CHAPTER 12

Fish for the Dinner Table and the Den

In This Chapter

How to select fish to keep and how to keep the catch fresh

How to clean, freeze, and cook fish

How to get good fish photos

What steps to take when getting a fish mounted

By nature, human beings are hunters and food gatherers so there’s a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment when catching fish for the dinner table, an act that connects an angler to the natural world and gives him or her a feeling of self-reliance. By nature, human beings are also recorders of special events so it’s easy to see why fish photographs and mounts are popular among anglers.

In this chapter you’ll learn how to select fish to keep for eating and how to best prepare those fish for the dinner table. You’ll learn how to keep the catch fresh, how to clean your fish, how to preserve them for future meals, and how to cook them. In addition, you’ll learn how to take quality photographs of your catch and what steps to take if you opt to have your special catch mounted.

Selecting Fish to Keep

Even though catch and release is standard procedure for many anglers, that practice should not deter other anglers from keeping fish to eat. When selecting fish for the dinner table, some basic guidelines come into play.

First of all, the fish must be legal according to the regulations for open season, of legal size length, and within the daily bag limit. Also, anglers should follow all health advisories regarding the eating of fish from waters with such advisories. Anglers should keep only fish that are to be cleaned and eaten with the exception of a trophy fish for mounting. If a legal fish is severely injured or dying, it should find its way to the dinner table.

Selective Taking

When deciding what fish to keep for eating and what fish to release, a growing number of anglers are selectively taking fish. This practice involves keeping small and medium-size fish for the table and releasing large fish. The selective taking of fish makes sense for two reasons. Small and medium-size fish are usually better eating anyway, and large fish that are released have the opportunity to spawn again. While most regulations include minimum-length requirements, anglers who practice taking fish selectively commonly self-impose a maximum-length limit. For example, on occasion I like to keep walleyes for eating, but any fish over 24 inches goes back into the water.

Keeping the Catch Fresh

Fish and fish flesh are quite delicate, so once you have decided to keep your catch, take appropriate measures to keep the fish fresh. The best guarantee of freshness is to keep the fish alive. Most boats today are equipped with aerated livewells, which keep fish alive for the duration of a fishing trip as long as the water is periodically cycled and the fish aren’t overcrowded.

Fish can also be kept alive on stringers and in wire baskets. Again, the key is not to confine too many fish so that they become stressed. Some anglers like to stringer their fish through the gills, but hooking fish through the lower lip keeps them alive longer.

Fishing Vocab

A livewell is a watertight compartment on a boat for keeping caught fish alive. Livewells usually have a means of aeration. Baitwells are smaller versions of livewells, and baitwells are intended to keep bait alive.

Cold water is another option for keeping fish alive especially in the cooler months. A 5-gallon bucket or larger container with cold water will hold fish for a couple of hours as long as you limit the number of fish in the container. This method works best for species such as panfish and bullheads.

If fish cannot be kept alive, the next best option is to immediately clean the fish or kill them and cool them down as quickly as possible. A solid knock on top of the head easily takes care of the dispatching, and the most effective cooling method is to get the fish into a cooler with ice. Stream trout anglers commonly cool their catch in a creel containing a bed of moistened vegetation.

Cleaning the Catch

Cleaning fish is a skill, and the best way to learn is firsthand under the direction of an experienced cleaner. Don’t expect perfection; your initial efforts will likely be a bit sloppy, and that’s okay. Just keep cleaning, and before too long, your skills will improve markedly.

Two fundamentals of cleaning fish are to do so as soon as possible after the catch and to use a sharp knife. Dull knives have no place when cleaning fish. In addition to that sharp knife, other fish-cleaning aids include a sharpening stone, cleaning board or cleaning surface, scaling tool, skinning tool, water for cleaning up, means of carcass disposal, and a container for the cleaned fish. Some marinas, launch sites, and fishing camps have cleaning stations, and they are ideal places for cleaning the day’s catch. The same sites sometimes offer fish-cleaning services for a reasonable fee.

Because of the various bone structures and skin makeups of different species, all fish are not cleaned in the same fashion. Three common cleaning methods, though, are scaling and gutting, filleting, and cutting into steaks.

Scaling and Gutting

Scaling and gutting is an easy-to-master cleaning technique, but the method does leave bones in the finished product. Generally, this method is used for panfish and fish that will be baked. You begin by using a knife blade or scaling tool to remove the scales by scraping from the tail to the head of the fish. Next, point the blade toward the head and insert the knife into the anal cavity. Then slit the stomach cavity all the way to the head, but avoid making too deep a cut. After that, remove all the entrails making sure to get the line of dark material under the backbone. The final steps entail slicing off the head and removing the fins.

