Part 2

The next best thing to scooping certain fish into the landing net is plopping them into a frying pan.

I’m a firm supporter of catch-and-release and I suppose I’ve written about as much on that subject as anybody.  Does that mean my wife and I don’t eat fish now and then?  No way!

We’re going to have bluegill and crappie from time to time.  The same thing applies with added emphasis where walleyes are concerned.  I’ll turn big brood stock walleye loose as quickly as the next one, but every now and then some of those smaller fish get an invitation to join us for dinner.

Sitting down to a meal of walleye fillets comes to mind because of a recent conversation I had with a likeable couple from Arkansas.  If you read my last column you know who I’m talking about.  They are Cindy and Vern Strachota, of ­­­­­­­Tucker Hollow.

Cindy and Vern have been clobbering the walleyes in Bull Shoals Lake.  They’ve done it by trolling nightcrawlers along with their Mack’s Lure Cha Chas and Wally Pops.  Some of those fish have wound up on the menu at the Strachota household. 

Few of our sports fish do more justice to a skillet than walleyes like the pair you see here.  Vern and Cindy Strachota, of Arkansas, took these nice fish out of Bull Shoals Lake.  They used Mack's Wally Pops and Cha Cha lures baited with nightcrawlers to do so.

As far as I’m concerned, properly prepared walleyes are about as good as it gets when it comes to eating fish.  I was interested in how the Strachotas prepared their fish.  It figures there are readers who share that interest.  Here’s how they go about it.

For starters, Vern fillets their fish with an electric knife.  Cindy uses another knife to remove any remaining bones.  “I clean the steaks thoroughly,” she says.  “If we’re not going to use them right away, I place these steaks in a plastic bag and then add water before the bag is frozen.  Doing this prevents freezer burn.”

The fish-catching Arkansas pair has two favorite walleye recipes.  Here’s Vern’s favorite:  Place enough oil---Cindy recommends Olive oil---to cover the frying pan bottom.  Then she seasons the fillets with salt, pepper and Lawry’s salt.

“Once the oil gets hot,” she says, “I fry the fillets on both sides until they are a golden brown.  Once they are, I sprinkle the top of the fillets with coconut and put them under the broiler until the coconut is also a golden brown shade.  The filets should be flaky when ready for table.”

Cindy’s other approach---and this one is very similar to what my wife and I often do with crappie---is to cut a walleye fillet into two inch chunks.  “I next preheat a deep fryer or a deep Dutch Oven that I’ve filled with plenty of oil,” she says.

Catching walleyes like this is one thing---knowing what to do to prepare them for dinner time is another.  Cindy and Vern Strachota shared a couple of their favorite recipes with me.  This column gives me opportunity to share those recipes with you.

Before these pieces are deep fried, Cindy dips them in a special beer batter she prepares.  “I place flour in a bowl,” she says, “and add sufficient beer to give my batter the desired consistency.  We favor a light covering on our finished fish so the batter I prepare is quite thin.”

Once the batter is ready, she dips each chunk into the batter and pops them into the deep fryer.  There they stay until they take on that beautiful shade of golden brown that’ll have your taste buds doing a toe dance before you spear one with your fork.

“Once you remove the chunks,” Cindy says, “place them on paper toweling and let the grease drain off.  This might not be the healthiest way to prepare fish, but it sure is good.”

You can place a couple of exclamation points after her comment about walleyes prepared this way being good.  I think they’re great!  If you’ve never prepared your walleyes this way, give Vern and Cindy’s method a try.  I’ve got to believe you’ll love it.

But don’t get the cart in front of the frying pan!  If you hope to give the Arkansas couple’s favorite recipes a fair trial---on Bull Shoals Lake or elsewhere--- you’d darn well better first lay in a supply of Mack’s Cha Chas and Wally Pops and get some fresh nightcrawlers to go with ‘em.

Put these lures to work next time you go after walleyes.  It might not be bad idea to be sure you have a jug of Olive Oil in the pantry and sharpen up your fillet knives.  Once you let the Wally Pop and Cha Cha do their thing, odds are good you’ll have opportunity to use both!

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