July, 1918 
FOREST ANI) STREAM 
417 
UTILIZING THE LIMIT CATCH OF FISH 
EACH AND EVERY ANGLER SHOULD WASTE NO FISH AS SIMPLE PRESERVATIVE 
METHODS OF SALTING. DRYING AND SMOKING ASSURE A SUPPLY OF DELECTABLE FOOD 
H EALTH and energy, with increased 
productiveness, are engendered by 
that diversion from strenuosity known 
as angling. Notwithstanding restrictive 
laws and the fact that all true sportsmen 
endeavor to retain no more fish than the 
law allows, the angler sometimes finds him¬ 
self legitimately possessed of more fish 
than he can immediately utilize or keep 
fresh until his vacation ends. In such in¬ 
stances the fish become a waste and a loss 
to the food supply. 
Under present conditions waste of ordi¬ 
nary fishes is almost or quite as reprehen¬ 
sible as undue destruction of those re¬ 
garded as superior varieties. There are 
some anglers whose list of game fishes 
comprises only two or three species, or it 
may be only one, and who regard all other 
forms as “coarse fish” and undesirable. 
There are others whose lists include some 
of these very same coarse fish and they 
may even be the favorite fish. 
The suggestion to which the foregoing 
leads, is that each and every angler waste 
no fish, whether salmon or carp, trout or 
chub, bass or bullhead, perch, sunfish, 
sucker, bowfin, or whatnot. It is suggested 
by the Bureau of Fisheries that such waste 
can be obviated by conservative measures, 
such as those of preservation by salt¬ 
ing, drying, and smoking. 
If the angler adopts the suggestions of¬ 
fered herewith, although it may not at 
first appeal to him, he may later experience 
the gratification of having a supply of fish 
of a kind and delectability which perhaps 
he would otherwise be unable to obtain, 
and he will have the pleasure and pride of 
boasting to his family or guests that he not 
only caught but cured the fish himself. 
Cueing the Fish 
HICHEVER of the foregoing meth¬ 
ods of curing is employed, there are 
two essentials to be provided: 
(i) Salt with which to salt the fish, and 
(2) a receptacle in which to salt them. 
Even those who go to the more distant 
and isolated permanent camps, while they 
may have to take their salt with them, will 
probably have little or no difficulty in ob¬ 
taining there some sort of a container that 
will answer a temporary purpose. But for 
those who go far afield, conveying their 
supplies by pack animal, or packing them 
on their own or their guides’ backs, the 
matter is not so simple, as everything must 
be adjusted to carrying capacity. Yet in 
all cases the object, means, and processes 
are the same, differing only in degree. 
Salt .—Medium coarse salt is the best; 
:ommon barrel salt is recommended, but 
any salt, even table salt, will do. The 
imount required may be estimated from the 
opacity of the containers intended to be 
'filed. One pound of salt to a gallon is a 
rood rule to follow. 
Receptacle .—Where conveniently obtain- 
tble or transportable, almost any tight re- 
eptacle will do—a barrel, keg, firkin, kit, 
r earthen crock. Owing to the liability 
0 rust, tin or iron are not desirable, al¬ 
though galvanized iron or agate-tin ware 
would answer for a short period. Where 
transportation is not a serious considera¬ 
tion, earthen ware crocks make excellent 
containers, but for all around convenience, 
everything considered, wooden containers, 
if not made of resinous wood, are prefer¬ 
able. For its size, nothing excels a com¬ 
mon firkin, which may be had in various 
sizes. It affords the advantage of a handle 
by which they can be carried or fastened 
to the carrier. Some boxes are sufficiently 
tight, or can be made so, to serve as tem¬ 
porary containers, or an empty lard kit, 
tub, or other similar receptacle may be used. 
There should be a tight fitting top or cover 
with any of them. The salt and other sup¬ 
plies may be packed in the container. 
Preparing the fish .—The usual procedure 
is to split the fish down the belly to the 
vent, removing the viscera and cutting off 
the head and tail; make a cut on each side 
of the backbone inside of the body cavity; 
cut the bone in two as far back as can be 
reached and remove the cut-off portion; 
then make a deep cut along one side of 
the remainder of its length, and lay the 
fish open. The fish should be washed in 
salted water and the blood removed from 
the backbone or that portion of it which 
remains. If the fish is too large to go 
into the container, cut it into proper lengths. 
