For trout opening day a few friends and I headed up north to try a semi-remote section of the Boyne River. We arrived around 5AM and hiked down the long path through dense forest and thick mud. When we finally arrived at the bottom almost 30 minutes later we saw a small pod of steelhead. The day started well with me catching a nice 10″ resident brown trout, but the action on the Boyne slowed as the sun continued to rise above the tree line. At about 11AM we decided to leave and find new water and after a lengthy walk back uphill through the mud we took out a map and planned out our next destination. We would head southwest to a small Lake Ontario tributary where Eric swore we would catch something. Now as much as we hassle Eric for his sometimes outlandish fish tales this location completely lived up to the hype!

Continue to the “Trout Opener 2012″ Gallery

Louwell Ogbinar of Calgary, Alberta sent me these photos of a Cymothoa Exigua parasite he and his wife found in a frozen mackerel they purchased from their local grocery store. The mackerel was labelled as a product of India and distributed by a local company here in Canada. Obviously concerned by the presence of parasites in their food Louwell contacted the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CIFA) to see if this was considered a product defect covered under food standards.

“The parasite, Cymothoa exigua, is not included in Chapter 3, Standard 3 General Fresh & Frozen Finfish Product Standard.
The parasites included in the Standard are nematods (roundworms) and copepods (small crustaceans). Copepods fall under the Class: Maxillopoda Cymothoa exigua is a parasitic crustacean which falls under the Class: Malacostraca. Cymothoa exigua parasites are not a health and safety issue, only an esthetic concern.” – CIFA

So the parasite is not considered a health and safety issue by the CIFA, but a quality assurance issue for the original company. Either way it’s still not something I hope to find in my food and I’m sure Louwell feels the same.

Louwell, thanks for sending us these photos and the health and safety information! Everyone else continue reading for more photos.

“Without them, I think we’d be a dying breed,” said Ron Brown, 64, a commercial fisherman who has worked the waterways of Illinois for decades. Behind him, in a flat-bottom fishing boat, lay his day’s catch — a gooey, 5,000-pound heap of invasive Asian carp.

These omnipresent fish rank among the worst environmental threats facing the Midwest, but along the front lines of their invasion, they are sparking an economic mini-boom. The federal government is throwing $50 million at the problem this year, including generous bounties for the fishing industry. Meanwhile, entrepreneurial processors are cashing in on high demand for the fish abroad and placing bets on a burgeoning domestic market.

“We basically took a bad fish and turned it into a good fish,” said Lisa McKee, CEO of Big River Fish Corp., a Pearl, Ill., fish processing plant that now owes 80 percent of its business to aquatic invaders infesting long stretches of the Ohio, Illinois and Missouri rivers.

Another processor, Schafer Fisheries in Thompson, Ill., sold 30 million pounds of carp last year, much of it ground for fertilizer or sliced into fillets. Although unpopular with Americans, bighead and silver carp are some of the most-consumed meats in China. The plant owner, Michael Schafer, 56, said he hopes to boost his profits by selling foreign buyers on his just-perfected formula for carp baloney and, of all things, carp hot dogs.

via The Daily

Arrive early and experience the intense madness. The fishing boats begin unloading their catch at Pier 38 in the early morning at 1:00am. Each fish is then inspected by a United Fishing Agency staff member to make sure that seafood safety standards are met. The catch is then put on plastic pallets, covered with ice, and displayed on the auction room floor. Imagine an entire warehouse floor, the length of which is lined with rows of large tuna. The sight of such enormous amounts of fish is a bit surreal and can be very thought provoking.

Continue reading on Exploration Hawaii

* As CBeigel pointed out there are also fish markets in Maine that sell fresh tuna, so if you can’t even afford the flight to Hawaii, Maine is the next best option.

via Fred Flare

If you liked this, you’ll probably also like the Shark Fin Tea Infuser we posted a while back.

The BBQ Buddy Fish Griller is a two-piece metal basket that latches together, securely holding your fish in place. When the time comes to turn your prize catch on the grill you can simply flip the basket, keeping not only the fish, but your pride intact. Made from heavy-duty metal the fish griller is also a handy camping companion.

Keep reading for a zesty barbecue whole snapper recipe!

Zesty Barbecued Whole Snapper

Ingredients:

800g-1kg Large Whole Snapper, scaled & cleaned (substitute with your catch of the day)
1 Lime (for garnish)

Marinade:

• 2 Cloves Garlic, finely chopped
• 1 Tablespoon Ginger, finely chopped
• 1 Tablespoon Fresh Chilli, finely chopped
• 2 Tablespoon Coriander, finely Chopped (use the stems as well as leaves)
• 1/2 Lime, finely zested
• 3 Tablespoon Olive Oil

Method:

1. Place all the marinade ingredients in a bowl and mix well. You can use a food processor to save time.
2. With a sharp knife, cut incisions about 1cm apart on both sides of the fish. This will allow the marinade flavours to seep in thoroughly. Trim the tail & fins, so they don’t burn.
3. Rub the marinade onto the fish, inside & out. Place slices of lime inside the fish, then put into the fridge for about 30 minutes.
4. Heat up your BBQ to a medium-high heat (190 C).
5. Prepare your BBQ Buddy fish grill basket by lightly oiling the basket. The easiest way to do this is to put some olive oil on your hand and rub onto the bars.
6. Place the marinated fish inside the basket, close and secure.
7. Place the basket on the BBQ over direct heat and cook for about 10 minutes on each side. Make sure you use a glove when turning the basket, as it will be extremely hot. You can tell when the fish is cooked as its eyes will be white and slightly popped out.
8. Remove the basket from the BBQ using gloves, and carefully remove the fish from basket – easily done with tongs and a spatula. Serve with lime wedges and a salad of your choice.

via Fishin’ Informer

“Until now these filters have mainly been given away through aid groups after such disasters like the Haitian earthquake and in chronically poor countries like Mozambique and Myanmar. Nearly a million of the family-size LifeStraw have been donated in Kenya alone this year. In exchange, the company will receive carbon credits for reduced emissions from wood-burning fires often used to boil water.” NY Times

The LifeStraw retails for $19.95 and will filter 99.9999% of waterborne bacteria and 99.9% of waterborne protozoan parasites from 1000 liters of drinking water. Eartheasy is donating one straw for every 10 sold and all sales help support the manufacturer who offer LifeStraws at a reduced rate (or even free) to developing countries. Aid groups looking to buy LifeStraws in bulk can contact info@eartheasy.com for more info.