As I sat here on opening day writing about another past opening day of Wisconsin’s fishing season (I wrote about one of my first fishing memories in my previous Opening Day Blog), I can’t help but feel a little sentimental about my carefree childhood. I was lucky that my Dad liked to fish. As a matter of fact, he loved to fish. And he loved food, from cooking to eating to even cleaning up afterwards. Best of all, he loved to bring me along on his fishing and cooking adventures!
One year when I was probably about 11 or 12 we decided to head north from Marshfield to fish a lake near Perkinstown called Anderson Lake. It was just far enough away from home that we decided to tent camp for a night as well. We were so exited for opening day that we got up in what felt like the middle of the night to me, so we could get to the lake by dawn. When we got there, we unloaded our lake canoe (which is a little wider in the middle than a standard canoe—for more stability), and placed our gear in between the gunnels and slowly headed out into uncharted waters. There was a nice fog on the lake that gave it an eerie feel that quickly evaporated as the sun’s rays started to shine on the lake.
We paddled over to a promising-looking shoreline with a slightly-submerged log, a few water lilies and some grasses growing as well. We dropped our homemade coffee can anchors and I baited my little gold hook, adjusted the split shot and set the bobber at about 3 feet. Dad always brought minnows, so he was still fiddling with them when I cast toward the log. Within seconds, my bobber disappeared and I excitedly yanked my rod back, rocking the canoe enough to where my Dad said something I won’t print here.
Well I managed to hook the fish—which was actually pretty easy since it swallowed the hook. I had a beautiful panfish unlike any I had ever seen. It had gold and orange markings and was huge compared to the smallish dull grey bluegills I was used to catching in the Wildwood Park ponds in Marshfield. Dad was excited, too, exclaiming that it was a pumpkinseed. We caught some beautiful fish that morning, including some 10-inch perch, a really nice largemouth bass that my Dad caught on his flyrod using a minnow, naturally, and of course, pumpkinseeds.
The fish quit biting after a while and we were getting hungry, so we loaded everything back into the car and headed to our campsite and started to make breakfast. It was one of the most memorable breakfasts of my life. Dad cooked on our white-gas-fueled Coleman campstove and we had a small campfire going as well. We had fried potatoes (from a can), fried Spam (from a can), fresh pumpkinseed fillets lightly coated with flour and Lawry’s seasoned salt, fire-toasted white bread and scrambled eggs. I can still taste it!
Here is a recipe with a fancy British name for a real comfort food, twice-baked potatoes.
Jacket Potatoes with Crab, Panfish and Cheddar
4 medium baking potatoes
2 tablespoons butter
1 shallot, minced
¼ cup brandy (optional)
1 cup heavy whipping cream
4 ounces crab meat, picked through
1 cup small pieces fish fillets, picked through 4 times
1 cup grated Wisconsin cheddar
Salt and pepper to taste
Dash of hot sauce (optional)
Paprika for garnish (optional)
Method: Heat oven to 350 degrees. Wash the potatoes well. Make a slice down the middle of each potato about ¼-inch deep. Make another slice across the middle of the potatoes. Place the potatoes on a parchment-lined sheet tray. Bake until tender, 1-2 hours. You want the skins to be crisp. Meanwhile, cook the shallot with the butter for several minutes until the shallot has softened. Add the brandy (if used) and cook until reduced. Add the cream and cook until it coats the back of a wooden spoon. Stir in the the crab meat and fish. Gently warm, then stir in the cheese. Add a splash of hot sauce if desired. Warm until the cheese melts. Once the potatoes are tender, slice them in the same spots a little deeper and place them back in the oven for another ten minutes or so. Then gently squeeze each potato open and spoon some of the sauce into the openings. Add a dash of paprika. Bake until hot. Enjoy!
Chef Joel