Some people like to leave the head attached for presentation purposes, but such fish do take up more room in cooking pans. Since trout have such fine scales, they are commonly not removed, and since bullheads and catfish have a tough skin rather than scales, the skin is removed prior to the gutting process.

For bullheads and catfish, simply make a cut through the skin just behind the head and continue the cut down each side of the fish. Then turn the fish over and complete the 360-degree cut by slicing across the belly area. Next, use the point of the knife to split the skin on either side of the dorsal fin. Then use a skinning tool or pliers and remove the skin by pulling it toward the tail. Sometimes the skin comes off in one piece; other times it comes off in two pieces. At this point you have the choice of breaking or cutting off the head and removing the entrails or of filleting the fish. Head removal works better on smaller bullheads and catfish and filleting works better on larger fish.

Filleting

Nearly all species of fish can be filleted although slight variations exist in methods because of different bone structures and fish sizes. Filleted fish offer the advantage of boneless eating.

The basic filleting technique begins with the fish on its side, and the cleaner making a cut halfway through the fish (to the backbone) just behind the head. Then with the blade pointed toward the tail, you slide the knife through the rib cage and along the backbone through the fish’s entire length, making sure to stop before getting to the tail. Next, you flip the still-connected slab behind the tail and separate the flesh from the skin by sliding your knife blade between the two. At this point, flip the fish over and repeat the same process on the other side. The final step is to cut out the rib cage from each fillet.

This method works great for species such as bass, bluegills, crappies, yellow perch, and walleyes. Some species like northern pike and salmon, however, have additional bones so some extra cutting is needed. Removing these bones requires a bit of finesse, and having a teacher guide you through the technique is the way to go, although demonstrations are available online. Essentially, you have to guide the knife blade and gently work it along one side of a row of bones and then the other side. Again, a sharp knife allows for proper feel of the bones.

A variation of the basic fillet technique begins with the same cut halfway through a fish just behind the head. Then, instead of cutting through the rib cage, you work the knife along one side of the backbone, cutting to the top of the rib cage. Once you work past the rib cage, push the knife all the way through the flesh and slide the knife along the backbone to the tail as you would when using the standard fillet method. Finish the process by flipping over the still-attached slab and using the knife blade to separate the flesh from the skin. Turn the fish over, and use the same procedure on the other side. This variation of the basic technique works on all species but is used most often for large fish or fish with thick-boned rib cages.

Steaking

Cutting into steaks is another method used for large fish especially when fish are going on the grill. This method begins with the basic cleaning that consists of scaling or skinning, gutting, and removing the head and fins. After determining the desired thickness of the steak, cut through the flesh to the backbone. Then using a thick-bladed knife or cleaver, sever the backbone and complete the cut. Repeat these steps along the length of the fish, realizing that the tail section is better suited for filleting than making steaks.

When cleaning any fish, but particularly larger ones, I advise removing all fatty tissue as well as the lateral line, steps that ensure sweeter-tasting fish. Conclude the cleaning by giving the fish a light rinsing in cold water. Finally, clean up the area, wash the cleaning tools, and properly dispose of the carcass and other fish parts.

Freezing Fish

Because fish are fairly perishable, it’s best to cook or store them as soon as possible. If fish are to be eaten within a day or two, they will keep in the refrigerator. Otherwise, freezing is the way to go, and smaller portions are more easily stored than larger ones.

Fast growing in popularity for freezing fish are vacuum sealers. This sealing process keeps fish fresh, and the machines work for other food products as well. A second freezing method involves wrapping the fish using freezer paper, wax paper, or aluminum foil. Less effective at maintaining freshness than vacuum sealing, wrapping will keep fish fresh for a couple of months if sealed tightly, and double-wrapping is recommended. A third freezing method involves placing the fish in a container and covering the fish with water. Commonly used containers include plastic freezer containers, milk cartons, and plastic freezer bags.

No matter which freezing method you use, be sure to label the container with the date so you know what fish should be eaten first. As a general rule, frozen fish hold up well for a couple of months if the packages are well sealed. When freezing fish, I use the plastic freezer bags and cover the fish in water. Fish caught and stored in the fall do maintain their freshness for winter eating.

Cooking Fish

When cooking frozen fish, you should thaw them slowly in the refrigerator. If the fish have been frozen in water, dump off the water periodically and remove any soft ice pieces. Running cold water on a sealed container of frozen fish will speed up the thawing process. Again, remove ice water and ice pieces periodically, and always avoid thawing unprotected fish in water.

