9781422273180

The Basic Skills for Every Kind of Fishing Deep Sea Fishing Fishing Careers Fly Fishing Kayak Fishing Preparing and Enjoying the Fish You Catch

Elizabeth Dee

MASON CREST PHILADELPHIA | MIAMI

Mason Crest PO Box 221876, Hollywood, FL 33022 (866) MCP-BOOK (toll-free) • www.masoncrest.com

Copyright © 2022 by Mason Crest, an imprint of National Highlights, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission from the publisher. First printing 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Series ISBN: 978-1-4222-4492-0 Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-4222-4496-8 ebook ISBN: 978-1-4222-7318-0 Cataloging-in-Publication Data on file with the Library of Congress Developed and Produced by National Highlights, Inc. Editor: Jacqueline Havelka - Inform Scientific Cover and Interior Design by Torque Advertising + Design Layout by Priceless Digital Media Publisher’s Note: Websites listed in this book were active at the time of publication. The publisher is not responsible for websites that have changed their address or discontinued operation since the date of publication. The publisher reviews and updates the websites each time the book is reprinted.

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CONTENTS Chapter 1: Transporting and Cleaning Your Catch ����������7 Chapter 2: A Southern-Style Fish Fry ���������������������������23 Chapter 3: NewEngland-Style Seafood �����������������������43 Chapter 4: Frying Fish Over a Campfire �����������������������57 Series Glossary of Key Terms ��������������������������������������74 Further Reading & Internet Resources ������������������������76 Index ����������������������������������������������������������������������77 Author's Biography & Credits �������������������������������������80

K E Y I C O N S T O L O O K F O R : Words to Understand: These words with their easy-to-understand definitions will increase the reader’s understanding of the text while building vocabulary skills. Sidebars: This boxed material within the main text allows readers to build knowledge, gain insights, explore possibilities, and broaden their perspectives by weaving together additional information to provide realistic and holistic perspectives. Educational Videos: Readers can view videos by scanning our QR codes, providing them with additional educational content to supplement the text. Examples include news coverage, moments in history, speeches, iconic sports moments, and much more! Text-Dependent Questions: These questions send the reader back to the text for more careful attention to the evidence presented there. Research Projects: Readers are pointed toward areas of further inquiry connected to each chapter. Suggestions are provided for projects that encourage deeper research and analysis. Series Glossary of Key Terms: This back-of-the-book glossary contains terminology used throughout this series. Words found here increase the reader’s ability to read and comprehend higher-level books and articles in this field.

WORDS TO UNDERSTAND

fish well: an enclosure in a fish bucket designed with grating to freely let in water to contain live fish lesion: an open sore parasite: an organism that lives in another host organism to derive nutrients at the host’s expense stringer: a line made of either rope or metal chain along which fishermen can string fish and immerse the rope to keep the fish alive in water ulcer: a type of skin lesion created by inflamed dying tissue on the skin’s surface

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Transporting and Cleaning Your Catch

You’ve experienced the thrill of catching the fish—now is the time to cook! Preparing and cooking your fish is a whole new exciting skill to learn and a great hobby, too. First, let’s make sure the fish you caught are healthy enough to eat. Check the Fish Before you go on a fishing trip, check the level of pollution of the water. Is it safe to eat the fish you catch there? Don’t guess where your safety is concerned. In the United States, contact the Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA. The EPA provides free information for the public on which bodies of water are safe and which are considered a threat to human health. You can access pollution information for local bodies of water from the EPA by entering a zip code or the name of your city or town.

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Check your fishing spot with the EPA before you go. Don’t eat fish from polluted water like this lake that is polluted with oil.

How to Spot a Sick Fish Even if you fish in a safe body of water, check any fish you catch for signs of pollution, chemical toxins, parasites, or disease. Here are some signs that a fish is sick:

• Fins appear ragged, torn, or frayed • Open, bleeding lesions on the skin • Ulcers or open sores on the skin • Large or small bumps on the skin (tumors) • Bloody gills

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• White, cotton-like fungus on gills or other parts of the body • Sunken eyes • Bloody eyes • Scales appear loosened or many missing scales • Bleached-looking flesh • Parasites on or inside the fish You should not eat a fish displaying any of the above symptoms. It’s a good idea to wear disposable gloves when handling a fish you catch. Gloves prevent the transference of disease or parasites from the fish.

