Pike fishing

Two of my favorite life memories involve fishing - one with my parents and the other with my granddaughter. Water, wilderness and family ground me.

The first memory takes place on the Coeur d'Alene River in mid-July. My mother, father and I are fly-fishing and up to our chest in the fast moving water. Mom, who has never caught a fish on a fly previously, sets the hook on 12-inch Cutbow. Excited by the bite, she loses her footing and goes under the water. Dad and I search the surface of the river for a sign of mom. Worried at the possible outcome, dad and I look at each other, then dive toward where we believe the water is carrying mom.

Ten to 15 seconds later the tip of mom's rod breaks the surface of the water with mom's head then body following. Mom, laughing still has the fish on and lands the trout as dad and I catch our breath. Our worry quickly turns to pride as mom holds up her first fish caught on a dry fly. I will never forget this day.

The second memory involves my 7-year-old granddaughter Aurora. Aurora loves to fish and asks every time she visits if we can go fishing. This past September I agree and we head to Lake Coeur d'Alene. On our way to the lake we talked about the mighty northern pike. I explain that some are bigger than a child and their teeth are sharp like a hundred pins. We will use a steel leader so the fish's teeth won't cut the line and need to be extremely careful when we catch one avoiding touching the gills or mouth of the fish so we don't have to make a trip to the emergency room.

Aurora is excited and apprehensive after our talk. She grabs her rod and tackle box from the back of the SUV and follows me down the path to the water. After a few casts with no luck, we change our lures and try again. We both catch a bass and are satisfied with the day. Then, we decide to fish together using Aurora's pink spinning rod; I cast and she reels in. On the third cast I hand the rod to Aurora and she begins to reel, slowly at first then more rapidly. With the lure about 20 yards from shore, the rod bends in half and I yell, "Fish on!"

Aurora lifts the rod straight up as the fish tugs in the opposite direction. She looks at me and says, half scared, half laughing, "Do you think it is bigger than me?"

I chuckle out loud and yell, "Keep reeling!" After 10 minutes, she lands the fish without being injured and puts the rod down. We look at each other, high-five and hug as we laugh in disbelief that she has just landed a 37-inch northern pike.

Our jubilation captures the attention of passing cruise boats, beach walkers and local residents. Some take our picture, others ask, "What is it." After the initial rush begins to wane, we pack our car and head for home. I promise Aurora we will make a delicious meal out of her catch. She is excited to taste the fish and helps in the preparation. This is a day I will never forget. The recipe is printed below.

North Idaho blackened northern pike

The reason for the name of this dish is the distance North Idaho is from the traditional home of blackened protein; Louisiana. Cajuns believe the spice falls off the food the further the food is prepared from the epicenter of Cajun cooking. Therefore this dish, with an Idaho origin is less-spicy than its Southern counterpart.

I fell in love with blackened fish while visiting New Orleans 15 years ago. I ordered the blackened drum fish at Chef Paul Prudhomme's famous, K-Paul's Louisiana Kitchen, attempting to journey out of my culinary comfort zone and eat adventurously. Expecting burned meat, I was shocked to taste rich flavors with deep, warm textures of flaky, spicy fish which I will never forget. I infuse a touch of Cajun in many of my dishes with unexpected spice, dark roux's and hard sauces.

This is an extremely easy recipe to cook and takes less than 10 minutes to prepare once the fish is filleted.

Ingredients

Northern pike fillets skinned and boned (remove the Y-Bones) then cut into thirds

Olive oil

Chef Paul's Blackened Redfish Magic

Procedure

Coat each fillet lightly with olive oil then sprinkle Blackened Redfish Magic on each fillet. Heat a cast iron Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Place the fillets in the dry pan taking care not to crowd the fish in the pan. Cook for approximately 4 minutes per side. It is important not to burn the fish. Serve immediately topping with a squeeze of lemon, aoli or remoulade.

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