Adventures In Smoking

Assembling the pieces

After a recent fishing trip I found myself furnished with a rather fine rainbow trout; it didn't feel like a whole-cooked fish kind of night so I thought it was the perfect time to have a crack at smoking. I managed to cobble together a smoker from things I had lying around and made a recipe inspired by the Whole Larder Love book and various episodes of River Cottage. It was surprisingly easy and I'm very happy to report that the results were spectacular.

Building Your Smoker

• For the main chamber of the smoker I used the tin from some Royal Dansk Danish Butter Cookies, the kind you always find yourself with but can never quite remember where they came from. I pierced holes in the lid to let the smoke out.
• For the smoking rack I used a baker's cooling rack and cut it into a circle the same diameter as the tin. I left a couple of centimeters on a few of the horizontal bars and bent them over so that the rack sat away from the bottom of the tin.
• I put a couple of handfuls of shavings into the bottom of the tin. There seems to be a lot of discussion about the best wood to use for this, but I had a pile  left over from carving spoons which I used, it was mainly birch.
• For a heat source I had the burner from my Trangia. You can use a gas hob or stove top but I didn't want to stink the house out with smoke so a portable option was preferable.

Ready

Cooking Method

• Firstly I descaled, cleaned and filleted the trout.
• I made a rub that was 2 parts salt and 1 part brown sugar and gave the fish an all over coating. This was left in a sealed Tupperware container overnight in the fridge.
• The next evening I washed the fish, removing the excess rub and patted it dry.
• I placed the fillet inside the tin skin side down, closed the lid and lit the burner.
• After a couple of minutes smoke was billowing out of the holes in the lid. I gave each fillet about 10-12 minutes which seemed perfect.

The finished piece.

The fish was moist and tender, and it crumbled perfectly. It had a deep-infused smokiness and that salty smoked-fish tang. It was so morish I wolfed the first fillet down immediately. I saved the second for breakfast and had it on an English muffin with a poached egg. Perfect.

River Cottage Handbooks

River Cottage Handbooks

Field guides, cookbooks, gardeners manuals, forager's friends, sustainability source-books, fisherman's companions and ethical way markers – the River Cottage Handbooks form an ever expanding reference library; a set of contemporary, practical guidebooks; the culinary equivalent of the Audubom Field Guides.

River Cottage began as a small-holding project of chef and journalist Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, it was his attempt to live a simpler life, away from the trappings of a larger city, a way he could have a closer, more conscious relationship with the food he consumed. From simple beginnings River Cottage has now become a culinary empire and while it has grown exponentially it hasn't wavered in it's ethical, hands-on, back-to-basics philosophy. The River Cottage Handbooks are the embodiment of this. 

Building my collection

For those familiar with the River Cottage series, you may recognize some of the handbooks' authors – John Wright, Pam 'The Jam' Corbin, Gill Meller and Nick Fisher to name a few. It is this pedigree of authors that makes each handbooks truly invaluable, while each has recipes they are far more than cookbooks, they are a deep-dive into the authors specific specialty. You not only learn how to cook herbs you learn how to grow, cultivate, harvest and store the finished product. You don't just learn how to cook fish, you learn how and where to catch them and how to eat sustainably. The books are exquisitely presented, with colour photography and easy to follow instructions for all experience levels. They seem to operate slightly away from the TV goings-on, and have a timeless, practical quality.

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall is certainly a polarizing character, even within my family opinions are mixed. Some see him as a rich kid, backed by Channel 4 money, living in some kind of fantasy world, preaching to all about his virtues. For others he is a real pioneer; someone that cares deeply about how we feed ourselves and about the moral, ethical and environmental impact that we have on the world.

I find myself in the later camp – I've watched Hugh ever since 1995 when he presented "A cook on the Wildside" and have watched the entire "River Cottage" series many times. I find myself continually inspired by his escapades, and while he does bullishly preach the virtues of his lifestyle, at least he walks the walk with his activism, and as Yvon Chouinard said “To do good, you actually have to do something.”

For the last few Christmases and birthdays I have managed to acquire several of the handbooks and have started building the complete collection. They are now go-to's for inspiration as well as guidance. Hunt them out.

Farewell Stripers

Seasons End 2014

In the past few weeks the last of the striped bass have left my local waters and continued on their annual journey South. Just like the retirees and holiday makers, they are heading for warmer climates after a summer gorging on Maine's seafood.

