CrowMan

Took my grandkids out on Simcoe today...PA day at school. Fishing for Perch was somewhat slow, but enough flurries of activity to keep the young lads from getting bored. 

Threw the whole tackle box at 'em...didn't like the bugs today...best success was jigging a Slab Grabber to call 'em in, then feeding them Pinhead Shiners on a drop shot in the adjacent hole. 

Tim Hale's operation made sure the little guys had a fun and safe day..

14 hours ago, akaShag said:

Rivers Inlet in June.  😉  North AND west......

Doug

See ya there buddy...I'm pumped !

3 hours ago, Spiel said:

I totally agree with you on animal fats . I failed to mention that my deep fryer for the last two decades has been only Lard, I'd love to try Tallow but I've not ever seen it on my go to store shelves (anyone know of a source?). As for Bacon fat, who in their right mind would ever throw that away. 

I have purchased beef tallow from a store out by my cottage called All  Canada BBQ in Kingston. Not cheap...about $30 for 2lbs, but I strain and re-use several times.

I've also found it in some independent butcher shops. Also, If you know someone in the food/restaurant business they can order it wholesale from Sysco. However, as Smitty says, it's relatively easy to make your own.

Nothing beats fish & chips  fried in beef tallow. The french fries are incomparable to using any other fat or oil.

2 hours ago, smitty55 said:

I get the suet trimmings from the meat dept for my bird feeders all the time and I'm going to start rendering them down in a slow cooker and filtering them for my tallow. I see women on line now selling their grass fed, triple rendered, double whipped tallow for skin creams now. Technically suet was always considered to be the hard fat from around the kidneys but that has expanded to be any hard fat on the animal from the organs ,loins and brisket. Your best bet might be to talk to your local butcher and see what he does with his trimmings. Wouldn't surprise with the growing popularity of tallow that meat cutters start charging for it. On a FB smoking meat group I'm in many of them slather their cuts of meat with tallow and then wrap them to keep the meat from drying and and keeping it tender.They mostly get their fat from trimming whole briskets.

 

EDIT: Speaking of MacDonalds fries this came through my feed yesterday. You'll never want to eat them again.
https://www.facebook.com/docofdetox/videos/2784759428362371

A friend owns 3 McDonald's franchise's in Oakville.  In Canada, McDonald's only uses Canadian potatoes. The insecticide "Montitor" is not approved in Canada. 

McDonald's certainly isn't "health food" but the ingredients they use aren't as bad as lot of these social media posts would have you believe.

18 minutes ago, Fang said:

Yes I've been out with Nacho but mainly the son now Alberto the last few trips down. Turned into a good friend and we keep in touch year round. He has a fishing trip wish to go for steelhead so we've been talking the last year or so. Last trip was 4 hours on the flats with spinning gear and we quite at noon after too many bonefish and small cuberra's to count and then spent the afternoon drifting the north end beaches. Tons of jacks and bonefish in the surf and had at least 4-5 shots at permit. They left me heartbroken and then my son catches a3 lber at the end of the day blind casting. Can't wait to go back maybe in March as the winds Dec-Feb are nasty

I've been to Cozumel twice...both times fished a day with Nacho, and then DIY on the North Beach.  March and April are good months to go anywhere in the Caribbean for fishing. Cold fronts (and wind) don't creep down that far south any longer, and temps aren't ridiculously steamy yet.

Enjoyed Cozumel, however I keep getting drawn back to Belize...quantity and quality of fish, variety of species, and unlimited DIY. Probably the best place on the planet if Permit are on your bucket list. I also find the atmosphere a lot more chill (no big all-inclusive resorts) and the people super friendly...

My nephew with nice Permit from last winter...

1 hour ago, Spiel said:

Interesting and I thank you for the link smitty55. I don't use it very often (parchment that is, the roll I finished yesterday was likely several years old) but if it is lining a cookie sheet and not direct contact with the food, I would think it still has some value in the kitchen for sure.

I will however rethink my use of it when in direct contact with my food. That being said, there are far more worrisome things imo to be concerned with that can be found in our food supply. But I'm trying to reduce and or eliminate them as I learn about them.  Seed oils being a big one for me right now.  

It's certainly sometimes mystifying what's "good" vs "bad" for you as the years go by. I remember when Canola and Sunflower oils were the "healthy" choice...now maybe not so much...oils from "fruit" are now supposedly more beneficial for your well being than the ones from "seed".

