A SMART FISHERMAN

 

A guy is 72 years old and loves to fish.

 

He was sitting in boat the other day when he heard a voice say,

‘Pick me up’

He looked around and couldn’t see anyone.

He thought he was dreaming when he heard the voice again,

‘Pick me up’

He looked in the water and there, floating on the top, was a frog.

The man said, ‘Are you talking to me?’

The frog said, Yes, I’m talking to you.’

Pick me up then, kiss me and I’ll turn into the most beautiful

woman you have you have ever seen.

I’ll make sure that all your friends are envious and jealous

because I will be your bride.

The man looked at the frog for a short time, reached over,

picked it up carefully, and  place it in his front pocket.

The frog said, ‘What, are you nuts?  Didn’t you hear what

I said kiss me and I will be your beautiful bride.’

He opened his pocket, looked at the frog and said,

‘Nah, at my age I’d rather have a talking frog.’

 

 WITH AGE COMES WISDOM.

Almost any campout will require cooking.  I have found that the best tool for campfire cooking is a good cast iron pot with a lid.  You can find a variety of cast iron pots at Academy Sports and Outdoors.  Cast iron pots are very durable with heat and can be used on a hanging rack over the fire or placed directly on top of the fire. 

 

You will also discover that prepping your cooking ingredients in adavnce before leaving home for your trip will be a great timesaver and more sanitary.  You can wash, peel, and chop your raw vegetables, and then store them in ziplock bags and carry them in an iced cooler.  You can also premeasure you spices and seasonings and store them in labeled baggies.  Using a permanent marker, note the name of the spice and the measured amount. 

 

Stews, soups and chili are always great crowd-pleasing campfire dishes and are easy to prepare in large quantity.   And needless to say, a big cast iron skillet or deep cast iron pot will certainly come in handy for frying up some fresh caught fish.  Make sure to have cooking oil on your list of  grocery staple items.

 

Suggested Vegetables for Prepping:

Potatoes (when peeled and diced, be sure to cover with water in the storage bag to prevent the potatoes from turning brown.

Potatoes (wash skins and wrap in heavy duty foil for baking)

Carrots (peel and cut in sticks for eating or chop for recipes, stores well)

Onions (peel and slice for sandwiches or dice for recipes)

Bell Peppers (chop for recipes)

Garlic (peel and leave cloves whole until ready to use)

 

Meats for Prepping:

Stew meat, precooked

Hamburger meat, precooked

Chicken, precooked and diced for recipes

Eggs, boiled

 

Staple ingredients:

Macaroni or other pasta, precooked

Rice, precooked

 

Campfire Recipes:

 

Campfire Beef Stew

 

Large 6-10 qt Dutchoven Cast Iron Pot (with lid)

2 lbs stew meat or ground beef

2 cans italian stewed tomatoes

2 cans tomatoe sauce

3 cans beef broth

2 c. potatoes, diced

1 c. carrots, diced

1 c. onion, diced

3-4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 can whole kernal corn

1 can green beans

1 can green peas

1-1 1/2 tsp salt, per taste

1/2-1 tsp black pepper

2-3 bay leaves

 

Brown meat in a couple of tsp cooking oil or simmer in a little water if the meat is not precooked.  Then add remaining ingredients and cook over heat 1- 1 1/2 hours, depending on degree of heat from fire.  Stir halfway through cooking.  Done when fresh vegetables are tender.  Remove bay leaves. 

 

Chili Mac

 

Large 6-10 qt Dutchoven Cast Iron Pot (with lid)

2 lbs ground beef

1 can diced tomatoes

1 can rotel tomatoes

2 cans tomatoe sauce

1 can beef broth

1 c. chopped onion

1 c. chopped green pepper

2-3 cloves chopped garlic

2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

2 c. macaroni, uncooked

 

Brown ground beef if not precooked; then add all other ingredients except macaroni.  Cook at  a light rolling boil about 45 min for vegetables to become tender.  Add macaroni and cook an additional 20-25 min.  As macaroni cooks, check liquid to see if additional beef broth may be needed.   If you add pre-cooked macaroni, you will only need to cook about 5 minutes longer, and additional liquid should not be needed. 

