182 TROUT LORE 



nal vigilance is the price of delicious fried fish. 

 Some cooks roll their fish in corn-meal, flour, or 

 bread crumbs before placing them in the pan: 

 which is all right for perch, rock bass and such 

 common gentry, but I want my trout crumb free 

 and water pure. 



Spitted trout: There arrive days when we 

 find ourselves without a fry-pan and hungry for 

 fish; yet without cooking utensils we can man- 

 age to get along. Once upon a time my pisca- 

 torial partner and I went into the woods upon 

 our annual vacation, and when we unpacked our 

 outfit we found ourselves without a fry-pan of 

 any description ; yet we stayed and had a good 

 time. To spit trout, clean and wipe dry, re- 

 move gills, but do not cut off the heads. Cut 

 and peel two green sticks, preferably hardwood, 

 and sharpen one end. Thrust through the fish 

 just back of the gill-covers and close to the back- 

 bone. My rule is, a fish and a slice of bacon, a 

 fish and a slice of bacon, and so on until I have 

 all I need for a meal. Only small or medium- 

 sized fish should be used, and consequently the 

 stick should not be overly large. With a good 

 bed of coals it is possible to cook thoroughly a 

 string of trout in this manner and have them 