General guidelines say to cook fish for a time of ten minutes per inch of thickness. If you overcook fish, the flesh dries and loses its favor. The standard methods for checking doneness are noting when the center turns from a transparency to opaqueness or probing with a fork to see when the flesh flakes apart. Here’s a look at eight ways to cook your catch, the most common of which are pan frying, deep frying, baking, broiling, and grilling. Less common methods include making chowder, poaching, and smoking.

Frying

Pan frying and deep-frying fish are simple methods that produce a tasty product. Whole panfish and fillets are good choices for frying. When cooking thicker fillets, I recommend cutting them into smaller pieces rather than frying the entire slab.

Fish coatings add flavor, and coating possibilities include flour, pancake mix, homemade concoctions, and store-bought coatings. Some people like to roll the fish in the coating, but I like to coat the fish by shaking them in a bag containing the coating, a process that is less messy and makes for easy cleanup.

Cooking directions amount to heating the oil to 370°F, putting a coating on the fish, placing the coated pieces into the oil, and removing the fish when it’s done. Pan-fried pieces need to be turned over halfway through the cooking process. If you are pan frying a 1-inch piece of fish, you would turn it over after five minutes and cook the other side for five minutes. If you are deep-frying a 1-inch piece, you would remove it after five minutes since the piece is being cooked on the top and bottom sides simultaneously. Disadvantages of frying fish are the cholesterol content and cleanup of the cooking oil.

Real Fishing

Most cookbooks contain a number of fish recipes, and you can’t go wrong using them or adapting them to your own liking. I confess, though, that my favorite recipe is a simple one whether I’m cooking fillets of perch, crappie, bullhead, or walleye. I dip the fillets in egg, coat them in pancake mix or a commercial coating, and pan fry them in olive oil.

Baking

Baking is an easy single-dish method of cooking fish. Mild fish work well, and any size fish that fits in the dish will yield a healthful product. Simply preheat the oven to 375–400°F, place butter, cooking oil, marinade, or white wine in the bottom of a covered dish, add the fish, and cook until done allowing ten minutes per inch of thickness. Baked fish allow for seasonings of choice.

Broiling

Broiling is especially popular for cooking steaks and large fillets, but fish of any size lend themselves to broiling as long as you do not overcook them. Broiling amounts to turning the broiler on high, putting oil, marinade, or white wine in the bottom of the pan, basting the fish with the liquid, and cooking until done, using the rule of ten minutes per inch of thickness. Place thicker fillets farther away from the heat source. Like baking, broiling allows for flavoring the fish with seasonings of choice.

Grilling

Grilling is a fun way to cook fish, and the method works well when using steaks and large fillets. The drawback of grilling is that cooked fish tends to fall apart and then fall through the grating. Aluminum foil prevents this, but the foil also limits some of the grilling flavor in the fish. Other options include using a perforated rack on the grating or a special holder with long handles that cooks one side and then is flipped over to cook the other side. The key to successful grilling is keeping the fish moist with repeated basting. When marinating fish for grilling, an hour or so usually suffices. Like baking and broiling, grilling allows for seasonings of choice, although lemon is the most popular.

Making Chowder

Fish chowder is another cooking option, and be sure to use only small pieces of boneless fish. Chowders are either tomato or milk based, and both have potatoes and corn added. Bacon slices, too, are standard in milk chowders.

Poaching

Poaching or boiling works best for mild species and small fish pieces. Fish may be dropped into the boiling water, but using a poacher works better. The poacher is simply a rack with a handle, and the rack can be lowered into and removed from the boiling pan. Poached fish may be served hot or cold with a mild seasoning of choice. My favorite is cold with shrimp cocktail sauce for dipping. Despite earning the name of poor man’s shrimp, this dish is rich in taste.

Smoking

Smoking is a lesser-used method of preparing fish but one of the tastiest. While homemade smokers are an option, most people use commercial smokers as well as commercial marinades. For best results, follow the directions that come with the smoker, and you are in for a special treat.

Fish for the Den

Fishermen have always liked to show off their special catches, so keeping such fish for showing and then eating or keeping the fish for a wall mount have been standard procedure. Today’s anglers still have those options, but more popular display methods include photographs and replica mounts, choices that bear a conservation-oriented motivation.

Catch-Photograph-Release

CPR (cardio pulmonary resuscitation) is an everyday medical abbreviation, but the same letters also have a place in the fishing world, where CPR stands for catch-photograph-release. CPR allows anglers to show their special catches to others, to have a visual record of the catch, and to enlarge that record for display in the den, office, shop, or elsewhere.

