The first of October in many regions, Bay of Plenty included, signals for a dedicated few, the reopening of many Trout fishing spots. A frenzy of new seasons activity will be happening at places like the Ohau channel or Lake Tarawera. Fisher people will be talking Silver Dorothy, floating line, retrieve speed, shooting head, weight forward and size 12, 10 pounder and many more jargons of the game.
Brown and rainbow trout are the target species. Trout are an oily fish species belonging to the same family as salmon. The key difference between the two is that most salmon species are salt water fish and trout are all fresh water.
Different lakes and rivers have different rules and regulations. Size, species type and gender, number of fish, method of fishing and fishing times can all differ slightly, depending on location.
Trout is not a fish species commercially available over a shop counter. It is against the law to catch and sell trout.
There are unlimited ways of cooking trout. Baked whole with almonds, filleted and gently fried in butter, crispy fried skin on or wrapped in tin foil and baked over an open fire, to name a few.
Trout is also often caught, processed and eaten close to the place of catch. A classic way in this situation is often hot smoked over manuka sawdust, served with crackers or bread, and washed cold with a couple of cold frothy frosties!
Cooking tips
Remove guts and gills as soon after catching as possible.
Baked whole wrapped in wet newspaper and cooked in embers of open fire.
Fry in butter and serve in fresh white bread with lemon mayonnaise.
Smoke over wood chips, serve warm with hot toast.
Dice flesh and toss in pan with parsley, lime zest, olive oil and fresh spaghetti.
Grill and serve with poached eggs, hollandaise sauce and toasted sourdough.
Serve sashimi style when fish is in prime condition.
Bottle trout for a rainy day fish pie
