Pickled herring, Hoppin' johns part of New Year's tradition

 Found an old New Year's column from 2006, and thought I would post it on the blog. It covers some New Year's traditions...

“Pickled herring for health,” said Lorraine Jones, who grew up in Maine, as she talked about her family’s New Year’s tradition. “You always eat pickled herring on New Year’s Day.”

Resolutions also are a part of start a new year for many people, and for most folks there are a variety of traditions. Many related to food, or maybe those are the one I relate to best.

For my friend Bob Karlstromer, New Year’s Day starts with a hearty breakfast of salt mackerel served with new boiled potatoes topped with sour cream. Bob says this early morning specialty comes from his father’s Swedish heritage.

Later in the day, comes Hoppin’ John, which was started on New Year’s Eve while having a hot buttered rum. The Hoppn’ johns are a southern dish inherited from his mother, who was born and raised in Georgia.

According to Bob, Hoppin’ Johns are black-eyed peas cooked with hog jowls, which are severed over a bed of separately cooked rice. He also said another important part of the meal is fried corn bread. “You have to make it from scratch because all of the commercial mixes have sugar in them. True southern cornbread doesn’t have sugar. That’s a sacrilege. There is a picture in a Savannah restaurant showing a cook being hanged because she put sugar in the cornbread.”

While sitting around with friends and trying to stay awake till the start of the New Year, we talked about a number of the traditions.

One couple said pork and sauerkraut always was on their New Year’s menu.

In our family, corned beef and cabbage is the tradition. Blackeye peas also has been added to the menu. My wife, Phyllis always cooked a clean penny in the corned beef and cabbage for luck throughout the new year.

Black-eyed peas are traditionally southern and have an interesting history. According to one internet website, “Back in the days of the Wild West, Southern gentility, and Northern hostility, our celebrated black-eyed peas were used strictly for the feeding of cattle in the South. During the Civil War battle of Vicksburg, the town was under siege for over 40 days. No supplies went in and none came out The entire town was on the brink of starvation. So they ate those humble "cowpeas," thus starting a southern tradition.

      “Nowadays blackeyes are eaten every New Year's Day to bring good luck for the coming year. All the way back to the days of the Pharaoh, black-eyed peas have been a symbol of luck and fortune. The superstition is that those who eat blackeyes, an inexpensive and modest food, show their humility and save themselves from the wrath of the heavens because of the vanity they might have. Black-eyed peas are neither a pea nor a bean. They are lentils.”

Martha Coultas says she prepares many of the same foods--corn bread, corned beef, cabbage, plus serves jowl bacon and fried potatoes. “Plain and simple foods are best,” said her husband, Doyle.

Mary Thomas also cooks many of the same dishes, however her main course is a Boston Butt pork roast. “The cabbage means money, and the blackeyed peas mean health. “Health and wealth mean happiness,” explained Mary, who said the New Year food traditions go back to her grandmother.

Talking about another tradition, Lorraine Jones said she places several coins on the outside window sill before midnight on New Year’s eve. “When I was young, we were always poor. Someone told me to put the coins on the window sill, and it worked. We were never rich after that, but we always had enough money for school lunches or whatever.  We always had a dollar or two for what we needed. We still do it today.”

(Unfortunately, Bob and Martha have passed since this column was written, but their memories and others remain strong.)

Christmas' shinny red bike led way to many outdoor adventures

It was a shinny red bike. It stood parked by the Christmas tree. Wow, a bike.

I couldn’t have been happier on Christmas morning. A beautiful, full-size bike. It wasn’t new, but I didn’t care. It was new to me, and I couldn’t have been more excited.

Money was scarce when I was growing up. We always had plenty to eat and a warm house, but not a lot more. I didn’t know we were poor.

Someone where my dad found a used Western Flyer bike. He cleaned, painted and polished the old bike, It also had new tires, It looked brand new, beautiful. And to me, it was my ticket to the world. It was my transportation to frog ponds, fishin’ holes, woods, and other neighborhood kid’s home and outdoor games.

I was blessed, electronic games had not been invented.

Another year’s special gift I fondly remember was a Red Ryder BB gun. It came with a package of BB’s.

