Hip Downtown Cats

The last week has seen blazing afternoon sun heating up the kitchen to a steamy 95 degrees, which means a) no stove or oven and b) staying out as late as possible until the apartment cools down at night. So, we're going fishing.

That's right, midnight catfishin' here on the three rivers of Pittsburgh. You've seen it on TV during baseball and football games, but the view is even more spectacular from the banks of the rivers at night, and the fishing isn't too bad, either. I'm joined by Matt, whose wife Addie loves both cheese and Matt very much, so she let's him out until all hours to fish. Our spot is on the banks of the Allegheny River between the two stadiums, and our weapon of choice is stinkbait.

We bought a tub of commercial stinkbait a while ago with great success. But it smelled SO bad, I didn't know where to keep it anymore. So we're moving on to home remedies: chicken livers and dough bait. The liver nearly got me a 5 pounder the other night, but my ultralight rig was no match for the mighty cat. The dough has been tricky to get right, and I don't want to offend my neighbors with anything ripening in the sun. Here's what I've got so far:

Gumbo Garlic Dough Bait

1/2 c dried potato flakes
1/2 c water
2 tsp salt
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp gumbo file (just to give the dough a cool name)
enough flour to make a nice dough

If you have some blood from the livers on hand, toss that in, too. Mix that all together, knead it a little, and when it doesn't stick to the hook, use it for chum!

Not for human consumption!

Next time on the Captain's Table I hope we'll be talking about something more edible, something that would go well with all the ripening tomatoes of the world, something like... fresh mozzarella.