Posted on 09/06/2017 4:04:03 PM PDT by Western Phil
HOW TINY BATH ON THE ILLINOIS RIVER TURNED AN INVASIVE-SPECIES INTO A NATIONAL TOURNAMENT By Becca Fanning, Video by Austin Keating and Becca Fanning, Aug. 23, 2017 Randy Stockham turned the throttle, his left arm braced as he dodged an airborne fish and steered around a fallen tree to catch the lead boat. With 10 minutes left in the first heat of this years Redneck Fishing Tournament, his team was on track to bring home the gold.
In the boat, Stockhams crew worked in sync, knees bent and nets in the air as hundreds of Asian carp leapt from the river, hitting trees, the sides of boats and occasionally landing with a thud on the floor next to him.
We call the first heat the blood heat. Thats when you put your A team in, Stockman said.
And 90 percent of the time, the first heat is going to be the overall winning heat. The fish havent been upset yet. So theyre surprised when all of these boats come at them.
Stockhams crew won the first heat with a catch of 124 fish, far ahead of the second place team
.... snip ....
The Redneck Fishing Tournament has attracted participants from as far away as New York, Germany and Canada. This year, participants caught and removed 2,729 Asian carp from the river, 579 from Stockhams boat.
As Stockhams team hauled their buckets full of Asian carp to the judges table, he stayed behind, stepping over dead carp and gathering broken nets to prepare for the next heat.
As long as Im physically able and Betty holds the tournament, then Ill be here, he said.
Looks like good shot gunning , but for the crowd.
That must be right. I recall Mother cut sort of a crosshatch pattern on them. I ate them fairly often and never even a hint of a bone.
Didn’t Squanto tell the Pilgrims to put a fish with each corn seed kernel?
Yep. Only took me 50 years to remember that.
BUT WE DONT WANT ASIAN CARP!
No catch and release for the carp
As I understand it will be just like salmon patties.
The best way to fry fish is with cornmeal, salt, black and red pepper. No egg wash or garlic ..... Simple is Best.
Thay’re very good. Asian carp have very tasty flesh compared to the common carp.
What they have is a bad name...because it brings to mind old “trash fish” common carp.
Different species of carp than what is discussed here.
Try just dipping your catfish in milk and then into House of Autry's seasoned seafood breader [or season the moist fish with salt, pepper, paprika or red pepper, and a little pinch of garlic... and dredge in Masa corn meal which is a fine meal... or even corn flour.] Fry in a just enough oil to go halfway up the fillet... then flip. Makes a very delicate light thin coat, not like the thick bready stuff.
Or saute fillets that have been coated with mayonnaise and seasoned.
For folks who like a medium coating or when using fish that came from murky water, dredge the fish in buttermilk, then seasoned corn meal mix.
And for a thick crunchy coating dredge the fish in corn starch, then buttermilk, then seasoned corn meal mix.
I don't like catfish in beer batter at all because it is too tender, and it is so perfect with corn meal why not just use it. Tilapia is good with either, and both are good jsut coated with mayo, seasoned and pan fried in an iron skillet with no breading at all. But Asian carp would likely be very good in beer batter or tempura as its texture is more like tilapia but its flavor is lighter.
I know. We’re discussing American carp, cousin to the Buffalo and gold fish, I think. Carp us delicious but way too many bones.
Though somewhat similar looking because of the large scales, none of them are related to the three Buffalo species here, which are native suckers. I've caught bigmouth buffalo up in a deep lake near St Louis on a home-made anise doughball just under the surface and it was really good.
When I caught my first bigmouth buffalo, the folks around me told me it was a trash fish full of bones so I kept it for the cat. When I got home I thought I'd try to fry it up and see for myself just in case. It was not a trash fish at all, it was excellent, so the cat only got the head. The bones were not a problem at all... maybe because it was only about a 3 pounder.
I never cared much for "American" carp. Caught a great big 4 ft grass carp on a treble hook with a green grape once and had a blast bringing it in on a 2lb line... was tempted to cook it and see if it was any good for food but it was so late in the day I just let it go.
Can't go fishing these days because I'm talking care of someone and if he can't go I can't go...but I do miss it.
