I only did it once, and the water was actually 30F. Seawater freezes at 28. Still I was wearing an ill-fitting rented wetsuit. It was Cranberry Cove, Nova Scotia, in February. My brother and I made the mistake of signing up for a SCUBA course at the Y that started in September. So open water checkout dive to complete the course in Feb. I have never been colder. I remember that my lips were numb and I couldn't tell whether the regulator was in my mouth, so every once in a while, about 40 ft down, I would find myself breathing water. I guess the training paid off because I just found the regulator floating above my head, cleared it, and kept going.
That following December we were in the Caribbean diving in a tee-shirt (to keep the straps from chafing sunburn) instead of a wetsuit. Heaven.
That following December we were in the Caribbean diving in a tee-shirt (to keep the straps from chafing sunburn) instead of a wetsuit. Heaven.
To be on the safe side, I checked.
Freezing point of the Caribbean sea is a little over 28F, next time I better check whether the water temperature is given in Fahrenheit or Celsius.
Freezing point of the Caribbean sea is a little over 28F, next time I better check whether the water temperature is given in Fahrenheit or Celsius.
I've been swimming in Taylor Reservoir in the Rockies west of Colorado Springs below Cottonwood Pass in June. It is snow runoff with lots of nice trout. That is one cold swim.
Swimming with food! 😉
I have been snorkeling in a river with Atlantic salmon, it is unsettling to see such big fish in a small river from under water.
I have been snorkeling in a river with Atlantic salmon, it is unsettling to see such big fish in a small river from under water.
1965 my father retired from the USAF (Vandenberg AFB, CA) and we were going back east. We stopped at Taylor Reservoir and camped with friends of my parents (Col Oscamp & his wife Tish). It was early June. In the middle of the night my parents woke us kids up (I was 14 at the time) and moved us to a cabin. The next morning we went back to the tent to find it collapsed under 8" of snow. The high Rockies have only one season, snow.
The first Time I ever went fishing was in 1954. We lived in Colorado Springs and my dad took my brother (5 at the time) and me (3) to Taylor Reservoir. We slept int he back of a 1953 Plymouth station wagon. I remember going fishing, and eating trout cooked on a camp stove with fried potatoes and onions.
Strange the tings we remember.
The first Time I ever went fishing was in 1954. We lived in Colorado Springs and my dad took my brother (5 at the time) and me (3) to Taylor Reservoir. We slept int he back of a 1953 Plymouth station wagon. I remember going fishing, and eating trout cooked on a camp stove with fried potatoes and onions.
Strange the tings we remember.
1956 I remember stopping at a totally ordinary roadside restaurant in CO and ordering a wild caught brook trout, it seemed huge to me.
I won't try eating either Smallmouth or Largemouth a second time. The best eating commonly known freshwater fish for flavour in North America are Walleye (close cousin to the European Zander) and the best tasting fish on this side of the pond by far is the Yellow Perch. (Bass, Walleye and a host of other smaller freshwater varieties such as Bluegills or Pumkinseeds are all Perch family fish).
Most Yellow Perch are about the size of your palm, a huge one would be one pound (world record catch-and-kill* is 2 lbs 11.8 ounces**). But boy, do they taste good. Fillet 50 or so and have a feast.
As for "swimming" in cold water, I once fell in, my foot slipped while changing a prop, which was bent up after running the boat through about a mile of ice about 3 feet thick. The water temperature on my finder's surface temperature sender said 31F. It took me 20 minutes to drive to shelter. However, I was wearing my Mustang Survival jacket and pants, so only my feet were cold by the time I made it home. The way the system works is you still get immersed in the cold water, but you retain enough body heat in the suit to survive it for a while (4 hours at 40F, versus less than 20 minutes for a healthy military-age male unprotected at that temperature).
However, the first few breaths while treading that water almost didn't come in, and you stiffen up which makes re-entry to the boat difficult, not to mention the weight of wet clothing and boots doesn't help. Water is 20 times more effective at removing heat than air, by the way.
