is rather tasty as I remember from childhood
    White flaky meat. Can be fried, blackened, grilled, baked or smoked. Very popular in smoked fish dips as well. When I was surf fishing they were a sign of good things to come, as every thing that swims the sea was eating them. We would see schools of them swimming past for weeks and weeks. Every Fall there is a large migration headed South. The great mullet run. Castnets would gather them for bait. I caught sharks, redfish, bluefish, flounder, tarpon, whiting, black drum, etc.

    They eat vegetative matter and produce protein. Much like rabbits do. They seem to exist in order to produce food for others. The really large critters liked to gorge on the fingerlings. I reckoned it was because they could cram more meat into their guts by sliding those in vs trying to accommodate a few large mullet.

    Some folks fish for them with rod and reel. They sit on the banks of the river and pitch canned corn to chum up the area. Then corn on a small hook under a bobber. The vast majority that get caught, get caught in nets. Commercial fishing targets the larger ones, I call horsehead mullet. Lots more are caught using castnets as there is no good reason to use shrimp for bait during the run.

    Mullet swimming down the beach are being attacked by fish and birds as they go, so are skittish and shy. The trick to netting them is to wade out and stand perfectly still. This means they will swim in closer. In range of a castnet. The toss should be low to the water so they can’t see it too early and escape.

    Most think they need a huge net, but a huge net isn’t the best choice. For a big net to work, you have to be right up on them. Can’t get any distance that way. I used a four foot net which I could throw 75 feet. Now that got it done. One day there was a crowd of fishermen standing along the shore of a canal, watching a school of fingerlings swimming around just out of range. I think twenty of them watching, waiting to get some bait. I walked over to the edge, reached in my bucket for my small net, and pitched it about fifty feet and scored a net full first throw. Put some in my bucket and released the others and walked away like a champ. Years later I met someone who was one of the guys standing there, and he wanted me to know how mad all them guys were. He bought himself a smaller net and asked me to show him how to toss it like that. Most had a hard time believing a cast net would travel that far, but it will.

    Jack I could have reigned down death from above there at the springs. Easy tosses at big fish, but I think it would be frowned upon by the rangers. However, just outside of the roped off entrance to the springs, well that is another matter. That water is still clear, all be it much warmer, and I could probably do some tosses there. I keep a net in my boat for shiners and shad. We plan to go back and anchor and hang out and I will be watching for mullet.
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    We used the catch Mullet in the fall in the river delta. They would gather where the wind had blown the algae and other matter floating on top of the water. You could here the school slurping and smacking as they swam along with their mouths open. If one turned left, they all turn left with a splash. Schools of 100's swimming along as if controlled by one mind. Quite interesting to see. You had to make long cast out in front of them where you thought they would swim next. Throw too close to them and they would spook. It was an art to catching them that way.
    The love for fishing is one of the best gifts you can pass along

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    I am sore allover and stiff and tired. These past couple of days have involved hard work in the hot Sun. Tuesday we fed 1,375 people. Anytime you serve that many meals you have to work hard to get it done. We baked chicken halves, a bunch of chicken halves and they all needed to be cut into three pieces. I really don’t mind cutting up the chicken. We also cooked black beans and rice, brown rice, baked beans, coleslaw, all sorts of things, but my main job was slicing brisket. I sliced up 25 briskets.

    I took this shot as I was about to pull them from the rotating cooker.

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    Yesterday we served 1,150 people what is called Burrito Bowls. This was a tough cook. Just trying to keep up the supplies of condiments was enough to drive the runners crazy. Pulled pork, pulled chicken, black beans and rice, pinto beans, and a few other things like freshly fried tortilla chips. I was cooking the strip steak pieces for the burritos on a large griddle. It is 5 feet by 2 feet and hot and smoky. The smoke was wafting over the line of people and I was told it was driving them crazy mad with hunger. I cooked well over 100 pounds of the stuff. The grill top is 3/4” thick stainless steel. So I had that heat plus the hot Sun shining off of it to deal with.

    I also cooked onions and peppers to go with the steak. Sizzle steam smoke. I love peppers and onions on sizzling little pieces of steak. Smells and tastes great. Always a favorite when I go to eat Mexican food at a restaurant. I never understood why they only give me three small tacos wraps when I clearly need five or six to layer in that meat.

