news&views Summer 2020 | Page 26

Outdoor Living Duane Radford | Article and All Photos Cooking Yo Alberta Fish R Care of Fish and Preparing Your Catch Fish are highly perishable, and it’s best to ice them after they’ve been caught and store them in a cooler to preserve their table qualities. Inland commercial fishermen pack their catch belly side down covered with shaved ice. As soon as practical — and in accordance with the fishing regulations — they should be gutted or filleted. What gets ruined in the field cannot be made better in the kitchen. As a general rule, if you put your thumb on a fish and the impression doesn’t bounce back, it’s starting to go bad. There are several ways to prepare your catch. Pan-sized trout can be cooked after they’ve been gutted, scaled, and beheaded, with their kidney 14 | arta.net