Since a prime objective of CPR is to successfully release the fish, anglers must take steps to avoid stressing the fish by minimizing the time it is actually out of the water. First of all, have the camera handy and get ready to take the picture prior to removing the fish from the water. This may mean placing the fish in a livewell, leaving it in a cradle or net in the water, or actually holding it in the water, although holding a fish in the water involves the risk of it swimming free of your hold. For large fish, cradling results in less stress than netting. Prior to removing the fish from the water, decide on how you want to set up the photo.

Real Fishing

I often find myself on fishing ventures with fellow outdoor writers, and when someone hooks a nice fish, an odd thing happens. Instead of going for the net as most anglers would, these writers go for their cameras because a picture is worth a thousand words.

The best times of the day for getting natural colors in your photos and eliminating shadows are early in the day and again late in the day. If your catch occurs during the midday hours, then use the fill-flash to eliminate shadows. If the catch occurs at night, it’s sometimes difficult to frame the picture, but the auto flash takes care of the lighting issue.

Bad Cast

When getting their picture taken, some people hold the fish out in front with arms fully extended. While this does make the fish look bigger, a viewer easily sees that the setup exaggerates the fish’s size. For a more realistic photo, hold the fish out in front of your body with arms partially, rather than fully, extended.

If the angler is holding the fish vertically, make sure it’s at chest level and not in front of his or her face. When holding a fish horizontally, the angler’s fingers should be under the fish’s belly rather than on the front side where they detract from the fish’s natural features. In all photos, make sure the angler holds the fish squarely to the camera because you want the fish to look good. Unless you are trying to include some scenery in the background, fill the frame with the fish and the holder’s face. Here are some more photo-taking tips:

Make certain the background is clean.

Wipe away any blood.

Make sure the fish is clean and wet.

Remove the subject’s sunglasses.

Tilt the hat up to eliminate shadow over the holder’s eyes.

Position the holder so the sun is on him or her and the fish.

Use the fill-flash if there are shadows.

Shoot from a lower angle than the subject.

Fill the frame with the fish and the subject’s face.

Shoot quickly and efficiently because successful release is critical when performing CPR.

Mounting Fish

A fish mount provides a lasting memory and makes for an impressive room decoration. For any angler, the choice to have a fish mounted is a personal one. The most common factor in deciding to mount a catch is size. For example, some anglers set personal goals such as a 20-inch brown trout, a 10-pound largemouth bass, or a 50-inch muskellunge. Some anglers opt for mounting because a fish is the biggest he or she has ever caught of a particular species. Unique catches such as first of a species or a rarity in a particular area, too, are motivation for mounting. Also, anglers commonly mount fish caught on special trips, whether it’s a Florida largemouth bass, Labrador Atlantic salmon, Manitoba Northern pike, Alaska rainbow trout, Texas striped bass, Quebec brook trout, Minnesota muskellunge, or Washington chinook salmon.

Taxidermists offer two options: the skin mount or the replica mount. The skin mount requires keeping the fish and the replica mount allows for releasing the catch. When doing a skin mount, the taxidermist removes the skin from the fish and preserves the skin. That skin is placed over a Styrofoam form, and then the taxidermist paints the skin to match the original look of the fish.

Real Fishing

For both types of mounts, the ballpark charge is somewhere in the range of $10 an inch. Depending on the taxidermist’s schedule, turnover time runs from several months to a year.

When landing a fish that is to be skin mounted, be careful not to damage the fish, especially any fins or the tail as they are hard to repair. Using a cradle or landing by hand causes less damage than landing with a net. Taking photographs of the fish will help the taxidermist paint the original look. If possible, keep the fish in cold water or dispatch it with a rap to the head. Then wrap it in a wet towel or towels, making sure to protect the fins and tail. Place the wrapped fish in a plastic bag, and then place it in a chest freezer or take it immediately to the taxidermist.

When doing replica mounts, the taxidermist uses photos and measurements from the catch to reproduce a painted fiberglass mount that looks like the actual fish. The replica mount offers a win-win situation because the fish is released and the angler gets the mount.

When landing and handling fish for a replica mount, you want to impart as little stress as possible to allow for successful release of the fish. Replica-mounted fish require a bit of handling because photographs and measurements are necessary for the taxidermist. Realizing that time is of the essence, you should take photographs of the fish, measure its length from tip of the snout to the tail, and measure its girth at the widest part. A soft measure tape works better than a stiff one, especially when measuring girth. If you don’t have a measuring tape, use a shoelace or piece of fishing line or rope as a measuring device. Then record the measurements and any other noteworthy characteristics of the fish that might aid the taxidermist.

When selecting a place to display your mount, two rules come into play. First of all, get spousal approval. Secondly, hang the fish where it is out of direct sunlight and away from sources of heat and moisture. Fish mounts require little care except for periodic dusting.