If you enjoy the thrill of catching fish, you may want to learn how to prepare it as well. Whether you are an experienced angler or just starting out, it is a great skill to learn especially when you are camping and enjoying time in nature.
Here is a step-by-step process to preparing your wild-caught fish:
- Kill your fish. If you have just caught your fish, you need to ensure that it is fully dead before you begin. Lay the fish down on a flat surface and hold it around the body. Then hit it with a blunt object like a mallet on the top of its head. If you do not have a blunt object you can “spike the brain” by using a knife to cut through to the brain located just above the fish’s eye.
- Wash your fish. Place the fish in a sink and let the water run over the fish and rub its body to clean away any dirt, debris, and slime from its scales. If you are preparing this fish while camping, you can rinse the fish in a body of freshwater. Rub your hands along it
- Remove fins and tail. While you can still prepare the fish with the fins still intact, you may want to cut them off, but this step is optional.
Before you cut the fish, open be sure you are in a safe location. The odor released when you gut a fish can attract bears and other predators so be sure to take the proper precautions.
- Slice fish open and remove its guts. Begin from the tail and cut upwards towards the fish’s head. With the fish open you can remove the guts by pulling them out with your hands.
- Cut the head off. Remove the head by chopping it off at the gills just behind its eyes.
Ready to cook your own fish during your next camping trip? Hop on a seaplane and head to one of Mattice Lake Outfitters’ 14 deluxe outpost camps or our wilderness lodges for some of the freshest fishing in Canada. Give us a call at 1-800-411-0334 today to start planning your trip!