KAMPFIRE KOOKIN’ WILD THANGS

THE WARY BLUEGILL

The Bluegill has been called the fish for old men and kids. Now that I’m getting to be less of a kid and more of an older person then I guess that applies to me. I don’t remember at what age the change came from being a kid to being an old person but I’m sure it was subtle. In my opinion the bluegill is the best all around fish when it comes to eatin’ and havin’ fun catchin’.

A cut willow pole, a piece of string, a hook, a sinker, a bobber, and a little container of bee moths and you have all that is necessary to put some good eatin’ on the table. Oh, and it helps to have a couple of grandkids along to help you have even more fun puttin’ meat on the table.

I have the grandkids keep all the bluegill, sunfish, chubs, bullheads, and other pan fish that they catch since they are all good to eat. I filet them all and put the filets on ice as soon as possible. Now you have several choices when it comes to the table fare they will provide. First of all leave the skin on all filets.

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Bluegill Three Ways

1 – Fried bluegill (panfish)
Roll the filets in a mixture of flour, cornmeal, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika. Fry them in olive oil until they are golden brown. Drain and serve with your favorite condiments.

2 – Deep fried bluegill
Mix up your favorite pancake batter and dip each filet in the batter and deep fry until golden brown.

3 – Mock Shrimp
Dip filets in boiling water for a minute or two and then plunge them into ice water to stop the cooking process. The filets will curl up and look like small shrimp. Serve these cold with shrimp sauce.

4 – Save For Later
If you don’t have enough filets to make a meal then just freeze them until you get enough collected for a good fish fry. To do this without having the fish freezer burn, pack them all in a square plastic container or an empty half-gallon milk container and then fill the container with water before freezing. The filets will be covered with ice and air can’t get to them to spoil them.

Good luck and good eating.