FISH AND MORE FISH

[Jen]

To begin with, fishing is usually left to days other than Monday... But since my family had decided while sitting around the patio on Sunday that they were heading out , I put my hand up to tag along. By the time all was said and done, Sonny had himself, his wife, his son,my father, sister and her son all in their boat for a night of perch fishing... Yes I would go with them out to Dunnville, but fish from shore is what I had decided. Thinking there were already way too many ppl in that one boat for my liking. You see I fish for the peace and quiet of the moments... and the joy of the catch... even if the fish arn't being caught I always enjoy myself. With that many ppl there would be no peace, no quiet and too much joy when you catch something... lol

 

We headed out right after work... Dad picked me, my sister and her son up, quick stop at Sonny's to meet up with his clan and we were off. Arrived at Fishmasters Bait and Tackle in Dunnville sometime around 6:30 - 6:45...thank goodness Steve was still around serving customers. After purchasing our minnows, a new supply of crappie rigs and weights, it was Sonny's turn at the till... New Rod, some time talking about what we were doing for the evening and then just like that , I have a boat to go on... which is cool cause we all know that you catch more fish out in the channel then from shore...THANK YOU SO MUCH STEVE FOR INVITING ME!

 

On our way out, Fishmaster showed me his new boat for Pickerel Charters on Lake Erie, wow!

 

 

This is what my family looks like while fishing!

 

 

It was an amazing night of fishing, minnow on hook, into water, fish in boat. ( I will just add here the hooks I chose to use on the crappie rig were ticking me off big time as the line wasn't heavy enough and they kept getting tangled. If that hadn't been the case I would have for sure doubled my catch... LOL, ok yeah I know, excuses, excuses.) The perch were biting non stop. Some very big ones as well.

 

 

Steve anchored in a spot where there were a ton of fish, and then motioned Sonny to move right in beside him. I will add here that we all now understand why this man is called Fishmaster... he just catches fish, no matter where or when he goes out. A true joy to fish with.

 

It was amazing to watch both my nephews catching fish, their moms happy and Sonny running from one pole to the next putting minnows on hooks and taking off fish. My dad even held out his rod a couple of times since Sonny was being so willing.

 

 

We fished till almost dark. On the way back Sonny decide to troll a bit and managed to hook two nice Pickeral... although one managed to throw the hook, his wife added the other to the live well. ( I wondered what was taking them so long to get back to the dock... mosquitoes were eating me alive as they stared off into the bulrushes at beautiful mass quantities of FIREFLIES)

 

 

 

All and all another great night on the water, and a family fish fry to come.

 

An example of the size of fish Sonny usually catches...( LOL, can you believe this smelt tried to eat a minnow almost the same size as itself... )

 

 

Here is where I will add a little note... We got back to Hamilton at midnight, arrived at Sonny's and he hands me all the fish and his fillet knife... mmmm hmmm I see how this is going ... Little sis and I head home to start cleaning fish... 2:00am finally done... Next time I go fishing with Sonny, I am practicing catch and release.

 

What we started with, thank goodness Lynette was helping

 

This is the end result...

 

Now we just have to find a day when everyone is available for a fishfry... mmmmm

Edited June 20, 2007 by Jen

[bbog]

Great report Jen and nice work. Beauty when the family gets together (until fileting time!).

[tonyb]

YUMMY! Can't beat getting out and fishing with the family!

 

Do you just have regular water in the ziploc bags to prevent freezer burn? Does it affect the flavour at all?

 

Tony

[Guest mistyriver1]

You're getting pretty darn good at this report thing Jen, keep em coming.

 

Jim

[Jen]

Hi Tony,

 

I am not partial to frozen fish, and have found this method works really well. Even better if you are scaling the perch leaving the skin on... Fresh very cold tap water, squeeze all air out of the bag, seal and freeze... works great in the cooler to keep everything else cold on your way up north as well... lol

 

The flavour once defrosted and cooked is the same as if the fish were fresh... and I am picky!

[fishnsled]

Great read, great pics, great report!

[tonyb]

Thanks Jen!

 

I am dying to get my boat and start dragging my non-fishing family members out with me, they need to get off their asses and spend some time outside

 

Tony

[kennyman]

Looks like a great time. I can't decide where to go this Sunday. Long Point? Port Maitland? Port Ryerse?Nanticoke?I think Port Maitland may win.

[Hooked]

Not thats a haul and a half! That one perch in there looks huge. Nice going.

[lunkerbasshunter]

right on looks like a good time!

 

Cheers!

[mattyk]

great report, thanks for sharing!

[Fishmaster]

Talk about good reports this ladie should be writeing articals for Ontario Out of Doors ..had a great time fishing with you i dont like seeing people stuck on shore when the fishing is hotter out in the boats ..looking foward to the fish fry ..Fishmaster

[ccmtcanada]

Great report Jen! Lots of great fish there....and you got some ready for your next fish fry too! I keep hearing that fishing from a boat is fun...I guess I'll find out this weekend up at Lakair....LOL. Keep up with these great reports...they are a real pleasure to read.

[PERCHER]

Outstanding report Jen.Its always nice to get out on the water.Dan

[wallyboss]

Nice haul, Should be a good fish fry for sure.

[fishindevil]

great report jen!!!!!! awesome pics as well.thanks for sharing,all those perch & that walleye sure look good ..yummmmmmy cheers

[sonny]

Had alot of fun even though it was hard to get my line to see water,,,was all worth it when you can watch the little one catch fish!!! was also great to see the wife catch her first walleye,,,,,i am not sure but i could swear it had a little tattoo on it's tail,,,could have sworn it said "steve's fish",,,,,LOL

[Guest Johnny Bass]

Excellant report!!!You've definately had a great start to the season!

[Photoz]

How does that ol' saying go . . . . 'The family that fishes together, stays together . . . . . ??' Hm m m m . . . somethin' like that anyway . . . wotin'ell is that with the whole mouth fulla teeth pointing at the camera? As ALWAYS, a well put together report . . . I like the 'family' stuff . . . . beats fishin' with a bunch of ol' geezers . . . . . wait a minute . . . . I think I qualify for the 'geezer' list now?

[Beans]

beats fishin' with a bunch of ol' geezers . . . . . wait a minute . . . . I think I qualify for the 'geezer' list now?

 

Hey...Wadda ya mean "old geezers"...I resemble that remark...

[Smokey]

Great report. You can't beat perching out at the end of the peir when the bite is on. Thanks for the pics and enjoy the meals.

[Bernie]

Atta girl Jen! Great report. Great bag of fish. Can I offer you a hint freezing the fish? When I bag em up in a ziplock I add water to the fish, zip it up almost all the way,squeeze the air out and then put the slight opening downwards into the sink. The small opening lets the water out but does not allow the air back in. Basically it vacuums out any excess water. It takes up less space in your freezer and fish isn't surrounded by air. If you flatten out the fillets and freeze them flat it also is easier to thaw them out. You also have a better idea how much fish is in the bag.

[Mike the Pike]

Another great detailed and enjoyable report Jen your last thread showed how well you filet fish so thats why they dumped the fish cleaning on you because you are so good at it

 

MTP