Trout for dinner?
Rainbow trout? Go fish! I went out fishing and tried a few of my hand tied flies the other day. I enjoy fishing with wooly buggers so much! There is a very rewarding feeling having made your own lure to fool a fish into thinking its real. It’s rewarding enough to know how to put your own bait on the line and catch something. Trout is one of my favorite catches of the day! The hatchery trout planted throughout California by various sources are a notable example of what we can do to positively influence our relationship with nature. Fishing for stocked trout is a bit like catching your own small free-range chicken to eat!
Trout are trickey! They check your lure to see if it’s worth their time. I've only caught wild and stocked rainbow trout but I try to hook into steelhead on occasion when I have my report card. I have not yet been to the areas where cutthroat and golden trout swim. When you find a fishing spot on the shore or in your boat, get a dead or live drift going in the search zone and hold on! Trout like to play tag! They get one nibble of a fly and quickly deduce it’s a hook unlike a young bass that will eat first ask questions later. If you time it correctly or have quick reflexes, you’ll have a fish hooked! Once one of the slippery rainbows stops kicking like a bull and you have it in the net or secure, knock it out cold or sever its brain or spine like a zombie so the poor guy doesn't know our nutritious (malicious?) intent. Then snip or slice under the throat and gills to bleed it out and keep the meat cooling quickly. Remove the innards with a pair of scissors or a knife if you have developed the skill. Rinse it off and, then what?
Putting a trout on a stick and setting it directly over a flame is an effective way to make an offering to the fire gods. The trout are still slippery after life. Hah! General methods of preparation would be to scale it, poach it or wrap it up and bake it. Either way you are looking for the white meat when it is done. The meat should fall off the bone. Keep it simple. Leave the scales and skin on if they are ten inches or less. The skin will peel right off with a fork after cooking. By far one of my favorites but don’t over season. I typically cook trout with an allium family root like onion or garlic. It’s said you can use these scents to catch trout. I have yet to do so. I do know it tastes good with a little salt and citrus. Lemon or lime is always good with fish. I have yet to make a nice homemade tartar sauce. I like to stuff the fish with seasonings and some thin sliced onions along with thyme and black pepper. Oregano goes well with it. I don't recommend frying it. Although it has more bones than a bluegill it is a worthy adversary and will make you feel like a winner when it delivers dinner!
