Springtime & Fried Onions
Crispy Fried Fish with Crispy Fried Onions Caramelized
28 May 12-26, 2017 VOL. 36 • ISS. 11
INGREDIENTS
• 2-3 Fish fillets( rockfish, snapper, etc)
• 1 C mayonnaise
• 1 / 2 tsp. sweet & hot mustard
• 1 / 2 Can French’ s Crispy
Fried Onions Caramelized
• 3 Tbsp. butter
• 1 / 4 tsp Lawry’ s California Onion Powder
• 1 Tbsp. Kraft grated Parmesan cheese
• Olive oil spray
COOKIN ' YER CATCH by Paulette
FRESHWATER
Nor-Cal Guides And Sportsmen’ s Association Striper Derby Produces Big Numbers Of Bass
Ihad the pleasure of spending Saturday April 22 on the Feather River with Captain Manny of MSJ Guide Service, his deckhand Justin and clients James Chabiel and his two sons Dom and Kaleb.
James and the boys were participating in the Nor-Cal Guides And Sportsmen’ s Association( NCGASA) Striper Derby while I was along to document the trip with photos and video.
When we arrived at the Yuba City launch ramp to drop Manny’ s big jet boat into the Feather, there was quite a line of rigs ahead of us, but most of them were pro guides. As a result, things went smoothly and we were soon in the water motoring up river with a bunch of shiners in the live bait tank and stripers on our minds.
The river was running big, somewhat muddy and cold with a temperature in the lower fifties. I knew that there were lots of fish in the system, but the conditions weren’ t yet optimum.
While most guides had been getting limits and near limits, the wide-open striper after striper action that we often experience during the month of April had yet to materialize. That sort of action is going to take place once the water temperature inches up into the upper 50’ s.
Captain Manny knows his stuff and has an intimated knowledge of the river. When confronted with sluggish, scattered bass he always seemed to be one step ahead of the fish.
The focus was getting Dom and Kaleb on their first ever stripers and in the end, they landed plenty of them. Kaleb lead off with a shaker and a keeper before Dom
The rains this year sure have been something else! Wow! Our local creeks swelled up and took grand chunks of the hillsides away with them; yet, now here in spring time, I’ m delighted by the abundance of wild plants.
I was delirious with joy to see two Killdeers returning to the gravel where the city tore down a pre-fab office that had chased them away for a couple of years. My clematis vines and roses are going wild and I just planted some tomato and Fresno pepper plants.,
As a child, I remember walking over the Oroville Dam, wondering why they had to build it. Why did our favorite spot by the river up near Paradise have to be 20 feet underwater now? But, as time went by, I got used to it.
Imagine our surprise when we heard recently that our“ tallest dam in the United States” was not only shoddily built; but some of our towns almost got washed away this past winter. I think of that
got in on the action too. After that we picked away at a variety of different spots, landing a mix of keepers and shakers and James even got in on the action, landing a 23 inch bass that proved to be our big fish of the day.
It was a pleasure watching those boys introduced to the great game fish known as the striped bass and it was satisfying participating in an event focused on enhancing our fisheries. We ended the day with 5 quality keeper bass and probably brought two dozen fish to the boat throughout the trip.
I’ ll be out with Captain Manny soon, and I’ m looking for some readers to join in on the fun. I’ ll talk more about that upcoming trip at the end of this piece.
The first annual NCGASA striper derby was a target length affair with a top prize of $ 1,500. The target length for the day was 26.5 inches.
Darrin Deel took the top spot, Tim Thomas anchored second and Jeff Weber filled out the top three finishers.
About The NCGASA
The NCGASA is an organization that brings guides and sportsmen together to protect and increase hunting and fishing opportunities in Northern California! They work closely with many other conservation organizations to make sure our children and grandchildren have more fish and game.
The organization acts as a powerful voice to represent all people who use Northern California’ s waterways and lands. Fishermen who use our rivers have the
Springtime & Fried Onions
song“ Louisiana” by Randy Newman.“ They’ re trying to wash us away.”
Jerry Brown’ s dad was governor in 1961, when they first broke land on the dam; and, now, Governor Brown wants to divert water to Los Angeles through his tunnels plan. Like the pre-fab, I hope that plan goes away.
I was at the store the other day and this young man was making tuna sandwiches as part of a display. Was he trying to sell French’ s Crispy Fried Onions?
I don’ t know.. But, it worked! I was hungry and he said,‘ Yes mam! These onions add a real nice crunch to this here tuna, mayo, and Dijon mustard.”. I felt inspired. I grabbed myself a can and now I made some recipes using them. He’ s right. They do taste good in mayonnaise and with fish.
James Chabiel and sons Dom and Kaleb spanked a bunch of Feather River stripers while fishing the NCGASA derby on May 5. Photo by CAL KELLOGG, Fish Sniffer Staff most experience and knowledge on what’ s truly happening to our rivers and lakes. Hunters who use our lands daily have the most knowledge on our lands and it’ s needs. Together, NCGASA represents the voice of all northern California hunters and anglers.
The Fish Sniffer Magazine has joined the organization and I encourage all of our readers to do so as well.
To joint up or for more information go to NCGASA. Net
Crispy Fried Fish with Crispy Fried Onions Caramelized
INGREDIENTS
• 3 / 4 lb very thin and small size fish fillets
• 1 egg, beaten
• Lemon pepper & favorite fish seasoning
• 2 C French’ s Crispy Fried Caramelized onions, crushed
• Oil for frying
DIRECTIONS
You can take a large piece of wax paper and a rolling pin or use a food processor or blender to crush the crispy onions. Lay out another piece of wax paper and dip each thin fillet into the egg; let drip; then, lay it onto the crushed onions, pressing the onions into the fish so it sticks.
Heat the oil to medium high in a skillet and quickly brown each side. The crumbs will brown quickly; so, this is why I highly recommend very thin fillets. I wouldn’ t use this with thick fish; although, if you oven fried it, that might work out fine. Serves 2
Broiled Fish with Crispy Fried Onions Caramelized
Join Cal Kellogg For A Spring Striper Adventure
Fish Sniffers! Based on what I saw last Saturday, the striper fishing in both the Feather and Sacramento Rivers should do nothing but get better and better for the next several weeks.
Captain Manny and I have looked at our schedules and we are going to join up for a striper trip on Friday, May 5. The fishing promises to be outstanding. We’ ll be drifting minnows and / or casting lures, based on the conditions.
DIRECTIONS
Heat a broiler. Melt the butter in a small bowl in the microwave. Then, sprinkle in the Kraft parmesan cheese and the onion powder and stir in. Spray the broiler pan with olive oil spray. In another bowl, combine the mayonnaise wit the mustard and gently fold in the onions.
Lay the fish fillets on the pan and brush with half the butter solution. Run the fish under the broiler for a couple of minutes. Then, turn over, brush again and run under broiler for another minute.
Remove and spoon the mayonnaise mixture on top of each fillet and run back under the broiler until the topping has browned and melted( but, isn’ t burning). Remove to plates and enjoy. Serves 2.
If you have any questions, comments, recipes or cooking tips to share, feel free to contact Paulette or Cookin’ Yer Catch; C / O The Fish Sniffer; PO Box 776; Colfax, CA 95714-0776 or email me at cookcatch @ gmail. com.