A Backpacking Guide to Catching, Cleaning, and Cooking Trout

Introduction

Last summer, I went on a backpacking trip to the Enchantments and caught fish at Lake Stuart and Lake Colchuck. It was the first time I'd caught fish in the backcountry, and the experience was fun and satisfying.

However, it made me curious. What if I wanted to eat this fish? My dad, uncles, grandparents, great-grandparents, and other family have spent time fishing, cooking, and eating their catch in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, Puget Sound, Columbia River, and on the Olympic coast. Likewise, I've been part of those trips in the past. I would argue it's a big part of growing up in Washington and an activity that makes me feel proud to be from Washington.

Still, eating fish from a lake in the Enchantments felt wrong. It's a bit taboo to catch and eat fish in some outdoor circles—especially native fish. Eating fish when there's plenty of opportunity for sustenance by other means could be inconsiderate. If conservation and preservation are valuable, why wouldn't I simply catch-and-release?

The answer is difficult, but I can make it simple. I want to catch and eat a fish in the backcountry because I want to and I can. The long version of the answer involves what it means to be from somewhere, and that answer is for another time.

There were many questions I had after deciding that catching and eating a fish is something I'm going to do:

• What are all the regulations?
• What's the best way to clean a fish in the backcountry?
• How can I cook the fish?
• How should I wash dishes in the backcountry?
• What are all the Leave No Trace considerations?
• What's all the gear I need and how much does it weigh?

This article goes into the entire process, considerations, and the gear I chose to—theoretically—catch and eat trout in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness (ALW). Although many techniques I discuss can be applied to other situations, the local regulations are based on the ALW.

Leave No Trace (LNT)

I have to start by mentioning most decisions, gear, and actions in the process are influenced by LNT principles. Cleaning a fish and cooking in the backcountry have by-products. I doubt many of my relatives or ancestors cared as much about fish guts or dirty dishwater as this article purports.

Similarly, this article assumes that fire restrictions will be in place as they often are when I backpack anywhere in the summer. Therefore, cooking is done over a small isobutane stove and not a campfire. Let's get a few things out into the open before going further to make my understanding and the reader's understanding clear:

1. The best way to Leave No Trace, in the maximalist sense, is to stay at home. But, I decided to leave some trace. The only question is, how much impact am I willing to have?
2. The easiest, and likely best, way to clean and cook a fish is to clean it on the shore, throw the guts into the shallows, and cook it over a small fire, also on the shoreline.

If you're an LNT maximalist, this article is not for you. Similarly, I'm aware cooking over a fire is the best way to prepare a fresh catch. I'm equally aware doing zero dishes is better than doing any number greater than zero. However, I've decided that the scope of cleaning and cooking a fish in the backcountry, with fire restrictions, involves dealing with items that should be cleaned.

Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife (WDFW)

The WDFW has posted information on its High Lakes webpage under a section titled The "Leave No Trace" Ethic a few pieces of valuable information:

• "Thoughtful anglers keep just one or two for the pan and release the rest for others to enjoy."
• "Pack out the viscera from any fish kept, or dispose of it in water 25 feet deep. Burying it at least 100 yards away from lake, trails or camps, is also acceptable."

From the WDFW I gleaned a few valuable pieces of information. The first, is that it's ok to keep a couple of fish when fishing in the high lakes. The second, is there are a number of options for disposing of fish viscera.

Overview

The process is broken down into eight sequential steps. I elaborate on the directions of each step later.

Steps

1. Catch the trout
2. Kill the trout, or use the rope to secure it in the water.
3. Clean (gut) the trout or fillet
4. Dispose of viscera (guts) or carcass.
5. Cook the trout
6. Serve the trout
7. Clean cookware
8. Dispose of wastewater

I think it's prudent to identify the locations for cleaning, disposing of viscera, cooking, cleaning, and disposing of wastewater before starting to fish. Then, after successfully landing a fish, there won't be a delay in stopping and choosing proper locations or setting up gear. The focus will be on preparing a fresh catch.

