December 2008 The Shoreline Page 7
Fishing — Winter Tips, Memories
and a Month Off
By Richard Seale
At the Library
It is hard to predict what fishing in
December might be like when you're
trying to make an early deadline, but
perhaps it will be O.K. if recent fishing
history is an indicator. The last part of
October was especially good, with calm
winds and seas and beautiful sunshine.
The species of fish that were supposed
to be in our waters were present in the
sounds and in the inlets.
John Furman, Bill Steenland, Tom
Graczewski, Danny Griffis and several
anonymous fishermen reported some
caught. This procedure calls for cutting
the head off right away and hanging
the carcass by the tail over the side to
drain the blood out. Once you are home,
cut the fish into steaks or filets, clean
well with water and soak overnight in
milk before oven or BBQ grilling. These
procedures make the meat almost as
good as yellowfin tuna meat. You can
also steam the meat into cooked tuna
and make a good tuna salad meat out
of it. If you do freeze any of this fish's
meat, first soak it overnight in a bowl or
f W
good to great catches of blues, grey trout, zip-lock bag of mUk, drain off that milk.
speckled trout, legal flounder, spots, and
"above slot" puppy (red) drum. Tommy
landed a 33-inch drum on light tackle
with special fishing memory. The fishing
sites ranged from Bogue Inlet channels,
to surfcasting, to Bogue Sound holes.
Turning Basin holes, and the rock jetty
at Cape Lookout.
All in all, it was a time to have fun, enjoy
the water and weather, and catch fish.
The trout in the Turning Basin seemed
attracted to jigged Sting Silvers with a
small piece of "Gulp" bloodworm or real
shrimp on the treble. Castmaster Lures
were very effective on the surf blues and
inlet drum. And as suggested in the last
article, the mullet set nets in the ocean
jammed the fish up and made for some
fast and furious catching, as opposed
to fishing! I hope you got to see the
huge numbers of fish splashing around
the net which was set right in front of
PIKSCO's Memorial Park the last week
of October.
So after all this "should have been
here yesterday stuff," what is there to
do in December? That is a hard call.
The first week of November has seen a
long nor'easter and water temperatures
have started down. So here are some
"guesses." False Albacore should be in
the ocean if you can find a calm day.
These tuna are a hoot to catch on light
tackle or a flyrod. Most folks catch and
release these fish, but they can be made
quite edible by "bleeding" them when
wash the meat off in water, and add fresh
milk into the bagged meat and freeze. I
would suggest using the meat within
three months.
Of course oyster season is open and
there are many three-inch legal Bogue
Sound oysters to be harvested. It is hard
to beat a pot of steam opened oysters
with warm butter or cocktail sauce into
which the meats can be dipped! The fall
"Wife and Knife" parties we celebrated
oyster season with in Beaufort County,
N.C. are wonderful memories. The cold
evening air was filled with steam and
the smell of steamed oysters. Plywood
sheets on sawhorses were stacked with
frequently replenished piles of steamed
oysters. The scene was one of happy
faces and voices of men and women,
all toting oyster knives, going from pile
to pile of steaming Rose Bay oysters.
Flickering lantern lights or temporary
bare bulb electric lights lit the scene and
the party was often under a big tent. Yes,
there really are some "good old days."
A similar event here in Carteret County
is a mullet BBQ.
Unless something highly unexpected
happens, I think I will skip the January
Shoreline. In the dead of winter, good
fishing lies are hard to come by. But if
you hear a good one, please let me know
so we can share that one, too. Happy
Holidays and remember the clams and
oysters do not migrate!
The library has a lively assortment of
books on crafting and cooking to help
you prepare for the hohdays. In the
crafting section, check out Better Homes
& Gardens Holiday Decorations You Can
Make, Soft Crafts for Special Occasions by
Stephanie Wargo, and Crafts & Keepsakes
for the Holidays by Martha Stewart. In the
cooking section, check out Entertaining
with Regis and Kathie Lee and The Diabetes
Holiday Cookbook by Carolyn Leontes,
Debra Mithcell, and Kenneth Weicker.
Join us for Preschool Storytime held
each Thursday at 10 a.m. and every other
Wednesday at 10 a.m. Wednesday,
December 3 and Thursday, December
4 will be featuring "Ho, Ho, Ho!"
Thursday December 11 will be "Santa
Lucia." Wednesday, December 17 and
Thursday, December 18 is "Happy
Holidays!" Preschool Storytime is for
ages 3-5 years old. Programs are with
Ms. Brita.
In December, the Art Gallery at
the Bogue Banks Public Library will
feature the very colorful abstract acrylic
paintings of Edgecombe County, North
Carolina native Teddy Wemberley.
After living in such diverse places as
Bermuda, Alaska, and California, Teddy
returned to Pine Knoll Shores where
she has worked for many years in real
estate and has been an active volunteer
EMT. Teddy's technique is to paint
the background and let God guide her
hand and brush on the canvas. She
calls her paintings "Conversation Art."
Everyone sees something different than
the names given each piece. Enjoy and
let your mind and eyes see something
interesting for you.
The display case will feature the works
of three talented crafters. Jordan and
Paul White will exhibit their beautiful
etched-glass pieces and Mandy Copp-
Wilson will show her wire and glass
"sun catchers" and decorative wine
stoppers. Plan to join our gallery
artists at the public reception on Friday
December 12 from 3 to 4 p.m. in the Art
Gallery.
Want to leam more about the latest
bestsellers? The library offers NoveList,
a comprehensive online service through
NC Live. NoveList is a fiction database
that provides subject heading access,
reviews, annotations and much more
for more than 135,000 fiction titles.
The library will be closed from
December 24 through December 26 for
the Christmas holiday. It will reopen on
December 27. The library's regular hours
are Monday through Saturday, 8:30 a.m.
to 5:00 p.m. For more information you
can call the library at 247-4660 or go
online to http://carteret.cpclib.org.
Christmas Eve Luminaria
By Yvette Bannen
The Pine Knoll Shores Garden Club is
preparing for its traditional Luminaria
display on Christmas Eve. This year's
display will be dedicated to the PKS
World War II veterans and the PKS
widows of World War II veterans.
Luminaria will be placed on Mimosa
Boulevard down to and including Brock
Basin as well as on Beechwood Drive
down to and including Hall Haven.
The garden club invites residents to
join the display. Kits, consisting of eight
candles and bags, will be on sale for $5
at town hall after the Christmas parade
on December 6 until December 22.
Donations are appreciated to help
pay for the candles and they can be
in the form of memorials. Donations
can be dropped off at town hall for the
garden club. Volunteers are always
welcome to help set out the Luminaria
on December 24, to light the candles at
4 p.m. on Christmas Eve, and pick them
up on Christmas morning. This is a fun
activity to share with visiting family and
friends. Call Mary Hudak at 247-2168
or Yvette Bannen at 240-lp28 if you are
able to lend a helping hapd.