Now That You’ve Caught ‘em, Here’s How to Cook ‘em

  Bluegills, crappie, white bass, perch and just about any sunfish are usually referred to as "pan fish" for the most obvious of reasons - they are of a size that easily fits into a normal sized frying pan.

  Preparing fish begins before you head out to the pond. Freshness is most important for good tasting fish. The aim of any angler who wants to eat his catch is to maintain that delicate, fresh-caught taste. Unlike other meats, fish should never have the slightest hint of "ripeness". Obviously, the best way to assure the peak of freshness, is to prepare the fish right where they were caught, alongside the pond except that is illegal in most states if not all: "It is unlawful to clean fish or possess fillets while on or at a body of water or to modify fish in such a way as to disguise size or species." so check with your DNR for rules in your state.

  There are only two ways to cook pan fish, fried and deep fried, so all that's needed in the way of cooking utensils is a sharp knife and a skillet. A short piece of board makes scaling easy, but isn't absolutely necessary. If the fish are large enough, filleting may be called for. One problem with pan fish is the many small bones and these present enough of a problem that small children shouldn't eat pan fish unless it is filleted.

  If you're not going to fry the fish right as they are caught, proper care of the catch is very important. The best way to keep fish fresh is to keep them alive as long as is practical. The easiest way to do this, while adding to the day's total, is to string the fish and return them to the water. Second choice is to put them on ice. Either way will prevent them from "turning" and developing a strong smell and taste when cooked.

  Cleaning fish, while not high on my list of recreational activities, need not be a chore. The only tool needed for pan fish is a good, sharp knife - a six-inch fillet knife is the most practical. However, since it takes so many pan fish to make a meal for more than one person, you may consider investing in a scaler. After scaling, most folks remove the head, but if you don't, you must remove the gills. Then slit the body open or reach into the cavity and remove the entrails. A quick rinse and it's ready for coating.

  When frying fish with the skin on, the fish must be dipped in water or milk to moisten, then rolled in corn meal, flour or a half-and-half mixture of both. I like to season my corn meal/flour mixture with lots of black pepper, a pinch of salt and a little dried parsley.

  Sometimes, larger blue gills develop a "muddy" taste. This can be eliminated simply by skinning the fish. When frying skinned fish, first dip the fish in beaten egg, then roll it in the coating mix. Or you may want to batter-dip skinned fish.

  Here is my basic frying batter recipe:

  ~ 1 cup sifted flour
  ~ 1/2 tsp. salt
  ~ 1 egg, slightly beaten
  ~ 1/2 - 1 tsp. spices (pepper, parsley, etc.)
  ~ 1 cup flat beer (or water or milk)

  * Mix all the ingredients in bowl until smooth.

  * If the batter doesn't stick to the fish, roll the fish in flour first, then dip.

  Fish fried in animal fat takes on a heavy flavor and loses a lot of its own. I prefer vegetable oil and peanut oil is the oil of choice for me. Experiment until you find one that suits your tastes.

  Time and temperature are the keys to proper frying. Use a cast iron or thick aluminum skillet so the temperature doesn't dip when the fish are loaded in. The best temperature is 375 to 400 degrees. Test fry a piece; it should sizzle vigorously as soon as it hits the fat and brown on one side in about a minute.

  When turned, the other side should brown in about the same amount of time. Don't overcook.

  Remove, drain and serve.

  Cole slaw, baked beans and potato salad are perfect side dishes. Eat the fish while it's still as hot as you can handle it. Don't cover the delicate flavor with tartar sauce!

  Thanks Buck for sharing this recipe. To see our great collection of fish recipes to try or to submit your own, visit our site at www.backwoodsbound.com/zfish.html.

  Send in your favorite recipe to mail@backwoodsbound.com and we'll post it on the site or use it in an upcoming issue of The Bullet.

  Raising mealworms provides an excellent educational experience, teaches responsibility, provide bird food but more importantly, ready bait for fishing trips! We started raising them my daughter brought home the “leftovers” from her science lesson at school and convinced us the little bugs didn’t bite. It was easy to get started.