Process

How to Catch Trout

Licenses & Regulations

Fishing in the ALW requires a valid Washington State fishing license. The WDFW website states:

The rules typically allow fishing year-round in nearly all high lakes. To be certain of all applicable rules and regulations, consult the Washington Sport Fishing Rules pamphlet.

The WDFW provides a useful app, Fish Washington® mobile app. Users can click on lakes shown on a map to see regulations. The lakes I've fished in the ALW have stated, "Statewide Min. Size/Daily Limit". The min. size and daily limit referenced is for grayling, brown, cutthroat, rainbow, lake, and golden trout:

"In rivers, streams, and beaver ponds: Min. size 8". Daily limit 2.

In lakes, ponds, and resevoirs: No min. size. Daily limit 5."

If ever unsure, trying to contact WDFW or the ranger station is never a bad idea.

Steps

To catch a trout:

1. Assemble the two-piece rod and reel
2. Thread the line through the eyelets and secure a swivel on the end of the line with a clinch knot.
3. Secure ultra-light tackle to the newly tied swivel. This may be a rooster tail, spoon, or other spinner.
4. Cast into areas from the shore or wade further out into the lake to cast into deeper areas over drop-offs.

Fishing Gear

My trout fishing setup comes from a series of YouTube videos by Cascade Backcountry. The videos and the descriptions pointed me to the following gear:

• Rod, Shimano Sojourn Spinning Rod:
  • 5'
  • 2 Piece
  • Fast
  • UL
  • 1/16-3/16
  • SJS50UL2C
• Reel, KastKing Centron Lite Spinning Reel
  • Size 500
  • Up to 17.5Lbs Max Drag
  • 5.2:1 Gear Ratio
  • CNC Aluminum Spool
  • 9+1 BB Light Weight
• Line, KastKing SuperPower Braided Fishing Line
  • X4 - Moss Green
• Multi-Tool, Gerber Dime
  • 12 tools
  • Butterfly opening

Based on the advice in the videos, I removed the treble hooks from the spinners and spoons I purchased, placing debarbed single hooks (size #2 or #4).

Fishing considerations

• Use leader and swivels for ease when switching between different tackle setups.
• Ultra-light means ⅛ oz or 1/16 oz tackle.
• Try tackle with a little bit of red color.
• Do not toy or play with the fish, land as soon as possible.
• Eastern Brook Trout has no daily limit or minimum size.
• "To see detailed, historical stocking data for all stocked high and lowland lakes, visit the WDFW Fish Plants dataset on data.wa.gov."

How to Kill a Trout

To kill a fish, find a weighted stick or stone before catching the fish and set it aside. After landing the fish:

• Grab the fish in one hand by the tail.
• Angle the fish slightly up to expose the top of the head.
• Strike the fish on the top of the head with the stick or rock. Use the space between the gill plate and eyes as your target strike zone. This is where the fish’s brain is located, and a decisive strike to the brain will stun and or immediately kill the fish.
• Use pliers to remove the hook from the fish.

Although this method for killing a fish is not unique or new, I referenced the video How to KILL A Fishon the Addicted Fishing YouTube channel.

Killing Considerations

Killing a trout with a percussive blow to the head is a humane way to kill the fish. It is the recommended method by Compassion in Food Business, an organization that, “works closely with food companies to foster a transition to a more compassionate, fair, and sustainable food and farming system.”

Other acceptable methods listed are decapitation, spiking/coring, or gill cutting.

How to Clean a Trout

Method 1

An effective way to clean a trout is to fillet it with a sharp and flexible knife:

1. Lay the fish on its side on a plate or board with the dorsal fin pointing away and the belly near the edge of the table.
2. Secure the trout with one hand by the head. Make a vertical cut just behind the gill plate down the spine.
3. Turn the knife horizontally and start cutting along the spine toward the tail.
4. Cut through the pin bones following the spine, be careful not to cut into the guts.
5. When approaching the tail, do not cut through the skin. The fillet should remain attached. Conversely, if planning to leave the skin on, cut through the skin and remove the fillet.
6. Flip the fillet up, folding it over the tail like a book. Leaving the fillet partially attached helps to remove the skin.
7. After flipping the fillet over the tail, work the knife between the skin and the fillet until the two parts are separate.
8. Turn the fish over and do the same on the other side.