I spent many hours shooting targets and cans down by the old railroad tracks. It was where I learned some of the early fundamentals of target shooting and hunting. It also helped teach me the value of saving money so I could make trips to Goodwin’s store to purchase more BB’s.

For many old-timers like me, Christmas is a special time -- a time for nostalgia about bikes, BB guns, Christmas Eve church services and trips to Grandma’s house.

Growing up, Christmas Eve started with a trip to a little German country church in rural Clark County, Illinois. The kids of the church practiced  for weeks in advice on a special Christmas program.

The programs were short, probably no more than an hour. But, they seemed an eternity as we had fun things to do afterwards at grandma’s house.

There was a big valley and hill near the church, and it always seemed like it was slick with snow and ice. One farmer kept his tractor at ready to help pull stranded cars up the hill after the service.

After the service, our family all gathered at Grandma and Grandpa Junker’s house. It was small, but we all managed to pack inside.

There was oyster soup and chili, plus sandwiches and homemade Christmas cookies. As a youngster, I disliked (mild words) the oyster stew, but would love to have a bowl today.

Kids were later told to be quiet and listen for Santa’s sleigh bells. Hearing the bells, we were told that Santa had made an early visit to the closed off living room. There we found gifts under the tree One for each youngster. There also were gifts for adults, who following Thanksgiving dinner had drawn names. Later, we kids received the remainder of our Christmas gifts at our homes.

My Christmas memories still fill my head at this time of year, and I have a special recollection of that red bike. It was my access to the wonderful outdoors.

Hope your Christmas this year was a memorable one, and also hope you have as many fond memories as I have retained from the past.

Outdoor people are easy when it comes to Christmas shopping

`Picking a gift for an outdoors person on your Christmas list is easy, and it doesn’t have to be expensive.

Here it is almost Christmas, however there still are a few shopping days left to come up with that special gift for any outdoors person on your list.

The outdoors people on your Christmas list probably are the easiest to satisfy when it comes to giving a gift, but in case you are having some difficulty, here are some ideas.

Remember, an outdoors person can never have too many of most things. You can never have too many fishing  rods and reels, too many lures, too many duck calls, too many camo shirts, too many of almost any outdoor gadget or product.

This year I posted online a request for Christmas gift suggestions, and received several. Here’s some ideas for inexpensive items most any outdoors person would enjoy:

SOURDOUGH BOOK --  After decades of writing about sourdough and conducting sourdough baking seminars across America and Canada, Soc Clay, a legendary photojournalist and member of the National Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame and The Legends of the Outdoors Hall of Fame, as well as being the Poet Laureate of Kentucky, has written one of the  first all sourdough baking recipe books. It would make a dandy Christmas present..

This unique book contains great stories about sourdough, its history in American and Canadian exploration, plus some of the author’s and Alaskan Legend, Sam Roberson’s historic collections of authentic baking recipes straight out of the gold camps of Alaska and the Yukon.

    Soc Clay’s Mad Trapper Sourdough Baking recipe book is a rare publication, perhaps the only title dedicated completely to sourdough, a leavening agent whose history dates back some six-thousand years. Sourdough provided the only leavening ingredient in bake goods until processed yeast cultures were harnessed during the 1900s. 

The price of the book is $14.95, plus $3.50 shipping and handling from The Catchall Press • 4240 Minmor Drive • Cincinnati, OH 45217. Order onlline at www.catchallpress.com.

UNIQUE STOCKING STUFFER -- A unique stocking stuffer for bass fishermen is offered by Lurenet. The gift  contains nine great bass lures for $19.99. That's a little more than two bucks a bait, and there are two XCalibur lures in the offer, costing more than six dollars each no matter where you get them. The gift pack is available from www.lurenet.com.

ANOTHER STUFFER -- Real Magic Line Treatment is a perfect stocking stuffer. This product increases casting distance while reducing line-memory. This line-memory problem seems worse in colder weather. Great timing. Available at most retailers for less than $10.

INDIANA PARK annual passes cost $40, and gets you and a carload of your friends into any of Indiana's 32 state park properties every day of the year. Disney charges a lot more for one person for one day. Disney is a fantasy world. DNR state parks are the real thing.

