Sunday Afternoon

Posted: September 18, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Fishing, Wild Food | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

With school, soccer, swimming and ballet all rolling now, plus book work and farm, it’s been tough to find time to fish the last couple of weeks. Yesterday, everything lined up, so the kids and I put the boat in the water and headed across the Sound to chase silvers. It started as a lazy and relaxed fishing day, lots of puttering around and eating sandwiches. About halfway into the flood tide, it turned into an epic session. We even had a double, which resulted in one fish boated and a near nervous breakdown for me. Total chaos. But tons of fun, a box full of tasty silvers, and memories to savor.

Skyla drove the boat with gear in the water for the first time, and honed her new skill as net man for our crew. Weston helped fight five fish to the boat. And nobody wanted to quit at dinner time.

Tonight, we had the first fish from this batch for dinner. I salted the fillets in the morning, then marinated them in olive oil and crushed garlic this afternoon. As soon as Weston and I got home from soccer practice, I sprinkled a little dill and cracked pepper on the fish, and pan seared it until crisp on the outside. We ate it with wild rice and sauteed zucchini from the garden. And I think we all felt grateful for this abundance.

Friend Or Foe?

Posted: September 14, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Fishing, kids | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

This is the enemy. He will wait until you hook a fish then grab it and run. Every year, they get bolder, and the stories of fish yanked out of anglers’ hands or nets get more common. Since the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, the population of seals and sea lions has grown in our waters, and they’re getting craftier, too. They watch us fish, and if someone jumps up and starts reeling with excitement, they know we have a fish on and come running. Or swimming, as it were.

So I do everything in my power to avoid fishing near pinnipeds.

Unless the kids are in the boat. Then it’s a different story. We spotted this one on a shipping-lane nav buoy in 750 feet of water while fishing for silvers a couple weeks ago. After 100 or so requests, I caved in and we approached the enemy. Got almost close enough to touch him. Skyla snapped this shot as we went by, and even though we had fish in the box, it was a high point of the day. Amazing how priorities change.