Well its been quite a season so far. Hit and miss.. great opening but now the warm water is getting harder to find. We’ve been out of computer range for a while but now we lost the hydraulics on the last run, so time to get all the action together for a big world newspaper blog post right while the boat is getting a fix yeah? Ahem ..
A certain Captain *lost* at least 2 gigs of albacore video off the SD cards from this season. Well he’s been busy and we’re pretty sure either it got some bacon drippings on it so could well be the dog ate it or maybe baby Hannah munched it down .. we’re checking the diapers. Like Capt Tyler said ” F*ing things need to be 5″ square like the good old days” — true but the camera would also be 10 inches wide and weigh 30 lbs!!
Oregon’s clams specifically the use of gaper clams or razor clams distinguishes Oregon’s Clam Chowder from other well known styles of clam chowders. Oregon’s Clam Chowder is based on the uniquely delicate flavor of gaper clams or razor clams. The blend of the quahog or cherry stone clams plus the other ingredients of the traditional New England or Manhattan clam chowders cannot compare to the delicate flavor of the gaper clams or razor clams that make our clam chowder uniquely Oregon’s Clam Chowder. I hope your family and friends enjoy Oregon’s Clam Chowder as much as my family and friends have. Bill
Each spring my wife and I debate how to cook the first limits of razor clams we have dug. She loves crème based Oregon’s Clam Chowder as much as I love fried razor clams. I prepare the clam chowder using two limits of razor clams but it works just as well with one limit or a limit of bay clams (gaper, Martha Washington, cockles or softshell clams. I prefer the delicate flavor of gaper clams for my clam chowder.
Posted by Webmaster on Aug 26, 2009 in In The News
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — About 20 beluga whales that became stranded in mud during a low tide over the weekend have apparently freed themselves, bringing relief to biologists who have been closely monitoring their plight.
Two federal biologists flew over the area Monday and found no sign of stranded or dead whales, but quite a few of the whales swimming freely.
“We saw a lot of alive belugas but we did not see any dead, floating or beached whales,” said Barbara Mahoney, a National Marine Fisheries Service biologist who went looking for the whales Monday morning.
The whales were spotted by a pilot Saturday afternoon wallowing in a large mud hole. They were spotted again, still stuck, a couple of hours later.
Pictures taken on Saturday indicated the whales dug a hole in the mud when they got stranded on mud flats off the Birchwood area north of Anchorage, Mahoney said. All the whales were in the mud hole, except one that was lying on hard mud.
The stranding occurred during an abnormally low tide. Mahoney thinks the whales were likely stuck for several hours or more.
“They were just caught at the wrong place at the wrong time,” she said.
Mahoney said it looks like the whales wiggled around in the mud before all the water was gone and were able to create a small pool for themselves. The water helps keep the animals cool, she said.
This time of year, the belugas chase silver salmon in the area.
Mass strandings are one of the biggest threats to the Cook Inlet belugas, which are listed as endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act. Adult male beluga whales are typically up to 15 feet long and weigh 3,000 pounds, exhibiting several vocalizations including squeaks and whistles.
SAN PEDRO, Calif. — If the tide is high, the weather is warm, the clock is approaching midnight and the beach you’re standing on is in Southern California, it’s a given that romance is in the air — or the water. In these parts, it’s a time for grunion love.
The California grunion does something no other fish on the planet is known to do. It surfs a wave right out of its world and into ours. Then it plops itself down on the sand to lay and fertilize its eggs before waiting patiently for another big wave to carry it home.
The face of crabbing from docks is changing. Folding crab traps are proving to be more than just a novelty. Their use is finding favor with local crabbers. Using wheel barrows and hand trucks to move crab gear onto the dock is a thing of the past. All you need is three folding crab traps, a 5 gallon bucked and 15 chicken legs.
It does not require much time to take a limit of sweet succulent Dungeness crabs using three folding crab traps when the crabs are in the bay. I used one folding crab trap to take 3 Dungeness crabs from the Old Coast Guard pier in Winchester Bay. Bill
The 10th-Annual Coos Basin Amateur Salmon Derby will be held Sept. 12 and 13 on the Coos River in Coos Bay.
Tickets cost $20, and can be purchased at England Marine in Charleston, Bite’s on Tackle Shop, Coos Bay Marine and Y Marina in Empire, and BNT in Coos Bay. Tickets also can be purchased the day of the derby at Eastside, California Street (North Bend) and Dora’s Place boat ramps. Free tickets for children ages 16 and under will be available at any of the boat ramps on the day of the derby.
A total of $1,000 in prize money will be distributed among first through fourth places and the biggest fish in the Junior Division.
Proceeds go toward the Salmon Trout Enhancement Program in Coos County.
For more information, call the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife at 888-5515 or Valerie Pena at 759-2709.
My fellow clam diggers: Many of you have expressed interest in butter clams. The information in the attached PDF file answers many of your questions. A limit of Butter clams will satisfy the requirements of most recipes. The most productive digging occurs in Coos Bay and Netarts Bay.
Butter clams (Saxidomus giganteus) are relatively scarce in some of Oregon’s bays but are common in Coos Bay, Netarts Bay and Tillamook Bay. Butter clams are also known as Martha Washington, Quahog and Coney Island clam or because of the color of its flesh beefsteak clams.
