With Diced Potatoes On The Side

When cleaning fresh-caught Brook or Rainbow trout
One can remove or opt to keep the head.
The fish’s viscera are gutted out
And then the spinal vein is split and bled.

A mess of smaller fish can then be fried
In salt and butter in a cast-iron pan
With diced potatoes sautéed on the side—
A gourmet feast for any fisherman.

With Steelhead, Salmon, Mackinaw, and Brown
One can fillet and then sauté or bake
A dinner entrée worthy of renown,
Surpassing lobster, caviar, and steak.

That said, for forty years I’ve been at peace
To fish with barbless flies—catch and release.