Its all in the name!

Slops!  If you check the dictionary for the term, you will find that it refers to some bloomer-looking breeches from days past.  These breeches were supposedly worn by pirates and geezers back in the Medieval Days.  They were poofy-looking things that also went by the name Pumpkin Breeches which pretty much gives an accurate picture of what guys were wearing during the time. Personally, even though Pumpkin Breeches conjures up some rather strange thoughts, if I was a guy I would much rather have my pants called that than Slops!  That name brings some rather unsavory thoughts to mind.

But I am not here to talk men's clothing whether fashionable or not.  I am here, however, to discuss Slops!  This is another humorous local name for a fish.  Who would ever think to name an innocent fish "Slop"?  That poor fish has to go through life with either a humongous inferiority complex about being the most untidy being alive or has tremendous problems with its salivary glands.  Neither of which I can  discover by handling the fish. The fish are just as clean as any other fish in the Bay.  They are, in fact, quite pretty as fish go and I have yet to find copious amounts of slime or other bodily fluids oozing from the "Slop".   Most of the time, these fish are caught in the net when someone is trying to catch Menhaden..or if you remember from past posts..Sardines to the locals.  (Remember..Sardines or Pogies are not to be confused with the little fish that are tightly packed in cans in the grocery store!  Our Sardines are Menhaden which are used as fish bait.  No one that uses them for bait would ever eat them!  That is ridiculous!) Back to Slops...these are not overgrown Menhaden...(or Sardines!) contrary to what some folks think but rather are Shad or so I am told by one of my more knowledgeable kinfolk!  Now, go figure!  When the Shad are caught in the net, more oft than not, they are tossed back into the water.  No one has figured a likely use for them unless they are used as bait for some larger fish.  So the Shad are allowed to live another day.

Now to straighten out all this mess...Slops are not poofy pirate pants they are fish!  They are Shad which run with the Sardines which are not Sardines at all.  The Sardines are Pogies or Menhaden. Pogies or Menhaden are the desirable fish bait while the Shad or Slops are just a tad too large for fishing along the Bayou.  See?  It is all crystal clear now, right?  UmmmmHmmm.  Yep!  Crystal clear!