River Test 21st April, first day of the season

This year I promised that I would keep a proper log of my fishing exploits.  I have been given many record books but can never be bothered to fill them out and they are very one dimensional and I could never see myself referring back to them.  Blogging however is a great way to be able to keep a running  commentary and something far more likely that would be used by me as a reference.  A big part of this blog was to diarise my exploits both in the kitchen and in the field, catching, shooting and then cooking.  So this is going to be a record of fish caught and importantly new (and old) ways to deal with trout (trust me you need to be quite inventive with the fish after catching over 100 kilos in a year!)

Without further ado I should introduce my fishing companion, Guy Joseph, a very talented fisherman, who will also be contributing to this aspect of the blog throughout the season....

April 21st 2010
Weather conditions
Bright but cold.  Temperature was 5c when we arrived at 930am and a north easterly wind was adding a significant wind chill factor to an already low temperature.

Fly life
By 11am the wind had picked up and there was zero fly life bar a few early Hawthorn flies, also known as St Mark's flies.  These were almost bang on time, if not a little early, surprising given the winter we have had.  These are terrestrial insects, no part of their life-cycle requires water.  When their numbers get to sufficient numbers, when there is a strong enough breeze the insects are blown on to the water and eventually this triggers a feeding response to the trout and they turn onto them.

Today however there just weren't sufficient numbers.  The default flies in this situation are Daddy Long Legs and Yellow Humpies.

The day

We were on the middle beat and  fished the morning from about 10.00am until 12.30pm.  There was virtually nothing rising and what fish there were, were very low down in the water and nothing was bringing them up.  The wind had come up a bit and was putting a serious chill over the water and the normal hatch of olives was conspicuous in it's absence.  Nothing else for it but to hit the pub and discuss tactics.

A couple of pints of cider and some food (not really worth discussing) we ventured into Stockbridge to Orvis to ritually buy more flies which none of us needed, it's part of the process, makes you feel confident for some bizarre reason even if you have many of the identical patterns in your box.

Back on the river things had warmed up and there were a few fish starting to move and were higher up in the water.  A nice tout moved to the fly and came up short and was clearly in the mood, another cast just in front put the fly over its nose, Wallop! the fish took and gave a good account of itself, not surprising as this was a good sized fish, around the 6lb mark and in reasonable condition.  The river is stocked but has a good number of over wintered fish and many smaller wild browns and plenty of Grayling.  As the afternoon went on there was plenty more action with Guy and I matching each other fish for fish.

The carrier

We stayed on the main part of the river, nothing was showing on the carrier

   

Nick White and Julian Charrington

Our co-syndicate member, Nick White had a few smaller fish and our guest Julian Charrington had a nice fish at the top of the beat.

It was a lovely day in the end.  A good start to the season.  It's particularly lovely at this time of year, the first swallows had arrived swooping over the river to catch what meagre fly life there was.  I heard both Woodpecker and Cuckoo and the Ash and Willow were starting to take shape, the Moorhen had laid her eggs, what a lovely time of year.  Many different shades of green as everything starts to bloom.  That's a big part of fishing.

Moorhen eggs

Yellow Marshflower

We finished early as it looked unlikely there would be a hatch, once the sun had started to set the chill had come back and it seemed doubtful that a good hatch of Sedge was likely.  It was a good day, Guy and I both catching 4 a piece.  I had two of 6lb which was a very good start to the season

Proudly showing off a fine brace of brown trout

The end of a good day 

Until the next time

Quick Prawn and Squid Indian Curry with Aromatic Rice

I have been very slack with the blog but have a perfect excuse in that we were on holiday so i was out of action for 2 weeks but now back in the saddle so to speak.  This recipe beats phoning your local curry emporium and ordering a heart stopping 3,000 calorie curry that takes its revenge out on you throughout the night.  It's also a very quick curry to make and doesn't involve lengthy marinating.  The only thing you need is to make sure you have all the necessary spices to make this dish taste authentic.  The main spices i use are a combination of Fenugreek (not to be confused with an amusing, moustached encrusted, indebted European), Cumin, Tumeric, Chilli flakes.  Most of these are associated with Southern Indian cuisine and have a very distinctive flavour (and have medicinal properties too).  So what goes into this dish...


For the curry 

• 2 medium sized shallots
• 3cm square of fresh ginger julienne
• 2 cloves crushed garlic
• 100 g closed cup mushrooms
• 1 large knob of butter or ghee (clarified butter) if you have it
• 1/2 teaspoon of 
• Fenugreek
• Cumin
• Tumeric
• Ground coriander
• Paprika
• Crushed fennel seeds
• Brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon of Chilli flakes (I would go less depending on how hot you like it - you can always add you can't remove!)  I use these as I feel in better control of the heat this way.
• 1 large tablespoon of tomato paste
• 300 g of large shelled prawns
• 2 small squid
• 2/3rds of a tin of coconut milk
• 1/2 pint of fish stock. (use a whole Knorr fish stock cube and 1/2 pint of water or your own stock but make sure its reduced and strong flavoured.

The process

Chop the shallots, garlic, mushrooms and ginger and add to a frying pan with the heated butter.  Sweat this down and then add all the spices and mix through so you end up with a gorgeous smelling paste.  Add the tomato paste, stock and coconut milk and let this reduce down so that its not watery.  Test the seasoning and heat and if you feel it needs more add a few more chilli flakes.  Once you are happy with the taste add the squid and the prawns.  These literally need no more than 2 minutes and once these have been cooked through then serve the dish.  If you want to make this look professional put the cooked rice in a cup and turnover on the plate and then put the curry next to it... 

Preparing the squid

Clean the squid (if you don't know how get the fishmonger to do it but its very straightforward - pull the tenticles away from the body and discard the guts, pull the plastic looking quill from the body and remove the wings and the outside skin will come away from the body and you are left with a lovely white smooth body.  Rinse the body out and the tentacles.  One last job is you will feel the beak in the centre of the tentacles, this needs to be removed.  Now slice the squid up either in rings or horizontal strips. 

For the rice

Wash the rice thoroughly with cold water as this helps reduce any sticking.  Add the spices to the pot and add twice the quantity of water to the rice and bring to a simmer.  Don't put the lid on as you want this to evaporate.  When you come to serve the rice its up to you whether you take the spices out - it looks pretty but you don't necessarily want to bite into them...

• 1/3rd of a cup of Basmati rice per person - this is for two people so 2/3rds!
• 10 cloves 
• 10 cardamom pods
• 2 sticks of cinnamon
• 3 curry leaves
• Salt