Wishlist fish

WISHLIST FISH CALICO BASS

DARKNESS. SUSPENSION. BEATINGS. YOU’D BE FORGIVEN FOR THINKING THAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT BDSM BUT, LURKING IN THE KELP FORESTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, IS A DIFFERENT KIND OF DOMINATRIX, THE FRECKLE-FACED CALICO BASS. NICHOLAS BLIXT OF PATAGONIA FLY FISHING GIVES US THE LOW-DOWN. SAFE WORDS DO NOT APPLY.

Photos. Nicholas Blixt and Noah Rosenthal

WHAT: Calico bass derive their name from the mottled bronze colouring across their flanks. Also called kelp bass, Paralabrax clathratus is a saltwater bass that falls under the Serranidae family, making it loosely related to groupers. They grow to about 14 pounds, though a double-digit fish has never been caught on fly and, given their slow growth (a 10 pound fish might be 30 years old), it’s extremely important that they be released whenever possible.

WHERE: Calicos can be found from Central California all the way down to Baja. They are truly a prime Southern California pursuit, where they can be found in kelp forests or tight to inshore structure such as jetties and breakwalls. “Night time is the right time”—you can catch calicos in the daytime but, to maximize your chances at a substantial fish, night or grey light is your best bet. HOW: For the most part, I use a 10 weight fly rod with heavy sinking lines, a short 20 lb leader, and heavy, weedless flies. Even a 1-3 pound fish will put a good bend in the 10 weight, and the strike from a larger fish will likely have you hanging on for dear life. You’re typically casting as tight to structure as possible, then stripping extremely slowly to maintain contact with the fly as it sinks. The initial hit from a calico never gets old.

WHO: A fly guide in Southern California will get you into prime calico habitat either inshore or at the local islands. Ex-pat South African Capt. Vaughn Podmore (instagram. com/saltyflyhb), based out of Huntington Beach, is known for this in particular. For a more DIY approach, take a paddleboard out to inshore artificial reefs for the chance to get towed around by a good-sized bass. This was how I got started on calicos.

FODDER BEERS & BEATS

A BLACK IPA, A ROCK MIXTAPE AND A FEW PIRATES WALK INTO A BAR… EDITOR-AT-LARGE, CONRAD BOTES, WEIGHS IN WITH ONE OF HIS GO-TO HOMEBREW RECIPES AND A PLAYLIST INSPIRED BY HIS FAVOURITE FESTIVAL ON THE INDIAN OCEAN ISLAND OF REUNION.

“Fuck the alcohol ban! I’ll brew my own.” A panel from Bitterkomix 18 by Conrad Botes and Anton Kannemeyer available from soutiepress.com

THE BEER – BRUCE’S BLACK IPA

If you are reading this from any country other than South Africa, it may surprise you to learn that every time our president addresses the nation, there’s a rush on bottle stores just before he speaks. You see, it’s not that we know the news is bad (although with the pandemic and a cratering economy, it invariably is), but rather the fact that alcohol sales in South Africa have been intermittently banned under lockdown. Depending on which COVID wave we are in and how much pressure is being put on our hospitals, word goes out that booze sales are on (or off) again and there’s a stampede. I no longer have that problem. While some people learned to code, to bake bread or speak another language under lockdown, to avoid spending months as an involuntary teetotaller I decided to learn how to brew beer. Now, when President Ramaphosa clears his throat, the idea of a booze ban does not worry me. In fact, given the choice, I prefer my home brew over the beers I used to buy. I recently brewed a batch of black IPA from a recipe given to me by Bruce Williamson of Chopper One Brewing (facebook.com/ChopperOneBrewing). I always thought that black IPAs were a bit gimmicky but, I must say, my current batch is excellent. If you like IPAs and are keen to try something different, you should give this one a bash. It assumes a decent level of brewing know-how so, if you are a beginner, maybe start with an easier beer and then graduate to this. The following recipe makes a 20 litre batch.

