This weekend is the Sportsman’s Expo in Sacramento. It begins Thursday and runs through Sunday of this week. Details on tickets, parking, special lectures, demonstrations, a show map and much more are available on the ISE Sacramento website.
Locally, Big O tires have hard copy coupons at their counter in Petaluma, Sebastopol, Santa Rosa and Healdsburg. You can go to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife Facebook site or just log in and search ‘CDFW’ ISE Sacramento coupon. You can download to print or elect the digital option. One thing, the Youth Building is aimed at your children. Lots of fun things for the young family. Even non-responsive teens will enjoy the activities.
Crab season is going full bore for the commercial and sport harvest folk. A crab salad made with fresh crab is a gastronomic delight. East coasters have a different crab, a bit too mild and the Gulf coast has nothing comparable, unless you have a shrimp salad but that is another kettle of fish.
Greens, hard-boiled egg, asparagus, beets, olives and the kitchen sink and Thousand Island dressing are characters supporting your surgical instruments, nutcrackers and picks. Long ago at a crab feed, a nice lady set her basket down on the floor, she set out her own flatware, nutcracker, plates and picks, all marked with fingernail paint.
Over the years an addition of real wine glasses, bottled water and steak knives were added to the basket. These days the basket includes a one-gallon slider bag for each dirty dish. A few sauces go in, depending on the event menu. It makes an amazing difference to your feast. One year at a crab feed Patty Rafenelli, of Dry Creek, set out candle powered melted butter sets for her guests. Wouldn’t you know it, they also brought a selection of their wines for the table. That kicked it up a notch or two. You can do the same thing at home for less than $80 per ticket at the fundraiser. At our church crab feed, one guy set down his basket and declared, “I love crab feeds, I go every weekend during the first two or three months of the year.” Smart fellow.
Fishing is back on the menu. It’s been nearly two weeks since the last big storm, the creeks are running clear and the Russian River has digested enough debris to make for clear water. The local lakes are still a bit silty, but the fishing is picking up.
Mushroom hunting is back in production, get out there for some choice mid-winter wild ‘shrooms. Tragic poisonous mushroom deaths have occurred recently, so be safe out there. Make sure you have an expert look over your haul before it hits the kitchen. One year at Salt Point a friend and his friend were climbing out of the forest just as we were driving by. We stopped and chatted; I asked to see their basket. In it were two deadly poisonous mushrooms. I asked them to call me next time and bring their baskets by for a look. Don’t play ‘You Bet Your Liver’ when eating wild mushrooms.
Bill Hanson is a Sonoma County native and a lifelong sportsman. He is the former president of the Sonoma County Mycological Association. Look for his column in The Community Voice each week.