Large, stocky fishes like the carp, buf¬ 
falo, drum, etc., may be skinned or scaled, 
severing the head and removing the back¬ 
bone. Then cut into lengthwise halves, and 
into crosswise sections to fit the container. 
The heads of small fishes and the scales 
of fine scaled fishes need not be removed, 
although if the heads are left on they 
should be split and the gills removed. 
Small fishes such as the brook trout, cisco, 
and small sizes of other similarly shaped 
fishes may be split along the back, on one 
side of and close to the backbone. The 
backbone need not be removed. 
Small, slender fish like the smelt and 
some lake herring, which it is not neces¬ 
sary to split, should be cleaned by drawing 
the viscera out of the body cavity as the 
head is severed, or along with the gills if 
the head is allowed to remain. 
The degree of nicety observed in dress¬ 
ing the fish, such as removal of fins, bones, 
scales, etc., depends wholly upon the judg¬ 
ment and inclination of the operator. For 
instance, it is possible to trim the meat 
from close to the bones of some fishes, so 
that scarcely a bone is left. This is recom¬ 
mended for such fishes as pickerel and 
suckers. With a little practice it can be 
done with facility by splitting the fish 
along the back to the backbone, thence 
trimming belly-ward close to the outer sur¬ 
face of the ribs; sever the head and remove 
the viscera. 
Salting .—Having prepared the fish in 
some such way as indicated, place a layer 
of salt on the bottom of the container, and 
on this spread a layer of fish, one deep, 
skin side down, tail or narrow end toward 
the center of the container, previously hav¬ 
ing rubbed onto the meat side some salt; 
then cover these with a layer of salt and 
add another layer of fish, repeating the 
process until the container, is full or the 
supply of fish exhausted. 
The salt and the moisture from the fish 
will make a strong brine in which the fish 
may be kept until required for use, if pro¬ 
tected from heat. The temperature should 
not exceed 70° F. A lower degree is safer. 
A piece of board shaped to fit the container 
should be placed on top of the fish and 
weighted down with a clean rock. If the 
supply of fish first packed is not sufficient 
to fill the receptacle, by following the same 
process as before other fish may be added 
from time to time, until the container is 
full. Should the brine evaporate or leak 
out, a sufficient quantity to cover the fish 
may be added. This is made by dissolving 
one pound of salt to a gallon of water, or 
until it is strong enough to float a potato. 
When full the receptacle should be headed 
up or tightly covered. 
“The Game Fishes of the Northern 
States and British Provinces,” by R. B. 
Roosevelt, in a chapter on camp life, gives 
“notes on preserving fish in camp.” A 
recommended method of pickling fish is to 
make a pickle of two parts of salt and one 
part of common brown sugar. It is stated 
that this “will keep them forever.” 
Drying 
HE sportsman who has to travel fc* 
and wishes to save his surplus fish 
will find that by drying he will be 
enabled to take home a considerable sup¬ 
ply, providing his journey is not too con¬ 
tinuous. He would need to remain in one 
place for a day or two at a time. But the 
process of drying may be interrupted, as 
in moving camp for instance, and taken up 
again. In fact partly dried fish, when 
properly prepared, make a very palatable 
change from fresh fish diet. For trans¬ 
portation the fish may be packed in birch 
bark, canvas, gunny sack, camp packs, rub¬ 
ber blanket, or even the duffle bag. For 
conveyance or shipment home they may 
be made into several smaller packages, if 
desired, and packed with other impedi¬ 
menta or shipped by parcel post from the 
first post office reached. 
To dry the fish they should be prepared 
and salted as previously described. They 
need remain only a short time in the salt. 
If the fish are large and thick meated 48' 
hours will be required; medium sized fish 
will need 36 hours, and small fish 24 hours. 
The simplest method of drying is to string 
them on a cord or withe and hang them in 
the sun. To string large fish whole, the 
cord or withe should pierce the fish in two 
places, as at each forward corner, in order 
to keep it flat. Narrow strips or small fish 
need be perforated but once. A good 
method, but one which entails a little more 
labor, is to construct a rack. Drive four or 
more crotched stakes into the ground to- 
serve as supports for two parallel length¬ 
wise poles which should be placed in the 
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