rps

My favorite combination. Top water or shallow bass early, followed by a walleye bite. I miss this time of year.

Many years ago, I was a part of a group the arranged a similar event. We took children/young adults from the facilities that existed in those days for those challenged by physical or mental disabilities to go fishing. After several years, court rulings began to disband those facilities. At the same time, the insurance became too high to pay. We gave up. We had interesting rules. We did not care about fish species. One year a local TV talking head won catching gar with rope. Others baited holes with seed corn and molasses for carp and catfish. One year, a young man and I won. Carp covered the bottom of my boat after the live well was full. That boat never smelled the same after that day. Bait a hole with dock. Use molasses and dog food sacks about two weeks before the event. Make doughballs of Wheaties and strawberry pop. Let them sink, unweighted, beneath the dock. Hang on. You should have seen the young man's eyes.

shrimp and angel hair a la puttanesca.

I miss not being on TR this time of year. Large fish on top water is heaven.

Sunday night Italian sausage gravy over fettuccini.

Miso marinated roast chicken, sesame noodles, and cucumber salad. Fusion cooking - Japanese, Chinese, and Deep South USA.

Could you tell if the leader broke at one of the knots or in between? FWIW, on a walking bait, straight braid or straight flouro would be my choice. When you expect to stress your rig, the fewer knots, the better. BTW, I envy your fishing day.

Roast Mediterranean spiced chicken thighs with potatoes, asparagus, olives, onions, capers, two kinds of peppers and lemon. You will not believe how good this was.

A gastrique is a sweet and sour combination - something like sweet and sour chicken. Saffron is the world's most expensive spice, the hand picked stamen of daffodils. Amazon current price for .98 ounce is $129.95. The Middle East, Spain, and the Indian subcontinent use it. I appreciate chicken fried steak and squirrel and dumplings, but I love experimenting. If I had to choose a food area for the rest of my life it would be the Mediterranean.

Pan fried chicken thigh cutlets with a tomato balsamic gastrique and saffron asparagus risotto.

I will.

How do you react when you catch an exceptional fish after an earlier PB? As a young man, I caught a 9+ largemouth from a pond in Tulsa. Many years later I caught a legit 8 and 1/2 in Tablerock. In 1973 my wife caught a 4+ spotted bass in Broken Bow Years later I caught an almost 4 spot. Her fish threatened the Oklahoma record. Mine did not. In 2011, I caught a 13+ walleye in TR and only a few days later caught a 10+. When you reach a certain point in your life, should you let go of PB's and fish for the moment, or should you push on? I apologize, but I just watched a River Runs Through It, and I am feeling philosophical.

A number of years ago I posted a story on here about an unfortunate hook in my finger episode. My wife saw a notice about a contest by the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for a fish story. She urged me to enter mine. I did. Today, I received an email that the story won the contest. They wanted a picture. I sent it. Now I cannot wait to see the publication.

Polenta with Italian chicken sausage and peppers and onions and an avocado with a white balsamic tomato coulis.

Chicken stew with potatoes.

If you are cooking for yourself, I say let her buck!

Short cut chicken biryani.

Last summer I went on a group fishing trip arranged by the place I live. Seven people and a guide. We chased swipers. Two of us had fished seriously. I sat next to the guide. He was a Lowrance field tester with the latest greatest sonar and troll motor. Set up correctly, the integration of forward, side, and down scan with the troll motor was amazing! Of course, my best estimate of equipment and set up costs was North of $15,000.

Those are great pictures of the boys! I fished Millwood once, in the late 70"s. Our most successful pattern was 12 inch jelly worms skipped under and among cypress knees. Not many fish, but those we caught were all 3+. We also learned NEVER to tent camp near the lake. The mosquitos made life miserable, even with the mesh closed. Again, I like those pictures.

C rig a half crawler on a #4 or 6 octopus hook with a small float bead just above the hook. Drag very slowly (.5 mph) 5 to 15 feet deep on sandy/gravel primary and secondary points. Use 6 to 8# line and set the drag carefully, as you may have surprise visitors. Have fun.

Don't forget the hummingbird nectar.

Duck breasts are in the sous vide. Just picked the sugar snaps for tonight. I will roast potatoes in duck fat to go with the meal. Bottle of bubbles is chilled. Mother's Day for the beautiful wife. At her request I upped the internal temp to 133.5. My preference is 130, but today was for her.

Just imagine a white bass that size.

The best I have had are during the annual Greek Orthodox church festival. I go there every year and gorge on the varieties of food there.