Sunday Smoked Dinner End of February 2022

It is Sunday the 27th of February 2022.  The weather temperature reached 50 degrees today!  It was a blessing considering the last 4 weeks have been consistently and brutally cold.  The ShakaOG kitchen was in full effect.  Momma seasoned up some baby back rib as well as a whole chicken.  Lil' Shaka and I got the Weber Kettle cleaned up and ready to go.  If you have been following me for a while, you know my method for slow smoking on the Weber Kettle is with the charcoal snake method.  This is one of the best methods to turn your Weber Kettle grill into a full-fledged and legit smoker.

As you can see from the pics above, the ribs and chicken turned out exceptional.  The chicken was melt in your mouth quality.  The ribs were not completely flaky, but they came off the bone easily and were juicy.  Once again, the charcoal snake method also lets you "walk away".  You don't have to be right next to the smoker checking it every five minutes.  You can actually walk away for a few hours if necessary.  The only thing I would suggest is making sure you rotate the meat a bit away from the charcoal snake as it burns around the outside edges of the kettle. 

The Schedule

12:15pm started smoking the chicken and ribs
1:20pm rotated chicken and ribs away from potential direct heat from charcoal
4:05pm took ribs off and transferred them to the Weber gas grill (250 degrees)in foil and apple juice
4:05pm left the chicken on the Weber kettle and kept smoking
5:15pm took the ribs out of the foil and painted or candied them up with BBQ sauce
5:45pm took the ribs and chicken off the grills and brought them inside to rest

Let's Eat!

Carlyle Lake Dam Spillway late February 2022 Fishing

 

The Lil' Shaka and me had not fished since early January 2022.  The lakes and ponds that we normally fish have been frozen over for weeks.  I got an idea to go to the Carlyle Lake dam and fish the spillway which is flowing most of the time.  That means that water should not be frozen over if it continues to move.  The weather on Sunday February 20, 2022 also helped as it was sunny and 55-60 degrees.

Previous Fishing at the Spillway

I have been to this spillway a handful of times when I was a young man.  My dad would take the family out to Carlyle Lake over the summer where we would hang out at the beach and sometimes put a line into the spillway.  We didn't really have too much luck in the times that I have been there previously.  We really didn't have a frame of reference of how to fish the spillway, or what types of fish lurked beneath its waters back in the 80s and early 90s.  I do have a fond memory of my dad catching what I think was a Bowfin down near the General Dean Bridge.  I remember him saying "What do you think it is?" 😀 We were used to fishing in North Dakota when dad what stationed at Minot, ND.  We fished for Walleye up there.  So this was a different ballgame all together.

Power of the Internet

I have said this many times before.  We are now in the 2020s...The internet and the digital age has its positives and negatives.  In this case, the power of the information age has enriched the experiences of human beings.  I can use Youtube, Websites, and Social Media to gain knowledge very quickly about the Carlyle Lake dam and spillway.  I can make decisions based on the information I gather about Carlyle Lake and choose a strategy for fishing.  The thing the internet cannot provide is the personal experience itself.  The actual act of physically going to a place, and experiencing it for yourself, or with your family is the most powerful thing.  It's the sites, the smells, and memories that unfold right in front of your eyes...now that is what is special.

Attack of the Killer Bighead Carp

We weren't even targeting these Bighead Carp.  Lil' Shaka and I were actually throwing around Curly Tail Grubs to target Stripers in the spillway.  We actually pulled in three total Bighead Carp and they were all over 9 pounds a peice.  We foul hooked or snagged all three with our Curly Tail Grubs.  So there is the question I thought to myself...how dense of a population (Bighead Carp) exist in the spillway that we were able to snag three of them in 1 hour?

This is one of those memories that you were not expecting.  You cannot believe it is actually happening.  I will never forget the look on Lil' Shaka's face when a fish over 9 pounds fights him and pulls on the rod to the point he cannot do anything. LOL!

Overall, Mission Accomplished...

The overall mission was accomplished for the day.  We caught fish, regardless if it was the target species or not.  Most importantly, Wife, Son, Daughter, and me got to be outside together for a day that ended up being about 60 degrees.  This is the memory I am trying to recreate as much as I can.  Now the weather temperature has dropped back into the teens this week!  Stay Committed Stay Driven...