My favourite way of cooking Trout

Trout is a very delicate fish and it has to be cooked with care. The bones spoil the pleasure of eating this tasty fish so why not fillet the fish removing all the bones. If you leave a couple of pin bones, it won't be too bad as these are quite soft and can be swallowed.

I fillet the trout, removing all bones and the skin. Then place the fillets in a shallow dish and add a generous dose of lemon juice and a good quantity of olive oil. I crush a few cloves of garlic and add that to the fish. Try and get the marinade to cover all parts of the fish. I cover the dish well with plastic-wrap and keep in the refrigerator overnight.

After at least 12 hours in the fridge, you could probably eat this fish just like this as a Carpaccio, but lightly cooking it brings out more of the trout flavours.

The next day get the fish out, carefully scrape off excess marinade and prepare the serving platter. I lay the fish on a bed of seasonal salad. Here we are using Mâche (Corn salad).

I lightly brown some Almond flakes in a dry pan over the heat and melt a generous amount of butter in a larger pan. I add about some dried Thyme to the butter. I actually did this an hour before cooking the fish so Thyme infused into the butter. The fish is cooked two minutes before serving and it cooks for two minutes. Turning once or twice gently.

Served on the Winter cress and garnished with the roasted Almonds, the trout is delicious. Tender, light and tasty.

Start of the 2008 season

We woke at 06:15 and headed off to Conty. It was snowing outside and the temperature was 1° C. I doubted that there would be any fish taking the bait. The fishermen of Conty were out in force. We saw a few guys on the river, but the water seemed murky and fast moving as the river was swollen after a week of rain. So we decided to head for the lakes.

The water was bleak and it was cold and damp with the occasional snowflake falling through the drizzle. We arrived on time for the opening at 07:30. The weather cleared a little over the next couple of hours, but it remained cold.

Before I had my rod set up and baited, Tom had caught a little Rainbow trout weighing 280g. Tom was cold even though he had quite a few layers of clothing and he was wanting to get home so just after 09:00 we decided to go. I had one last cast, as one does... Guess what I hooked on that last cast! This beauty:

47 cm long and 1270g Rainbow trout. Probably the biggest fish I've caught at Conty to date. We took a few photos and packed up. Home by 09:30. Now we have some nice trout to fillet for Easter Sunday lunch.

George Hinton & Sons of Taunton Greenheart & Split cane rod

I recently came across a few classic rods that were restored by a rod maker in the Paris region.


Here is something rather special. This greenheart fly rod (with split cane tip) was made by George Hinton & Sons of Taunton, Somerset in the 1920's.

George Hinton & Sons Ltd was an old established gun making business that was sold to Charles William Hellis in the late 1940's.

How many of these fine rods do you see these days?

George Hinton & Sons of Taunton - Greenheart & Split cane Fly rod
Originally made in the 1920's, recently restored.

- 3 sections + spare tip.
- Length: 10'5".
- top 6" made of split cane.
- Weight: 385g.
- New whippings in green and olive.
- 19 snake rings in good condition.
- Wooden handle.
- Reel seat and rings made from decorated brass.
- Ferrules have hooks to attach a flex control line along the back of the rod.
Good fitting, no play.
- Original ferrule plugs.
- Straight rod. Semi-parabolic supple action.

George Hinton & Sons de Taunton - Greenheart
Canne année : Env. 1920
Très belle Canne a mouche exceptionnelle en très bonne santé.

- 3 éléments, encombrement : 114cm.
- Long : 3,18m (10'5")
- Seul les dix derniers centimètres des deux scions sont en bambou refendu.
- Poids : 385g
- Ligatures neuves, verte et vert olive. Plus quelques ligatures laiton.
- 19 Anneaux serpentiformes d’origine bon état.
- Poignée en bois très bonne état.
- Porte moulinet très bon état laiton a bague ciselé.
- Viroles, avec crochet d’attache bon état.
Pas de jeux, emmanchement très bon.
- Les deux bouchons de virole liège/bois tournée sont d’origine.
- Canne droite. Action semi parabolique souple.

Hardy - The Sunbeam 6/7

A very well made alloy fly reel. 3 7/16" (87mm) in diameter. Made in the 1980's. Features include: Switchable for either left or right hand retrieve, adjustable drag, rim control drag, reversible agate line guide, sturdy construction and drag parts, reel comes in the original Hardy soft padded vinyl case.

The Hardy Sunbeam reels were an upgrade over the popular Hardy Lightweight series of reels with an agate line guide similar to those on the Hardy Perfect line of reels.