Method 2

Alternatively, leaving the head on the fish may add flavor and cook other edible parts of the fish like the eyes and cheeks. To clean a trout and leave the head on:

1. (Optional) Take the back of the knife and run it along the skin from tail to head to remove scales. Flip the trout and do the same on the other side.
2. Lay the trout flat on a board or plate, with the head pointing away and the belly near the edge of the cutting surface.
3. Make a cut from the vent (anus) to the gill plate, securing the fish with the other hand by pressing down with a flat hand near the head of the trout. Be careful making this cut because the cutting direction of the blade is very close to the hand placement on the fish.
4. Then, turn the fish ninety degrees, pointing the dorsal fin away.
5. At the top of the gill plate, make two cuts, in the shape of a “V” separating the guts from the gill plate.
6. Grab near where the two small cuts were made and pull the guts down toward the tail, setting the guts aside.
7. Run a thumbnail or tool down the spine from head to tail, removing the bloodline.
8. Rinse the cleaned trout.

Cleaning Considerations

Cleaning a trout with a minimal impact on the environment is difficult. Trout viscera is messy and blood often spills during the process of killing or cleaning.

To avoid leaving a mess, my gear list includes a light cutting board, 15.75" x 9", which I'll use to clean the fish. The board has a small trench around the outside to catch liquids and prevent spilling onto the ground.

Cleaning a trout with Method 1 has the advantage of keeping the unwanted parts of the fish in one piece for easier cleanup and disposal. It allows fornice clean fillets to go in the pan while the rest of the fish is discarded. The disadvantages of Method 1 are:

• Some claim this wastes meat or edible parts of the fish.
• To properly dispose of the fish in deep water, it’s necessary to cut the gut cavity and pierce the swim bladder.

Cleaning a trout with Method 2 has the advantage of cooking all meat and edible parts. Similarly, the viscera is easily disposed of in deep water. The disadvantages of Method 2 are:

• More mess; removing bloodline and rinsing trout
• Need to dispose of both the viscera and the carcass

How to Dispose of Trout Viscera

According to the webpage titled High Lakes on the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife (WDFW) website, in the section The “Leave No Trace” Ethic, the recommended ways to dispose of fish viscera are:

• Pack it out
• Dispose in water 25 feet deep
• Bury 100 yards away from the lake, trails, or camps

Trout Disposal Considerations

Disposing of viscera in deep water is easy, fast, and effective. Conversely, burying in a cathole can be difficult if the soil conditions aren’t right or the surrounding area is rocky and steep. Packing it out is usually the right impulse, but fish are smelly, and in bear country, the added smell could pose other dangers.

Both trout cleaning methods mentioned above involve piercing the gut cavity and dealing with the viscera.

Identify an area deep enough before throwing fish guts back into a lake. Also, be considerate of the part of the lake chosen to deposit the viscera. Areas close to camps or water filtering sites are easy to access, but it would be unsightly to watch someone throw fish guts near a popular place to filter water.

How to Cook a Trout

Set up a backpacking stove and place a frying pan on top. Add oil (or butter) to the pan and start the stove. Season the trout with salt, pepper, and any other spices brought along.Place the trout into the pan. An Outside article written by Ryan Wichelns titledHow to Clean, Cook, and Eat Trout in the Backcountry, recommends cooking for 5-10 minutes, flipping once halfway through. The trout is cooked properly when the meat is opaque and flakes easily.

Cooking Considerations

Some people like to cook the trout in aluminum foil to make cleanup easier. This method works and does make cleaning the pan easier. Secondly, the aluminum foil can double as a serving dish.

It’s recommended to avoid cooking on high heat with aluminum foil to reduce the leaching of foil into food. The temperature is to not exceed 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

How to Serve a Trout

Move the fillets or trout to a plate or aluminum foil off the frying pan. If a lemon is available, squeeze a few drops over the cooked trout. Use a utensil to consume the fish meat. Likewise, pick at the meat with a utensil to avoid bones or pluck any visible bones from the prepared meat.

