Santee Lakes Fishing: Bluegill Going Crazy; Blackened Catfish Recipe

By Greg Evans, Santee Lakes

WEEK OF: September 9, 2013

BASS:

The Bass bite continues to be good in all lakes. Senko’s, frogs, swim baits all working well. Reminder all Bass are catch and release. Shiners are NOT permitted.

BLUEGILL:

North lake 1 and on every lake near the rocks and docks are teeming with Bluegill. This is the perfect time to get the kid’s outdoors and hooked on fishing.

Lakes 2 and 3 were stocked this past Friday with 1,000 lbs. of Catfish.

19,000 lbs. of Catfish has been stocked so far this summer with another 1,000 lbs. due to arrive this Friday.

Camper ONLY lakes 6 and 7 will be stocked on September 27th. Check out www.santeelakes.com for Campsite and Lakefront Cabins availability.

Manny Roybal from La Mesa caught a 6 lb. 4 oz. Catfish out of lake 3 on mealworms. 

Recipe of the Week: Blackened Catfish

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon Creole seasoning
• 1 lemon, zested and juiced
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
• 1 tablespoon chopped chives

• 2 lemons, thinly sliced
• Compound butter
• 4 (8-ounce) fresh skinless, boneless catfish fillets
• 1/4 cup Creole seasoning

Directions

In a bowl, add the butter, Creole spices, lemon zest and juice, salt and pepper and mix to combine. Stir in the chopped chives and set aside. The butter can be made ahead and chilled; bring to room temperature before using.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Preheat a large well-seasoned cast iron skillet or nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Line the bottom of a 9 by 11-inch baking dish with the lemon slices and dollop half of the compound butter evenly over the lemon.

Evenly coat both sides of each fish fillet with 1 tablespoon Creole seasoning. Working in batches if necessary, add the seasoned fillets to the hot skillet, and cook 2 minutes on each side to just toast and brown the seasoning. With a spatula, carefully place the seared fish on top of the buttered lemon slices in the baking dish. Bake until fish easily breaks apart with a fork, 12 to 15 minutes. Immediately top each hot fillet with a spoonful of compound butter.

NEXT STOCK

(stock will arrive on or before date below)

September 20, 2013

1,000 lbs. of Catfish