Personally, I'm at the point in my life, if it tastes good..I'll eat it. My wife, on the other hand, is a little more concerned with the impact of her diet..

I opened the pantry, and we now have only two oils on hand...EVO for salads, etc and Avocado for frying, etc..

Geez....even butter isn't as terrible as it once was thought....hooray for that !

6 hours ago, Fang said:

Watch that salt water bug it can get really contagious, Thanks for sharing, love the flat bottom in that panga. Super looking jack, one of the best fighting fish I've ever hooked on light tackle

Might be time to look back at Cancun area I had one trip a long time ago up by Isles Mujeres but the winds blew sargassum weed in so bad along the shorelines you could not cast out anywhere public. I've been heading to Cozumel since well before Covid (was actually in Cozumel late Feb 2020 when things were heating up before the full lock down). Amazing hidden bonefish destination with a great local guide for the north end and I've never seen another boat out there in the number of trips I've done. Easy 10-20 fish days and loads on spin gear so you don't have to fly fish for them. 

You also get runs of permit, big jacks and tarpon along the beaches depending on the time of year. We always stayed on the upper north west side by the big golf course and you have miles of beach northward that you can walk and cast too with tons of small jacks and needlefish everywhere.

 

Did you fish with "Nacho" in Cozumel ?  Awesome guide...

My wife owns/operates a travel business, so I've been very fortunate to travel and fish extensively down south over the years...Bahamas, Cuba, Mexico (Carribean and Pacific), Turks & Caicos, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Panama, Belize, Argentina, Chile...even the Cook Islands in the South Pacific. For the most part, all of the guides/charters that I've dealt with have been dedicated, hard working and professional. Almost all of them take great pride in what they do, and in most of these countries it's a respected profession that many aspire to..

The best of the best have been in Belize...it's a former British colony so they speak perfect English, and the government licensing program ensures they are well versed in boating and knowledge of the fishery. In terms of fly fishing, most of them have also been excellent instructors. I had a buddy come out with me that had never fly fished in his life, and by the end of the day he could put fly on a dinner plate out 60ft. Guides in the Bahamas out islands are a close second.

The one exception was an offshore charter in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. The Captain and mate literally got so drunk that our group of 4 ended up taking over the boat (40ft sport cruiser), did our own fishing (we caught several Striped Marlin and Mahi) and drove the boat back to the marina with the 2 of them passed out..

A few years back, my son and I did a charter on a family vacation to PV. We were in the Punta Mita area which is about 20 to 25 km from the airport. We got in to Sailfish offshore in the morning, and then Roosters and Jacks inshore in the afternoon. Good people and hard working charter captain. 

These are the folks, they may be able to pick you up closer to the airport, or recommend someone that can.

Have a great trip ! Always nice to sip a Margarita on the beach when it's -20 back home.

https://www.erasmotours.com/

Just now, Stlcitysc said:

Thanks I’ll check him out.  I’ve also been emailing Steve Rowbotham of SR fishing.

Another good choice.

BTW, I highly recommend Taro at Fish City Tours on that list of Simcoe guides.

If you only have time for a day trip, I would suggest Lake Simcoe...only an hour or less from Toronto. It has some monster Smallmouth...

https://www.fishingsimcoe.com/local-businesses/fishing-guides-lake-simcoe

Appreciate the report...I feel warmer already  !

I don't recognize the guide...I've only fished with Miguel or his son Rafa...but yup they certainly work hard down there..

Just now, pics said:

Yeah, that area is pretty good as well.. all my spots around the Hamilton area have been fished out or the population has crashed. 

Populations are definitely cyclical, especially in smaller bodies of water. Back in the day, I used to do well at Binbrook and Mountsburg...then nothing. Not sure if they ever bounced back..

53 minutes ago, Terry said:

They separate Georgian bay from the Great Lakes for some reason that I will never understand, but there is talk about allowing 2 lines while trolling, so fingers crossed 

I think because a lot of G Bay "fishes" like an inland lake...the area of the 30,000 Islands from Honey Harbour up to the North Channel...as opposed to a wide open big water trolling scenario. Same for Lake Ontario...on the Bay of Quinte (although part of Lake O) you can't fish 2 lines west of the Glenora ferry.

My understanding is the 2 line allowance was brought in to appease pressure from the charter industry.

29 minutes ago, pics said:

Awesome.  I used to love crappie fishing. They're tough to find consistently in southern Ontario now.. 

There are a number of lakes in south-eastern Ontario where Crappie are quite prolific..

Big Gull is good for Bass..

