STRIPER FISHING
I, Pam, finally got to go fishing. See, I can only go on weekends and you guys always book the weekends up. Which leaves me living the life vicariously through your pictures. Well, last Sunday was beautiful here, and we didn't have a charter. Hot damn, it's my turn! Not only that, but my absolute favorite fish to catch is running. Stripers! I know you guys are all hot for Tuna, but there is nothing like a crisp winter day and drifing eels at 8b. Trolling is more productive, but there is something about dropping those nasty little Mr. Slims in that water and waiting for pressure on the line. Then feeding him little line and feeding him a little more, holding back, then bam! Snatching that pole back, and yee-haaaa! You'll have him almost there, and he'll roll over, dive down and take it all back. I love it. Great fish to start kids and women out on. (I know that sounds sexist, but it's true. Tuna's are like pulling in a VW to me.)
Back to my story. We started out at slack tide and did a little trolling over Hen and Chick and picked up one, then went drifting eels. It got a little chilly and I decided to put my pullover on. I got 2 arms in, and the fish hit. So there I am, in this straight-jacket, fighting this fish. Rick finally took pity and tried pulling the sweater over my head, which of course got caught in my glasses and stuck on my head, so now I'm blind and in a straight-jacket fighting the fish. (If any of you were wondering who the idiot in the 25 foot Mako was, now you know.) Bottom line, I did get the fish in the boat. That's a picture of it, on the right. Later, I got a 37 incher. Ha-ha-ha. I let Rick catch the slot fish. We caught 9 in all. Kept having to throw them back because they were...get this...too big!
What's up with that? 2 years ago, it seemed every fish was 27 1/2 inches and had to go back.

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My fish.
I let Rick hold them.



I covered my face to protect my "idiotness."

Rick's been slaying 'em! Limited out every trip. They got 21 on Wednesday, 19 Thursday and 15 on Friday. In just a couple of hours, too. You can't keep that many, so it's hard to show in pictures. But fishing has been wonderful and should be good through Christmas. Our favorite way to eat them is smoked and cooked using the recipe below.

STRIPER ALA LAST DOLLAR
Place fish filets in aluminum foil. Give them a heavy dose of soy sauce. Then sprinkle heavy with lemon pepper and minced garlic. Next comes a layer of mayonaise, about a half inch thick. (This along with the soy sauce makes a nice gravy.) Place a couple of sprigs of fresh rosemary on top. What comes next is up to you. Onions, tomatoes, maybe zuchinni, whatever you have on hand. Close foil tightly, cook about 45 minutes. It's easy, (no measuring) and killer.
A huge hit at covered dish parties.