Anglers enjoy a fresh meal of fish. This means freshly caught, cleaned, and prepared. Catch and Releasers miss out on this tasty option. A shore lunch, or fish fry, is the best. Folks that do not like fish, have never had a meal this way.
Fish just taste better outdoors alongside a stream or lake. It’s like a hot dog that is cooked over a campfire is better than from the kitchen. Maybe it’s the spice of nature or just that we are hungry when we enjoy the outdoors.
Several friends and I enjoyed an opening day along a river called the Gunpowder. The state stocked trout and we had parked at a bridge where they must have unloaded the truck. Trout were everywhere.
Initially, we had all spread out and fished above and below the bridge. We caught a few fish but never realized that the Honey Hole was at the bridge. Around noon, we all met at the truck, and someone noticed a school of trout in the bridge pool.
While I was getting out the Tailgate Fish Fry lunch materials, the boys began fishing by the nearby shore. Vernon, “The Black Prince”, was catching trout, tossing them to Scott, “the Yellow Hat”, who was cleaning them up, and giving them to me for the fry pan. Whoever needed to fill their limit got in line and did the same. Now that’s some fresh trout.
While we were enjoying our lunch, a local outdoor writer stopped by to see what was going on. He had been fishing all day with no luck. We welcomed him into the group and showed him how to catch some trout. His spinning gear was a mess, so we loaned him an ultra-light rig that worked. He joined in and added his limit to the meal.
The fish filets were served on rolls with fresh slices of tomato, tartar sauce, pickles, chips, and Cole slaw. Everyone ate their limits, on the spot. The writer also pigged out and seemed thankful.
The next day, in the newspaper, there was the writer’s article about the “Meat Fishermen” that cleaned out the river. The beautiful trout were” Catched and Deceased” instead of “Catch and Released”. He was very condescending over anglers that caught their limits, shared their catch with other sports, and taught him how to catch fish too. No laws were broken, and even the Game Warden stopped by for a sandwich. The writer never mentioned that he was one of the Meat Fishermen.
Fishing is supposed to be fun, but it is also ok to enjoy eating them as well. The Gunpowder River was a Put and Take fishery, not the Madison River of Montana. If the writer was annoyed by anglers catching and eating fish, go to a Catch and Release stream. There was one just a few miles away.
The purist Outdoor Writer had sinned and did not want anyone to know! We never saw him again. We also never read anything that he wrote. He was not experienced, honest, or hungry enough to appreciate fresh fish.
Montana Grant
