18 March 30- April 13, 2018 VOL. 37 • ISS. 08

Not only do beautiful trout like this put up a great fight, when handled properly they also provide the center piece for a memorable dinner!

This is what the successful culmination of a trout fishing adventure looks like, a well-cared for rainbow roasted and ready for eating. Trout taste great and they are good for you!

folks ask me about caring for trout in the field. I don’ t think I’ ve gotten that

question twice over the past 10 years and then different guys ask me the same thing on back to back days ….

I figure for every person that asks a question there are several quietly wondering the same thing, so the subject for this week’ s How To article is caring for trout!

I actually covered this subject in great detail in Chapter 29 of my book,“ Trout Tactics” … Here’ s is

Visit any trout lake when the fish are biting and you’ ll see both bank and boat anglers with trout on stringers. Trollers often tow their stringer of trout off the side of the boat, while the shore guys generally attach a short line to their stringers and toss the trout a few feet off the bank. During the dead of winter when the water is cold keeping trout on a stinger might be okay, but for the rest of the year it just doesn’ t work if your goal is to have the highest quality trout for the table.

The two most important things an angler can do to enhance the flavor and texture of the trout they keep is to bleed them and keep them cold. Most anglers neglect to bleed their trout and that’ s a mistake. If a trout isn’ t bled the blood that is left in the circulatory system will darken the flesh and make the meat softer. It will also impart a strong flavor to the meat.

There are a couple of different ways to bleed trout, but the simplest and most effective that I’ ve found is to whack them on the head just hard enough to knock them out and then use a knife or scissors to cut their gills. Once the gills are cut, presents

I immediately put the trout in a cooler. If the trout is submerged in the water melting off the ice, the meat can become waterlogged and mushy. If you’ re going to be out fishing for only a few hours just laying the trout on top the ice will work just fine. If you are planning to be out all day or longer, it pays to place the fish in a plastic bag once they’ ve bled out. This way they will stay plenty cold without soaking in water.

In general, I don’ t like to leave the entrails in my trout for more than two or three hours. Fish have strong digestive fluids and the last thing you want these fluids to do is seep into the meat surrounding the abdominal cavity. Fortunately for us trout anglers, trout are one of the easiest game fish to clean.

Certainly, you’ ve heard the old saying that there is more than one way to skin a cat. Well, I’ m here to tell you that there is more than one way to gut a trout. My favorite method is to take a razor sharp fillet knife and slit the trout open from the vent to the gills. Then I cut across the back of the trout’ s neck until I sever the spine. After that I set the knife aside, hold the trout’ s body in my left hand and pull down on the head with my right. When you pull down on the head the incision you made will continue down behind the pectoral fins, detaching the head. After the head comes off the entrails will still be attached to it. Pull downward toward the tail and all the trout’ s insides will come out just like that. The final step is to scrape out the blood line that lies along the spine at the top of the abdominal cavity. After that give the trout a quick rinse and the job is finished.

If you prefer to leave the head of your trout attached you still start out by slitting

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