Friday is “Fish Night”

Reading about Northern Pike lately on some of my fellow bloggers’ sites has put me in the mood for one of the most delicious freshwater fish out there. I hope you enjoy this recipe.

Grand Marnier Pike

Ingredients:

• Northern pike fillets
• Flour
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Cayenne
• Butter
• Grand Marnier
• 1 cup milk

Mix the flour, cayenne, salt and pepper to taste in a large bowl.

Dip the pike in milk and roll it in the flour mixture.

Heat the butter in a skillet or frying pan, bringing the butter to a sizzle. Put a shot of Grand Marnier in the pan. It may flare up (which is perfect). Immediately place the fish in the frying pan with the butter and Grand Marnier. Cook about 5 to 7 minutes on each side (or until golden brown). Fish is done when it flakes with a fork.

Although, for me, nothing beats the taste of freshly caught pike during shore lunch with 10 or 20 of your close friends and family, and I’m not one to doctor up fish too much since I want to savor the true flavor of the fish itself, this is a great northern pike recipe and has an orange undertone that is delicious. It’s really simple and the result is such that any chef would it put on a resume with pride.

It’s a great option for sharing pike with friends that aren’t quite as enthusiastic about “fish for dinner” as some of the rest of us. Trust me, they’ll think twice after having this meal… and you don’t have to tell them how easy it is if you don’t want to.

ENJOY!

Pontoon float (update)

A while back I posted an article (Float) on personal flotation alternatives, such as belly boats, pontoon boats and the like. Well I finally made up my mind to go out and get one since I’m currently motivated by the upcoming trout season here in Argentina.

Pontoon float

I did quite a bit of research and found that there were many sellers out there selling the same products, so I guess you’d have to say that they were actually re-sellers. What was surprising was that the existence of a “middle man” didn’t necessarily mean an inflated price. The prices were all over the place for basically the same items.

I was eventually able to procure the object of my desire, and did so from a reseller (CoverBonanza.com) and not directly from Classic Accessories. I paid about $329 dollars for my sage/grey pontoon float and another $68 dollars for shipping to my father’s place in New York. Since I live in Argentina, I had to include it with my checked baggage at the airport. I’d called ahead and was told I’d have to pay $100 for oversize baggage. Getting through customs in Argentina turned out to be easier than I thought. I guess they were tired of hassling passengers that day. Anyway, since I’m not an Argentine citizen I wouldn’t be subject to tax, but that doesn’t always stop them from giving you a hard time on the off chance that you might palm them a $20 peso note…

Picture of the Week

Watch out Fly Gal!

We’re getting ready for fishing season to open here in Patagonia, and since we’ve got ants in our pants we took advantage of nice spring weather to practice our fly casting technique.

Golden Dorado News

In the Province of Cordoba, the Secretary of the Environment initiated a plan in December of 2008 for restoration of the golden dorado (Salminus brasiliensis) in the Tercero River; responding to the near extinction of this species in this water system.

Due to it’s connection with the Parana River, 96% of the fish life in the Tercero originates in the Parana.

Importance of the Project
The Dorado is a very important ecologic and economic species at both national and international levels. Today in the majority of the environments which the Dorado inhabits, the human impact has significantly diminished its population and in many cases caused the disappearance of this and other associated species.

In the medium and long term, and with intelligent management of future populations of this species, it is possible to advance a Sustainable Use Program that permits the development of small economies at the local and regional levels. An example of this would be through the promotion of tourism such as fly fishing, and catch and release policies.

Work Methodology
The restoration of the dorado (S. brasiliensis) populations in the Tercero Rio water system it being done through a series of phases that have been deemed “participative”, since various social, government and non government sectors may be able to join work teams, that are being developed, as observers or active participants.

Kudos to the Environmental Secretary and the Province of Cordoba.

If you’d like to practice your Spanish and read more about this and other programs in Cordoba, you can click on the image at the top of this post and visit their website.

R-eel funny

A R-eel Fish Story (Hold muh beer and watch this)
The Sea Breeze News ^ | September 3, 2009 | Steve Hoyland Sr.

Posted on Thu Sep 17 2009 21:54:52 GMT-0300 (Argentina Standard Time) by jazusamo

Two weeks ago a group of four men, Steve Hoyland Jr. with friends Bruce, Ken and Erik, set off on an overnight offshore fishing trip. They left at noon on a Tuesday and went about 120 miles out into the Gulf.

They were having a great night of fishing, catching big snapper, grouper, ling and kings. About 3 am, two of them went down below to catch some sleep. The two remaining on deck were catching fish and drinking beer, enjoying the warm tropical night air.

All at once, Bruce got a big run on his line. This thing went all around the boat and took more than twenty minutes to bring up to the surface. When they got it up to the surface, they could not tell what it was. It looked prehistoric.

Steve Jr. put a gaff in it and the two men dragged it aboard the 33 foot boat. As soon the big creature hit the deck, it went crazy, attacking them. It was an eel over 6 feet long, weighing close to 100 pounds. It had a mouth full of sharp teeth and was extremely pissed off.

The eel was later estimated to be sixty years old. Bruce said it came at him and Steve, Jr. like an anaconda, rearing it’s head up and striking at them like a rattlesnake. It was highly agitated and quite energetic.

In the midst of thrashing around, the creature fell down below onto the floor between the two sleeping men, Erik and Ken. When they heard the thud and turned on the light, the eel raised it’s head right above Ken’s face. Erik rolled over and grabbed his 9 mm pistol. Steve Jr. started yelling. “Don’t shoot the gun in the boat! We’re 120 miles from land!” Next thing you know, all four fishermen were on the deck and the gigantic eel had sole possession of the bottom of the boat.