*Catch-and-kill records are by weight in pounds from a certified scale. Catch-and-release records are by length and girth, with length having priority (so that the longer fish may not be as heavy as one slightly shorter but with a higher girth, but would still take the record).
** There is a record dating back to the 1800's of a 4-plus pound Yellow Perch, but virtually all pre-WWII freshwater fish records are highly suspect and are not generally recognized.
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Reads like a wonderful childhood memory, I can smell the trout and taste the fried onions on my lips as I visualise the setting.
(with low-sugar marsala and sliced almonds added, it'd be heaven)
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Yellow perch (Perca flavescens) looks to be almost identical to European Perch (Perca fluviatilis) only a bit smaller. In restaurants in Germany you usually get two whole fish per person. In Switzerland perch seems to be almost a national dish but they tend to filet them (egli filets) and I know why!
I like fish skin when it is nice and crispy but that is the drawback with perch: Scaling them at home is NOT recommended!
Did it once and even though I tried to be careful those scales fly everywhere. Even six months later I found some in the most obscure places.
We did it outside, it helps too to have tools sized for pan fish as we called them.
Yup. Never scale fish inside.
In GA where my mom grew up (Vidallia Onion counties) we have a fish fry every Saturday night before the annual family reunion. The bream ususally run on the small side so it is two per person.
I like to eat the tail fin when breaded in cornmeal and fried.
In GA where my mom grew up (Vidallia Onion counties) we have a fish fry every Saturday night before the annual family reunion. The bream ususally run on the small side so it is two per person.
I like to eat the tail fin when breaded in cornmeal and fried.
I've scaled other fish at home without any grieve.
Trout are easy and all scales remain close to the sink but I found perch scales stuck to the ceiling far far away from the sink when I repainted the kitchen.
Trout are easy and all scales remain close to the sink but I found perch scales stuck to the ceiling far far away from the sink when I repainted the kitchen.
Reminds me of them there parties from the 70's. All smoke and...
...uh, I forget what the question was.
...uh, I forget what the question was.
Are you able to inhale chili fumes during the sauce stew ?
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nW4jW-FDV3g 06:20-08:00)
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nW4jW-FDV3g 06:20-08:00)
Last hot weekend of the year, @ the pool. Calls for libations.
GLOWING PEARL
1 measure Absolut Pear Vodka
3 measures fresh squeezed red grapefruit juice
0.5 measures St. Germain elderflower liqueur
1/8 teaspoon Luxardo Maraschino liqueur
splash grapefruit soda
Put 1 cup ice cubes in Boston shaker, add all ingredients except soda, shake hard. Strain into double old fashioned glass, let three ice cubes slip past the strainer into the glass. Top with splash of grapefruit soda.
If enjoying directly IN the pool, use plastic Solo cups instead of DOF glasses. On the deck overlooking the pool (adjacent to the BBQ, Cal), actual glass is permitted. BTW "measure" = 1.5oz when I'm doing the mixing.
Play "California Dreamin" and "Ventura Highway" and "Radar Love" on the outdoor speakers during the cocktail hour. Followed by Steppenwolf, followed by all the FratRock mix tapes you've saved from 1981.
GLOWING PEARL
1 measure Absolut Pear Vodka
3 measures fresh squeezed red grapefruit juice
0.5 measures St. Germain elderflower liqueur
1/8 teaspoon Luxardo Maraschino liqueur
splash grapefruit soda
Put 1 cup ice cubes in Boston shaker, add all ingredients except soda, shake hard. Strain into double old fashioned glass, let three ice cubes slip past the strainer into the glass. Top with splash of grapefruit soda.
If enjoying directly IN the pool, use plastic Solo cups instead of DOF glasses. On the deck overlooking the pool (adjacent to the BBQ, Cal), actual glass is permitted. BTW "measure" = 1.5oz when I'm doing the mixing.
Play "California Dreamin" and "Ventura Highway" and "Radar Love" on the outdoor speakers during the cocktail hour. Followed by Steppenwolf, followed by all the FratRock mix tapes you've saved from 1981.
