Fishing Harvest

I went fishing last weekend with my brother-in-law and some of his friends and had a great time.  We rented two pontoon boats so we had two four man teams and set out to try7 our luck.  The place was Fletcher's Pond, a floodwater from a dam that was built about 100 years ago, and has perch, bluegills, rock bass, small and large mouth bass, Northern Pike, and Carp.

I am to put it mildly, not much of a fisherman.  Don't get me wrong, I like to fish and I love the idea of catching a fish, cleaning it, cooking it and enjoying it.  Unfortunately, whatever skill is required for fishing, I don't seem to have it.  What do you mean there are different weights of poles?  The fishing line matters? What lure should I use?  Too much thinking for me although I did learn some tips from and by watching the guys who were on my boat, thy really know their stuff.  Even though "Jordan" didn't have a great weekend compared to what my brother-in-law had led me to believe.

I did catch a few fish however, after buying some buzz baits, a dixie spinner, a bass-o-reno a plastic frog and some weedless lures, I caught my first and biggest large mouth on an old J Plug lure that my grandfather gave me about 20 years ago and it was out of his tackle, so it was old then.  I cast it out and as it hit the water there was a large splash as a 16 inch bass took it immediately.  I was completely startled as that sort of thing never happens to me.  Got some pictures that I plan on putting up soon.

I also caught a smaller bass a 12 inch perch and a couple of pike, all in all a record setting fishing trip for me.  I did get to bring some fish home with me, and plan on sharing the recipes, having never cooked bass before I will be doing some experimenting and hopefully you will enjoy them two... First off, here is Drunken Bass

Drunken Bass
     4 Bass Fillets
     1 t salt
     1 t Black Pepper
     1 t Paprika
     1/4 c Butter
     1 c Onion, chopped
     3 T Flour
     1 Can Beer
     1 T Honey
     1/2 t Worcestershire Sauce
     1 Lemon, cut into wedges

     1.  Rinse bass and pat dry, sprinkle with salt, pepper and paprika on both sides.
     2.  Melt butter in a hot skillet and add onions, cooking until they start to brown slightly
     3.  Add flour and cook until it darkens, the darker it gets the richer the final sauce will be.
     4.  Pour in the beer of your choice, I used a Summer Shandy and thought the final sauce was a little two 
          sweet, I would probably use something darker next time like a two hearted ale from Bell's but use
          something you like!
     5.  Let the sauce come to a boil to thicken then turn it down to a simmer
     6.  Stir in the honey and Worcestershire sauce and lay the fish in the sauce
     7.  Cover the pan and turn it down to low, let it cook 12 minutes, relax, drink another beer while you wait.
     8.  Remove the lid and carefully transfer the fish to a serving platter
     9.  Check the sauce and season it with salt and pepper to your taste
     10. Serve with lemon wedges and sauteed potatoes.

Enjoy!