It was by far my most successful year of fishing, early in the season I made a pact with myself and only fished with flies and only ones I tied myself. This was, at times, highly frustrating, especially when fumbling double halls, battling winds and getting drenched while wading in the pitch black. I'm really glad I stuck with it, there were even moments out there when I felt like I got it;  when the sun was slowly rising over mirrored waters and I was making perfect tight loops, targeting fleeting shadows beneath the water. I cannot wait for their return.

Until next season, I shall leave you with this, from Mark Kingwell's wonderful book "Catch and Release"

“Fishing teaches us to dream, to find apertures of possibility in the edifice of daily life; to act by contemplating and contemplate as a way of acting. To angle is to live in hope. And just as surely, hope’s contours are revealed by angling calmness.”

— Mark Kingwell - Catch And Release, 2003

On the Fly

First fish of 2014 on a fly

As far as evenings go, it looked unpromising. A thick low cloud clung to the coast, the surf was big and an abnormally high tide had pushed a mountain of water up into the river. As the tide gradually switched from slack to outgoing, the river picked up pace and began to empty back into the sea.

Having fished this river often I knew there was only a few feet of wading room before the drop-off so I gingerly edged forward into the frigid Maine waters in the evening gloom. As I began to throw my rookie double hauls into the current, I had already resigned myself to another skunked striper session.

Today, however, it happened - twice. They were far from monsters but heavy-weights in significance. My first stripers on a fly, and one I tied no less.

House of Hardy – 1969 Catalogue

The House of Hardy - Anglers Catalogue 1969

Found this gem in Macleod's Books, Vancouver. What a wonderful book shop, there are piles of seemingly unorganized books to rifle through. This catalogue came from its depths; a real fishing time capsule, one to study and drool over. I uploaded a whole bunch of catalogue pages here. Check out the "Anglers and Sportsman's Pipe."

The House of Hardy - Mark 1969

The imagery in this catalogue is pure fishing gold but I especially love their logo - thick lines and great colours.

Fish On

The stunning Phillips River

It finally happened, I caught my first real fish on a fly. All it took was a trip to British Columbia, a day on the magnificent Phillips river, an awesome guide, a honeymoon, and a very patient Mrs. VHD.

Pink Salmon

Not the striper I'd been hunting but a beautiful wild pink salmon. Known here in the States as the humpback salmon in Canada they are called pinks, allegedly for their attraction to pink lures. This beauty fell prey to a pink woolly bugger. I also pulled in a couple more pinks and a decent sized cut-throat trout, all on the fly. Amazing.

Bean School of Fly Fishing Button

As tradition dictates I'm finally able to rotate my LL.Bean outdoor school pin the right way up and wear it with pride. Big thanks to our guide Kyle who put us on the fish.

Chris Yates – The Lost Diary

Chris Yates talking about his lost diary

UPDATE: The book has been successfully funded so keep an eye out in the coming months!

I have spoken about Mr Yates in past posts - he is one of my favorite fishermen; he is beloved by nearly every British angler as an author, photographer and staunch advocate for vintage fishing gear and methods. Over the last few months, in anticipation for Maine's fishing season, I read a few of his books - each one is a masterpiece. I knew through Yates' reputation and his previous works that I would love these books, but as each one unfolded I became further charmed and impressed by Yates; his philosophies, his love for the outdoors, nature and, of course, tea. All of which resonate with me and my beliefs.

When I came to the end of "Nightwalk", Yates' magical and lyrical book about walking through nighttime British countryside, I was keen to find out what he was up to next. It was in this search that I came across his intended crowd funded next publication. Entitled "The Lost Diaries" the book is exactly that, a  book of his recently rediscovered fishing diaries dating from the 1980s, including "the last days Chris spent fishing at Redmire after his record catch and the early days of the Golden Scale Club." 

How to Fish and On Fishing at Sea

So for my sake, and for the sake of all those that love and cherish nature,  the outdoors and Yates' writing, take a look at this video and perhaps consider donating to this book. Funding is being sourced through unbound.co.uk which is very much like kick-starter. For a minimum donation of GBP10 you will receive a copy of the book and also have your name published in the back.

So far I have read "How to Fish", "Nightwalk" and "On Fishing at Sea " these are still readily available and I cannot speak highly enough of them.

