Chapter XXIV: The Angler's Kitchen

"The reputation that trout enjoy as a food-fish is partly due to
the fact that they are usually cooked over an open fire.... The
real reason why food cooked over an open fire tastes so good to us
is because we are really hungry when we get it."--HENRY VAN DYKE.

"Moses, the friend of God--Lev. xi., 9, Deut. xiv., 9,--appointed
fish to be the chief diet for the best commonwealth that ever yet
was. The mightiest feasts have been of fish."--WALTON.

"... and fish the last
Food was that He on earth did taste."

W. BASSE.

"If you eat your kind, we will eat you."--BENJ. FRANKLIN.

=Catching vs. Cooking.=--"I care little whether I catch a fish on a No. 6 or a No. 5 hook, or whether I use a $3 reel or a $2.99 one. Whether I use bay leaves, or cloves, or mushrooms, or tomato sauce, or tartar sauce in preparing my fish is more important. Game is improved by hanging for a while, but fish should be eaten as soon as possible after being caught."--"Piscator."

=Fish as Food.=--The great variety of flavors in fish food makes an ichthyological diet more palatable than quadruped meat, and therefore more healthful because only that which is eaten with a relish is digestible and nourishing.

=Forest Fish Sauce.=--Use a wild rose berry to make a sauce for fish food in camp.

=Carp.=--The carp, celebrated in ancient song and story as the meat of kings, is as savory as the trout or any other fish species if cooked and served correctly.

=Preserving Fish.=--Don't pack fish in wet grass or anything damp. Use dry straw.

=Frozen Fish.=--Don't freeze fish unless you keep it frozen until quite ready for the fire, as it spoils soon after thawing.

=Scaling Fish.=--Use an ordinary horse currycomb.