Smoking is good for you

[torjusg]

At least this kind of smoking, in moderation probably though. Keeps the flies away while drying and makes even lean fish and meat taste splendid. Just crisp it back up on the coals and you have either something that tastes like bacon or fish biscuit.

 

[g4ghb]

Strewth that's a fair old catch in pic two Torjus

 

[Tengu]

I love smoked fish!

Go to Dungeness in Kent...the fishermen run their own smokehouses and the prices are competitive, and the fish heavenly.

 

[JonathanD]

Just looking at that picture is making me hungry.

 

[jdlenton]

me too smoking is something i would love to try but never have, I loved smoked anything meet fish cheese skins everything thanks for sharing great photos

 

[TJRoots]

do only thing i've ever smoked so far is my lungs, but i plan to do some someday

ATB
TJ

 

[John Fenna]

I love smoked food!
But the picture of the fish just reminds me of the markets in Ghana where fish were piled high - just stacked on the dirt - and the flies and stench were incredible!
I can barely look at dried/smoked fish now.... even walking past a fishmongers or the fish counter at Tescos makes me feel "off"...

 

[torjusg]

Strewth that's a fair old catch in pic two Torjus

We catch some 8-9000 trout per year, with seine nets, nets, spears, hook and line, hands, traps etc. A fair number of them we smoke-dry for later consumption.

 

[milius2]

You're lucky to have that many trouts in your rivers.

 

[forestwalker]

I like the flavour, but feel obliged to point point out that a lof of the smoke flavour is various types of PAH (polyaromatic hydrocarbons). And that many PAHs are know to be causing cancer.

 

[Neumo]

I have a hot smoker that I use every once in a while & will bring to the moot. I would love to have a go at cold smoking but you need to be right out in the countryside or you get all sorts of people turning up who eith want to stop you or eat your fish!

 

[torjusg]

I have a hot smoker that I use every once in a while & will bring to the moot. I would love to have a go at cold smoking but you need to be right out in the countryside or you get all sorts of people turning up who eith want to stop you or eat your fish!

If any of you guys have a lavvo/tipi, you could always dry them like I do on the moot.

 

[beachlover]

I have made a cold smoker in my shed for the odd trout, rabbit and mackeral, but that is something else!

 

[johnnytheboy]

What do you do with all those fish, are the sold, eaten? I'm all for fishing and catching what you eat but unless its justifiable that doesnt look like a sustainable way to fish!!!!

 

[torjusg]

What do you do with all those fish, are the sold, eaten? I'm all for fishing and catching what you eat but unless its justifiable that doesnt look like a sustainable way to fish!!!!

We eat some of them, the rest we leave for the foxes. The lakes back home have an reproduction that is quite extreme. The reason why we fish is to increase their quality and size. We have fished that amount of fish for 10 years and still there is very little improvement (although some). We probably have to take some 15000 trout per year in order to have significant improvement of quality.

Most of the other lakes in the area has the same problem, so it is definitely sustainable. I am not overestimating when I say that in the lake system, counting maybe 50 lakes could support a fishery of 200000 trout per year.

 

[British Red]

I have missed this sort of post Torjus - hugely inspirational!

 

[johnnytheboy]

Ah right, are you trying to increase the average size of fish?

You could try selective harvesting as well! basically any big ones you get, are always returned and the small ones killed, this means that the breeding stock should be the fish with the genetics to grow bigger

 

[torjusg]

Ah right, are you trying to increase the average size of fish?

You could try selective harvesting as well! basically any big ones you get, are always returned and the small ones killed, this means that the breeding stock should be the fish with the genetics to grow bigger

Yeah, we do that as well. Any fish over half a kilo or so, we put back. As you say, will probably affect the genetics in the long run. In addition, the bigger ones spawn only every second (or even rarer when really big) year, while the small ones every year. The big ones have more eggs of higher quality, but it doesn't make up for 2 spawnings. Also, they eat any smaller trout they get hold of.