 

****ALL COOK TIMES MAY VARY DEPENDING ON THE HEAT FROM THE FIRE.  THESE COOK TIMES ARE BASED ON A HOT FIRE.

 

One of America's favorite pastimes is fishing. It is a great way to be one with nature or to spend time with a loved one. Early morning casts in the lake make for hours of pleasure for those who have a love for fishing. Fishing started out with just a stick and a string. You would tie live bait onto it and end up catching the smallest or the biggest fish out there. Now, fishing rods vary in size and length. They can range from 24 inches to 20 feet. You have many different types of fishing rods available to choose from.

The Shakespeare Ugly Stik is a great starter rod. It has double built construction, aluminum oxide inserts with a graphite inner-core. It also has a durable EVA foam grip. With its superior strength and sensitivity, the Shakespeare Ugly Stik is great for beginners. The St Croix Rods are one of the best selling rods on the market. They cast effortlessly, are made from the best materials, and can cost up to $300. Berkley and Fenwick make other top casting rods.

The rods used for fly fishing are a little different. Some of these rods are made of fiberglass and are great for beginners and experts. The top rated fly fishing rod is the Sage TCR. It is best known for distance and accuracy. The Thomas Helix is easy to cast and is very lightweight. For the best line speed and power, try the Powell Tiboron II. These rods are good for big game fish and handling more weight.

Those who know the game of golf have probably heard of the retired professional golfer named Lee Trevino. Lee Trevino came into the world on December 1, 1939 in Dallas, Texas. Trevino has a couple nicknames that are either "The Merry Mex" or "Supermex." He is very well known and followed by the people of Mexico, as that is where his family is from.

Trevino started playing golf when his uncle gave him a golf ball and old golf club. Trevino never looked back as he would often go home after work and hit 300 or more golf balls per day. He enlisted in the Marine Corps out of high school and played golf for four years with high-ranking officers. After being discharged from the Marines, Trevino became a club professional at a golf course in El Paso, Texas. From there, Trevino really got his start in the game of golf. His stardom began when he entered the PGA Tour in 1967 and was named Rookie of the Year by “Golf Digest” magazine.

Trevino continued to build off of his great first season at the professional level. He went on to win six major championships over his career and had 87 overall PGA Tour wins. Not many people in the world can say that they have 87 professional wins in their lifetime. Trevino has earned many different awards over his illustrious golfing career, but one award will always stand out amongst the rest. The greatest award for Trevino was being voted into the PGA Golf Hall of Fame in 1981. Being voted into the Hall of Fame cemented Trevino’s legacy as one of the best golfers ever to play the game.

Fishing is a sport that not many appreciate. When going fishing, it is not just about going to the nearest lake and putting your line in the water. Instead, you have to pick a good location where you can sit for hours sitting before your work pays off. There are many good locations here in the United States that are great fishing spots. Some of the most popular fishing spots can be found in Florida.

Florida, to many, is known as the fishing capital of the world. Since Florida is surrounded by water, you can never go wrong with this state. Another state where fishing is great is Texas. They say everything is bigger in Texas, so imagine the fish. Texas, just like Florida, has a wide variety of fish that you won't know which ones to fish for. The lakes and rivers of Texas are full of fish, but if you want to do something different, you can fish along the shores of Texas.

There are other rivers where you can fish. Some of these include the Chattooga River. In case you don't know where the Chattooga River is, it is the river that divides Georgia and South Carolina and is a great spot to fish. There are several rivers in California where the fishing is excellent. Two of these are the Owens River and the San Joaquin River. Both of these rivers are located along the slopes of the Sierra Nevada. Their location might be the reason they are great fishing spots or it might be that the Owens River is over 120 miles long. These are some other great fishing spots across the country, but consider one of these locations the next time you go fishing.