THE BOOK OF THE PIKE 



soaked so that the scales can be removed, but such 

 soaking does not improve the flavor of the meat. A 

 pan of slimy, blear-eyed pickerel is not a pleasant 

 task to front, and it stands to reason that fish, soaked 

 for two or three hours in water more or less foul in 

 washings from the other fish, cannot be in the best of 

 condition for food. The point I am trying to make is 

 this: The flavor of any fish flesh depends to a large 

 degree upon the care which an angler has bestowed 

 upon his catch. I am convinced that one reason why 

 my friends find "Smith- fried" pickerel delicious is be- 

 cause of the care the fish have received before they feel 

 the heat of the fry-pan. It is not all, nor half, in the 

 cooking. The proof of the pudding may be in the 

 eating, but the proof of the eating is in the prepa- 

 ration. 



A pickerel may be cooked in any of the ways that 

 other round-bodied fish may. No pike lends itself to 

 planking, though it can be accomplished after a fashion 

 before a slow fire, if the fisherman-cook has plenty of 

 time at his disposal and can possess his soul in pa- 

 tience. I shall give but one method of cooking pickerel, 

 for, after all, he is too small to bother with when larger 

 fish can be secured, and anyway, the angler can use 

 the methods for pike and 'lunge if he so desire. Now 

 I will tell how I fry pickerel, great pike, or even small 

 'lunge. My friends say, you remember, they are 

 "almost as good as trout." 



"Smith-fried" Pickerel 



We will suppose I have caught two fish some fifteen 

 inches in length, killing as soon as caught and giving 

 them time to bleed. The scales are removed and, if 



^7^ 