FISHING LICENSE -- Buy someone a fishing or hunting license. There is a combination hunting and fishing license, however it available only to Indiana residents. Licenses are available anywhere hunting and fishing licenses are sold, including on line

You can purchase an Indiana gift certificate or many certificates for licenses all at one time. What a perfect gift for that person in your life that has all the hunting, trapping, and fishing equipment they need. Check the Indiana DNR website. 

BEST GIFT - Give of your time and talent to a child, parent, and friend. Just give them a card entitling them to a free day of hunting or fishing with you. It could be a weekend where you make the arrangements, or just a day at a local farm pond. Time and friendship is one of the best and most valuable gifts you can give.

Have a great Christmas everyone, everywhere.

So where did Santa Claus come from? The North Pole or elsewhere?

        So how did Santa come about? Where does hit fit into Christmas?

Old Saint Nick can be traced back to a good monk named St. Nicholas. He apparently was born around 280 A.D. in the country we now call Turkey.

St. Nicholas was highly regarded for his kindness, and he became associated with numerous legends. He reportedly gave away his inherited wealth, and traveled near and far helping the less fortunate.

One of the better known stories involving St. Nick says he saved three poor, young sisters from being sold into slavery by their father by giving them a dowry so they could be married.

As the years passed, St. Nicholas’ popularity became widespread, and he was known as the protector of children and sailors. His feast day is celebrated on the anniversary of his death, Dec. 6.

St. Nicholas’s feast day became a popular day to get married or make significant purchases. Even after the Protestant Reformation, when the honoring of saints began to be discouraged, he remained popular in Europe, especially in Holland.

The common people loved St. Nicholas and his fame and reputation survived. People continued a tradition of placing nuts, apples, and sweets in shoes left beside beds or in front of fireplaces.

  Sometime later, the good reputation of St. Nicholas was transformed by poets and writers to Santa Claus, the giver of gifts-- in this country and elsewhere. However, if you look deep enough, Santa Claus still is St. Nicholas.

Think you can navigate in fog? Well, maybe, maybe not

Fog hovered over the lake the past three mornings, then cleared before noon, and bright sunshine finished the day. More of the same was forecast for the next day, when my brother-in-law Paul Cooper asked me if I wanted to fish in the morning.

Of course, I wanted to fish, but what about the fog.

“We’ll wait till about eight o’clock to go out,” he suggested. “We don’t need to be in a hurry.”

So, next morning, we checked at eight, however the fog still was quite thick. Maybe, you could see a hundred yards.

“We probably could head out of the marina, and follow the shoreline up to the north end of the lake,” I said, “but why don’t we wait till nine, and see what the situation is then.”

Even though the lake doesn’t have a lot of boat traffic, especially with fog hanging in the area, there was no reason to disregard safety. There was no need to take a chance.

From may days of living along the Ohio River, I am familiar with too many unnecessary accidents in the fog.

With modern electronics, one can travel in a straight line, and from point A to point B in the fog, or at night, but if you don’t have such gear or there is fog, there is no reason to take a chance.

A few years ago, I was scheduled to fish with a friend in a small fishing tournament on Lake Monroe. At starting time, the fog was thick. “I think we can head under the causeway and up the lake slowly and get a good start,” I suggested. 

And that’s what we tried, but we gained nothing. After slow running for a hour, we had just traveled in a circle and were back at the causeway where we started. It is very difficult to travel in a straight line when you have no visual points of reference.

Sometimes a boater can get caught in the fog on the water after starting in the clear. When this happens, there are several safety tips to keep in mind.

Anyone with the boater should be looking for other boats or their wake, buoys and debris while listening for engines or other clues that signal another boat is near you.

A given is that the boat should be slowed to a safe speed.

Use a sound signal of some sort, which is required safety equipment by the U.S. Coast Guard, to signal your position every two minutes. You can use a bell, a loud hailer, a foghorn, or some other approved means for producing sound.

Listen! Stop the motor periodically to listen to your surroundings. Sometimes in the fog, this may be your only way to avoid colliding with something. Listen for other boats, fog horns and other sounds.

Utilize your navigation equipment if you have it. Hopefully you have at minimum a GPS or compass. 

If you become disoriented, stop! Do not keep going if you are unsure of your location, position and direction. Again, proper navigation gear will help you keep your bearings. If you make it to shore, stop until the weather improves.

