FISHING TECHNIQUE 13 



days. Fungus growths are liable to occur if the water is warm. In 

 stream fishing, all fishes placed in a creel will spoil quickly unless thej' 

 are killed by a blow on the head and packed in moss or grass. They 

 will keep even better if they are eviscerated. 



State laws should be consulted when it is necessary to transport 

 fishes for some distance. In some states the law requires the head to be 

 retained on fishes in transit. Gills and entrails spoil very quickly and 

 may taint the rest of the fish unless they are removed. Portable ice- 

 boxes are very useful for transporting fishes by automobile. 



Sphagnum moss, plentiful in the bogs in the far north, makes an 

 excellent insulator for icing fish. Fishes packed with a few pieces of 

 ice in a box lined with sphagnum moss will keep fresh for several days. 

 If ice is not immediately available, the gills and viscera should be 

 removed and the body cavity filled with sphagnum or grass. Fishes 

 should be protected from flies at all times. 



The further preparation of a fish depends on the size, the kind, and 

 individual preferences. Most people merely scrape off the scales, cut 

 out the fins, and remove the head and viscera. The fishes are then 

 , either sliced or split into pieces convenient for cooking, or they may 

 be left whole for baking. Many fishes are improved by skinning rather 

 than scaling. This tends to eliminate much of the strong fishy taste and 

 is recommended particularly for those fishes which are excessively 

 slimy. For skinning, start by making an incision with a sharp knife 

 around the body back of the gills and lengthwise along the middle of 

 the back and belly, taking care to cut around both sides of all fins 

 unless they have already been removed. The skin can then be removed 

 from each side by chipping it away with a sharp knife. A smoother 

 job can be done by loosening the skin with the fingers aided by the 

 knife along the incisions and then working and pulhng the skin off 

 backward. 



Fishes such as walleyes can be easily skinned by splitting the fish 

 and laying each half skin downward on a board. A sharp knife is then 

 passed between the flesh and the skin back of the shoulder. The half is 

 held firmly on the board, and the knife with the edge turned slightly 

 downward is passed backward to the tail, severing the skin and scales 

 from the meat. Walleyes, tullibee, whitefish, and some others can be 

 easily filleted by splitting and lifting out the backbone and ribs with a 

 knife. ]Many fishes can be filleted by taking the whole fish and merely 

 cutting the flesh on both sides away from the backbone and ribs. 



Fishing is an art, and to be truly successful one must study and know 

 the fishes. It has also become necessary to discover how to conserve and 

 maintain an abundant supply of fishes in order to practice this art. The 

 chapters immediately following are devoted to the dynamics of lakes, 

 the maintenance of conditions that enable fishes to live, and the man- 

 agement of waters for greater production of fishes. 



