Jill Guidry's Catfish Pie

Well folks, our first guest blogger submission is from Jill Guidry with her recipe of Catfish Pie!
It looks great, I can't wait to try it. Thanks for your submissions, Jill!


Recipe for White Sauce

Ingredients:
1 cup milk
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons flour
Pinch salt and white pepper
2 garlic cloves, crushed

Directions In a small saucepan, heat the milk and 1 bay leaf to a gentle simmer, stirring so it doesn’t scorch the bottom of the pan. Keep the milk on low heat. Make a white roux by melting butter over low-medium heat in a thick-bottomed saucepan. Just as the foam subsides, add the flour, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or whisk to prevent lumps. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes to coat the flour and remove the starchy taste. Do not allow to brown. Remove from heat, then gradually add a bit of the warm milk to the roux and whisk vigorously. Return the saucepan to the heat and bring up to a low simmer, continuing to add more milk and whisk. Cook for 5 minutes until sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Check seasoning; add salt, white pepper, garlic and the remaining bay leaf. To prevent a skin from forming as the sauce cools, lay a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface.



Catfish Pie

Ingredients
1 1/2- 2 pounds skinned catfish fillets
1/2 pint of cider with parsley and thyme in it
salt fresh ground black pepper
1/4 cup of white sauce (make before u start on pie)
1 pound of diced potatoes
2 cloves of crushed garlic
2 leeks chopped fine
1 1/3 cup of mushrooms (slice thin)
1/2 cup of chopped red bell pepper
1/2 cup of chopped celery
1/2 teaspoon of tabasco some Cajun seasoning,
enough pie crust dough to cover the bottom of pie pan and top of pie
1 beaten egg to glaze the crust.

1. Cook the catfish in the cider with the herbs and leeks for ten minutes (season to taste while cooking) and save the liquid.

2. Take the catfish out of the pan and flake it and take out the bones.

3. Cook the potatoes in the fish liquid until they get tender drain them and set them aside.

4. Add all the liquid to the white sauce and stir in the garlic.

5. Line the pie pan with crust and spread the mushrooms bell peppers and celery out then top this with the catfish and potatoes, season again and pour the sauce over the top.

6. Top with pie crust and pinch the edges together, glaze the crust with the beaten egg and bake at 425 for 10 min then at 350 for another 20 min.

If you wish to get to know Jill better, visit her over at http://www.bayouchild.wordpress.com.

Guest Blogger Submissions:
You may send your submissions to http://www.catfishchic@gmail.com with "Guest Blogger Submission" in the subject line - (Very Important, because I get hundreds of emails a day). Please include a link to your blog or website so folks can visit and get to know you better, I would like to mention that by becoming a guest blogger, it is a great way to get more eyeballs on your own blog. Just be sure to include your blog link at the bottom of your post!
Happy Fishing!
Catfishchic

Chris Rolph's 96lbs. Bluecat, Caught In The Ohio River!

Thu Jun 11, 6:15 PM ET
This photo provided by Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Chris Rolph poses with his catch of blue catfish, weighing 96 lbs. in the Ohio River near downtown Cincinnati on June 11, 2009 . Rolph's catch is 54.5 inches in length with a 36 inch girth. His catch is awaiting certification as the new state record blue catfish pending review by the Outdoor Writers of Ohio State Record Fish Committee. It will replace the first ever state record blue catfish certified in 2008 of 57 pounds 3.2 ounces.(AP Photo/Ohio Department of Natural Resources)

I would just like to share this with ya'll. What a great catch! Kudos to Chris Rolph! It looks like he caught it on a rod and reel too. All I can say is "WOW". I am so excited for him! Congrats Chris!

Happy Fishing!

I found this story in Yahoo! News. AP Associated Press http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Ohio-Department-of-Natural%20Resources/photo//090611/480/212688d509754cf295c495afb006b822/;_ylt=AhP7co70jmZe0lkpen8gp6ADW7oF

Soap Bait

Here is another method, and that is soap bait! Catfish are very strange eaters. Yes, they will bite on soap bars. They enjoy Ivory, Lava, and Octagon bar soap. Try any brand that you have on hand. You just never know what they will bite until you try. The first thing that you will need to do is bake the soap in the oven until it becomes pliable enough for you to cut it up into 1 inch chunks, without it crumbling. Baking the soap, will also make it easier for you to bait your hooks. Please keep in mind that soap has lye in it and it will eat the points and barbs off of your hook, if left in the water for a long time, but it is well worth the trouble. I must also mention that in the very hot summer months, soap bait will not be the most effective way to bait your hook. It will melt too quickly in the very warm water. I use this method in the spring and in the fall.

Happy Fishing!

Catfishchic

http://www.catfishchicsfishingstore.com/

Household Baits

The baits that I would like to talk to you about should be easy to get your hands on, and very cost effective for your budget. I am going to mention chicken and beef livers and gizzards. Some folks wrap them around a treble hook and then wrap a piece of old nylon stocking around your baited hook and tied with some string or a rubber band. Chicken and beef livers and gizzards tend to fly off when you cast your line. So that is why people wrap it in the stocking. The blood still attracts the fish. No worries. Other folks set out a paper towel and set the liver pieces in rows and sprinkle them with garlic salt. Just let them sit for a few days. They say that the salt dries up and toughens the meat, so it will stay on the hook better. The garlics's function is to attract the fish. Catfish love garlic. You can also use any meat that you have in the icebox, that you might not have been able to cook before it went bad. Catfish love old meat! Just doctor it up with the garlic salt and let it sit out for a while and you will not have any problems catching catfish! You can also use hot dogs that have been cut in 1 inch chunks. Put them in a resealable baggy, then doctor them with the garlic salt and let them sit in the sun for a week. Good Luck!
Happy Fishing!
Catfishchic
http://www.catfishchicsfishingstore.com/

Natural Catfish Bait

This post is for the novice catfishermen or "catfishchics" out there. I am by no means an expert at catfishing, but I sure do love it! I am here to exchange information and to promote fishing. I have been fishing for many years now. I enjoy loading up the truck in the evenings with my tackle, bait, my dog, and the kids in the neighborhood that are willing to go with me. I enjoy baiting my hooks and just waiting for that bite. Today, I would like to talk about the different types of bait that I use. Catfish love to bite on a bunch of different things. Of course. you just have to try them and see what your local catfish are biting. I would also like to mention that you should try to notice things in the fish's enviroment for natural bait. If you see a bunch of mayflies on the water and the fish are feeding on them, then hey, why not bait your hook with the mayflies and see if the catfish bite. That is just a example. They also will feed on grasshoppers, crickets, beetles, worms/nightcrawlers, crawfish/crawdads, shrimp, just to name a few. You may find something else, you never know until you look. Please stick around for more on baits in my next post, Household Baits. Thanks!

Happy Fishing!
Catfishchic
http://www.catfishchicsfishingstore.com

Catfish are so beautiful. :)