putting up fish

[pastorp]

We don't grow many crops here in the southeast Alaska rainforest but we do gather the bounty God put here for us. All winter we dig clams on the minus tides. They can be jared or frozen. Crab and Shrimp are abundant and can also be frozen or jared. There are 4 salmon runs and they can be smoked or put up fresh in the freezer or in jars. Halibut and other bottom fish like cod or snapper are usually frozen. These are available from late spring through early fall.

Then there are the berries, hudson bay tea, sea weed to dry, sea aspargus, mushrooms to gather, Several roots and bark for making medicine. This is our busy time of year.


In the fall deer and moose to kill and jar or freeze along with black bear and the grouse and waterfowel. By winter our freezers and pantries are full.

How do you guys get ready for winter?

[hunt-m-up]

I don't remember, you just made me too hungry to think about it...
Carp and catfish just don't seem to be a sustitute for the fish and shellfish you mentioned.

[pastorp]

hunt-m-up, Being raised in the deep south I love catfish. Everytime I go back home for a visit I eat all I can. Don't know about carp, never tried them.

I do know smoked mullet pales in comparison to smoked salmon.

[SHOOTALL]

we salt some fish .

[MGMorden]

I do know smoked mullet pales in comparison to smoked salmon.

I didn't know anybody even eat mullet . . .

In seriousness though, down here in SC we usually catch a mix of bass, catfish, perch and assorted bream.  Eel, gar, mudfush/bowfin, mullet, and carp are also common but I don't typically keep them. 

For storage, for any of the scaled fish I typically will scale, gut, and dehead them ahead of time and then freeze them in a milk jug full of water with the top cut off.  I'll do essentially the same with smaller catfish, but if it's a large one I'll go ahead and fillet it ahead of time and freeze it in ziploc bags. 

Used to be some good rockfish/stripped bass in the lakes too, but for whatever reason they're completely catch and release right now.

I really do want to give salt-water fishing more of a go though.  I've lived about 6 miles from the coast most of my life and though I've done a decent amount of shrimping (just freeze those after deheading too), I've done almost no salt water fishing .

[Badnews Bob]

I've been drooling ever since I started reading this post..... Yummy.