Serving Considerations

The meat, eyes, cheeks, and skin are edible if the trout is cooked with the head and tail. It may be nice to remove the bones when serving the fish using this method. They should pull away from the meat if the fish is cooked thoroughly.

Eating the fish out of the pan may be convenient, but it depends on the pan. Serving on a different surface is recommended to prevent damage to the frying pan from metal utensils.

How to Clean Dishes and Tools

Some tool items may need cleaning after cleaning, cooking, and serving trout. Items to clean include:

• Fillet knife
• Frying pan
• Spatula
• Serving plate
• Eating utensils

First, fill a water basin with treated or filtered water. Add small amounts of phosphate-free and unscented biodegradable soap. Use a rag or scrub brush to remove food and clean items, wetting the items or cleaning tools in the soapy water.

Rinse the items by employing a second water basin or by spraying off the soap, holding the item above the soapy water to catch runoff. Then, dry the items with a towel or set aside and let air dry.

Finally, rinse or scrape food scraps on a rag or scrub brush into the soapy dishwater.

Cleaning Considerations

Cleaning dishes should be done 100-200 feet from camps, trails, and water sources. Cleaning at a distance makes it easier to transfer wastewater into a cat hole or broadcast after cleaning.

Using two water basins is an effective method for rinsing or sanitizing items. It’s important to rinse soap from items because soap can cause adverse digestive problems if consumed. However, two basins may require more water. Therefore, using a single basin and rinsing with an additional water bottle is a good idea that may reduce the need for water.

It’s prudent to select and, possibly, set up a cleaning station before cooking or catching the fish.

How to Dispose of Waste Water

Strain wastewater into the second water basin or a cathole dug 100-200 feet away from camp and water sources using a lightweight strainer to separate food scraps. It’s also acceptable to broadcast the wastewater into an area equally distant from camps, trails, and water sources. Pack out any remaining food scraps in a garbage bag.

Gear List

The Gear List includes as many items as I could think of for each of the major processes from fishing to cooking to cleaning. The focus was on choosing lightweight and functional items. For each item the dollar sign references how expensive the item is. The ranges for the number of dollar signs are:

• $ = <$50
• $$ = $50-$150
• $$$ = >$150

No items were greater than $150. The majority were under $50. Additionally, each item lists the ounces for the specific item. In total:

• Fishing gear weighs 19.63 oz.
• Cooking gear weighs 36.84 oz.
• Cleaning gear weighs 15.26 oz.
• Total gear weight = 71.73 oz. or approx. 4 lbs 8 oz.

Some of the gear included I would take on a trip anyway. For example:

• full fuel canister
• stove
• trowel
• water bottle
• soap

Regardless, it's not a small amount of weight, but I think it's all necessary to clean and cook the fish in a way I feel is reasonable, respectable, and sustainable. In the future, of course, I may change my mind after testing the process in practice.

Fishing

The fish gear has 5 items totaling 19.63 oz.

• Fishing rod, 3.35 oz., $, 2-piece fishing rod for easier and reliable packing.
  The Shimano Sojourn Sprinning Rod is a 5', fast-action, ultralight rod.
• Fishing reel, 6.98 oz., $, Lightweight fishing reel to attach to rod. The KastKing Centron Lite Spinning Reel is a size 500 reel with up to 17.5 lbs Max-Drag. It has an aluminum spool and a gear ratio (?) of 5.2:1
• Line, 0 oz., $, The fishing reel needs line wrapped around it as it doesn't come with line installed. The KastKing SuperPower Braided Fishing Line is a durable option.
• Multi-tool, 2.4 oz., $, A multi-tool is helpful that has scissors for cutting line, pliers for debarbing or removing hooks, and a small knife. The Gerber Dime has all these features plus a few more useful tools
• Tackle box, 6.9 oz., $, The tackle box is a small container holding lures, hooks, weights, and swivels. The lures and spinners include small spoons and Rooster Tails. Each is debarbed and some have the treble hook removed and replaced with a single #2 or #4 hook attached via a split ring.

