Johnsfolly

Congrats on a great day fishing! Very nice rainbow. Glad you brought up keeping the fish in the water. At the temps we have been experiencing their gills will freeze pretty quickly. Be a shame to lose nice fish due to mishamdling.

Could be both. The upper Current is a blue ribbon designation and by the MDC description is a river that have conditions that could support natural reproduction for the rainbows. I have seen browns on redds in the past but haven't seen rainbows going through the spawning cycle. However, I do believe that there may be some reproduction going on. I also thought that there might have been a release or two during the flooding events over the last couple of years.

The one river that I fish the most gets good just after July 4th. Fish are done spawning and I enjoy the topwater bite at that time. Lots of ravenous smallies and largemouth. May not be as heavy as the prespawn, but plenty of fight. Also lots of other targets if the bass aren't biting (I can't recall when they weren't)☺.

I would call that a great day! You got on some nice fish. Congrats to you and your wife!

When it comes to searing meats I think that it is dependent upon the dish. I will sear meats as RPS suggested prior to braising the meat to add that depth of flavor. I don't like meats that are cooked fully in a crockpot for the potential lack of flavor of the meat. I would guess that searing prior to using the sous vide is similar to a braise. To me the sear on a steak adds the flavor/carmalization as well as a texture that I want. That texture may get lost if you sous vide after the initial sear. May be why some suggest sear then sous vide then sear again. Since I dont have a sous vide, I'll leave you guys to experiment and keep us posted☺.

Can't wait ti see the rest. Agree JHK get it well brojen in before Dec☺.

Congrats on a great C&R trip! I'll channel my inner BilletHead and say that some pictures with the post would have been great. Particulary that 15 inch fatty or one of the 21 inchers. Since it was the trout park no need to worry about extracting the GPS from the photos☺.

Very nice! Congrats on a successful trip. Love seeing the two of you catching fish together.

This will be the last food post for this evening. A friend of mine gifted us with a mallard and a teal breast. I thawed out the two duck breasts and one of our venison round steaks. I made a marinade with balsamic vinegar, honey, garlic powder, and Asian five spice. I put the duck breasts in a Ziploc with the marinade and let soak for a couple of hours. I seasoned the venison with montreal steak seasoning and garlic powder. With the meat doing its thing. I prepped the rest of the meal. I had bought two king oyster mushrooms from the local Asian market. These are big fungus. Each is about 7 inches in length. We have eaten these guys before. These are a sweeter and not as an earthy flavored mushroom. I sliced these guys and also sliced up the remaining oyster mushrooms from the other night. I sliced a half of a yellow onion and minced a single clove of garlic all to be cooked with the mushrooms. I peeled and cut all of our remaining carrots on a bias. I minced about a teaspoon of fresh garlic. I juiced a small orange, added about a 1/4 teaspoon of powdered ginger, and two teaspoons of honey and mixed that well for a glaze for the carrots. I heated my cast iron skillet and added olive oil and a tablespoon of butter to the skillet. I was going to cook all of the meat in the same skillet. I started with the venison and cooked the meat on one side for about 5 to 6 minutes. While the meat was cooking I put a little water into a sauce pan and began cooking the carrots. In another skillet I started the sauté the onions and garlic with a little butter. Once the onions were translucent, I added the mushrooms. I covered them and flipped the venison steak and added the mallard breast. I cooked the mallard breast for about 3 minutes and turned the meat. Then I added the teal breast to the skillet. Only cooked each of those breasts for about 2 minutes a side. I pulled the duck and covered it with foil to rest. Finished cooking the venison in the oven. Once the carrots were a bit tender, I drained the water and put the carrots into a small skillet and added the minced ginger and the glaze. I cooked the carrots over med high heat until the sauce became a glaze. I added tarragon and a little balsamic to the mushrooms and S&P. I slightly overcooked the venison and may have been a bit under on the mallard, but it did all come together with just a little S&P on the meat. I should have thought about a glass of red wine, but missed that opportunity.

Very nice post Marty. The pictures do the post justice. That was a great looking piece of meat. Well Done my friend!

Marty - as I mentioned earlier, I do understand. Just giving you a hard time requiring a photo essay to make hash .

I have never eaten any rodent larger than a big fox squirrel. I have had BBQ raccoon. It was a bourbon BBQ sauce with a bit too much bourbon. It was fine. I would try coon again with a different preparation. Would be real interested in trying mountain lion. Supposed to be quite good.

Though I agree with what you are saying, still not sure what all this means in terms of having pictures with your posts. So back to the topic of this thread, my Betterhalf had the same thoughts that RPS did about staying out of the cold wet weather today. She made a potato soup in her crock pot. Cooked onions with thyme and minced garlic then added two tablespoons of flour and a cup of chicken stock cooked on the stove top then added all of this to the crock pot. Added diced white potatoes and another three cups of chicken stock. Cooked on the high setting for three hours. Once the potatoes were tender, she smashed them but not blended smooth. She wanted some potato bits in the soup. Then added about 6 to 8 pieces of cooked bacon, crumbled, and added about 1/2 cup of sour cream, and two cups mild cheddar cheese. Cooked for a few minutes to let everything come together. I topped mine with another dollop of sour cream, a bit more crumbled bacon, and some shredded smoked cheddar (from WoundedOne). Would have been a bit better if we had some chives or green onions. Still very good as you can see from the photo !

What's with you and photos today? Doesn't the written word spark your imagination? You need to read less internet posts and maybe read a book (without pictures) !?!

Sounds great - not familiar with this kind of seafood blend. Can you provide a brand name?

Only if they follow those OAF small game Chefs on the What's cooking thread !

I have always wanted my kids to have gear that they could use for years. MOPanfisher I can't wait to see Papa and grandson photos☺!

I will add that when you are fishing a known location with a seasonal run fish, e.g., white bass below a dam, I don't see an issue with posting location, methods, photos, and other details. You will not be the one that discovered that fishery. There are going to be crowds. I feel that you might as well help others that want to catch a meal or two.

Seems like a situation on getting what you give. I have only been checked a few times locally. Mostly during the catch and keep at our urban trout lake and some when the crappie bite is on at one of our lakes. Even though there are regulations about having separate stringers or names on stringers, I have never had a problem when mixing fish on a stringer when we have made the effort to identify our fish. Usually that will be one of us clipping the tail or one of the fins and the other leaving their fish intact. Being courteous and respectful and showing the agent that you know the regs are trying to comply goes a long way. About the ice fishing, I have a crazy idea to possibly try for musky. I just started looking at hand drills. Not sure a 6" auger bit is large enough. Also I don't want to injure the fish, so have to really research the best way to rig the baits. May just ne a fantasy.

Made ham and potato hash for breakfast. Used leftover ham from Xmas dinner. Had a mixed variety of fingerling potatoes (had pinks, purples, yukons, etc in the mix) that I diced and cooked in a little bacon fat (haven't been able to meet up with my goose fat supplier). Once the potatoes were browning, I added minced garlic and diced shallots. Also added some dried oregano., S&P, and smoked paprika. Covered to let the potatoes to cook through then added the diced ham. Served it topped with an over easy egg and a drizzle of Cholula hot sauce☺.

I am assuming that you guys are at the Lets go Fishing event in Collinsville. Didn't know about this show until I looked it up this morning. Not sure I would convince my Betterhalf to brave the potential bad weather today to come out from Columbia. Hope that you are having a good event.

So is that a yard of fish or a meter ! Congrats Dan.

Congrats Buddy on the "great" grandchild! Hopefully all is well with everyone.

I figured that I didn't need the photo after I bought a box.

Can't wait to see some of the trout they catch. Thanks Phil.