Kashwakamak, Crotch, Kennebec, Bobs, and Sharbot are other lakes I'd look at in the area.

1 hour ago, Big Cliff said:

Last year we were paying $70.00 per person. I managed to get out about 6 times so $420.00. I got free parking, transportation to and from the hut, all bait supplied  a warm comfortable hut. Didn't have to worry about moving the hut, storing the hut, maintaining a sled, finding bait, cleaning the hut, ice conditions, hauling propane.....As far as I am concerned it's good value for the money spent.

 

Absolutely a good value....it's a bargain as far as winter sports go..

Last winter we skied at Tremblant...single day lift tickets are $160 each. The year before I took my kids and grandkids to Whistler for a week...there are bundles that make it less expensive...but a "walk up to the counter" single day lift ticket is $250 per person..

At least those are real mountains.  Blue Mountain in Collingwood (a hill which maybe takes 7 turns of your skiis to get down) charges $140 for a walk up day pass..

And skiing in Canada is cheap. At Vail Resort in Colorado, single day lift tickets are $295 USD...that's $423 CDN per person just to ski for the day. Believe it or not, there are even more expensive resorts..

At least with ice fishing you get to bring some good eats home...as opposed to spending $30 on a cold hamburger and greasy fries at the ski lodge cafeteria..

And don't get me started on what it costs to take your kids to a Leafs game..

So yeah, I'm not really feeling the "ouch" paying Tim Hale a few bucks to take care of me for the day...

8 minutes ago, Spiel said:

I did 95% of my ice fishing then and now on my own, it's the way to go.

However back in the late 70's my Dad's best friend and our neighbour, whose kids I actually used to baby sit moved up to Pefferlaw and had one of the biggest operations on Lake Simcoe at the time. It was easy to accept the offers he gave me including any hut I wanted and the transportation I needed to get me there. 

 

That hat...and what's underneath it !

Nevermind the "rapidly aging mind"...it's the rapidly aging everything else on our bodies that "seems like only yesterday" 😆

Here's one from the same era...no hut, at night, homemade ice picks around the neck...

$70 to $80 is the going rate on Simcoe..

57 minutes ago, akaShag said:

So the wild caught sockeye that CrowMan introduced on this forum a while back found its way here in the form of half a dozen fillets by special courier.  (THANKS CrowMan!)  I pan-fried one, but let it rest in the pan after it was cooked.  I KNOW better, but that fillet turned out pretty dry.  😢

So I took the rest of them, brined them and smoked them, then pressure canned them.  The product is delicious!  So if you can't catch your own sockeye, I surely recommend Wild Fork's offering.

Doug

(and I have no idea why that picture is upside down...)

Glad to be of service...

6 minutes ago, akaShag said:

I will bring vino!  And you are closer!!!

Sounds like a great idea for an after-ice-fishing-for-crappies meal.  I clean the crappies while you cook pizza, what's not to like!!!

Doug

Sounds like a plan...now if only the weather Gods would  cooperate and make some ice...

2 hours ago, Spiel said:

I'm thinking I need to try a version of this on the BBQ with the smoke box going....Hell Ya!

 

 

Cant go wrong with combining pizza and wood smoke.

We have a wood burning pizza oven at the cottage. The major benefit is that I can get the temperature up to 900 F +, that combined with the smoke from the wood... kicks out pizzas like you were in Naples. One of our favourite get togethers is a "make your own personal pizza party".

I'll even do roast chicken and prime rib in that oven...the smoke makes all the difference. Between the oven and my Traeger smoker it's probably 75% of my meal preparation all summer long (and winter too !). Most of the time my BBQ gathers dust..

The lake is incredible...the river is magical. 32 years straight and counting..

1 hour ago, Spiel said:

Me too, but only brown sugar (dark or light), equal to the amount of salt in the brine. 

In my opinion it's all a brine really needs and for what it's worth I never use chlorinated water in my brine.  

You definitely want to add some kind of sugar to the brine...it helps form the "pellicle" when drying before the smoke, and caramelization (browning) during the smoke.

Depending on what you're brining, maple or birch syrup or molasses can be nice additions too. One of my favourite ways to do salmon or trout is with maple syrup and rye whiskey in the brine, and then glazed with a half/half mixture of both while smoking..."Indian Candy"...which is probably not a politically correct term  these days.

I got a bottle of it "pre-blended" in my Christmas stocking...Maple syrup aged in whiskey casks. Looking forward to trying it out on my next batch...