Those Other Fish…..Are they edible?

Non-sport or rough fish can make for some darn fine gar-met cookin’ (cross training for other species, also)

Most anglers in Kansas spend their time trying to catch what is known as sport fish--crappie, sunfish, walleye and, of course, the various species of bass and catfish. But do you know some non-sport fish such as carp, buffalo, drum and even gar can be just as fun to catch, and, if prepared right, become excellent table fare.

If you ever caught a fish with an elongated body that resembled a snake, covered with very hard scales, with a long beak-like snout that contained many sharp teeth and a tough skin that would make a good pair of cowboy boots, chances are you just hooked a gar. Most fishermen just want to get it off their hook so they can continue fishing or to just get away from it, period. This prehistoric fish can be very intimidating and I personally would hate to experience those teeth on the end of one of my fingers, yet I was determined to clean and cook one to see what it would taste like. Last week, I had the opportunity to do just that.

As stories go, I had been told gar were full of bones and not very tasty, but I also had been told they never had any bones, only a gristle- like cartilage and, if cleaned and cooked right, were good to eat. I had also been told you needed tin-snips in order to clean one. Its hide is so tough. I found the trick to cleaning a gar is to first divide the body into sections with an ax or corn knife and then use a filet knife to separate the meat from the skin without cutting through the skin or scales.

How did I come up with such a prize you might ask? Well, what are friends for. I had gone down to the Neosho River to see if the white bass had returned to spawn after the recent torrential rains and high water. There I met a fisherman who was locked into battle with a large carp. Bill was expertly handling the fish on light tackle, but as it neared the rapids, we both knew there was no way he could keep control of the fish. I introduced myself and then waded in and helped him land it. It was ironic that another fisherman named John had helped me with a carp in the same location just a week or two earlier.

Bill told me that I was welcome to the fish and, since I have had some success smoking them on the gas grill, I eagerly accepted it. He also told me he hadn’t caught any white bass or walleye but had managed to snag a couple of gar, which he released. I told him that I had wanted to try cooking a gar and, if he caught another, I would like to throw it on the smoker with his carp. No such luck. After fishing for a while and exchanging lies (I mean fishing stories), it became apparent the white bass run on this section of the river was set back due to the high water. Just as I was about to bid my adieu, I hooked and landed a nice four pound walleye and offered it to Bill in exchange for his carp. He graciously turned it down but, from the way he looked at me, I knew my sanity was being questioned. What else is new? I get that same look from my wife everyday!

I was just finishing up cleaning the carp and walleye at home when the bird dogs that had been leisurely wallowing in the grass began raising a ruckus and ran to the side of the house, where they encountered John. This was the fisherman who had helped me land my carp a couple of weeks earlier and he was now trying to fight his way through the jungle I call my backyard wildlife habitat. John said he had just come from the river where he heard a story about some fool wanting a gar. I guess he figured it had to be me! He had managed to land one that was four and one-half feet long, weighing somewhere between fifteen and twenty pounds. With a grin on his face, John asked me if this would fit the bill. Needless to say, the lead head jig and orange Twister tail was still hooked in this fish’s mouth, being guarded by all those teeth!

Well, if you are going to talk the talk, you got to walk the walk (or something like that), so I began the task of cleaning my first gar. No tin-snips, just cut the fish in sections and core out the meat with a filet knife. And I mean to say, this fish had a lot of meat and was actually whiter than most catfish.

The gar and half the walleye were shared with a friend who deep-fried the bounty for supper that night. Nothing like fresh fish for dinner! He said his family was doing pretty good on it until he told them it was gar. That statement knocked their fish-eating enthusiasm down a notch or two. I’m glad we’re still friends, but I don’t see much of his family anymore!!!

I like to smoke carp this time of year, (fish caught in cold clear water taste best) and threw the gar right in with it. The secret is to refrigerate the fish in your favorite marinade for up to twenty-four hours in a non-metal container and then smoke it slowly at a temperature between 100 and 150 degrees using a portable gas smoker (keeps a constant temperature) and hardwood chips.

The marinate that works best for me is a simple mixture of brown sugar, hickory smoked salt, table salt and Lawry’s lemon pepper and garlic pepper. Add just enough water to cover the fish. Brown sugar makes for sweet tasting smoked meat, and I don’t worry much about the strength of the brine. More salt can always be added later. You may also want to experiment with soy sauce, Tabasco, liquid garlic or onion, ground ginger and dill. The smoked fish can also be mixed with mayo and makes an excellent sandwich spread.

The smoked fish accompanied me to the NSTRA (National Shoot to Retrieve Association) dog trial in Dodge City last weekend where it met up with the mud bugs (crayfish or crawdads) the boys from Oklahoma brought up. The mud bugs, smoked fish and fried quail all helped to satisfy the trialers’ gourmet appetite. In fact, most of the people thought the gar tasted “just like chicken!”

I heard rattlesnake taste “just like chicken” but have yet to clean or sample one. Just between you and me, let’s keep that thought to ourselves or I might look up in the near future when the dogs are raising a ruckus and see John stumbling through the yard carrying a gunny sack saying he just heard a story about some fool who wanted a .......!!!!!