Kayak Fishing and Butterbeer Recipe!

What the heck else do you want people??

KC had a cool spell in late July. We're talking 70s and low 80s after a MONTH of mid 90s. It was like hearing the smooth, smooth guitar of George Benson and Bon Jovi classics after being beat over the head with grunge rock, bad American cars, and *shudder* goth pants. 

I don't own a kayak, so kayak fishing is a rare experience for me. It's not easy to fish in a floating banana after being used to clambering across the bank. I ended up catching white bass, a boatload of crappie, and one good channel cat. Let me run you through my strategy. 

First, we stopped by a shallow bay on our way to the dam. I cast out my trusty white rooster tail and immediately started pulling in white bass. I didn't hit that big of a school though, because it died out pretty quick. Next stop was the dam. 

Casting alongside it didn't produce anything, though I could've probably caught some big drum if I wanted. I ended up anchoring on the piling of the walkway that goes out from the dam and dropped a spoon about forty foot down. This started producing crappie hand over fist. After I'd fished that spot out, which included accidentally catching a shad, a moved spots. Maybe I should've stayed given that I caught a baitfish, but I wanted to try new waters.

Instead of trying to anchor and bottom fish, I decided to use my fish basket (which was full of white bass and crappie) as a drift sock and let the wind slowly blow me past points with brush piles on them. I used a carolina rig, but suspended it about a foot to three feet off the bottom. On the second drift I caught a nice channel. I'm going to go kayak fishing again soon and try more drifting. It seems like a more effective method than bottom fishing, especially when the thermocline hits and the fish can't stay at the deepest parts of the lake. 

The Beginning of Alchemy...and diabetes

Fish Fry and Butter Beer

We had our best friend Laura over (shoutout to her for the butterbeer idea) and of course, had to have a fish fry. We also decided to experiment with a butter beer recipe. Well, hark Harry Potter fans, IT WAS DELICIOUS!!!  

It's really easy and pretty cheap as well. All you need is Butterscotch Schnapps and a couple bottles of cream soda. The fancier the cream soda, the fancier the butter beer. The proportions are 4 parts cream soda to 1 part Schnapps or 3 parts cream soda to 1 part Schnapps if you like a stronger drink. Put it in a chilled mug, put on your homemade knitted sweater (courtesy of the Mrs. Weasley in your life) and snuggle up for a Harry Potter marathon! 

Buffalo Marinated Fish

fish (how much fish would you wish on my fish wish dish?) 

-crappie and white bass are my favorite for this recipe

hot wings sauce such as Frank's Red Hot

corn meal

frying oil (coconut, peanut, canola) 

1. Put the fish fillets in a bowl or sandwich bag and pour buffalo sauce over them. Make sure the marinade is rubbed everywhere on the fillet. It's best to let them sit for a few hours, but fifteen to twenty minutes is enough in a pinch. 

2. Start heating oil. On most stoves, this is right at medium. If the oil starts smoking, turn it down. I usually don't use more than a half inch of oil. You can just flip the fish to get both sides down and there's less wasted oil.  

3. Take fish out of marinade and shake off excess. Roll in corn meal and gently lay in grease. Cook until crispy brown, flipping once. 

Gil's Not World Famous Tartar Sauce

1 tablespoon brown mustard

2-3 cups REAL mayonnaise (not miracle whip yah heathens!) 

1 tablespoon dill relish

1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce (how much do you like the big W?)

fresh lemon to squeeze

1. Combine all ingredients into a bowl (squeeze the lemon, don't throw it in there yah dingus) and stir until mixed. Honestly, these proportions are exact. Don't overdo it on the mustard. It's pretty easy to get right. Maybe I'll do a video so you can see my method...or maybe I'll patent it and make millions!! BUAHAHAHA!