Striper Number One

                    Got her. 


Well, happy to say I got my first Julia Jean Francis Mildred (Lana) Turner of 2010 today.  Lana  proved to be a sucker for a one-ounce Hair Raiser with a white Gus' Discount rubber worm on the back. Had just been thinking how Gus' Discount rubber worms don't really wiggle enough, when, BAM!  I was proved wrong. Plenty of wiggle for Lana, I guess.  Guys all around me throwing 14 dollar lures and I bag my lana with the simple bucktail jig.  Why, I ask, would I ever use another lure?

Lombard Of The Intertidal epitomizing the typical "Fish Sniffer pose."

Say what you will as regards the modest size of 2010's first Lana, (22 in.) but she sure

broiled up nice -- thanks, of course, to the culinary talents of MFN fishwife,

Camilladilla Lombard, who went with an epicurean, stuffed, broiled, lemon-mint

approach this time.

Ready for the broiler

Leaping Into My Arms

Evidently, word of my fishing prowess has finally reached the striped bass population

of California.  No sooner had I hooked this 22 inch behemoth, than it leapt from the

ocean into my arms.  I guess it figured it was over matched. Why resist the

inevitable, right?

Lana Turner occasionally throws herself into the arms of a happy fisherman... in this case it was John Garfield. Yesterday it was me.

Throw Her Back?  I Think Not!

Seriously though, I've never had this happen before.  The fish followed the Hair Raiser past

the trough, into the foam and hit as a wave broke on top of it--15 feet from the tip of the

rod!  I had just set the hook when the line went slack, then looked up the beach behind me

to see the fish flopping on shore--with the hair raiser jutting from it's upper jaw, and my

slack line all over the place.  (I think it actually swam between my feet!)  Kind of

disappointing.  The thought has occurred to me, that, given these details, it might have

been sporting of me to throw her back. But after a few moments of deep internal debate,

I decided there was no saving a fish of such profound suicidal inclination.  And the truth is,

20-24 inch Lanas are always so durned tasty!

Still scratching my head on this one, tho.  How the hell did my line go slack with the fish

striking 15 feet away and me reeling the hair raiser at high speed, and with the drag set

fairly tight?  The way I figure it, she hit the hair raiser, and then bolted up the beach,

in the same direction as the advancing wave, surfing it at twice the velocity I was reeling.

Totally weird.  Awfully nice of her, but next time I'd prefer some kind of resistance.

Anyhoo. Hoping there will be plenty of other Lanas to test my mettle against in the coming

months.

Yikes!  Time to go be a productive member of society...  From way out here in the inner

avenues, this is Lombard of the Intertidal signing out.

 

Comments

[Scott Parker]

Hmm. I don't believe I've ever tried a striper... will have to see about a rectification of that error of omission... your fish looked delicious and I think perhaps I've been missing out...

[Fontenelle451]

That striper is the perfect size for eating. The meat is tender and succulent. When those fish get bigger than 15 pounds, the only tender meat is on the tail. I don't like to keep stripers heavier than 10 pounds. The best tasting stripers are barely legal. (Does Larry Flynt publish any fishing mags?)

You might consider cropping that picture a little more tightly if you're trying to conceal your location. I believe I know that spot -- but so do most local striper fishermen! I was there about 2 weeks ago, during that brief heat wave, trying to catch dungeness crab on snares (with no success). I should have been striper fishing instead.

[monkeyface]

Hey Fontenelle, thanks again. I cropped the image. However, I am interested to see if you got the spot right. I'll wager a beer you didn't. E-mail me:

mawson@gmail.com

[Alan]

Hey Kirk, been meaning to get that perch recipe to you but I've been having trouble figuring out how to explain it. Apparently my gf doesn't have a set recipe but eyeballs the whole deal, so these are approximations and you can play around with the amounts.

1 1/2lbs of boneless perch fillets (can be mixed with shrimp if catch is insufficient)
1 egg
green onions
1 tsp soy sauce
1/2tsp corn starch
pinch of sugar
black & white pepper (season to taste)
optional ingredients:

sesame oil
fish sauce

First off, blend the fillets in a food processor to a paste. Then add the fish and all the other ingredients except the cornstarch in a mixing bowl and mix well. Add the cornstarch last (its for consistency, you can use more/less as desired), mix well. Form into a patty shape and pan fry on medium high heat till browned and thats it. There you go. A classic San Francisco chinese recipe; Chinatown fish cakes were once all made with rubberlips and pile perch back in the day. Nowadays they use ladyfish from florida, and probably whatever else whitefish is cheapest.

Nice schoolie! I've seen them nearly beach themselves chasing bait, and they often hit in the wash.

Al

[monkeyface]

Thanks Al. That's awesome, we'll have to try it out!!!

[Alan]

No problemo neighbor. Its probably the only way to eat a perch and be reasonably happy about it.

Love your blog, man. Its cool that someone actually wants to chronicle the different fisheries of the bay area, and yet respects the waters we all share. I get a kick out of reading about various fisheries that I don't participate in, and you make good efforts not to put salt in peoples game while doing so. Keep on rocking.

[Fontenelle451]

You would have won that bet. I thought I knew where your picture was taken, but when I perused some photos of the spot that I had in mind, I couldn't find that architectural hint that you have cropped from the picture. I attribute my mistake to false memory syndrome or old age.

I wish my father was alive to see your night smelt pictures & videos. He always referred to them as grunion. He caught them with an A-frame net too.