# Rally round the family! With a pocket full of fleas (CCAFS 2/3/08)



## cpn_aaron (Apr 11, 2006)

Not quite the Rage Against the MAchine lyrics, but how things went down today. Went out to CCAFS with the FIL and MIL to try for pomps come hell or high water. They did not disapoint.
Within a few minutes of setting up (9 AM) with fresh clams and fleas we had hits. The FIL landed a nice whiting and 18" black drum. I hit up my first two keeper pomps of 08! Woo Hoo, only took a month.  

I ended the day with many undersize pomps and black drums, one 12" whiting, and 5 keeper pomps from 11 3/4"-13". The pomps weren't running large except for the FIL's 19" monster that ran so hard we were convinced he had a double hook up.








The MIL did get a double hook up of 13" pomps during the day and doubles of small pomps was not uncommon for everyone on the beach. Due to low tide and the distance of the trough we spent most of our time wade fishing for the pomps wth a "pocket full of fleas".








Most everyone wade fished but had to sort through many bluefish. By using only fleas when clams were becoming scarce we only caught one blue all day. A success in our book since other fishermen were catching 8 blues to one pomp. Quite an expensive use of clams if you ask me. We left the beach (2 PM) with 10 pomps, 2 whiting, and 18" black drum. Here's a scene of some of the carnage both in bucket and on my driveway right before I spent a long time filelting all that meat.

















We ended the day after filleting with a weighed 7 lbs of pomp! Not to mention a lb of black drum and some whiting. So with all this meat I invited the inlaws back over to my house after everyone had cleaned up for a proper family dinner to celebrate our success. I made some of my home made pomp sushi, pomp negiri, pomp sashimi, black drum rangoons, and pomp tempura sushi rolls and tempura-style pomp. The two rolls we made are my own variations of the california roll (only pomp instead of crab) and philly roll (with pomp instead of tuna). We called the California-style a KSC roll and the Philly-style a Honey roll. Not because the roll had honey, but becasue it came from our honey hole on that beach.









It was an asian-style feast that left everyone stuffed and happy. Pomp makes great sushi, negiri, and sashimi. Next time you have some nice fillets, give it a whirl. Best part was, we still have 0.5lb of drum, and at least 4.5 lbs of pomp to eat this week. We plan to have another sushi party when some freinds from MD come down Tuesday. We plan to make more pomp sushi.
tight lines and full bellies brothers


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## emanuel (Apr 2, 2002)

Nice RATM reference there bro! Nice catch too.


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## Sea Level (Nov 20, 2005)

Nice catch Aaron!


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## bcssux (May 23, 2005)

very nice! dang does that look good...


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## eaglesfanguy (May 1, 2003)

Wow thats a nice day of fishin.....
I love sushi.. But have no friggin clue how to prepare it.. maybe someone could post a how to recipie.. to heck with payin high prices.. if you can do it yourself..... 
Way to go


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## drumrun (Dec 5, 2007)

Wow, that looks amazing!!!!!!!!!


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## jhmorgan (May 16, 2007)

As the others have said, solid song intro. Also, that sushi looks amazing. As a huge sushi fan, I would have to think its a gigantic savings if you make it yourself. Any tips or pointers as to how you did it?


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## KodiakZach (Mar 16, 2005)

Looks awesome Aaron! I am officially hungry now!!!


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## SeaSalt (Apr 29, 2002)

cnp... pretty good for anglo-saxon.  did you marinate the rice? 

thanks for the report and pics were great!


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## cpn_aaron (Apr 11, 2006)

I'm making more sushi early next week when some MD buds come down for a visit and I'll do progressive photos and create a "how to" sushi. 

Initially it's a little expensive to buy the rolling mats (unless you rock the ganja ), sushi rice, and other components to make sushi. But once you drop the $40 for all the major components it's pretty cheap replacing different things as they run out. Plus, fish you caught hrs ago is way fresher than anything you'll eat at teh restaurant.

SeaSalt, yeah I marinated the rice in the rice vinegar to get it nice and sticky. And due to my terminal whiteness I made sure to hold my eyes squinty to aid my inate ability to roll the sushi.


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## SeaSalt (Apr 29, 2002)

cpn_aaron said:


> SeaSalt, yeah I marinated the rice in the rice vinegar to get it nice and sticky. And due to my terminal whiteness I made sure to hold my eyes squinty to aid my inate ability to roll the sushi.


haahaa... make sure you put some quality sake in the rice as well. sushi rice has to be sweet/vinegary(sp?) all at the same time. Never thought about trying pomp sushi... Also, when you prepare the fish, don't wash or get water on the fillet. It will diminish the taste. 

Also try bleeding the fish to get the red out. It will enhance the taste also.


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## cpn_aaron (Apr 11, 2006)

Yeah, the fillets were dry and not washed, but the pomps weren't bled on the beach, so they weren't as white of flesh as usual.


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## SeaSalt (Apr 29, 2002)

cpn_aaron said:


> Yeah, the fillets were dry and not washed, but the pomps weren't bled on the beach, so they weren't as white of flesh as usual.


sorry for all the advice... family has owned a japanese restaurant for over 25 years.


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## cpn_aaron (Apr 11, 2006)

> sorry for all the advice


hey, no prob. All they'll do is improve my sushi rolls. Yum! Any advice is welcomed.


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## fishinmama (Oct 14, 2006)

as if your fishing reports weren't enviable enuf...now you post up a cooking report too, proving yourself to be an accomplished sushi chef!!

that looks great -- great fishin & great eats!


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## saltandsand (Nov 29, 2007)

Please pass the wasabi, looks DELICIOUS!


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## patindaytona (Jun 17, 2006)

The way fishing should always be Aaron! Great catch and you sure know how to prepare them! How's the weeds down that way...I might go to Playalinda on Sunday.


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## cygnus-x1 (Oct 12, 2005)

> Rally round the family! With a pocket full of fleas


Are the "fleas on parade" ?


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## fishbait (Nov 11, 2005)

Looks great! Didn't know you could use pomps for sushi.


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## vulcanizedplease (Jun 24, 2007)

Haha one night me and my buddy were fishing for trout around docklights and I put a few in my pocket and started singing "they rally round the trout, with a pocket full of shrimp." Good catch.


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## AL_N_VB (Apr 3, 2002)

cygnus-x1 said:


> Are the "fleas on parade" ?



started ta "bob" the head to tha tune.

Pretty werk CPN....gonna try some sashimi pomps...

gotta make sure I bring some wasabi and soy sauce this summer


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## RuddeDogg (Mar 20, 2004)

Great job. way to go.


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## cygnus-x1 (Oct 12, 2005)

Nserch4Drum said:


> started ta "bob" the head to tha tune.
> 
> Pretty werk CPN....gonna try some sashimi pomps...
> 
> gotta make sure I bring some wasabi and soy sauce this summer


I would love to some pomp sashimi as well. Too bad they don't come up within my range. Wait a minute don't come up to Little Island pier before June? Are there enough pomps there to warrant a trip to target them?


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## AL_N_VB (Apr 3, 2002)

cygnus-x1 said:


> I would love to some pomp sashimi as well. Too bad they don't come up within my range. Wait a minute don't come up to Little Island pier before June? Are there enough pomps there to warrant a trip to target them?



small...but know ya can target the biggun's at Hatteras...

Every time I target the pomps in VA last year, eith sf's, I wound up with slot pups and yearlings.


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