Fall Means Football, Pumpkins, & Fresh Trout!
As much fun as deep sea fishing, spearfishing, and battling fish larger than yourself can be, there is nothing as much fun as working the marshes and bays for speckled trout, and as table fare it ranks among the best of the fishes. When fall rolls around in my part of the world, the trout begin their migrations into the brackish streams, marshes, and upper reaches of the bay, enabling days split between hunting and inshore fishing. Could life get any better? Depending on the area you live in, specks can be caught wade fishing, pier fishing, or from a boat. My favorite fishing platform is a Hobie Pro Angler kayak. Although I sacrifice speed and access to some areas due to distance, with proper planning it’s not a huge challenge to limit out (and fuel costs are excellent!).
Earlier in the Fall, before temps got below 60, we decided to fish one of the local reef projects in the bay. After an hour of fishing, we had only two trout to show for our trouble, caught on a white GRUB and a Fire Tail from H&H (www.hhlure.com). We were debating on heading in when the sure-fire sign of Fall fish appeared on the horizon a quarter mile away. A huge flock of birds were diving on migrating shrimp, and that meant action under the surface. Thirty minutes later, we had six specks, twenty-seven white trout, and were releasing blues and skipjacks by the dozen. About this time, the bite turned off, and we decided we already had enough work to do back at the dock. Another trip a few weeks back was at night. I kayaked along the shores of the bay fishing the lights on piers and boathouses. The kayak makes it easy to sneak quietly within casting range, and when you find lights holding fish the action can be insane! I returned two hours later literally because I was tired of catching fish! When fishing the lights, I like to use a ⅛ oz jighead with white or sparkle/redtail soft plastics. Cast under the lights or just on the periphery of the lights near pilings, LET YOUR LURE SIT & SINK FOR TEN SECONDS, then retrieve with a slow jerking retrieve. You’ll find methods that work better in certain circumstances, but at the right times, you’ll almost always limit out on specks and white trout. Make sure you have a plan to quickly de-hook and store the fish so you don’t miss out on a frenzied bite while fooling around with your already caught fish! Live, dead, and plastic shrimp under a popping cork also work great, but I prefer soft plastics for the action and better casting ability when shooting under piers and around pilings at night. Also, live bait can be a real pain in the rear end to catch, find at certain times, and keep alive. Plus, it is getting really expensive, with a few dozen shrimp going for $15. During the times of year you have shrimp migrating, such as Fall, keep an eye out for diving birds. These are your best fish finders. Carefully and quietly approach the area and slowly drift across or troll and fish the perimeter. You’ll catch fish until you think your arms going to fall off! If you’re in an area with many sandy bottom cuts interspersed with marsh and affected by tides, wade fishing is another productive method and one that’s more adventurous. Carry a long stringer and watch out for toothy competition in he water! (http://saltfishing.about.com/b/2009/01/02/surf-fishing-and-sharks.htm) Much information can be found regarding trout fishing online at sites such as www.louisianasportsman.com , http://www.wadefishing.com/, and www.ateamfishing.com.
There are many excellent alternatives for cooking trout. With white trout, I prefer frying, but I seldom fry specks because other excellent alternatives make frying specks a food sin!
If frying, make sure to remove the skins from your fillets, and lightly rinse before starting. Using a metal bowl or even plastic bag, make a mixture of 4 parts milk, a little salt, some lemon juice, and 1 part egg. Whisk until it’s creamy without much separation. In a separate container, mix your own fish fry, or use one of the excellent commercially available mixtures such as from www.louisianafishfry.com. Put your fillets in the milk mixture, and thoroughly coat the fillets in the fry mixture until all are coated and ready to fry. Depending on the quantity of fillets, use a deep-fryer, deep skillet, or turkey fryer with vegetable or canola oil and heat to about 375 degrees Fahrenheit, making sure to confirm your temp with a deep-fry thermometer (careful about overheating and starting a grease fire)! Fry the fillets without crowding as they’ll cook better if you don’t crowd them together. Usually the fish will sufficiently cook in seven to ten minutes, sometimes a little less sometimes a little more, watch carefully to see when they’ve browned evenly. Remove the fillets and let them drain back into the fryer, then place on a platter on top of paper towels to soak any remaining oil from the fillets. Also, cover the top with a single layer of paper towels and pat down, this will also keep them warm while not causing too much additional cooking to take place. This is a great method to ue when cooking a large volume of fish for parties or get-togethers where large numbers of people need to be fed at once.
For specks, where do we begin? My favorite method follows. Use this and you’ll want to slap yo’momma it’s so good! You will need….
1- Vegetable oil
2- 3 Sticks of butter
3- A little Worcestershire sauce
4- Two lemons
5- Flour
6- Boil down carcasses of fish sans intestines and heads to make about 1 cup of stock
7- A handful of fresh chopped parsley
8- Two eggs
9- Chachere’s or Old Bay Seasoning
10-Salt
11-Milk
12-Three pounds of speckled trout fillets
13-1 Cup of pecans, shelled.
14-Honey
15-1/8 cup fresh cilantro finely ground
16-1 tablespoon of red pepper
Bake your pecans at 400 degrees for about five minutes in your iron skillet, then remove and place ¾ of them in blender. Crush the remainder with a mallet or by placing under the skillet on your cutting board and applying pressure. Add one stick of butter, one lemon’s juice, and a few splashes of Worcestershire sauce, then blend into a semi-thick liquid. Place in bowl for later. Heat a ¼ cup of vegetable oil in a cast iron skillet, then add about a ⅛ cup of flower. Stir until you’ve made a brown roux, then add your fish stock and bring to a boil and never stop stirring! When the mixture starts boiling, turn the heat to low and stir for about a half hour. Add in two sticks of butter, two tablespoons of honey, and three splashes of Worcestershire, and keep stirring for another 15 minutes. (Is your arm tired yet?) Combine the roux and the ingredients of the blender in a sauce pan and keep on low heat, stirring frequently. Mix 2 eggs and about a cup of milk, place in a large enough bowl to dip your fillets. Dip fillets in the bowl of milk/egg, then place them in your flour and Chachere’s mixture and coat thoroughly as if you were frying. Place the fillets in a skillet with ⅛” of olive oil and brown both sides, being careful not to overcook. Place the fillets on a plate, then pour the ingredients from the blender over the fillets, then the crushed pecans and cilantro on top. Squeeze one lemon over he top. I’ve tried several twists on this recipe, and it always is a hit! The important thing is to try and time the completion of the fillets and and the other ingredients as closely as possible. Good luck, you’ll love it!
