Tag: outdoor

Bass fishing tournament on Kinkaid Lake July 11, 2020 (preparation)

The second Saturday of the month means another MO’ Bass Fishing Club Tournament. Follow along as we prepare things for this tournament. We will then have a follow up post to tell you how things went. This tournament is being done as a 1 keeper fish limit due to the heat that is expected.

The MO’ Bass Fishing Club chose to go to Kinkaid Lake in southern Illinois for the July 2020 tournament. The original time was scheduled to be 6:30 to 2:30, but with the temperature expected to be in the 90s and a heat index of 103, a decision was made to end 2 hours early for angler safety and fish health. Everyone is going to have to find a keeper fish during the morning. If you read the previous post about Kinkaid Lake, you will remember that the minimum size limit is 16 inches. If you haven’t read it, check it out and you will find information about the lake and area.

The St. Louis region has not had much rain recently with some minor exceptions, and it has been sweltering hot. With the lake being off limits to MO’ Bass anglers since Monday, it is hard to say what the actual conditions will be. We are expecting the water to be clear and the weeds to be thickly matted. In past visits to Kinkaid Lake during this time of year, we have found some smaller fish in the thick grass mats, but not too many keepers. Finding one keeper that is the big fish of the day is definitely going to be a challenge and may need to be found out deeper in cooler water around structure instead of in the grass.

Wade has studied a lake map and, with his recent success, has put a game plan together. The plan is to start out with some topwater lures. You can’t rule out an early morning top water bite even in the grass. So, a frog is tied on one rod and a walking the dog action type bait is ready. After the sun gets up, it will be time to move to the edges of the grass and find some deeper water.

For the rest of the day, deeper water structures (rocks, standing timber) will be targeted. Several rods are rigged up and ready to go. The deep water presentations will include a jig and craw, a Texas rigged soft plastic worm or creature bait, and medium depth and deep diving crank baits. Wade is not the type of fisherman who likes to stop fishing to re-rig a rod, and he will definitely have a lot of rods out to rotate through during the shortened tournament.

Stay tuned for an update about which baits were successful, which were not, and what changes were made. We will also give details about the specific baits used. While there is no money on the line for MO’ Bass Club tournaments, they are still exciting and filled with a lot of anticipation for the competition and fellowship that is enjoyed at each tournament.

If you have any questions, comments, suggestions, or anything else for discussion, click the comments button and feel free to share with us. You can also click the contact us button at the top of the page to comment privately. To get updates about this post, the follow up post, and additional posts, be sure to click the subscribe button and enter your email address.

Outdoor grilled pizza

One of the great things about summer is outdoor grilling and cooking.  Not only does outdoor cooking help keep temps inside cooler, but there is nothing like the grill flavor on our favorite foods.  Wade and I often like experimenting on the grill to see what new flavors we can come up with.

In the recent months, we have been going crazy with pizza dough.  Living in St. Louis, cracker style pizza crust is the town’s go to style.  However, being natives to Delaware, there is nothing like a New Jersey style pizza crust.  You know the kind and if you don’t, you have to try it!  Thinner style crust that is crispy, yet chewy and you can fold it in half while you eat it!  Just thinking about Jersey style pizza has my mouth watering!  Let me reminisce about being on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, walking the boardwalks, and eating pizza.  So good!

So what does this have to do with grilling?  Well, why not grill pizza outdoors?  It may not be the traditional way of baking pizza, but it is just as good.  I recently found a recipe for Jersey style pizza dough.  It is simple to make but it does take time.  The dough needs to rise in the refrigerator anywhere from 1 to 3 days.  Planning in advance is a must, but it is worth it in the results. Even if you don’t want to make your own dough or have the time to wait, you can use refrigerated pizza dough or any premade crust. 

We use a pizza cooking stone that fits perfectly in our grill.  You can preheat the cooking stone, or I prefer just to make the pizza on the stone.  I find it easier than having to transfer the pizza from one plate to the other particularly when the stone it hot.  You can do whichever you refer, just be careful if you are using a hot stone!

Variations:

Options – there are so many options!  Here are some of our favorite ways to make pizza.  Feel free to use one and let us know which ones are your favorite!

  1. Classic cheese pizza – who can go wrong with the basic!  Pizza sauce, fresh basil, provel cheese (only found in the St. Louis area), and mozzarella cheese.
  2. BBQ chicken pizza – BBQ sauce, canned, grilled, or smoked chicken along with red onion, jalapenos, corn, avocado, diced spinach, cilantro, and your choice of cheese.  Add a little flare with an extra swirl of BB sauce on top.
  3. Orange Brie pizza – a recent favorite we experimented with when we had extra brie left over from a new macaroni and cheese recipe.  Orange marmalade diluted slightly with orange juice for the sauce ( you could also use peach or other fruit flavor of your preference).  Added sliced red onion, brie, smoked/grilled chicken, and some spinach.
  4. Pesto pizza – we make our own homemade pest – so simple and delicious!   Use pesto as the base for the pizza, sliced tomato and fresh mozzarella.  Add some cooked chicken or steak for an added flavor burst!
  5. Buffalo Chicken Pizza – Ranch dressing or buffalo sauce are both a perfect base for this.  You could also use blue cheese if that tickles your fancy.  Add cooked chicken, cheddar cheese, diced onion, and maybe some celery seed.  And dinner is served!
  6. Alfredo pizza – alfredo sauce is a creamy base for this Italian favorite!  Add spinach, diced onion, mushrooms, and cooked chicken topped with mozzarella and parmesan cheese.  So good!
  7. Smores pizza – nothing says outdoors like smores.  Add chocolate chips (or mix it with caramel chips, etc) as the base.  Sprinkle with mini marshmallows and mini graham crackers.  You can also add on to this traditional favorite with crushed peanuts or pecans.  This also great over a campfire if you have a grate to place the stone on!

This is also a great way to involve every member of the family!  Kids love helping create pizzas and they can experiment with their own twist!  You never know which one will become a family favorite.

A quick note – keep the heat around 350 – 375F.  You need to make sure the dough has enough time and heat to cook thoroughly.  If the heat is too high, the inside of the dough could still be uncooked.  

After grilling your pizza in the great outdoors, sit back, select a drink of choice, and enjoy!