Kids + Panfish = Extreme Fun!!

[Buschy]

While I am waiting on confirmation of my antelope rifle tag in NM, I thought I would post a few pics from last weekend!

My dad is retired and lives on a fantastic fishing lake in Minnesota. Jakey, Julia and I packed up and headed there to get in on some of the fishing. The kids are fishing junkies and can't get enough. It's no secret the good Lord created panfish with kids in mind. There is no better way to spend a day than watching them do battle and untangling an occassional line.

Because I have a sister who loves to fish, but refuses to tie a hook on her line, touch any kind of worm or minnow and will not remove fish from the hook, I have taken great pains to make sure my daughter is self-sufficient when it comes to fishing. The only problem was when we caught a small pike and she tried to stick her thumb in it's mouth to hold it up. Ouch! I got chewed out for not telling her pike have a mouth full of nasty teeth. I reminded her she has caught lots of pike over the years and has never seen me stick my thumb in their mouth. That didn't seem to help. Grandpa telling her I did the same thing when I was a kid and explaining, in detail, the story of prying a pike off of my thumb did seem to raise her spirits though. The experience left her no worse for wear. We taped up her thumb and she was back at it in a few minutes. I bet that doesn't happen again any time soon!



Off the dock with grandpa



Jakey's bass



Even the crappies were cooperating



Another big one!



Saturday's catch.



Fishing out of the boat produced as well!





Sunday's catch



Catching turtles and having them pee all over you is a fun diversion.



We also had to get in some shooting practice.




A great weekend and a pile of fish for the smoker.

 

[Big Fin]

Very cool Buschy. Any kid that gets a chance to do that is hooked for life. Sunnies on their spawning beds in early June is more fun than should be allowed under the realms of legality and morality.

Now the pike thing - that had to hurt. Glad she was back at it in short order.

Who got to clean all those crappies and sunnies? They are worth the effort to clean, when you pan fry them the same day.

I will be back at our cabin in a month, and hope my brother has sacked up a big mess of sunnies. crappies, and walleyes for me, upon my arrival.

 

[Buschy]

Big Fin,

I spent a fair amount of time scaling and gutting every fish. I didn't mind a bit. When they soak in brine and are smoked, they turn out absolutely fabulous.

 

[highmountian]

Seeing kids smile like that is priceless, thanks for sharing!

 

[Big Slick]

The big smiles are Awesome!

 

[Dinkshooter]

Once again on a Bushy outting, Julia is meaner and tougher than me. I don't touch Northerns with 10 ft pole. yeeks.

 

[Moosie]

AWESOME !!! I still remember my younger years in Louisiana fishing the BAyou's and Catching Perch and turtles. Good times and great pics !

 

[hardscrabble]

Thanks for sharing Buschy. Looks like it was a fun weekend!

 

[Sytes]

Great time! Kids and crappie/perch fishin are a great time!

 

[elk_hunter]

That's awesome, Buschy! Thanks for the story and pics!

 

[IdahoBugler]

Great pics and beautiful family. That looks like a bunch of good eats right there.

 

[cornfed]

Nice pictures.family,fishing and great weather what more could you ask for?

 

[schmalts]

that is some fine eating and fun there!

 

[JoseCuervo]

Buschy,

Can you share your process/recipe for smoking the crappie/panfish???

I am planning to put the hurt on some in the next few days...

 

[noharleyyet]

Seeing kids smile like that is priceless, thanks for sharing!

....you bet, my thoughts exactly.

 

[Buschy]

Jose,

Here is how I have always smoked my fish. They have always turned out great!!


Step 1

Brine fish using the following recipe:

1 quart water
½ cup non-iodized salt
½ cup sugar
3 ounces rum
1 ounce lemon juice
3 sections garlic
3 tablespoons pickling spice
¼ teaspoon lemon pepper
3 bay leaves

Mix all ingredients until dissolved. Add fish to brine for 8-12 hours.


Step 2

Remove fish from brine and lightly rinse each piece under cold water. Gently pat dry and lay pieces on paper towel to air dry for one hour (After one hour you will notice the fish has a glazed film on it. This is a normal result of the fish soaking in the brine).


Step 3

If you are using an electric smoker, preheat for 15 minutes, then load fish into the smoker. Add your favorite woodchips to the chip pan. Add wood chips every other hour for six hours (depending on how much smoke taste you want.) Thick chunks one inch or more should take between 6-8 hours. To cut down on smoking time, remove skin from the fish before putting them in the brine, then put in cheese cloth after the brine process (this helps get rid of fish oils faster and cuts your smoking time by about 25%.

I prefer to remove the head/guts and scale the fish, then smoke them whole. Let me know what you think if you try it!

 

[JoseCuervo]

Jose,

Here is how I have always smoked my fish. They have always turned out great!!


Step 1

Brine fish using the following recipe:

1 quart water
½ cup non-iodized salt
½ cup sugar
3 ounces rum
1 ounce lemon juice
3 sections garlic
3 tablespoons pickling spice
¼ teaspoon lemon pepper
3 bay leaves

Mix all ingredients until dissolved. Add fish to brine for 8-12 hours.


Step 2

Remove fish from brine and lightly rinse each piece under cold water. Gently pat dry and lay pieces on paper towel to air dry for one hour (After one hour you will notice the fish has a glazed film on it. This is a normal result of the fish soaking in the brine).


Step 3

If you are using an electric smoker, preheat for 15 minutes, then load fish into the smoker. Add your favorite woodchips to the chip pan. Add wood chips every other hour for six hours (depending on how much smoke taste you want.) Thick chunks one inch or more should take between 6-8 hours. To cut down on smoking time, remove skin from the fish before putting them in the brine, then put in cheese cloth after the brine process (this helps get rid of fish oils faster and cuts your smoking time by about 25%.

I prefer to remove the head/guts and scale the fish, then smoke them whole. Let me know what you think if you try it!

Buschy,

Outstanding was how it turned out.....

I scaled, gutted, and cut heads/tails off and then stuck them in the brine.

I modified your brine by........ not actually measuring anything as I was tired after cleaning fish, so I just kind of dumped what looked like the right proportions.

Also, I can't stand Dill Pickles, so after reading that "Pickling Spices" includes Dill, I omitted the pickling spices.

I also didn't have any Bay Leaves, so scratch them...

I did add some crushed Red Pepper Flakes.

Everybody that has tried the ones we smoked loved them.

 

[Buschy]

Jose,

I am pleased to hear it worked out. This is one of the reasons I make it a priority to get to my dad's place at least once the end of may or beginning of June.