Boating in the fog is not fun, and can be downright scary and dangerous. Despite your best planning, you may be unable to avoid fog while boating. If you find yourself navigating in the fog, follow these common sense rules. Remember, the other boater probably can’t see you.

After waiting for the fog to clear on our recent trip, we didn’t catch many crappie, but we did have a fun, safe day.

Ice fisherman hope my wife is right about the horses and winter is cold

Last winter was much too warm for any ice fishing in this area, and it is a rare opportunity when there is enough good ice for safely trying your luck in this part of the country. Last year , there was very little good ice even in the far northern U.S.

But when we do get a few winter days with safe ice, it is fun to catch fish through the ice, and it seems like the cold water makes whatever fish you catch mighty tasty.

About two weeks ago, the weather demonstrated signs of developing ice. There was a skiff of ice in some back bays and on small ponds, but then warm weather hit again in early December and some folks were out in their tee shirts.

Most long range forecasts are calling for a much colder winter this year, and I saw one television weatherman predicting 10 snows of one inch depth or more. My wife, Phyllis also predicts a cold winter based on the length of the coats on horses she has observed. So, maybe there will be a chance of a handful of good ice fishing days.

Safety always is a concern in Indiana because the ice is rarely thick and safe for an extended period of time. However during a normal year, it varies greatly from one end of the state to the other. While southern Indiana usually only has a few days of good ice, the northern third of the state may have good ice angling for much of the winter.

When there is good ice in the central portion of the state, the strip mine pits in the western part of the state are good fishing destinations. A good number of the pits are now part of fish and wildlife areas.

Ice anglers should be alert to the dangers of different types of ice. Ice may be safe on one pond, and not on another. A slush type of ice is very dangerous and may be only half as strong as clear, blue ice. Slush ice indicates a weakening of the ice. Clear and blue river ice may be 15 percent weaker than pond or lake ice.

New ice is almost always stronger than old ice because the connection between ice crystals decays with age, according to the Indiana DNR. Dark or honeycombed ice indicates deterioration and should be avoided. Even when a cold snap stops the deterioration process, dark or honeycombed ice will never refreeze to its original strength.

Wind chill affects the "cold" anglers feel. A light wind can accelerate the formation of ice, but strong winds can force water from beneath the ice and accelerate the decay of ice around the edges. 

Snow is a good insulator for ice and helps keep it strong, but it can also keep it from further freezing or even hide cracks or weak ice. Lakes with moving water should be approached with caution. Water movement can slow the freezing process and leave hard-to-detect thin spots.

Ice conditions can and do vary greatly. Because there are so many variables in ice formation, ice forms at different rates. One spot can be an inch thick while another area close by can be almost a foot thick. 

Anglers should be aware of how much weight each ice type and thickness can support. 

The Indiana DNR Division of Fish and Wildlife recommends using the following ice thickness guidelines:

— one inch of ice - do not walk on ice this thin!

— two to three inches of clear, blue ice will support one adult walking. 

— four inches of ice is needed for safe ice fishing. 

— five inches of ice is needed for snowmobiling across ice. 

— eight inches of ice is needed to support the weight of a car or light truck.

— 10 inches of ice is needed to support a medium weight truck. 

These are guidelines and will vary with different types of ice. Anglers and other outdoor recreationists should use good common sense and not take chances. Frankly, I like four inches of ice to feel safe.

When you have good ice, it can be great for fishing. And, panfish never tastes better than when taken from clear, cold water. 

Sauger fishermen love cold weather -- the colder the water the better

About the time hunters are heading to the woods for deer gun season, some hardy anglers are preparing their equipment for sauger fishing.

When the weather starts cooling significantly, maybe even getting lousy, that’s when sauger fishermen begin their season. It almost seems the worse the weather, the better for sauger fishing. 

Sauger are a slightly smaller cousin to the walleye, and primarily are a river fish. They can be caught anywhere, anytime in rivers and streams, but the best fishing comes with cold weather. Sauger congregate below dams, and that’s the best time to catch them. Most people don’t start fishing for sauger until the water temperature has dropped to the 40’s.

Often I’ve picked ice out of the eyes of my rod when fishing for sauger. They seem to love the cold water and cold, winter weather.

Sauger can be unpredictable. An angler can head out before daylight and have only two or three bites during a day-long effort, and another time, fish can be caught by the dozens -- although the limit is six.

