Fish Noir

Film still from Fritz Lang's, Clash By Night. Love triangle in the sardine fleet.  Classic Barbara Stanwyck! Robert Ryan at his angst ridden best, and a youthful and utterly familiar platinum blonde chick working the assembly line at the sardine cannery... 

Wow, that last post sure generated a great deal of verbiage--much of it my own.  Had a feeling it would. That's why I tend to stick to the little guys: herring, smelt, sardine.  I seem to be able to say anything I want about those guys with no objections. And that's good because my next few posts are sure to concern the little guys.

By the way, did anybody see this article in the East Bay Express: Is SF Bay Fished-Out.  I'd be interested to hear what the MFN readership has to say on this subject.  I think they got the numbers right on sturgeon that's for sure.  40-60 hours per fish? Although if they were going on my success rate it would be more like 500-1000 hours per fish.

I'm all ready for the herring to do their thing but they won't comply. I keep getting misleading reports. "Pelicans diving in Islais Creek!" (Can I make a request to all my beloved MFN operatives out there: please do not call me at 7AM to report 3 pelicans diving in Islais Creek, Okay?  Three pelicans diving is not newsworthy. In fact it's not even Monkeyface Newsworthy!  There's been a very scattered school of sardines stuck in there for two months. Like scattered to the tune of 4 hours per fish.  Thanks but no thanks. Just to be clear: call me when there's twenty pelicans diving, not three).

A-hem.  Speaking of sardines... thanks to Chris Karney, (shining my shoes below) stand-up comic, escape artist, magician, squirrel eater, Iowan, cardshark, loudmouth, and film historian, I now have a cheat sheet to help make my trips to Le Video more fruitful. As per Karney's suggestion I checked out the Barbara Stanwyk vehicle, Clash By Night last night.  Despite the ponderous, over-written and implausible screenplay by Odets (sorry, we here at the MFN center for the re-examination of American literature, aren't the biggest Odets fans--I mean really, Golden Boy? Waiting For Lefty?  These are two of the most overrated plays in the history of theater).  Where was I?  Oh right. Despite the miserable screenplay by Odets, Stanwyck and Ryan shine through.  Really there's never been a guy who could play a beady eyed, highly threatening scumbag like Ryan, and Barbara Stanwyk.  All I can say is eeek!   And then of course this very sexy blonde chick, working the converyor belt at the sardine cannery.  Totally believable by the way.  Great casting. Not in anyway implausible.  I'm sure there were lots of platinum blonde, sex symbols working in factories all over the country, right?

 

Monkeyface News #3 & #4

 

So I have now sold 30 MFN #4s and about 24 MFN #3s. The special bonus price is now officially over (and so too I imagine my sales). From this point on 15.75 bucks will get you MFN #4 plus a free bait/perch guide thrown in. $23.00 will get you MFN#3, #4 plus a free bait/perch guide.  

Herring

 

And so... I am off!  I will scour the perimeter of the city looking for birds, touching base with my stealthy operatives, scraping stones for eggs.... Attempting to locate the inimitable C. Palassi.  More on this tomorrow... Oh yeah, before I go, here's a great film still of that platinum blonde sardine cannery worker looking right at home on the assembly line.

 

                                                    Marilyn does her best

 

Okay that's it gotta go.  More tomorrow.

 

--Kirk-out

Comments

[neversat]

Kirk, I thoroughly enjoy your discussions on baitfish, but I would value your opinions on Salmon. The loudest voices in the discussion all seem to have an axe to grind. I don’t want to hear from commercial fisherman or farmers about issues like salmon and the delta, I want to hear from balanced and educated sources like the MFN.

I’m really enjoying reading my hard copies of the MFN #3 and #4. They are well worth the price. You are a good writer. You should publish a book!

[Northern Boy]

I caught my first legal Sturgeon in my 61st hour of trying. My first undersize about 8 hours before that.

Speaking of fish which are small, tasty and occasionally plentiful in SF Bay.... no sand dabs again this year?

[PK]

Kirk, I recieved MFN #'s 3 & 4. Fantastic! Although had to read # 3 with a disecting microscope. Thank you so much.
While Le Video is great, I hope you know you live right next to 4 star video, owned by The Shelves. Not fisherpeople, but local musicians and great people.