Had some fun this past weekend with fish that like canned corn even more than trout. They’re big, they’re plentiful, and they put up one heck of a fight.
I’m talking about carp!
Lots of carp!
From a muddy river near you!
Shamelessly caught, harassed, and released with the finest can of cheap corn available at Walmart.
I decided to try my hand at something called a “hair rig” that’s all the rage across the pond. Far more effective than just running corn onto the hook- instead of the usual “tap and run” resulting in lost bait and missed fish, these fish would hook themselves in the lower lip. I’m a big fan now.
Now for a change of pace- A native fish made an appearance on the catfish rod with nightcrawlers, that I feel is undeserving of its “trash fish” status- the buffalo.
Buffalo, however, do not share the poor culinary qualities of their orange invasive lookalikes- so this one was brained, bled, and cleaned to reveal my preference for them. White meat that’s pretty similar to (or better than) good catfish when fried.
Except for the y-bones. The fish needs to be “fleeced” to remove the scales, filleted with the skin on, and then scored to produce chips. That’s right- buffalo chips. No, I didn’t have a say in naming them.
The skin holds the chips together, a coarse breading keeps the chips spread apart, and the hot oil softens the y-bones so they’re palatable (basically invisible). I’m a big fan, and you can do this with anything in the sucker family (especially redhorse).
Or on bigger fish, you can just cut off the rib section, remove the skin, and cut pieces with two ribs in them. The rib bones are large, and no smaller y-bones exist in the meat on top of the ribs. Fry and enjoy- eat them like ribs, chicken wings, corn dogs- whatever you like to compare it to. Just eat the damn things and be happy.
Some prominent outdoor personalities don’t know how to cook freshwater fish, and they deserve every last gag-inducing moment they got from their failed attempts at cooking these things. The only thing “trash” about these fish is the their cooking.
I’m talking about carp!
Lots of carp!
From a muddy river near you!
Shamelessly caught, harassed, and released with the finest can of cheap corn available at Walmart.
I decided to try my hand at something called a “hair rig” that’s all the rage across the pond. Far more effective than just running corn onto the hook- instead of the usual “tap and run” resulting in lost bait and missed fish, these fish would hook themselves in the lower lip. I’m a big fan now.
Now for a change of pace- A native fish made an appearance on the catfish rod with nightcrawlers, that I feel is undeserving of its “trash fish” status- the buffalo.
Buffalo, however, do not share the poor culinary qualities of their orange invasive lookalikes- so this one was brained, bled, and cleaned to reveal my preference for them. White meat that’s pretty similar to (or better than) good catfish when fried.
Except for the y-bones. The fish needs to be “fleeced” to remove the scales, filleted with the skin on, and then scored to produce chips. That’s right- buffalo chips. No, I didn’t have a say in naming them.
The skin holds the chips together, a coarse breading keeps the chips spread apart, and the hot oil softens the y-bones so they’re palatable (basically invisible). I’m a big fan, and you can do this with anything in the sucker family (especially redhorse).
Or on bigger fish, you can just cut off the rib section, remove the skin, and cut pieces with two ribs in them. The rib bones are large, and no smaller y-bones exist in the meat on top of the ribs. Fry and enjoy- eat them like ribs, chicken wings, corn dogs- whatever you like to compare it to. Just eat the damn things and be happy.
Some prominent outdoor personalities don’t know how to cook freshwater fish, and they deserve every last gag-inducing moment they got from their failed attempts at cooking these things. The only thing “trash” about these fish is the their cooking.
