Cooking your catch: Learning how to spice up any size catch

The lower Grande Ronde ran steelhead green. Sunshine spanned the ridges opposite our side of the river. Frost along the shoreline started to thaw, revealing the contours of riverbank, the trail ahead.

It was going to be a good day.

We passed two anglers floating bobbers in a quiet section of water before we set in at the next run. December cold water offered a welcomed reprieve from the humidity of neoprene.

Our tackle boxes and spare rods and reels – rigged and ready – lay at the river’s edge. We had every contingency covered.

But as is the case with most days spent steelheading, we were counting the hours, not the fish.

When the two fishermen above us left, we put in at their run. The sun arched low. Almost time to drive the 3 hours back home to Spokane.

Then I felt a tug at my line. One aggressive jerk, then another. The line remained taut, though the pulls had quit. I started reeling in, felt a weight at the end. Possibly a branch, I thought.

My lure emerged a few feet away in the water. Caught in its hooks was a barrel swivel, monofilament with a couple of corkies.

I laughed. I had caught another angler’s rig, I thought, then was silly enough to think it was a fish.

But then a jaw line broke the surface. A tired set of eyes followed. I grabbed the steelhead, kept it in water while I checked for an adipose fin, which was clipped. I looked down the throat of the fish, half blocked by a chunk of PowerBait and size 6 Gamakatsu hook.

Not only is it against the law to release a catchable fish caught by live or scented bait in the state of Washington, it is also illegal and unethical to release a fish that has swallowed the hook.

This steelhead was barely 14 inches. Some angler had considered it unworthy of being counted within his limit. I killed the fish, left in the cold water, cleaned it as we packed up an hour later and headed home.

I filleted the fish and boiled its flanks in water with salt and pepper, a couple of lemons and limes cut in half, a few bay leaves. Once the steelhead had finished cooking, I drained the water, left the fish in a colander under running cold water then refrigerated it.

I prepared my chipotle and red pepper mix (removing the skin of the bell pepper and its seeds and pale pulp). I pulsed the steelhead afterward, added only one tablespoon of the mix to the fish, plus my spices, then egg white and the designated amount of bread crumbs.

I had a burner heating oil on low (3 of 10 setting on my home stove). I formed the 4-ounce patties and cooked them for not much more than a minute before flipping and cooking a minute more.

Mexican Crema mix or sour cream or even salsa, garnished with cilantro, pairs well with this chipotle steelhead cake recipe.

There is always a dinner solution for every catch. We can always eat well, even if the harvest isn’t a trophy.