Sauger are long and thin with dark backs, brassy sides, dark spots and a pale belly They have a forked tail with a pale streak at the bottom edge. Some sauger have a black spot on their body near where the pectoral fin attaches.

Most people can’t tell a sauger from a walleye. Their shape is similar, but the sauger usually is smaller. The best way to tell the difference is by looking at the dorsal (top) fin. The sauger has spots in this fin, and the walleye does not.

Sauger are found in some large lakes, but mostly in streams, and often may be in the same water with walleye. Sauger prefer cloudy, moving water, and can be caught in streams, such as the Ohio River throughout winter months.

Indiana’s state record for sauger is a six-pound, one-ounce fish taken from the Tippecanoe River by Mark Bigger back in 1983, and the world record is an eight-pound,12-ounce fish caught in 1971 in North Dakota.

Some anglers use minnows for sauger, other use jigs, and some use a combination. For me, it’s whatever seems to work.

They bite much like their cousins--the walleye. Often you feel a light “tap, tap, tap”, and sometimes you can sense the fish has taken the bait or lure into its mouth, but hasn’t attempted to swallow the bait or swim away.

Fishing usually is best on the Ohio River when the water level is near pool stage, and the water is relatively clean with little or no floating debris.

While sauger can be caught from the bank, a boat can enhance the chances of catching fish. A boat provides more options for finding the fish. Where you find one, you probably will find more.

In Indiana, good fishing can be found below the Cannelton and Newburg dams as well as the area around the Falls of the Ohio. In the north central part of the state, the Tippecanoe River is a good stream, and stocking and restoration work has been done on the sauger population in both the East and West forks of the White River.

As water cools, sauger fishing heats up on streams and rivers

        About the time hunters are heading to the woods for deer gun season, some hardy anglers are preparing their equipment for sauger fishing.

When the weather starts cooling significantly, maybe even getting lousy, that’s when sauger fishermen begin their season. It almost seems the worse the weather, the better for sauger fishing. 

Sauger are a slightly smaller cousin to the walleye, and primarily are a river fish. They can be caught anywhere, anytime in rivers and streams, but the best fishing comes with cold weather. Sauger congregate below dams, and that’s the best time to catch them. Most people don’t start fishing for sauger until the water temperature has dropped to the 40’s.

Often I’ve picked ice out of the eyes of my rod when fishing for sauger. They seem to love the cold water and cold, winter weather.

Sauger can be unpredictable. An angler can head out before daylight and have only two or three bites during a day-long effort, and another time, fish can be caught by the dozens -- although the limit is six.

Sauger are long and thin with dark backs, brassy sides, dark spots and a pale belly They have a forked tail with a pale streak at the bottom edge. Some sauger have a black spot on their body near where the pectoral fin attaches.

Most people can’t tell a sauger from a walleye. Their shape is similar, but the sauger usually is smaller. The best way to tell the difference is by looking at the dorsal (top) fin. The sauger has spots in this fin, and the walleye does not.

Sauger are found in some large lakes, but mostly in streams, and often may be in the same water with walleye. Sauger prefer cloudy, moving water, and can be caught in streams, such as the Ohio River throughout winter months.

Indiana’s state record for sauger is a six-pound, one-ounce fish taken from the Tippecanoe River by Mark Bigger back in 1983, and the world record is an eight-pound,12-ounce fish caught in 1971 in North Dakota.

Some anglers use minnows for sauger, other use jigs, and some use a combination. For me, it’s whatever seems to work.

They bite much like their cousins--the walleye. Often you feel a light “tap, tap, tap”, and sometimes you can sense the fish has taken the bait or lure into its mouth, but hasn’t attempted to swallow the bait or swim away.

Fishing usually is best on the Ohio River when the water level is near pool stage, and the water is relatively clean with little or no floating debris.

While sauger can be caught from the bank, a boat can enhance the chances of catching fish. A boat provides more options for finding the fish. Where you find one, you probably will find more.

In Indiana, good fishing can be found below the Cannelton and Newburg dams as well as the area around the Falls of the Ohio. In the north central part of the state, the Tippecanoe River is a good stream, and stocking and restoration work has been done on the sauger population in both the East and West forks of the White River.