There are a lot of things that need doing around here. A garden to be prepared, seeds to be planted, bees to be fed, oyster cages to be set up, a turkey pen to be repaired. There are greens to be blanched and frozen, boats to be cleaned and put up for sale, a house [...]

Yesterday, Kevin and I went fishing. Although we’d gone a couple of times before, it wasn’t in earnest because we knew the fish weren’t there yet. Yesterday, we knew the striped bass were in Barnstable Harbor, and we were determined to catch us a couple. We went out to the head of the channel, about [...]

It was probably round about when we caught our third keeper striper, earlier this season, that I reversed my long-standing policy of not freezing fish. Home freezing invariably damages food. As the food freezes, the water in it expands and breaks the cell walls. The slower the freezing, the worse the damage, and your average [...]

I’m guessing your patience with my fishing stories is wearing thin, so I’ll boil yesterday afternoon’s trip right down. I caught one striper, and Kevin and Bob both caught two (their limit), and then some (which they released). By a fluke, Bob also caught a fluke. The huge fish that I fought for a good [...]

What’s the best eating fish ever? If you were taking a poll, striped bass would most certainly be in the mix. It’s mild and moist, with a texture that walks the line between flaky and meaty. Before I started catching my own striper, I would eagerly anticipate the commercial season, when I could buy beautifully [...]