numpty question about fishing

[mrcharly]

This might sound daft, but I've never caught a fish in my life. Prawns, Gilgies, crabs but never fish.

In a couple of weeks I'm going on a week-long school camping trip in a private location. The land owner has the riparian rights over the large beck/small river, and I've seen fish in it when I've been there before.

So, these fish (10-14" long), I'm guessing they'll probably be trout. Do you reckon I could catch one on a handline? Bait with bread or something?

Tips for cooking? Gut them, cut head and tail off, cook gently in foil with butter?

 

[HHazeldean]

You could try with some sweetcorn or a maggot and a simple float set up. You never know, I have caught wild brown trout with a rod and float with sweetcorn.

Might be a bit harder with a handline though.

However, these days you can buy very small telescopic rods that fold out to around 6ft in lenght for about a tenner.

 

[northumbrian]

lol ,i would'nt try the handline i think they r illegal but just buy yerself a little telescopic fishing kit a bit like the ray mears one but nowhere near expensive from argos or any tackle shop for £20 max ! plus its so light an small u can take it on other days out too. spot on with the cooking method add a slice of lemon in the cavity too and leave the head on as u can tell by the state of its eyes when its cooked !

 

[nitrambur]

Don't forget your licence too

 

[mrcharly]

If it is on private land and I have permission from the landowner (who has the riparian rights), do I still need a licence?

 

[nitrambur]

If it is on private land and I have permission from the landowner (who has the riparian rights), do I still need a licence?

Yep..........(message too short)

 

[HHazeldean]

If it is on private land and I have permission from the landowner (who has the riparian rights), do I still need a licence?

if you are under 16, the licence is a fiver for a year.

 

[johnnytheboy]

Could always dig up a few worms, trout love them!!!

 

[mrcharly]

if you are under 16, the licence is a fiver for a year.

*some* of my children are under 16

 

[Green Weasel]

Poundland do telescopic rods and reels . The reels are usable but not the best but what do you expect for just over 99p.
They also do little sets of floats and hooks which are quite usable .
Or you could just tie the line to the end of a hazel pole and gently crawl to the water's edge and lower the bait over the bankside vegetation without spooking the fish -great fun and a good way to test your field craft .

Trout do seem to have a strange liking for sweetcorn and bread but worms will catch anything from a stickleback to a jack-pike .
Purist gourmets would leave the head on for cooking as it stops the chopped off end of the fish drying -out or burning but gutting is a good Thing
Best of luck..

 

[Wild Thing]

I can't stand trout with lemon, so i cook it with a few mint leaves in the body cavity and mint sauce on the outside.

Just love it that way.

 

[Loz*]

Brandlings (the red composting worms) are great for trout.

 

[Loz*]

Forgot to say worms are great after heavy rain when the river is in spate. This i what the fish will expect to eat as the rain & river washes them from the banks.

 

[mountainm]

Slugs and grasshoppers can work too. Try "dapping", holding the bait on the end of the line, in the surface tension of the water. If its a grasshopper its struggling will attract the fish.

 

[galavanter]

dont gut trout put salt in mouth and wrap it in newspaper soak paper in water and throw on fire when paper turns black it is ready for eating gut and keep liver Tried Eels skinned it sliced it and it still moved could not eat it put me off same with Dogfish something to do with cartlidge in spine Ithink they are supposed to be good eating as well Iam sure ihave heard that guddling for wild brown trout in streams that are not owned bye fishing clubs is legal in Scotland not sure about rest of country

 

[NS40]

A nice little addition to wild trout is some chorizo slices. I tend to take a couple of small chorizos sausages with me as a snack or something to add an extra zing to otherwise fairly bland food.

You can either stuff the cavity, lay the slices over the top or both.

 

[Urban X]

A Trout that fresh, salt, pepper and a bit of butter to cook it in.

DO gut the fish first though, and snip off the fins, except tail if leaving the fish whole, just shorten it a bit.


Si

 

[Aaron Rushton]

mate with all these suggestion above you'd think trou tastes horrid neading all these flavourings. oil in a fryingpan + fresh trout = bliss.

 

[Adze]

One or two other things to remember before taking fish for the table - they must exceed the minimum size limits which vary for species. If you're in England and Wales there are both EA size limits which are the absolute minimum and frequently local bylaw limits which may be equal to but are frequently more restrictive than the EA limits.

Also be sure you can dispatch your fish properly - any old bankside stick probably won't do this effectively, make/take a priest which is fit for purpose (hint - a salmon priest will do for trout, if a trifle messily, a trout priest will not do for salmon or pike). It is possible to kill fish by rupturing the blood vessels which feed their gills, best to learn how before trying it on a live fish - this is a lot more messy than a tap to the head with a priest.

 

[Adze]

mate with all these suggestion above you'd think trou tastes horrid neading all these flavourings. oil in a fryingpan + fresh trout = bliss.

Hear hear! I've seen recipes for curried trout before... might as well eat curried underpants to be honest as there's no way you'll taste the fish over that amount of spicing.