Coming soon: open water

The snow is starting to melt in Western Montana:



And I saw some open water today!



But it will be a month to a month and a half before the ice leaves many lakes and I can go kayak fishing.  For those of you from the Pacific Northwest who have been kayak fishing all winter, and may not be aware that it is possible to fish when the lakes are frozen, here is proof:  A 12 pound 32 inch lake trout I caught two weeks ago.

Nice fishy!

Awesome

Very nice catch. How do you cook those? I know some folks don't like to eat them and others do. I hope to make an attempt to get a keeper this summer.

Very nice catch. How do you cook those? I know some folks don't like to eat them and others do. I hope to make an attempt to get a keeper this summer.

Lake trout are great cooked, and they are great smoked.  I like lake trout much better than rainbow, brook, or brown trout.  I cook them with salmon recipes, which works very well, and have a bunch of favorite ways to cook lake trout.  I prefer medium-sized (22-26 inch) lake trout for cooking, but the big ones taste fine.  Some people complain about the flavor of lake trout, but I suspect that their complaints are a result of what the lake trout in their area are eating.  For example, old-timers in Western Montana used to complain that lake trout from Flathead Lake were excessively oily, but that isn't the case now.  It may be because back in the day, lake trout were eating a lot of kokanee.  Since Mysis shrimp were imported to Flathead Lake, the kokanee fishery collapsed and disappeared, and the lake trout taste fine.  In fact, the population of smaller lake trout which feeds on shrimp 300 feet down on the bottom of the lake is quite tasty, with rich orange flesh.  The lake trout from Lindbergh Lake are more richly colored than those from Flathead Lake, and I think that the lake trout from Lindbergh Lake are tastier than the lake trout from Flathead Lake.

What's the old saying about "you are what you eat" 

What's the old saying about "you are what you eat"

If I was proficient at Adobe Photoshop, I would provide you with a picture of myself with the head of a fish, the hind legs of a deer, and with my skin dappled with an attractive pattern which looks like chocolate chip cookies. 

Actually, I was referring to the lake trout and why they taste different due to their diet......for me, I am a zinfandel wine vine, fish tail and a belly of chocolate chip ice cream!