What's For Dinner?

Haven’t yet left the house for work, and you’re already thinking about dinner? Being that you didn’t make it to the grocery store last night, you haven’t got a clue about what’s stocked in the pantry. Cleaning the boat and buying new fishing rods are taking precedence, not to mention thoughts of lazy days on the lake are all consuming.  

Let’s run down the possibilities. Tuna fish, you always have tuna fish in the cabinet. Tempting Tuna Salad is a possibility… but then again, little Bobbie always complains when you serve this dish up.  Love that Tuna hot dish. However, the morning weather report did mention the temperature is going to heat up.

But something’s still missing… No cans of tuna fish, but there are plenty of cans of Wild Mississippi Tuna. Holy Carp! 

Chef Philippe Parola

Yep, you heard correctly. Meet our new Super Hero; New Orleans-based French Chef Philippe Parola! Chef Phillippe Parola has started serving up for human consumption Asian Carp and regularly demonstrates tantalizing Asian Carp dishes. Heck, even Jeff Corwin was drooling over Chef Philippe’s Carppy dishes! 

Then there is the Big River Fish Corporation in Pearl, located along the Illinois River, and they have secured a $2 million federal grant to send 30 million pounds of Asian carp to China - ironically, the very place the invasive fish came from. Asian Carp will be marketed as a delicacy and will be marketed as "Wild Mississippi River Fish," much like we American’s appreciate and buy “Wild Atlantic Salmon.”

I guess the strategy here is if we want to control Asian Carp, we need to knife and fork them. Going back to dinner, Chef Philippe’s Silverfin Almondine sounds pretty yummy. Any suggestions for a wine? Check out the recipe at: Chef Philippe's Silverfin Almondine 

The launch of more than our boats...

The wait is almost over. Soon, Governor Dayton and all you lucky fishermen will be reveling in one of the most highly anticipated sporting events of the year. The Fishing Opener!

We’re talking, of course, about dropping fishing lines and boats back into the water.

But if you haven’t been introduced to Ms Zebra Mussel and Ms MILFoil, two of Minnesota’s most invasive exotic species equipped with a prolific propensity to spread themselves and hangover effects worse than that of a freshman fraternity party, you need to get familiar.

This is not a joke. Okay, maybe a little. But mostly these invasive gals are capable of causing the State of Minnesota of millions of dollars and ruining the beauty of our 10,000 lakes.

Thank goodness Gov. Mark Dayton has joined Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Tom Landwehr to support a legislative initiative that would raise $4 million annually to fight zebra mussels, Asian carp and Eurasian watermilfoil.

Gov. Mark Dayton, left, and Natural Resources Commissioner Tom Landwehr look at a Bighead Carp, one of the invasive species they want to keep out of Minnesota waters.
(photo by Don Davis, Forum Communications)

Way to go Gov. Dayton, we at Bob Lake thank you for your efforts! Just show you our appreciation; a free Ms. Zebra Mussel lake tee is being shipped to your office. Wear it proudly!

http://www.grandforksherald.com/event/article/id/196967/

Bow Hunting on the Mighty Mississippi. You game?

You’re well-acquainted with the thrill of dropping a line in the water. But lately, it just seems too easy.

The protective gear, the bow scopes, the highly maneuverable Triton Bass Boat—it all just makes you yearn to get back to your hunter-gatherer roots. It’s time to get back to primordial basics and put a dent into the Asian Carp populations.

And that may involve a custom engineered “Whiplash” cam bow which allows for “snap-shooting” those Asian Carp,  and shooting them with maximum arrow speed at minimum draw lengths..

If you don’t have any buddies brave enough to take up a bow? Bob Lake would like to introduce you to the Bowfishing Association of Illinois. An eight-day stint on the Kalahari doesn’t even begin to compare to a trip down the Illinois River with Dr. Carpvorkian – a fishing trip culminating in an all-day hunting party and ending with Carp Cakes and a brewski.

"Holy Carp! That's a good day of fishing!"

Personally, I've never been bowfishing, but I have added it to my bucket list and I have a date with the Illinois River this summer. Now, I need to find a culinary expert to whip up those Carp Cakes.

Nightmare Lurking in Our Waters

You can feel it. The warm breeze. The sun. The absence of ice on the lake.

It all means one thing: a colossal nightmare is lurking beneath the water.

Oh Carp! The Asian Carp invasion is an ecological nightmare lurking in our waterways and is destroying the $7 billion boating and fishing industry.

While there are 180 non-natives species that now call home to the Great Lakes and nearby waterways, Asian Carp are poised to take the title as the most disastrous invasive species.

Bighead Carp

Coming in the heavy weight category, Bighead Carp can weigh up to 100 pounds, spanning over six feet and eating half their body weight daily, these bad boys have the ability to decimate our indigenous fish populations while slapping us silly on our lakes.

That certainly stinks for native fish and water enthusiasts.

But if you think the Carp Czar, John Gross, has it all figured out, you're all wet. While Congress debates over budget cuts and emblematic parochial concerns, the Eurasian giant bottom feeders are permanently altering the ecology of the Mississippi River and could forever change the Great Lakes, two of the largest and most important ecosystems in this country.

So what can you do? Wear Bob Lake and start a movement to protect our American waters and native fish. 

Welcome to the Chief Bobber’s Blog

Maybe you never realized you wanted, needed or cared for aquatic invasive species, or frankly the induction of an Asian Carp Czar. But when you start getting tangled up in Ms MILFoil’s lakeside fantasies, the US Fish & Wildlife’s latest assault on Chinese Mitten Crabs, updates from President Obama’s Asian Carp Czar – John Goss, visuals of bikini clad beauties and, um, curiously playful bantering on who’s more prolific and invasive between Ms Zebra Mussel and Ms Loosestrife, you get it and you’re hooked.

I jumped into this world of Bob Lake eight months ago, and decided that it would be a lot more fun creating naughty invasive tees, promoting our heroes in uniform (conservation officers), and do something novel for our environment, than continue in my dead-end corporate job.

So do what you can to spread us around… Tweet, friend us on Facebook, and wear a Bob Lake tee.

Come on… jump in and get wet!