This fish has parasites on its back. Never eat a diseased fish. Wear gloves when handling the fish to prevent the spread of parasites or disease.

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Transporting the Fish Be careful when transporting fish. Fish spoil more rapidly than any other kind of meat, and special precautions should be taken, especially in hot, humid weather. When you catch fish, you can keep them on a stringer in the water until you are ready to head back home or to your campsite. You can also store live fish in a big bucket of water with a fish well in it. If you choose to keep your fish in a cooler on ice, keep the cooler out of direct sunlight if possible

Fish should be covered completely in ice and transported. This is particularly important if you are traveling a long distance.

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FISH IS HEALTHY FOOD

Some nutrition experts claim that fish is one of the healthiest meats you can eat. Packed with vitamins, and nutrients, such as iodine, omega-3 fatty acids, and vitamin D, fish keeps your body working smoothly. Omega-3 is essential because it keeps your heart and circulatory system in top shape, effectively reducing your risk of heart attack and stroke. This acid is great for keeping your brain processes clear and sharp and improving your memory. It also aids the function of your eyes and improves your vision. Iodine is essential for the vital health of your thyroid gland. The thyroid regulates the functions of your whole body, such as your rates of heartbeat and breathing, so it’s important to eat foods that contain iodine. By eating fish and bringing more vitamin D into your body, you can help to banish depression and lowmoods. More vitamin D is especially essential during the winter months, when you don’t have much exposure to natural sunlight and may experience seasonal affective disorder. Vitamin D also works to keep your immune system and bones healthy. Medical experts also recently announced that regularly supplementing your diet with adequate vitamin D helps to prevent influenza.

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so the ice won’t melt. One option is to cover the cooler with a waterproof tarp. Ideally, you should transport fish packed in ice, especially if you are traveling long distances. Don’t just lay the fish on top of the ice in a cooler, but cover the fish completely. Layer the fish with ice for maximum cooling effect. Some anglers prefer to scale and clean the fish before storing the fillets in a cooler of ice. If you are transporting the fish live, make sure there's enough water in the container for the fish to survive the trip. Keep the fish container out of direct sunlight. Keeping the fish alive until it’s time to clean and cook them is one way to ensure they are fresh and free of spoilage, which can make you very sick. Some anglers believe that if a fish is allowed to thrash around violently in a boat or on the shore, the flesh gets bruised, making it not so tasty when eaten. You will need the following tools to properly clean your fish: cutting board, knife or fish descaling tool (like the one pictured in the upper photo) and disposable gloves. A pair of poultry scissors might also come in handy.

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Please Don’t Let the Fish Suffer! If you brought your fish home alive, the most humane thing to do is to kill the fish quickly, so they don’t suffer. At fish farms and fishing ranches, I’ve seen anglers proceed to gut the fish while it's still alive, which I consider a very cruel thing to do to a living creature. If the fish is giving up its life so you can eat, please grant it a quick and relatively painless death. Some anglers stun the fish with a quick, hard blow to the head in the area right above the eyes to render the creature unconscious. The first blow is quickly followed by another blow to kill the fish. Other anglers use an ice pick or another sharp instrument and drive it quickly into the brain of the fish, killing it instantly. Any of the above methods are more humane than gutting the fish alive. After you have killed the fish humanely, you can clean it on-site and pack the fish in ice, or you can take the fish home in a container of water and kill it and clean it there. Cleaning the Fish You’re home from your fishing trip with your catch. Now it’s time to transform those fish into a tasty meal for you, your family, and your friends. The first step is to clean the fish and prepare them for cooking. Use the following procedure as a guide: • Gather a cutting board, knives for scaling and gutting the fish, and disposable gloves. • Use old newspapers or freezer paper to collect the fish scales.

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• Using a knife, scrape away the scales from the fish’s body, moving in the opposite direction that the scales naturally grow. • After you scrape the fish clean of scales, wash the fish thoroughly with clean water. • If you used paper to collect the scales, fold the paper and dispose of it. • Put the fish on the cutting board, and cut off the head just behind the gills (optional). • Make a slit in the fish’s belly, all the way down to the anus, being careful not to cut too deep so as to avoid puncturing the intestines and releasing fecal matter.

All the scales have been removed. Wash the fish thoroughly under running water to make sure all the scales are rinsed away.

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