ORIGINAL: ShutUpNFish

Then I have a simple marinade for the fillets that I soak in for a minimum of half a day. Then on the grille....

What is the marinade that you use? I usually just sprinkle some "Season All" on the steel and lay them on the grill. Quick and simple and I love it, but I'm trying to find some other ways to cook them up.

+1 for spoon

There are. Stocking has been fairly consistent at around 1.2 million. As has harvest rates, at around 22%.

Are you saying the harvest rate is 22% of 1.2 million (which seems extremely high) or 22% of the number caught?

I also believe imprinting ( or lack of it ) plays a role as well. All the tributaries in penna. flow from only two watersheds. The fish imprint on the watershed, rather than individual stream. If conditions are not favorable in one stream, they swim along to the next. Genie is right that the urge ton spawn will draw them TO the streams at a certainn time regardless of conditions. However our strain of Steelhead has been "muttized" to the point where that "urge" doesn't occur in ALL the fish at the same time. Where that "urge" to run might have at one time occured with 80-90 percent of the fish in early fall. It may now only occur in 60-70 percent of the fish ( maybe less ) in early fall. While the rest get the urge later on, or even in the spring.

Also, while urge to run may be there. That doesn't mean they will, or will stick around if the water is not to their liking. They may stay in, or return to the lake, and hang out till the last minute. Then making a final frenzied push upstream, doing their thing, and dropping back out in a matter of a couple days. One of the reasons why you'll see ( especially in the spring ) a stretch of water "loaded" one day, and barren the next.

SUF, thanks for the recipe. I'll have to try it out next time.

i grill my steelhead fillets skin side down start off with some garlic butter and just before i take it off the grill i galze them with a homemade rootbeer sauce good stuff also goes good on turkey, goose, and chicken

Me and my pals have been keeping the fish we catch and putting them all in foil, all fillets. We use butter and salt and pepper and a little quacker stake and lube golden garlic. We just did it this year but we roast em over a propane grill while we fish. It has definately made me consider keeping steelhead this year

If you keep silver fish only and prepare them properly they are incredible. Just like duck...most hunters can't even eat it, yet a properly cooked duckbreast that is rendered in it's own fat until the skin is crispy and the meat is mid rare....mmmmmmm. But to each his own. I keep a few a season and here is a list of ways I have prepared them...with excellent results. These have gone over well with my parents who grew up eating Oregon salmon and steelhead and also my in laws who are incredible cooks and picky fish eaters.

Breaded in panko, fried
smoked, plain and into dips and spreads
gravlax
baked a dozen different ways
grilled whole
pan seared with garlic and white wine sauce
blackend cajun style
chowders and bisques
baked and finished with a dijon potato chip crust
teriyaki style on the grill
kabobbed with veggies and marinated in a caribbean lime sauce
pan seared or baked with dill sauce
fish cakes
grilled and finished with olive oil, lemon, thyme, dill, garlic, chives, and sea salt & pepper
ceviche
carpaccio

and my mother in law actually made caviar from loose eggs, and it wasn't half bad.

If you keep 3-5 fish a year you have plenty of ways to try. Fresh run, silver fish only. With that amount of fish
and enough people to serve dinner to you won't run over the 1/meal a month allotment. And since I have twins on the way,
I don't think 11 years of eating a few steelhead a year affected my fertility too much, but I think it's women and children
who really need to worry about it. If anyone ever wants a detailed recipe or wants to try some I've cooked my wife and I welcome
anyone to our dinner table for a feast.

Joe, good stuff!  I tried a dry brine for smoking that you had posted on here a couple years ago, which you said came from a salmon guide in Alaska and it was the best smoked fish I have ever had.

I think for smoking using a basic dry brine like brown sugar and salt, to get as much moisture out of the fish as possible, then sitting it on a rack in front of a fan until the pellicle forms, and smoking low and slow is key.  There were people who don't like fish at all stalking me at work for more.  I found the end product to be much better than brining in liquid and using a bunch of seasonings.  It was preserved not just smoked, and easily kept in a brown paper bag in the fridge for a couple weeks.

I usually keep about 4 steelhead in the fall and 2 in the spring for eating.  Might be about the right time of year to start a steelhead recipes thread.

ORIGINAL: SteelSlayer77

but you could certainly buy the store bought

Not a chance!  Store bought alfredo over dry fettuchini compared to home made alfredo over fresh fettuchini isn't even in the same league. That sounds really good, I might have to try it next month with the first fish of the year.  Maybe even throw in a little seafood with the steelhead like shrimp or lump crab meat with a little old bay, to make a seafood & steelhead alfredo.

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Now you're talking SS!

Cold smoking and ceviche are not a good idea with these fish. Unless you freeze the fillets for a few days to kill off parasites. Unless it maintains a 160 degree temp for a few minutes, you are playing Russian roulette with some pretty nasty stuff. Remember, there is a lot of people living along the shore of this lake, and a lot of raw sewage that makes its way in.

can you bleed the steel and then drag it around on the rope. i usually just rope em and drag them.

I do freeze all of my fish before eating and only eat fresh fish if it's cooked to proper temperatures. Once frozen it will kill anything thats in there, and the ceviche and carpaccio have only been tried once just to do it. The lemon juice in ceviche preparations will pretty much kill anything anyway, and for Gravlax...the fish is cured in enough salt and sugar to kill anything.

I'd take my chances eating a raw Erie Steelhead over anything served by any fast food joint, anyday, and you can see hoards of fishermen lined up around the drive thrus of all of these places each and every day of the steelhead season. Most of them will tell you how bad Steelhead taste, while wolfing down their 2000 calorie salmonella big mac special.

I got a few medium fish today in the 18-24 range today was your best shot with the weather

Grendel,

As a "catch and release guy" I have no problems
with your post! Have enjoyed you opinions & contributions often!
I do not consider myself as a "snob" and think my "blastpores" (whatever those are) are closed!

Mike