  The first thing to do is find a suitable container for your farm. We started with a plastic shoe box but later moved them to one of those plastic pink “hospital” pans.

  The next step was to add about two inches of corn meal in the bottom. Wheat bran, oatmeal or chicken-mash are acceptable substitutes. Cornmeal is the cheapest.

  Next, add the worms you have then slice a potato into sections and placed it on top to provide a little moisture without actually moistening the meal enough to sour. Sliced apples and pieces of banana peel can be used but can sour and become odorous. Place a piece of soft cloth directly on top of the potatoes and meal to give the beetles a dark place to hide and provide a place for them to lay their eggs.

  Mealworms, or larva, burrow below the surface of the grain and undergo several molts. Their development is most rapid at the optimum temperature of 80 degrees Fahrenheit. After the last molt the larvae come to the surface and metamorphose into naked white pupae for 6 – 18 days and then into beetles. Adult beetles have wings but rarely fly. They lay their eggs 9 – 20 days after emergence and then die. Egg incubation is 4 – 19 days. The tiny newly hatched mealworms can be seen on the underside of the cloth with a magnifying glass.

  Although we’ve had our mealworm farm on a shelf in our home for several years without covering them, the beetles are supposedly capable of flight. You may want to cover it with a lid that provides good air circulation or a piece of nylon screen. Don’t worry about the worms crawling out. The sides of the plastic box are too slick for them to climb.

  Maintenance is simple. Feed with potato slices once a week (old, wrinkly potatoes work fine) and a cup of fresh meal every couple of months. A couple of times a year I sift out the live worms and beetles from the old grain, wash the container and refill with fresh corn meal. Throw the old meal in the garden or in the outside trash. Avoid using the kitchen trash because there will be tiny worms that you won’t be able to see to sift out.

  Besides being fun to watch, our mealwoms provide ready fishing bait, food for our goldfish (the kids get a kick out of hand feeding him worms), a tasty treat for hungry birds, and a novelty to guests. Rarely does a guest leave without someone showing them our mealworm farm and giving them a lesson on the mealworm life cycle.

  Start your mealworm farm with the leftovers from your next fishing trip or just buy a carton of worms and get started. The work is minimal, the rewards many!

  SPRINGFIELD, IL – Hunters in Illinois harvested a preliminary statewide total of 14,999 wild turkeys during the 2015 Spring Turkey Season, including the youth seasons. The 2015 total compares with the statewide turkey harvest of 13,514 in 2014. The statewide preliminary total includes Youth Turkey Season harvest of 896 birds, compared with youth season harvest of 781 turkeys in 2014.

  Spring turkey hunting was open in 100 of Illinois’ 102 counties. The 2015 seasons were April 6-May 7 in the South Zone and April 13-May 14 in the North Zone. The Youth Spring Turkey Season was March 28-29 in the South Zone and April 4-5 in the North Zone.

  Turkey hunters this spring took a preliminary total of 6,387 wild turkeys during all season segments in the South Zone, a slight increase over the harvest of 6,184 last year in the south. The North Zone preliminary harvest total of 8,612 wild turkeys was considerably higher than the 2014 total of 7,330 in the north.

  "Turkey hunters in the North Zone, particularly in west-central Illinois, benefitted from improved turkey reproductive success during the spring of 2014," said IDNR Forest Wildlife Biologist Paul Shelton. "This was evident from the improved harvest numbers in those areas and a higher proportion of jakes in the harvest than we’ve seen in many years."

  The top counties for spring wild turkey harvest in the South Zone in 2015 were Jefferson (433), Pope (366), Marion (333), Union (312), and Randolph (300). The top five North Zone counties for spring turkey harvest this year were Jo Daviess (601), Fulton (401), Adams (389), Pike (341), and Macoupin (328).

  To explore the great outdoor adventures Illinois has to offer, visit their web site at http://www.dnr.illinois.gov.