Sunday, March 8, 2015

Ready for some fishing!

Since my last entry I hauled myself down to the local hardware store to pick up an annual Oregon fishing license.  It is a bit pricy for non-residents at $106, but I usually catch enough fish to justify the cost during our time in the state.

I joined my local friend Harry on his boat for a quiet morning fishing trip to nearby Bradley Lake.  Bradley is only a 30 acre body of water, but it contains a good population of trout and bass.  The small lake is completely surrounded by private property and can only be accessed for fishermen by boat.

Fishing for the first hour was very slow and we tried trolling at different depths to attract a fish or two to our lines.  My friend Jim landed the first trout.  It was the usual size for recently planted fish at about 8" in length.

Soon after that my pole nearly bent double and line began to sing as it pulled rapidly from the spool.  Since I was using only light tackle, I played the fish very carefully and it was obvious that I had something very special on the line.

It took about 10 minutes to land the fish, which turned out to be the largest rainbow trout that I have caught for a long time.  The fish weighed just over 6# and looked like a small salmon.  My gentle handling of the fish was justified when the lure easily fell from the trouts jaws immediately after being netted.  Now, that is luck!



Nice fish!!


I put the fish in brine last night and will smoke it this morning after a couple of hours on the drying rack.  The fillets look like salmon and I can't wait to see how it all turned out.



The fillets look like salmon


We caught more of the smaller trout before leaving the lake in early afternoon.  It was most certainly a good result for my first fishing expedition of 2015. 

The western sky gave the appearance of an excellent sunset in development on Thursday evening, so we drove to Paradise Point beach with the hounds...and my Gopro camera of course.  The potential of a spectacular sunset was fulfilled and I spent the remainder of the evening putting together another video on YouTube.







After I complete the process of smoking the fish today, Juanita will put together a smoked meat loaf for this evenings pot luck dinner at the RV park.  The theme of the pot luck is "meat loaf madness", and I'm sure there will be several tasty dishes on hand.  It's good that we have two smoker/BBQ's to handle all of our outdoor cooking activities.

I still need to get my Nikon out for some photo exercise soon.  I know, I keep promising and never deliver....................................


11 comments:

  1. That is one beautiful fish! I don't care for smoked fish though, so I'd have put some filets in the frying pan or on the grill.

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  2. I enjoy the dreamy music you put on the videos as much as the sunsets...... You have me thinking I need a Go Pro, now with all the motorcycle riding I do.... I just do not know which one to get.... I do like the idea of your gimbal mount though..

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    1. Hi Rod...In my opinion, the Hero 4 Silver is the way to go. The Black costs quite a bit more, has 4k video that most consumer level videographers don't need and doesn't have the small viewer on back.

      I put videos on both YouTube and Vimeo and have to use different music for each. On YouTube, I need to find music that can be used with ads allowed and not for monetary gain. On Vimeo, I need to find tunes that are either Creative Common or purchase a certificate for use. The music will be removed by either service if I don't follow the rules.

      The Feiyu-Tech gimbal can be adapted for use on a motorcycle helmet or on the front someplace. Kinda cool!!

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  3. Photo proof you caught a fish. That messes up being able to lie about how big it was.

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    1. Hey Bill....I'm sure you have heard of Photoshop. Haha, just kidding...this time.

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  4. The fish Gods were looking down on you, Gordon. That trout was a beauty, to bad you spoiled it by smoking it. LOL Just kidding.

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    1. Too big to fry in the skillet Judy, but came out fantastic from the smoke. It was difficult keeping the trout lit though. LOL!

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  5. Great looking fish Gordon,glad to hear spring is there.It has finally stopped snowing here in Md.In the 50s tomorrow come on spring.Gordon always enjoy your camera work.Say hi to Juanita.Regards Martee-jo and Bob

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  6. Thanks Bob...a little rain on the way for the next couple of days, but nothing too exciting. Hope you finally get a break from all the snow and cold.

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  7. G'day mate, that freshly fished fish looks great, hope you enjoyed it. I used to buy alot of fish from my local store until I bought a fish with a parasite wriggling through it. Can't really avoid it as thats a problem with where the fish is caught. However, I do find it easier when I catch my own fish.

    Andrea Wilkins @ Getaway Outdoors

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    1. Thanks for the note Andrea! Most fish caught around here are parasite free but I always pay attention to fish that I purchase from unknown sources. I sometimes catch a local salmon with sea lice on the outer skin, but a good wash down usually removes the little critters. They are never in the flesh however. You're right about being careful.

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