    I found that the trick to cooking steak strips using that griddle was to only use one half of the surface. Then when the meat is about three quarters done, flip it over to the other half and sear the meat. That is when that wonderful aroma emits and wafts through the air, to be carried along to the noses of those yet to be served.

    I work a spatula and a chopper thingie thing in either hand and kind of toss the stuff around some. Chop at pieces still attached to one another. Try to keep everything in contact with the surface. Whack at things, smack things, toss and stir about some. Was doing a little dance at one point but they started laughing at me. I thought I probably looked a lot cooler than they were capable of realizing. I really don’t have the luxury of time to cook, as they don’t want me to stock pile a supply of ready to go meat in a warmer box. Rather they want it fresh off the grill and served right away. The girl runners come up to me and say- You got steak ? I better have some ready to go or almost ready. That means they are almost out of meat in one of the lines. I was doing up about ten pounds per batch.

    The boss would walk past my station, and kept telling me if we get through this week that things will slow down and I can move into the office and start playing manager. He has been promising me that for a while now. So far the only time I have seen the office was when I filled out some employment forms. Still I believe them and see these big cooks lined up one after another. He wants me to learn the business for what it really is before making the move to the office environment. So for this week I slave in that hot Sun.

    I ache all over. I start my day at 6 am and work non stop humping, bending over, climbing into and out of large trucks, carrying large pots, tables, chaffers, large coolers, trash cans, etc. It is about 5 pm when we stop working and get to go home. On my feet the entire time except for driving the large truck to and fro. I would never have believed it took this much work to cook a meal, but it does and it is taxing on the body. They like to kid around a bit, and tell corny jokes, and they seem to have some kind of thing about sharing a BC. That is some sort of powdered aspirin they swear is the best. Well it ain’t the best. Alleve is the best for body aches and pains. Trust me.

    Today we have yet another cook. This time for only about 500 or so and I plan to wear my large straw hat. Been wearing a baseball cap with their logo on it. Not today though. Today they see what I wear when I am in the hot Sun. Same menu as yesterday though- Burrito Bowls. I must say the food is very good. The rice has a lime twist to it. The steak tastes like burrito steak. I went through one of the two full buffet lines, which were long and full of tempting items. Probably a dozen chaffers long, plus condiments and add ons and snacks and such. My bowl was very tasty. For an hour or so the staff chefs came out and served OUR food to the folks they normally feed everyday. They enjoy it when we show up. The head chef remembered me from a previous cook and came over to say hello.

    No I am not fishing. The weather has been lousy anyways. High winds almost every day. Weird as I don’t remember there being high winds like this in past years. On Saturday, I gifted a small container of my custom jigs to a man that runs a wedding venue. I think he liked them. Had a few hand ties in the mix to go with my Tickle Me Elmos.

    I work today and tomorrow I don’t yet know what I will be cooking. My wife asked me to request off for Saturday. Her boss lady is hosting a pool party and has specifically asked for me to be in attendance. She is one tough woman and I know better than to try to skip out on her. I have known her for a few decades now and I am very pleased that she has been so nice to my wife. I knew she would be nice, but one never really knows such things until one gets fully involved. Sunday, I might be able to take a trip to the river and cruise the waters and swim in the springs and eat hot dogs freshly grilled and then swim in cold crystal clear water some more. Nothing beats the heat like a plunge into that sporing water. I think it is cool that we will be able to motor along and see the bottom, but for now I must get ready for work again.
    Maybe they will bite this one……
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    Those powders sure seemed to do the trick before anyone had ever heard of Alleve. They were thought of as a cure all. Couldn't go on a construction site years ago without seeing them being taken in the morning as a remedy for bad choices made the night before
    The love for fishing is one of the best gifts you can pass along
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    Wow you have my mouth watering before breakfast! those BB's sound fantastic and duly love me some carnitas steak burritos and fajita's. Have had to bbq chickens and ribs for huge affairs as a charity gig and not profession and that plum wore me out. can't imagine doing that over and over. Good luck with it all.

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