I grew up eating carp and buffalo. I meant to say Koi, by the way. You can filet a large Buffalo and not have a lot of bones. We didn’t ‘cause back then Country folks where I grew up apparently didn’t know how to filet a fush. And like you said, delicious!
I have koi. They are a form of carp.
I bought them on clearance at PetSmart for about $4 each.
A person knowledgeable in koi came over and looked at them once. I knew that there are many different subclasses of koi; the Japanese are very specific about them.
Thus I was excited to have an expert look at them. Were they of the Kawarimono strain, or were they perhaps GinRin Kohaku?
The guy looked them and said “I think they’re just carp”.
As an aside, the hurricane did not mess them up. If anything, it enervated them. Maybe because all their water was replaced by new water.
That being said, I do like some things cooked in more oil than I usually use, deep fried anything so I hardly ever use it. But have. And like fish about any way to cook them, battered and fried in a lot of oil is one.
My mother always cooked in corn meal. I would rather have it mixed with some flour. I have a mixture of corn meal, flour and cracker crumbs waiting to be used up at the moment. Catfish are too darn expensive, I don't like the nuggets, and the other fish I can get is expensive but sometimes for a treat if I like it.
Incidentally, fish are one of the things I don't like cooking with any garlic but I do like garlic on certain things and some shrimp is as well as a scallop recipe I've done, needs a little garlic. And I don't do beer batter or beer anything, hate it but got a can to make a trap for some horrid black little flies that are so fast, bigger than fruit flies. It helped but I ended up putting various bait in the back hall, shutting the cat up so he wouldn't go down to the basement, let the flies collect, and blasted them with bug spray (said could be used indoors and scented, used a mask anyway), then shut the door and for good measure, put a rolled rug along the bottom. After about three tries, I got them to where I have only seen one or two and keep everything clean and put away that attracts them. Which you didn't need to know. But might want to know if you get them as bad as I had them.
I got some masa but never used it and those pesky moths have bored into the package. I should have frozen it for 3 days and sealed it in something. So I'm going to have to throw that out. I got it to make San Antonio style puffy crispy taco shells.
My fish I like the way I devised several years ago. I mostly bake it in a combo of butter and margarine. Now I save time by melting it in my glass baking pan in the oven, melting them together, and roll whatever fish I'm cooking in it; sometimes it's a potpourri of different kinds of fish.
I flavor with Old Bay more recently before it was Lawry's seasoned salt, paprika, fines herbes which are about gone will have to figure out my own most distinctive flavor and smell in it is thyme. Then I top with some dried parsley flakes for color and put a little water in the pan to make steam (so I don't have to baste them which I used to do halfway through). And a huge plus is I can put them in the pan after shaking the rinse water off and don't have to waste paper towels patting them dry. I have cooked a whole salmon that way and somebody who was here went nuts over it. Couldn't afford one now.
Once in awhile I use dill instead of the fines herbes and now Chef John says to use fresh tarragon for seafood but I'd have to buy that and never use all that stuff up if I do. Don't suggest I freeze it, don't want to mess with it.
I like Long John Silver's, too, but their place burned so I'm waiting for it to reopen. It's not good for you, it's greasy (but they get all the mess) but I don't like their cod but do like their triangle pieces and get a side of clams or crabcakes. I love their hushpuppies, too. And I buy enough to heat in the oven the next day. I know a real fish lover would have disdain for that but when I need a fish fix, it hits the spot.
I could try the crunchy fish though and if I find some oil that I won't end up letting go stale because I have too much stuff, I can try the crunchy version.
But simple is best, LJS when I don't have any fish or feel like washing my big baking dish, or my baked fish. I always try to have a fresh lemon on hand and like to squeeze wedges on mine after cooking but before eating.
I never had anybody to give me any fish and we live on a huge river where catfish rule. I wouldn't like to have to kill them though. If there were enough, I would gut, skin and clean them if I knew how and had the right knife. I don't fish any more, never did much but sure wanted to, since we were in a boat on a lake in MN, I caught a sunfish that was too little to keep, and I ripped it's throat badly trying to get the hook out. It made me sick and I've never forgotton it. But I did thread the worm on the hook, kind of distasteful but necessary.
OMG what have I done? This post is way too long. Those damn moths hatched out of bird seed I keep so I need to find something to store that in where they can't get loose in the house somehow.
Done. Fini. Amen.
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