Since this is the time of year for salmon fishing on the Great Lakes, I thought I would share my favorite recipe for these magnificent game-fish.
A personal favorite of mine is on the grill. Recently, I started using a cedar plank to hold the fish. These are readily available at cooking stores, and the website Woot often features them at very low prices. Before using them, you must soak the planks in water for a few hours. If you don’t, they’ll burst into flame on the grill. If you use indirect heat, you can use the planks over and over. Just wash the fat and oil off them. Salmon cooked this way has a flavor that is nothing short of exotic. Of course, if you like, you can forego the planks and just do them on the grill. Once again, though, I would highly recommend indirect heat. With either method, when the flesh flakes nicely, it’s ready to eat. As for seasoning, I prefer Old Bay. It brings out the flavor without overpowering it.
With the early opening of small game hunting this year, I figured it was time for our annual look at a youngster’s first hunting-season. I am referring here to twelve year olds who have completed their Hunter Safety Course and have a license.
Hunting clothes are an important consideration. Don’t just give a kid your old, worn out stuff. In the first place, it won’t fit properly. Secondly, it’s worn out. Instead, outfit her or him properly, thereby insuring comfort afield. Be sure that the clothes fit the weather, so that the youngster won’t roast or freeze. Good boots are nothing short of a must. It’s pretty hard to enjoy yourself if your feet are blistered, sore or cold.
One of the most commonly made mistakes when hunting with a kid is staying out too long. Maybe you’re one of those hunters who likes to hunt from dawn until dark. Chances are, a kid is not. Especially if the action is slow, they can get bored rather quickly, and start thinking about video games. Force a bored and tired kid to hunt for hours, and they will soon find an excuse not to go.
If you take a kid to a hunting camp, don’t get so busy socializing with your friends that you ignore the youngster. Nobody likes to be treated that way. Would you? There’s also an old philosophy that, in their first year at camp, the kid should act as “camp dog.” I, for one, do not subscribe to that theory. As a kid, if I had been treated that way, I would never have returned to the camp. If someone had treated my son that way, I also would never have returned to the camp.
Be patient with the young hunter’s mistakes. Remember, the kid is learning, just as we all had to. Your role should be that of hunting buddy and gentle teacher, not drill sergeant. Too much criticism, especially of the tactless, ill-conceived kind, can turn a youngster into a non-hunter very quickly. If you do it in front of others, it’s even worse.
If the kid bags something, be sufficiently congratulatory. To you, it may be no big deal, but to your young companion, it often represents the trophy of a lifetime.
We all know that success is very important to a young person. Use your skill and knowledge to the kid’s benefit. I really feel that, for that first hunting season, you have to put the youngster’s enjoyment ahead of your own. That may seem like a high price to pay, but it’s not. A hunting companion of many years, and a lifetime of good memories are the rewards.
Email: salmonangler1@gmail.com
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