Fishing for black sea bass, VA

Black sea bass season started on May 15. I signed up for a fishing trip with Rudee Tours in Virginia Beach. We checked in at the departure point at 7:30 am to find that most of the other fishermen/women were already on the boat. The boat looked full, almost all of the spots were taken. We departed right on time at 8:00 am, it took about 2.5 hours to get to the first fishing spot. There was quite a bit of wave action, I am not prone to sea-sickness but I did take an anti-seasick pill earlier in the morning just in case. The weather was fantastic, sunny and warm but not humid.

The captain reminded us that no GPS enabled equipment including cell phones were allowed on the boat, to prevent secret fish locations from being captured. Most people obeyed and kept phones inside their bags to avoid having them confiscated. After what seemed like a long time (which I spent reading on my kindle on airplane mode), the captain got the boat to a stop and gave the green light to drop our lines which were baited with fresh squid. Almost immediately most of us had fish on the hooks. It was pretty exciting! I had a spot at the bow of the boat (the coverted spots at the stern were all taken by the early birds) and found it difficult to pull my catch up from the higher elevation. I had to ask the mate for help to pull up my first catch, two sea bass on the line, one of which was definitely a keeper, it was way bigger than the 13 inches minimum.

I knew I could not pull up heavy fish from where I was, and found another spot that provided better leverage. It was hard work reeling fish up from deep water when you don't have a lot of arm strength. That was why my friend Jane brought her new electric reel. All around me, people were pulling up fish. The three mates had their work cut out for them, running around helping people get fish off the hook, measuring them and throwing back the undersized ones. The captain moved the boat around a few times to find the best place for us to fish.

After a while with arms tiring, I baited only one hook on my line so that I did not have to pull up two fish. Well, that did not work because I kept catching two fish, even on the hook with no bait. I started to slow down after fish no. 7. Fortunately some people around me had caught their limit of 15 sea bass and went around the boat asking others if they want any fish to make up their quota, before putting them back into the water. Six donated fish later and having caught the last two myself, yes on one line with one hook baited, my ice chest was full. I understand now why they told us to bring a large ice chest! I was happy to stop fishing although shortly after that the captain announced that we needed to head back.The mate helpfully went around the boat putting ice into the chests to keep the fish fresh. Everybody on the boat (there were about 40 of us) caught or were given, the limit of 15 fish each.

I spent most of the 2+ hour journey back swapping fish stories with three gentlemen inside the cabin. We had a great time, the best story was from one of the guys who told us about his trip targeting king fish in Florida. Nobody in their boat were able to land a fish intact because sharks circling their boat chomp on their catch before they could pull it in. Their captain tried to move somewhere else but the sharks followed: they were definitely not going to give up on an easy lunch.

We reached the dock right at 5 pm, everyone was happy, loading heavy ice chests into their vehicles. It took me over 4 hours to get home from Virginia Beach, stopped on the way to off load 3 fish to my friend Meenu. By the time I cleaned the remaining fish and put them in the freezer, it was almost 2 am. What a day!

First Landing State Park, Virginia Beach

Camped in the First Landing State Park near Virginia Beach four hours from home, a couple of days before a boat fishing trip. First Landing SP was originally the Seashore State Park at Cape Henry and was built by an African American regiment of the Civilian Conservation Corps. The park was rather quiet because it was a weekday. I had site 19 - large and very shady, which was nice since both days were sunny and rather hot. The site was not level, which may be a challenge for RVs, and it was close to Shore Drive which can be noisy although that did not bother me.

Best part about my campsite was that it was very close to the restrooms and showers, and the boardwalk to access the beach. No spots for fishing, except from the beach, and I did not feel like standing in the sun to surf fish. There are a number of trails: I found out that they are in the other part of the park, across from Shore Drive. The trail center was about a mile from the campground, I was told that most people drive there to start the hike, but it was a hassle to unhook Millie from shore power and take down the tail tent.

I hiked part of the Cape Henry trail to get to the trail center, from there took a loop around the Bald Cypress trail which was very nice, turn into Kingfisher Trail and then Long Creek Trail to head back to the campground. By the time I finished the 6 mile hike, I was tired and hungry! For lunch I ate some food that I brought from home, very satisfying.

My fishing buddy Jane and her friend came to visit in the evening, they were going on the same fishing trip the next day. I decided to join Jane in her hotel instead of spending another night in the campsite, so that we can all get up early to go to the dock at Rudee Inlet.

Foraging for bamboo shoots

It's spring time, that means time to forage and harvest bamboo shoots. Did not have to go far, just walked up to the bamboo line in my backyard!

Someone planted bamboo down in the easement area (before I bought the house), and the plants have expanded up to my yard, forming a dense wall of bamboo. I like the bamboo wall which provides all-season privacy in the back of the yard. But every spring, new bamboo plants will try to advance further into the yard. For years I have gone around the yard, kicked and broke the new shoots and threw them in the compost. Then about two years ago, a Chinese friend visited, saw the bamboo shoots and got excited about them. She said those were good eating and told me how to prepare them. Last year, I must have harvested hundreds of bamboo shoots from my yard and my neighbor's, sharing them with my Asian friends. This year, we marked the start of bamboo shoots season with a brunch on the patio, followed by a foraging session.

There is something very satisfying about foraging for food. Bamboo shoots must be harvested while they are young and tender. While some bamboo shoots are obvious like the one below, others may be covered by leaves and undergrowth; by the time they can be spotted, they may be too big/tough for eating. So we walked carefully over the leaf cover to check for hidden shoots while avoiding stomping over the tips of emerging shoots.

Pulling the shoots up is very easy, just use a sneakered foot to kick swiftly at the base of the bamboo. The tender part of the shoot will break off easily. To get more of the shoot, I prefer to put my hand at the base, bend and break it there, and pull it out. After than, remove the hard overlapping skins of the shoots, exposing the yellow tender shoot inside. I like to do this at the bamboo patch so that the skins can be left onsite to compost.

Bamboo shoots must first be boiled before eating/cooking, otherwise they can be bitter. I cut my bamboo shoots into sections, get the water to boiling and after a couple of minutes, change out the water and boil again. I have had the bamboo explode while being boiled because of air expanding inside the cavities; I now split the sections which took care of the problem.

After boiling, I cut the shoots into strips: they are now ready for cooking. Note that bamboo shoots themselves do not have much flavor. They do have a nice texture although it may be an acquired taste (fresh bamboo tastes different from those in the cans). Like tofu, bamboo shoots get their flavor from the dish they are cooked with. I have stir fried bamboo shoots with asparagus and shrimp in oyster sauce, bamboo with green beans and mushrooms in miso or bean sauce (vegan dish), bamboo with chicken and shitake mushroom with ginger and soy sauce. Bamboo shoots is also great in Thai tom yum soup and curries. I also add boiled bamboo to my salads! Bamboo strips can also be frozen.