You know your garden has really gone to seed when...

[digitS']

Where were you and this yearly smelt run, Linn B?

I used to have a surf net, supposedly for catching smelt. 'Cept, the smelt would show up when I was salmon fishing and the net was miles away. We could snag enuf for dinner with the big treble hooks of the salmon lures - especially when we tied a couple more hooks on a foot or 2 above the lure .

Bullfrogs? I learned that a hook with some fabric wrapped around it and tossed at a frog would provoke him into biting at it. Those with more skills had a "gig" but either way looked a little cruel. Odd that cutting up a cabbage doesn't seem that way . . . swatting flies, hooking a fish, skewering a bullfrog, gunning down a deer, blasting a monkey . . . .

Steve

 

[vfem]

I've never tried it but corn smut is said to taste like truffles.

Wow... I found that stuff too, and I was grossed out it went to the compost quickly. I wouldn't have even offered it to the chickens. You had to go and say truffles?!

You know, I feel like you are just saying that to see if I'm crazy enough to go try it... like you dare me!!!?? hahahaha

 

[so lucky]

Where were you and this yearly smelt run, Linn B?

I used to have a surf net, supposedly for catching smelt. 'Cept, the smelt would show up when I was salmon fishing and the net was miles away. We could snag enuf for dinner with the big treble hooks of the salmon lures - especially when we tied a couple more hooks on a foot or 2 above the lure .

Bullfrogs? I learned that a hook with some fabric wrapped around it and tossed at a frog would provoke him into biting at it. Those with more skills had a "gig" but either way looked a little cruel. Odd that cutting up a cabbage doesn't seem that way . . . swatting flies, hooking a fish, skewering a bullfrog, gunning down a deer, blasting a monkey . . . .

Steve

It's just that the cabbage doesn't look back at you.

 

[Adambelmont321]

I also saw this once in my corn. And I didn't liked it all.

 

[hoodat]

Where were you and this yearly smelt run, Linn B?

I used to have a surf net, supposedly for catching smelt. 'Cept, the smelt would show up when I was salmon fishing and the net was miles away. We could snag enuf for dinner with the big treble hooks of the salmon lures - especially when we tied a couple more hooks on a foot or 2 above the lure .

Bullfrogs? I learned that a hook with some fabric wrapped around it and tossed at a frog would provoke him into biting at it. Those with more skills had a "gig" but either way looked a little cruel. Odd that cutting up a cabbage doesn't seem that way . . . swatting flies, hooking a fish, skewering a bullfrog, gunning down a deer, blasting a monkey . . . .

Steve

I love frog legs but you hardly ever see a bullfrog any more. All species of frogs all over the world are in decline and they still have no idea why. Your smelt story reminds me I'll have to look up when the next grunion run is. It's been a long time since I chased down any grunion. The out of state people act like you're trying to take them on a snipe hunt when you talk about grunion runs. It's hard to believe a fish would come up on the beach to spawn till you see it for yourself.

 

[Mickey328]

I don't actually "watch" much TV either; once I get into my recliner at the end of the day I seem to nod off pretty quickly. I did see something the other day though that made me think...not change my mind, but think. Evidently we're almost the only culture in the world that doesn't include at least some insects in their diet as a matter of course. Grossed me out (I have a bit of an "issue" with bugs to begin with). It seems to me that we tend to be almost too freaked out about "cleanliness" in a lot of ways. It seems we're at the extreme end of the pendulum swing. All this "antibiotic" stuff worries me...I can't even find liquid hand soap that is just soap. Seems to me that all we're doing is making our germs stronger and more resistant...which is why we end up with super germs that can't be killed. I mean...if so much of this stuff we battle was really fatal, how many of us would have made it past age 2?

While I draw the line at bugs (that "issue), I'll try different things. Often it's just a matter of getting over a mental block. For example, my mother was totally grossed out about the thought of eating beef tongue. One day, Grandma cooked some while she was away and served it to her for dinner. Not knowing what it was, she ate it and thought it delicious. And even after, when we told her what it was, she couldn't get over the notion and wouldn't ever eat it again. So, I try to sample things and decide whether I like it or not based on the taste. Not always successful...I don't think I could eat horse even if I tried it not knowing what it was and liking it. In my mind, they're just not food animals. I've had frog legs and loved them, I like snails too but don't indulge too often because of the expense. Truffles...yuck...just don't like the taste or the smell.

 

[Smart Red]

Where were you and this yearly smelt run, Linn B?

My family came from northern Wisconsin about 30 miles north of Green Bay. Every year during the smelt run on the Oconto River, the town of Oconto -- seat of Oconto County -- had a big festival.

I guess they took every opportunity to host a festival in Oconto. That's where I got my yearly 'fix' of turtle chowder. They had a pickle factory and pickle festival there, too.

The frog legs came from Seymour, Wisconsin where my aunt and uncle had a creek on their farm and her brother, Doug, kept the family in game. Yum! She made some of the best meals -- her fried squirrel was unbeatable -- at least in my memories!

Love, Smart Red

 

[journey11]

My husband grew up frog gigging and his mom used to make turtle soup from the big snappers they'd catch out of the ponds and creeks. I finally came around to where I'll at least cook a squirrel for him, but frogs and turtles are a no-go. I'm sure they are probably every bit as tasty as they are claimed to be, but I can't get past the thought of it.

 

[hoodat]

This site gives a lot of information on the history and recipes for cooking corn smut.
It may surprise you to learn that many specialty farmers in Mexico actively infect corn with smut and sell it as a gourmet food. Many Indian tribes still eat it as a delicacy.
http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/Articles/Mexican-Ingredients-1032/huitlacoche.aspx

 

[digitS']

Hopefully, Kate doesn't mind. This isn't me but shows what I had for the smelt. According to the picture info, the picture was taken at Gold Bluffs beach, a part of Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park.

A much bigger deal for me was salmon fishing in the Smith & Klamath rivers, something I did even before moving to California having, kinda, drifted downstream from Oregon . I guess I really know nothing about smelts in the Great Lakes or elsewhere. We always had to be just at the right place at just the right time for them on the coast. Actually, I did much better with a rod and the trout, Surfperch, and Starry flounders at Freshwater Lagoon .

Squirrel dinner is something I associate with my dad going deer hunting. They tried to make us kids believe it was venison. . . . did the same with the wild plums .

Steve