Clyde Ormond – Survival Fishing Kit

Clyde Ormond's Otudoorsman's Handbook

It's interesting when looking at VHD site stats, just how and where people come from to get here. For some reason the VHD picks up a lot of traffic from people searching for "Survival Fishing Kits," a subject that I've never gone into, until now. Now that winter has set in, and course fishing is largely out of season, it's time to make one, and where better to start than Clyde Ormond's survival fishing kit? It's no secret he is one of myoutdoors heroes and luckily his writings contain a lot about fishing.  His survival fishing kit from "The Outdoorsman's Handbook" is as follows.

“Dozen fly hooks 10-yard roll of mono filament fishing line Small bobbin of silk thread 6 Paper clips

The 12 hooks should be of assorted sizes, ranging from #12–#4. They should be of the wet-fly types, and of good quality. The majority of hooks should be of average size #6, #8, #10 ...

Half a dozen wooden matches, paraffin dipped to be waterproof, should be included to start a fire for cooking the fish. The entire kit will fit into a plastic envelope, which should be sealed tightly with plastic tape. If it is sewed into the pocket of your fishing jacket, you’ll be sure not to leave it behind when you venture into remote areas.”

— Clyde Ormond - The Outdoorsman's Handbook, 1975

Clyde Ormond's Survival Fishing Kit

At the time of writing, Ormond speaks confidently about using this minimal kit in the lesser travelled wilderness areas to easily catch fish. The included paper clips are for constructing make-shift rod guides, which can be lashed to a branch or pole, and the silk thread can be used to make flies–on the fly, so to speak. As well as Ormond's previously featured emergency clothes-pin lure, he also has instructions for tying emergency flies by hand, using equipment in this kit along with everyday scavenged items, everything from scraps of shirttail and aluminium foil, to his own chest hair and found eagle feathers. I'm hoping to try these out in the future.

Clyde Ormond's Survival Fishing Kit

So here we have it, I don't have a fishing jacket, as-such, but this can now live in my hiking and fishing ditty bag, just incase.

Tea Chronicles Pt.9 – Chris Yates

Chris Yates making the perfect bankside cup of tea

Chris Yates is one of the UK's most beloved anglers, he is a prolific writer, contributing to many fishing journals as well as publishing his own books. He is a major proponent of vintage gear and old fishing methods. His love for fishing, nature and the outdoors is infectious and his calm, level manner and slightly eccentric style have made him a real fishing character.

I always loved Chris the angler, but recently I found he was a tea lover as well, this puts him in the REAL hero category for me. Shown here is a little piece he did for gofishing.co.uk about how to make the best riverside tea. He favors the Kelly Kettle an item he's championed for years. In "A Passion for Angling" it gets called out by name multiple times. He also chooses a loose leaf Ceylon blend  from Miles.

If you have not seen "A Passion for Angling" you are really missing out. For me, there is no other fishing program that capture the magic of fishing so vividly. There is no pretension or machismo it is just about the pure love of angling.

Clyde Ormond - Clothespin Bass Plug

Homemade fishing gear

Is there anything more satisfying than catching a fish? How about catching a fish on a homemade lure. I've never really ventured into the world of homemade fishing gear but, as with a lot of my posts, I came across a great article in an outdoor book and had to give it a try. In Clyde Ormond's fantastic "Complete Book of Outdoor Lore" he devotes a whole chapter to makeshift lures. The most intriguing and coolest looking being the clothespin bass plug.

Clothespin Bass Plug

“(1) Start with an old fashioned clothespin. (2) Flatten the top of the knob and burn a small dent at partition center with hot wire to keep hook from slipping. Tie hook between prongs with monofilament, bringing it from top and bottom and knotting it along the side. Then loop it around the neck. (3) and tie on top of plug. Burn eyes into the head. Plug should be charred along top to simulate shading, and “scales” can be added by chipping lightly with a knife blade (4).”

— Clyde Ormond - Complete Book of Outdoor Lore, 1969

Ormond is one of my favorite outdoor authors, I find myself re-visiting his books time and time again. His instructions are a little vague but I managed to fashion something that looked pretty similar. I burnt the top and the eyes, tried to get as much contrast my scrapping the pin to reveal new wood. I also spent a long time fashioning the scales and did a little nimble knot work. It could be tidier but I am rather proud of it.

My Finished Clothespin Bass Plug

It swam very well, I was casting from a canoe and it bobbed along beautifully. I also trawled it behind for a time. I feel the bass where I fish in Maine are a little whiley and the further afield I get the better success I might have. It was still a real pleasure fishing with homemade gear, especially one so whacky looking. Rest assured there will be pictures if I have any success with it.