Butter clam beds are exposed during a minus tide. An oblong or an irregular shaped show often compared to the tip of a slotted screw driver 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch long reveals the butter clam 6 to 12 inches beneath the sand, sandy mud gravel or gravelly substrate in the tidal flats and adjacent to rocky areas and riprap sea walls. Butter clams are often stained black from iron sulfates To dig butter clams insert a bamboo stick into the show and gently tap once forcing the clam to retract its neck into the shell. Using a floral or razor clam shovel, carefully dig a hole next to the clam to avoid breaking its shell peeling away the sand exposing the clam. In areas where butter clam shows are numerous continue enlarging the original hole using a shovel and a cockle rake to reveal additional clams. Serve the smaller butter clams as steamer clams and the larger ones in prepared clam dishes. Butter clams are excellent when served fried whole or as clam strips, but clam chowder, clam fettuccine or clam casino made from butter clams is exceptional.
Clams Casino with Butter Clams
Traditional recipes call for broiling the clams with herb butter consisting of blending a roasted seeded red pepper, green bell pepper, 2 cloves of minced garlic, the juice of a lemon and a chopped sprig of Italian parsley. Fold the blended mixture into 1 pound of room temperature unsalted butter. Salt to taste and refrigerate. Cover the clams with a tablespoon of the herb butter and a one inch square piece of the raw bacon. Broil at 425 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes.
Clams Casino is a dish that is only limited by you imagination that can be served with a variety of ingredients. You’ll need a limit (20 clams) of butter clams, a pound of thin sliced Bacon, a pound of your cheese of choice, a small can of whole green chilies and, a bunch of fresh green cilantro and some freshly prepared salsa.
I prefer the mild flavor of Monterey Jack Cheese. Buy a 2 pound brick of cheese to ensure that there is ample cheese available. The amount of the ingredients used depends on the size of the clams. Fry the bacon and break it into small pieces.
Grate one half of the Cheese and set aside. Open the small can of green chilies.
Rinse and pat the chilies dry. Chop the green chilies into medium pieces and set aside. Medium chop 1/3 of a cup the leafy portion of the fresh green cilantro and set aside.
Clean the butter clams by scrubbing the clams with a stiff bristle brush. Rinse the clams in cold running water. Split the clam in half using a large knife.
Set the clam on a cutting board hinge side down. Center the knife lengthwise in the small gap between the clam’s shells. Press down with just enough force to cut through the clam cutting through the abductor muscles. Open the clam shell. If necessary finish splitting the neck using a pair of scissors.
Remove the dark gut flesh from each half of the clam’s body with the point of a knife. Scoop the clam from the shell using a table spoon. Return each half of the clam to the clam’s shell and arrange them on a bed of rock salt in a baking dish. Fill the clam shells with the grated cheese, bits of the fried bacon and chopped green chilies.
Sprinkle the chopped cilantro over the cheese, bacon bits and chilies. Set the oven to broil and preheat to 425 degrees.
Place the baking dish with the butter clams under the broiler element. Broil until the cheese has thoroughly melted and begins to turn golden brown usually in 10 to 12 minutes. Top with fresh salsa and serve as appetizers.
Brandon, the ClamSlayer, Williams’s recipe for Clams Casino focuses on melding the flavor of butter clams with bacon and sharp cheddar cheese. Brandon shares his recipe for Clams Casino… cut butter clams in half (sever adductor near neck, then with additional gap sever adductor near foot), open and twist to separate shells, then remove stomach and gut (you can rinse, but to make sure there’s no grit just remove the body in the center. Rinse well then use a spoon to remove body from the half shell, then replace (this makes it easy to scoop out when you’re eating them later). Add a couple drops of your favorite hot sauce, then a 1″ long strip of regular thin bacon and top with shredded sharp cheddar cheese. Bake at 500 for 10 minutes or until bacon and clam curls up and cheese is toasted well.
While it’ll still be a good time raising money for a good cause, the Oregon Tuna Classic might not reel in much tuna this year.
Charleston will host the food bank fishing fundraiser for the second year in a row this Saturday, but organizers fear heavy seas might not permit the actual fishing part.
“It’s a lot of fun, and we get to help out a good cause,” Port Captain Jim Pex said. “A lot of families come, so it’s a pretty good crowd.”
This was in the AP wire but thought all you fishermen might appreciate it.
Ohio woman says her windshield smashed when an eagle dropped fish onto her car.
MARBLEHEAD, Ohio (AP) — A woman in Ohio is telling a fish story about one that got away – from a bird, and damaged her car. Authorities in northwest Ohio say the fish – a Lake Erie freshwater drum, known as a sheepshead – smashed a car windshield Tuesday when an eagle dropped its catch from a height of about 40 feet.
Leighann Niles says the impact felt like a brick hitting her Toyota’s windshield. The woman from the Cleveland suburb of South Euclid was vacationing along the lake in Marblehead.
Niles says she had thought herself lucky to escape damage in another animal encounter shortly before the fishy one. She says a truck hit a small bird, which struck her back passenger door and startled her 5-year-old daughter.
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — About 20 beluga whales that became stranded in mud during a low tide over the weekend have apparently freed themselves, bringing relief to biologists who have been closely monitoring their plight.
AN PEDRO, Calif. — If the tide is high, the weather is warm, the clock is approaching midnight and the beach you’re standing on is in Southern California, it’s a given that romance is in the air — or the water. In these parts, it’s a time for grunion love.
