If Only Time Stood Still

I met up with DTA member Trout Patzer yesterday morning at 6:15. We were both suited up and ready to go. I stopped at Walmart in Hudson for last minute crawlers and decided the paved lighted parking lot a nicer place to suit up. My car temperature gauge said 39 degrees this morning. Brrr! Here I was with shorts, a t-shirt, and long sleeve breathable shirt, that was not enough. Glad I grabbed my jacket on the way out. Even then early on this morning I felt like doing jumping jacks to keep warm, fingerless gloves were needed, but we did not have them. I even put my hood up to keep warm. Frost on the grass. Our fingers were numb and we kept trying to warm them breathing on them often. I even put my hands down my pants at one point because I was so cold.

It was worth it, let me tell you that. Nate and I did not keep track of total trout caught. Probably over 50 between the two of us. Fishing was red hot once the sun came up and the fish woke up. Heck even before the sun we have four biggies laid out for eats. I'm just not a fan of flash photos early am, too bright and overexposed. So we opted for less photos and more fishing.



Turns out a LOT more fishing. On the water before 6:30 we did not get off until 12:00. We were supposed to get off at 10:00 am but wasn't it convenient the battery of my watch stopped working at 9:40. Apparently neither of us had any concept of time or if we did we did not care. We just kept reeling them in! A couple times I thought to myself time was passing slow but did not question, I just trusted my watch and kept an eye on my pole.



The biggest one of the day was just over 13" but looks even bigger don't you think? A real tank. Numerous 12s, I'd say at least eight and lots of 11s and 10s and countless 8s and 9s let go. A very productive day and once the sun came up it really warmed up and made for such a pleasant morning on the water. Overcast conditions also made us lose track of time I think. Both of us had our iPhones with us but did not check them. At one point Trout Patzer said "I could do this all day and then get up and do it again tomorrow and the next day, over and over again." He is right. I think we were in a trance. I woke at 4am from our dogs banging at their water dish and could not fall asleep. The anticipation was too much. Lack of sleep and a watch that stopped working. If only time stood still. 

Fishing was very good. The fish are also very tasty. I have improvised from Len's recipe. I learned trout only need brine three hours or less. Less salt is better. For instance one tablespoon per cup. I don't even measure, stopped doing that a long time a go. Less salty.



I pull the smaller trout off first, medium next, and large last. I would move fish up to the top layer at the end versus directly above the water pan as they can get too steamy. I like them to seal up.  Only major difference in smoking is I read to clean the fish on the spot. Boy does that make sense. Sometimes after you let the fish cool the fish continues to cook and dries out. Then if you freeze the fish solid next time you want to eat pulling the rib cage bones sticks into the meat. Pull the meat off right after it is cooked, the whole comb comes out, the rib cage bones do not stick into the meat. I even peeled the skin off when possible. This way I have ready to eat pouches.  YUM!