Cooking

The cooking gear has 13 items totaling 36.84 oz.

• Frying pan, 6.84 oz., $, The frying pan is selected for cooking the fish overheat. The MSR Nonstick Ceramic Coated Camping Skillet has an 8" diameter pan with a 2.5" lip.
• Stove, 3.88 oz., $$, The stove is the cooking medium between the pan and the fuel. It needs to be large enough to support and heat the pan. The MSR PocketRocket Deluxe Ultralight Camping and Backpacking Stove is wide with three stabilizing points but also packs down small.
• Fuel (Isobutance, 110g), 7.55 oz., $, The fuel for the stove is a 110g isobutane canister found at many retailers and common for heating water operating stoves while backpacking.
• Lighter, 0.42 oz., $, Small Bic lighter for igniting stove.
• Cutting board, 7.51 oz., $, The GSI Outdoors Ultralight Cutting Board (15.75" x 9") is a surface for cleaning and seasoning the fish.
• Spatula, 0.78 oz., $, The spatula is used to help with handling the fish while cooking. The MSR Alpine Spatula is lightweight and packs down small.
• Cooking oil, squeeze bottle (2 oz.), 2.25 oz., $, Oil is for lubricating the pan and seasoning the fish.
• Salt & pepper, in shakers, 1 oz., $, Salt & pepper is for seasoning the fish. The Coghlans Salt & Pepper Shaker is an ultralight and packable option for carrying and applying spices.
• Fillet knife, 2.29 oz., $, The fillet knife is used for cleaning and preparing the fish. The 4" Rapala Fish-n-Fillet Superflex Knife, is a lightweight and flexible option that comes with a knife sheath.
• Fillet glove, 2.29 oz., $, A fillet glove can help hold a fish while cleaning and can prevent accidentally cutting the hand if knife slips. The Rapala Fillet Glove is a versatile option found at many retailers.
• Food handling gloves, 1 oz., $, Food handling gloves can be worn under fillet gloves to prevent leaving fish smells on hand when cleaning or handling fish. This is an optional item.
• Smelly Proof Bag (1 Gal.), 0.67 oz., $, Used to store fillet gloves or anything else that doesn't clean well.
• Aluminum Foil, 0.36 oz., $, A few sheets of aluminum foil used to serve the fish. Lightweight and easy to dispose of.
• Lemon, Used for seasoning fish. Details not added because it's doubtful I'll bring one.
• Pin + Wire, cord, or rope, Used for preserving a fish before killing, cleaning, and eating. Details not added because it's doubtful I'll bring pine and wire solely for preserving fish. I could make one from para-cord or items available.

Cleaning

The cooking gear has 9 items totaling 15.26 oz.

• Garbage, 4.06 oz., $, The Sea to Summit Trash Dry Sack has a nice way to line it with a plastic garbage bag. It also makes it easy to hang and secure garbage. One of the downsides is the weight.
• Trowel, 0.92 oz., $, Titanium trowel for digging holes to dispose of wastewater.
• Water basin, 4.69 oz., $, Sea to Summit Camp Kitchen Clean-Up Kit
• Scrubber, 0.92 oz., $, Brush scrubber for dirty items. Included in the Sea to Summit Camp Kitchen Clean-Up Kit
• Wash towel, 0.39 oz., $, Towel for scrubbing dishes. Included in the Sea to Summit Camp Kitchen Clean-Up Kit
• Drying towel, 0.92 oz., $, Towel for drying dishes after washing. Included in the Sea to Summit Camp Kitchen Clean-Up Kit
• Soap, 1.38 oz., $, Biodegrading soap for cleaning dishes. The chosen option is Summit Suds Powdered Soap by Pika Outdoors.
• Rinse bottle, 1.38 oz., $, Water bottle with a cap that has a hole for spraying water through the cap and rinsing soap off dish items
• Strainer (4.5"), 0.6 oz., $, Kitchen sink strainer for separating food chunks from soapy cleaning water.