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Food and Drink

Fishing and free beer

March 18, 2012
Fishing, Fly Fishing, Food and Drink, Video, Warmwater
1 Comment

Hit a couple ponds on Friday after work looking to catch a few bass on top. The first one was in good shape and I found the bluegill to be very aggressive to both the popper and the dropper. The big bass were in shallow water, sitting on beds and unresponsive to anything thrown their way.  The smaller male bass though would swipe at a fly, I managed to land a few of them.

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The second pond I hit had active bluegill as well, though not the size that I found in the first pond. The catfish were pretty active too. Throwing a slow sinking streamer out to the middle of the pond, let it sink, then hold on was the strategy for the cats. I did catch one on top though which was pretty cool. Managed a nice bass on top as well.

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Capped Friday off with a tour of the Tin Roof Brewing Co. here in Baton Rouge. Every Friday from 5-7 they offer free tours and with the tour you get three free beers. You can’t beat that with a stick. They have an amber(Perfect Tin), a pale ale(Voodoo Bengal) and a blonde(Tin Roof Blonde). The blonde was my favorite, while the amber was Amanda’s. Right now you can only find Perfect Tin in stores, it comes in cans. I’m a big fan of the current trend to can craft beer, I hope it continues.

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Here is a great video that lumehouse put together on the Tin Roof story:

Hodges Gardens

March 11, 2012
Fishing, Food and Drink, Freshwater, Warmwater
1 Comment

I went a month straight posting new content every day, but had to break that this past weekend. Amanda and I spent my birthday at Hodges Gardens State Park, near Many, LA. We booked a cabin a couple weeks ago, had second thoughts this past week due to the weather forecast, but it worked out in our favor and never rained Saturday. We walked the gardens Friday evening and Saturday morning, fished the lake Saturday afternoon. Now Hodges is no Callaway, not nearly the size or staff, and Callaway is private, but, the gardens are very nice, a unique part of the state park system. They boast an impressive array of camelias, azaleas, and some awesome water features. The lake is a reclaimed quarry, 225 acres, lined with aquatic vegetation. We rented a canoe for the day and started pounding the banks. The bass were pretty active and I caught enough to keep me interested.  We ate pretty well too, barbequed shrimp, grilled steaks, and Amanda made a fruit pizza in lieu of a cake.

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We made it back in town just in time for a crawfish boil with some friends. First of the season for us. Hit the spot too.

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It was a great birthday weekend, I really enjoyed it! I’d love to fish the lake again when it is a little warmer, it is one of the healthiest I’ve seen in Louisiana. Amanda ended up being a pretty good paddling guide as well, another good reason to get a Big Tuna.

Simple grilled redfish

February 27, 2012
Food and Drink
3 Comments

Another oldie, but a goodie – here is an easy way to grill redfish for those who don’t like to leave the skin on (my wife).

I often keep the redfish I catch because they are so delicious on the grill. I’ve experimented with a lot of different ways of cooking and preparing the fish, but I always come back to this simple recipe. It works just as well with trout, black drum, sheepshead, and flounder, so don’t think this is redfish specific.

What you’ll need: Redfish fillets (scales off), aluminum foil, butter, olive oil, worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, lemon pepper, blackening seasoning, cajun seasoning, and beer of your choice.

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– Fillet your redfish with the scales off (or thaw those fillets from a previous trip, fresh fish is always better however).

– Light your coals and open up a beer.

– Tear off a piece of aluminum foil big enough to completely encapsulate your fish fillet, place your fillet on the foil.

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– Gently season each side of your fish fillet with cajun seasoning, lemon pepper, and blackening seasoning.  Don’t overdo it.

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– Pour a little bit of olive oil, worcestershire, and lemon juice on your fillet. Not too much, just a little strip down the fillet.

– Add about 1 Tbsp. worth of butter to your fillet. I usually cut it into 2 pieces and place them on the fillet.

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– Fold up your fillet and repeat with the rest of your fish. I usually grill up 4 fillets so I can have leftovers the next day.

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– By now your coals should be hot, so place your foiled fish on the grill.

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– You’ll cook the fish for 20 minutes. My grill is not that big so at 10 minutes I rotate the inside fillets with the outer ones.

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– I like to serve each fillet with a side of rice/pasta and a vegetable.

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If you’ve got any leftover crawfish etoufee, add that to the top of the redfish when it’s done, talk about good! Hope y’all enjoy this simple way of preparing redfish. I know I did!

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