Do you like Fish'n?

Smoked Coho Salmon-

Combine the following in a food-grade plastic bucket:

2 quarts water

1 cup Kosher salt

1/2 cup brown sugar

2t seasoned salt

2t shrimp spice

(double or triple the brine recipe depending on the amount of fish to be smoked)

Add fish fillets, top with a ceramic plate to fully submerge the fillets, snap the lid on the  bucket and store in the garage for a day and a half.

Remove fillets, rinse and pat dry. 

Smoke over soaked apple wood chips for a couple of hours - recharging the chips halfway through the process.

This will freeze nicely for the holidays if you vacuum seal it with a FoodSaver.

Awesome!

A bit late but worth the wait. 

Just-picked sweet corn along with a mess of Wisconsin pan fish and you have a formula for terrific eating.

But I digress.

The garden is producing record quantities of green beans.

The tomato infection was resolved by picking and discarding all of the sick fruit.  

So far, personal consumption has matched tomato production. 

BLTs. 

Tomato snacks. 

Omelets with tomatoes and Feta cheese. 

Tomatoes with baby mozzarella and basil.

You get the picture.

When the Roma plants kick it into high gear I'll be shifting into salsa and pasta sauce mode.

The pickle bin is filling

Cantaloupes are coming on-line.

There is even this psychedelic kale.

Tom

There is an old saying about a bad day of fishing being better than a good day at work.  I'm not so sure about that since I happen to love both.

A foolish man might confuse his priorities and venture out on the water with a fishing rod in one hand and his PDA in the other and attempt to multi-task both the day job and the angling; the result of which is mediocre performance of both.

A word of advice-

Leave the infernal device in the cabin or the first mate might just toss it in the lake the next time you miss setting the hook on a strike.

If you are going to fish - stick to the fishing.

The usual group of suspects recently reconvened for an extended period of time on the water and some male bonding.

Small fish (Click on any picture to enlarge) -

Medium fish-

Big fish-

Really big fish-

No fish-

Fishing, buddies and plenty of yucks.  Testosterone-fueled adventures.

Some say this is a man's life. 

Absent a common thread that binds none of us ever hazarded a chance of meeting - much less forming a friendship.

Any guesses?

Tom

The Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters held their annual Conservation Lobby Day in Madison on Wednesday.

As an avid hunter, fisherman and conservationist this stuff is important so I took the day-off to become a citizen lobbyist.

No tassel-toed loafers or martini-infused parties.  No pay or pay-off.  

I met-up with a bunch of folks that were from the 5th Senate District and both the 13th and neighboring Assembly Districts.

This included many Tosans I've come to know over the years.  One new friend was a recently retired conservation warden.  We compared notes on Dakota pheasant hunting. 

I ran into friends from other parts of the state that were there representing various hunting, fishing and woodland organizations.  

What we have in common is we hunt, fish and vote.  It is refreshing to see so many people who care so much about Wisconsin's resources take a day out of their lives to drive-home that point.. 

The crowd included a mix of suits, business casual, cammo, boots and jeans.

I was looking forward to meeting with Senator Jim Sullivan and Representative David Cullen and the opportunity to share my views. 

The League had previously scheduled time for our group to meet with them.  Very cool.

A similar foray a couple of years ago was disappointing. 

My attempt to hold a conversation with the previous State Senator could be described as...er, let's just say it was akin to trying to carry-on a conversation with a stump - but I digress.

This year's attendance was lighter as the previous night's blizzard cut into the travel of attendees from the further reaches of the state.

There was the usual welcome and preliminaries.

The Lieutenant Governor, Barbara Lawton, stopped by to visit.

She claimed she knows how to pee in the woods just like the rest of us.

Discussion and strategy followed.

I was chosen to speak to legislators about the Hunter, Trapper, Angler Bill of Rights.

Over the past number of years management of Wisconsin's natural resources has become increasingly politicized.  A handful of examples include nonsense such as an attempt to allow the snowmobile lobby to dictate the Wisconsin deer season framework. The committee chair happened to be tight with their lobbyist.  Or legislators raiding the Stamp Fund accounts; plugging holes in the state budget by stealing segregated funds voluntarily paid by hunters and anglers for turkey, pheasant and great lakes fish.

That stinks.

So, I took the opportunity to lobby for the restoration of the appointment authority for the DNR Secretary to the Natural Resources Board (NRB)  - reconciliation of Senate Bill 15 and Assembly Bill 504 if it passes.

I asked for support of Senate Bill 422, requiring that the state Senate vote on NRB nominees within six months of their nomination.  Stop playing games with the nominees and allow them a straight up and down vote.

With a weakening economy, budget forecasts aren't very promising, so there's a good chance some legislator is going to be drooling with anticipation over the prospects of swiping funds for a pet project outdoors folks know nothing about.  I lobbied for the support of Assembly Joint Resolution 34 which would prohibit transfer of funds from sportsman's and sportswoman's stamp accounts.

On this matter - hunters and anglers had best be vigilant.

We had a satisfying visit with Senator Sullivan.

He knows his stuff and appeared supportive of issues we discussed.  (It is possible we ran over into the time alloted to the Beer Distributors - but that's OK - on he way out we assured them of our support for beer.)

Representative Cullen was absent and while he has a good voting record on these issues we were disappointed in having to meet with one of his aides.

The wrap-up included a wild game feed of bear, venison, raccoon, salmon and pheasant.

With my stomach growling I had to take a pass and get back to Tosa on other business.

I'll be following-up with Sullivan, Cullen and others on these and related issues.

Thanks to the more than 70 outdoor, wildlife and conservation groups that supported this event - especially the 15 organizations that sponsored the wild game feed. 

I'll be going back next year.

You might consider doing so yourself.

Tom

PS -

Contact your legislators and ask them to support adoption of the Great Lakes Compact.

If you wait until you hear the great sucking sound of our water going to the arid southwest it will be too late.

For Wisconsin it's an economic issue.

That's it. 

Vacation has come to an abrupt end. 

Back to the routine of work and workouts. 

Lunch time is workout time and I typically spend my noon hour at the gym.  Even-numbered days are treadmill and odd days are for resistance training. 

A half hour on the treadmill necessitates some reading material to pass the time.

Today I forgot a newspaper and had to improvise by drawing upon the eclectic selection of magazines off the gym's rack.

A copy of Boating - World's Largest Powerboat Magazine caught my eye.  Hmm... who doesn't like to look at and read about big boats?

As it turns out it was a decent read.  There was an in-depth review of the towing capabilities of my new GMC and lots and lots stories with pictures of big boats populated with curvaceous babes that obviously require boat loads of money to maintain.

One article in particular caught my eye.

I'm not making this up.  The readers of Boating know that they can "leave their inhibitions on shore".  

Apparently the latest trend to hit the big power boat scene is something last viewed in a strip club. 

According to the editor, dance poles are literally popping-up in boats across the United States.  As irrefutable proof of this he cited no less than authoritative celebrity clientèle like Paris Hilton, Jessica Alba and Carmen Electra. 

The company behind the craze believes that the poles are so popular on board because women can "get in a good off-shore workout while simultaneously unleashing their inner sex kitten". 

Poles can be custom colored to match your boat.

Imagine that.

I wonder how soon it will be before Cabelas adds this to their product line?

Tom