Campers often go fishing. And fishing can be one method to provide a meal for hungry campers. How those fish are cooked depends on your camping load. Here are three categories of camping and cooking fishing.
Fishing is often part of a camping trip. In fact, if “glamour” can be combined with “camping” to create “glamping,” then “fishing” while “camping” might even deserve its own portmanteau of “famping” or “cashing.” Or not. Either way, fishing might serve as a way to provide one of the better camping meals possible. How to accomplish cooking fish while camping is a loaded question because it depends greatly on your camping load.
Light
If you are a minimalist, traveling with just the essentials, then how to cook fish while camping can be as simple as starting a fire and putting the cleaned fish on a stick or perhaps a flat rock. Perspective influences taste. If you are hungry enough, this can be the best way to cook fish while camping. Cook until the fish is flakey and tender and savor every last morsel.
Medium
But most campers carry at least some “stuff.” Another classic method of cooking fish works if you are traveling with a few more items such as a small propane camping stove, aluminum foil, butter, and a lemon. Simplicity is often key to camping and wrapping a cleaned, headless fish in foil, along with the other ingredients is an uncomplicated way to prepare a meal that is a step closer to “home cooked.”
Heavy
Here, the options for camping and cooking are staggering. Perhaps you are indeed, “glamping” and you have a cabin with a fully functioning kitchen. Or maybe you do the RV thing and drive your camp with you. On the opposite end of the traveling light spectrum, the best way to cook fish while camping can vary greatly and depends on personal taste. Taste also is a factor while keeping fish fresh while camping. One way to keep fish fresh while camping is find fish that are always biting or adapt to a flexible mealtime. Caught a keeper? Hungry? Let’s eat delicious grilled, baked, or fried fish. It can’t get any fresher.
Of course, fishing while camping doesn’t have to involve cooking fish. The practice of catch and release helps maintain any fishery and frankly, hotdogs sound good enough. However heavy your camping load, follow standard camping rules regarding disposal of fish remains, extinguishing of fires, etc. And always follow the wise old guidelines, “take nothing but pictures; leave nothing but footprints.”
