Walleye for dinner

One of John's friends at work gave him a package of frozen Walleye fillets last week. If I have the story right, the fish was caught during a Walleye fishing tournament at Potholes Reservoir in central Washington.

Potholes is part of the enormous Columbia Basin Irrigation Project. If you've ever driven through this area or looked on a map, it's almost impossible to tell where the natural Columbia River once flowed. The desert is now covered with vast lakes and wide waterways, full of wily fish.

 Potholes Reservoir

The lake, or "pothole" is an interesting combination of natural and man-made.  The potholes were initially carved out during the Pleistocene Age by flood waters from Glacial Lake Missoula.  Later, the Columbia River dams raised the water table high enough for these topological depressions to become lakes.

The lakes are popular for Walleye and Bass fishing. Walleye are lethargic fighters on the line, although hauling them out sounds interesting because they have wickedly sharp canine teeth and a dorsal fin like a razor.  But the real excitement for the fisherman is their hefty size, not to mention, the anticipation of eating what many people consider to be the best tasting fresh water white-fish.

If you live in the Midwest, then you know all about Walleye.  But they are not native to Washington, and no one knows how they entered the state. The first Walleye was identified in Banks Lake in 1962. Since then, they've spread all over the Columbia Basin, probably by traveling through irrigation pipes and pumps. Walleye are very prolific; a large walleye female can lay up to 600,000 eggs per year.  They can live up to 20 years, but seldom do in heavily fished areas.

Catching Walleye sounds like my kind of lazy fishing:  fish on the bottom; fish very slowly; and use night crawlers.   Walleye hang out in the dark and don't spend a lot of energy chasing food.  But you can also trick them with those wonderful gaudy lures, jigs, and spinners that women love. Especially if a live night crawler is attached.

Cooking Walleye

I would have made the fillets on the grill yesterday, except it was pouring rain.  Being a popular eating fish, there are thousands of stove-top Walleye recipes on the internet.  Honestly, though-- curried Walleye?  I think simple is best, if you're lucky enough to have truly fresh fish. 

So I dipped it in a little seasoned flour and fried it slowly for about 15 minutes in a blob of butter.  Added a squirt of lemon juice and a few capers right at the end, then spooned the good stuff over the fillets.

Along with a few roasted vegetables, our plates were clean in a jiffy.
Thanks, Lee!