Brookie Blasphemy

[Rog 1]

Tail eating isn't limited to trout...my wife's uncle caught a mess of bream saturday morning and were invited out to eat that night...first thing most of the table did upon retrieving a fish from the platter was to bite off the end of the tail and proceed to munch and smile...

[2weightfavorite]

Ive been told on smaller trout, when pan fried like the brookies were, that you eat bones and all... Do you guys really eat the bones and all on those smaller fish?

[Jim Casada]

2weightfavorite--What you've been told is accurate, but I wouldn't want to try it on a keeping size fish in the Park. That bones and all approach only works for four- or five-inch trout, which are of course legal in some sitautions but not in the Park.
Deep fried to a crisp golden brown, they are, as Grandpa Joe used to say, enough to bring tears of pure culinary joy to a glass eye.
Jim Casada
www.jimcasadaoutdoors.com

[Shaggy]

While we are on the subject, I wanted to ask a question that I have always been curious about. I have only been flyfishing now for around 4 years and this is the first I have heard of eating brook trout. Is the flavor similiar to a rainbow? Do people eat brown trout? I have never seen brown trout on a menu at a restaurant or heard of anyone keeping the browns for eating? Just curious? Thanks!

[Jim Casada]

Shaggy--They are all (if wild trout) scrumptious. I suspect the reason restaurants invariably offer rainbow trout is because they are easier to rear in hatcheries.
Jim Casada
www.jimcasadaoutdoors.com

[Rog 1]

Cornmeal is the great equalizer....once breaded and fried up all the wild trout taste the same to me...I don't bother with stockers or restaurant trout....the clean, fast water and a nautral diet makes all the difference in the world....if you are in doubt, catch one of the stockers in Gburg and then venture into the park and take a wild trout....clean them at the same time and look at what you get.

[Shaggy]

Thanks for the reply. For me, I cannot bring myself to eat restaurant trout anymore. Not even stocked rainbows. Not after I had my first fried (wild) bow. I could not believe the difference in the flavor! Yes, the stocked fish get bigger, but they taste terrible compared to a wild bow!

[nvr2L8]

I'll pass on the cole slaw as well but some fried okra sure would be a nice match with that.

[Birdman]

duckypaddler,

I commend you on your choice. The Good Lord placed these magnificent, better than any other, absolutely delicious fish there to feed us. Be happy with your choice and enjoy each and every bite.....you've worked hard and spent even harder for it! I have tasted many different types of fish and I can say, assuredly, there is no match under the great heavens. Enjoy the fish and be ever thankful for your wife who enjoys your endeavors. You have helped this stream. Enjoy, my friend.

[brownhunter]

Personally, I don't care one bit for rainbow trout. I will release all I catch in that area. However, I do love streamside brown trout. I like to cut the head off, gut the fish, fill the cavern with butter and spices, and roll it in tinfoil and let cook on grates (I guess on the coals would work as well) for a few minutes and then removed. That is my favorite, but the cornmeal and fried brown trout is also excellent. I do this about 1 time a year on a river where a friend and I camp for a night.
I have never tried brook trout, but I have heard that they are even better.