The Grain Bill

The grain bill is a bit more diverse than a normal IPA, and although the speciality grains seem small in quantity, they are the real stars of this recipe. If your brew shop doesn’t have all the grains, ask them for a suitable substitute. I couldn’t find Melanoidin and replaced it with Biscuit malt. 2,5 kg Maris Otter 1,5 kg Two-row base malt 0,5 kg Munich light 0,35 kg Carafa II 0,15 kg Cara Munich 0,1 kg Melanoidin The mash temperature is 65 degrees Celsius for 60 minutes. Strike water volume is 16 litres and the sparge is 12 litres at 77 degrees Celsius. A key variation in your mash is that the Carafa is only added for the last 15 minutes of the mash, which will limit the harsh roast flavours, but give it lots of colour.

The Hops Schedule

For your bittering hops, you are going for a first wort hop, which will allow better hops flavours and softer bitterness. In a first wort hop addition, the hops are added to the wort during the sparge and before you start the boil. First wort: 25 gr Chinook and 25 grams Citra. The second hops addition is 25 grams of Chinook at flameout and you’re going to do a whirlpool at 70 degrees with a 20 minute stand. The dry hop is after active fermentation is complete, and I added mine three days before bottling. This is the biggest hop addition and it’s going to give you that typical hop-forward character of an IPA. Dry hop with 25 grams Citra, 50 grams Mosaic and 50 grams Simcoe.

For yeast you can go for Fermentis safbrew us-05.

Conrad Botes drinking his own black IPA on the banks of the Breede river. Photo Platon Trakoshis.

THE ROCK À LA BOOZE PLAYLIST

The other thing that was disrupted for me under pandemic lockdown, was my annual pilgrimage to Reunion for the Rock à la Buse festival (ravinedessables.fr) named after “La Buse”, aka Olivier Levasseur, perhaps the Indian Ocean’s most famous pirate. Rock à la Buse is a kick-ass rock concert held every March in Saint-Denis, Reunion. It includes a comic book festival with participants from the Indian Ocean, which includes Africa. Bitterkomix (my series with fellow artist Anton Kannemeyer) gets an invite every year. I would have been there two months ago, but thanks to The Plague, this year’s edition was cancelled. This playlist is dedicated to my friends Pascale Perso (from the band Kilkil) and her husband, Gael Mallet, who both organise the festival. It’s a great playlist for brew day, but it also gets me going when I get in my car at 3 am to hunt kob. If you don’t like it loud, this one is not for you. Crank it up metalheads!

1. I’m Drunk Again - Hank Williams III 2. Drug Train - Joe Buck Yourself 3. Everglade - L7 4. A Moment Forever - Volbeat 5. Unsung - Helmet 6. Black Betty - Spiderbait 7. Fell In Love With A Girl - The White Stripes 8. Ace of Spades - Motörhead 9. Superbeast - Rob Zombie 10. Chop Suey! - System of a Down 11. Kill The Emperor - Everlast 12. Te Quiero Puta! - Rammstein 13. The Ballad of Chasey Lain - Bloodhound Gang 14. Explosivo - Tenacious D 15. Y’all Motherfuckers Need Jesus - The Goddam Gallows 16. Going Out West - Tom Waits 17. The Dancer - PJ Harvey 18. The Call of Ktulu - Metallica 19. We Are The People - Iggy Pop 20. Words of Advice for Young People - William S. Burroughs

PRESS PLAY >

MIIR - GROWLER

What sweet drinking vessel is that you ask? That dear friends is the 1.9L Miir Vacuum Insulated Growler, fittingly pimped for The Mission with one of Conrad’s artworks by our outdoor expert friends at Just Like Papa. Sporting a buckle lid that locks in place when open and a handle for easy carrying on the walk home from the brewery or pouring a few pints for your friends, it’s built to last. With Thermo 3D ™ Double Wall Vacuum Insulation Technology, it can keep your beer (up to four pints) cold for 24+ hours or hot for up to 12 hours too.

justlikepapa.com

SPEAKING OF PIRATES…

We could not help but be intrigued by this new release from Islay distillery Ardbeg.

The Arrrrrrrdbeg Committee

Exclusive release commemorates the retirement of their legendary distillery manager Mickey Heads. The first time the distillery has used ex-rye casks for maturation, Ardbeg describes this whisky as having “aromas of gunpowder, smoked banana and pears”, an “armada of anise and toffee,” and a long finish that “leaves a salty spray with Brazil nuts and gentle smoke.” It sounds like they have both made a fitting tribute to Mickey and produced a fine bottle of grog. ardbeg.com