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From pond to plate
Trout Haven offers catch-and-cook experience
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Black Hills lakes and streams have a well-deserved reputation among fishing enthusiasts. Well-stocked with rainbow trout, there are also many opportunities to catch perch, bass, crappie and more. Nearby prairie reservoirs such as Angostura and Belle Fourche offer walleye, catfish, Northerns and other assorted species.
Nevertheless, you can spend a lot of time and several hundred dollars on a weekend fishing trip and end up with little to show for it. Deadwood is not the only place that offers games of chance.
Yet, in less than an hour and for less than $20, you can dramatically change those fishing odds. At Trout Haven Campgrounds & Resorts, on Highway 385 about 19 miles from Rapid City between Pactola Lake and Deadwood, you have “almost a guaranteed chance to catch a fish,” according to Todd Mastrorilli, who along with his dad, Steve Wall, operates the longtime tourist attraction.
It’s an easy, one-stop activity. Guests choose one of the old-fashioned “Huckleberry” bamboo poles and bait the simple hook with corn or, sometimes, worms. The line is simply dropped off the fishing deck, and a short time later, most people pull in a 10- to 12-inch rainbow. Trout Haven works with local fish hatcheries to regularly stock its two ponds.
Sure, dedicated fishermen might consider such a stop to be “cheating,” but that doesn’t mean business hasn’t been good over the resort’s 56 years of existence.
“People from all over the world have caught their first fish here,” Mastrorilli said. Lots of those people are kids on their way home from Hills fishing trips. Many parents soothe their children’s vacation disappointments, and perhaps their own, by stopping at Trout Haven.
Then there are those who need actual fish to back up their fish stories. For a higher price, these guests can cast into the “trophy pond” to hook into a 20-pounder. “Lots of guys come for a trophy fish to show their friends,” Mastrorilli said.
Most fishermen, however, want to make an honest meal from their catch. “About 75 percent have it cooked here,” Mastrorilli said. And, according to Wall, “We do fish like the colonel does chicken.”
And just like the famous chicken franchise, that includes a secret blend of herbs and spices. The general idea is to role the wet, cleaned fish in a flour and cornmeal mixture. “Then we drop it in the deep fryer for about 30 seconds and then onto the grill,” Mastrorilli said.
The whole process is especially fascinating to kids, according to Mastrorilli, who is particularly amazed that it is girls, not boys, who ask the questions and follow every step in getting the fish from pond to plate.
“Girls watch from beginning to end,” he said, “and girls are better fishermen.”
After grilling the fish until it is done, “we bring it out with its head on,” Mastrorilli said. “We debone it right in front of them and take off the head.”
The process of deboning a trout has tripped up many a home cook, but Trout Haven waitresses are experts.
“Take it by the head, lift it up, bend the neck a little and put a fork behind the head,” is Mastrorilli’s instructions. “It falls right off; then do the other side.”
The biggest reason deboning a trout can be difficult is because the fish is undercooked, according to Mastrorilli.
It is somewhat common among area fishermen and fish eaters to shy away from trout because of its more fishy flavor, but if Trout Haven guests sit down to their trout breakfast, lunch or dinner worried that they won’t like the main entree, Mastrorilli had these words: “They do when they leave here,” he said.
Fresh take on fish dishes
Gerrie Cummings has worked at The Rooster, a local fishing supply and bait shop, for more than a decade, and for most of her customers, eating local fish is about filleting and frying.
“Some people take a scaler and scale them,” she said, “but most people just fillet.”
Since most area fish, such as perch, bass, walleye and crappie, have a good number of small bones, filleting takes away the worry of swallowing and choking on a fish bone.
Many people use one of the varieties of Shore Luncheon seasonings to roll the fillets in before frying. Of course, people can add their own spices to cracker crumbs, cornmeal or plain flour to prepare their fish.
But while people may have their preference in terms of spices, the fish itself can taste quite similar.
“I’ve had walleye and Northern,” Cummings said. “I cooked them both at the same time and couldn’t tell the difference. You can tell some by the texture, but not by the taste.”
Some bigger fish can taste fishier, according to Cummings, and fish that have been in the freezer for a long time can also get fishy.
“They’re best right out of the creek into the frying pan,” Cummings said. Using a vacuum-pack system and then freezing the package is a good way to preserve fish you can’t immediately eat, she said.
The Rooster has a fishing cookbook available, and Cummings chose a few recipes that go beyond filleting and frying for a fresh take on fish dishes.
Savory Baked Whitefish
2 pounds skinless fish fillets
2 small onions, sliced
3 tablespoons white wine
Dash salt
Dash pepper
1 clove garlic, minced or pressed
1/3 cup dry white wine or 1-1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 cup whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano or 1-2 teaspoons fresh oregano, chopped
1/3 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons white bread crumbs
1/2 pound cooked shrimp
Saute onion in 3 tablespoons wine in a heavy pan on medium heat. Do not brown. Spread onion over the bottom of a shallow baking dish.
Arrange fillets over onion in pan, overlapping thin edges. Sprinkle with salt and pepper; add garlic. Pour wine or lemon juice over fish. Add whipping cream and oregano and cover with foil.
Bake at 425 degrees for about 10 minutes. Uncover. Add cheddar cheese, Parmesan cheese and bread crumbs over the top. Distribute shrimp evenly over the top. Bake uncovered for another 10 minutes, or until top is golden, cheese is melted and fish flakes easily.
Health note: To reduce fat and cholesterol, substitute milk for whipping cream and use reduced cheddar cheese.
Tip: Overcooked fish is dry. Usually, 1-inch fillets need 10 minutes of baking time; add another 10 minutes because of cheese sauce.
Fish Fillets
4 skinless thin, lean fish fillets, about 7 ounces each
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 cup crème fraiche (optional)
1 ounce Gruyere cheese, grated
1 ounce dry Jack cheese, grated
1-1/2 tablespoons fresh or freeze-dried chives
Grated dry Jack cheese, for garnish
Melt butter in a saucepan over low heat; stir in flour. Continue to stir and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Pour in milk, whisking constantly until the sauce comes to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
To make the sauce richer, stir in crème fraiche.
Add chives and cheese. Stir over low heat just until the cheeses melt. Remove from heat.
Rinse fillets. Pat dry with paper towels. Place fillets on greased broiling pan.
Top each fillet with 3 to 4 tablespoons sauce, spreading to coat evenly. Sprinkle with more cheese. Broil 4 to 6 inches from heat, about 5 minutes or until fish tests done and top is bubbly and light brown.
Doodle’s Fish Dish
1 pound fresh or frozen fish (boiled 10 minutes)
2 cups grated American cheese
Bread crumbs
2 cups medium cream sauce
1 can mushroom or 1 can mushroom soup, diluted with 1/2 cup milk
2 cups noodles, cooked and drained
Line baking dish with 1 cup grated cheese. Layer noodles, fish, mushrooms and sauce. Repeat layers and top with cheese and bread crumbs. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes.
Contact Laura Tonkyn at 394-8405 or laura.tonkyn@rapidcityjournal.com.
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