As winter turns to spring, the trout season opens, and it looks to be a good year for opening day. Still, there are a few things to make your opening day even more memorable. Also, catching the fish is only one part of the story, next comes cleaning and cooking. And after that, storing the fish for later.  

One of the most important things when catching fish is knowing your enemy. That is the brown trout if you fish around Amherst. The best bait to catch brown trout that I have found is night crawlers. If you want to use lures I recommend inline spinners and 3”-5” crankbaits. I have found that they work well. Some of the best places that I have found are the The Tomorrow River and around Scandinavia. It is also important what time you go fishing; the key is the earlier the better.  

The next step in the process after you catch the fish is to clean it. First you rinse the trout under cold water, next remove the head. Make the cut behind the gills, slit the belly from the tail to the throat, then remove the guts and gills, and after that remove the dark-colored bloodline inside of the fish. Rinse the inside of the trout, then cut the fillets from the back of the head to the spine to separate the fillets. After cleaning your fish, you can cook it or store it. A good way to make a fish fry is with Shore Lunch. 

Finally, if you don’t want to eat your trout right away you need to store it. You first want to pat it dry. Next find Zip lock bags or air seal it. Put one or two fish per bag to minimize moisture buildup between pieces. Then keep it away from other food to prevent cross contamination. If you’re not going to eat your trout in less than two days, you should freeze it. When you take it out of the freezer, you should let it sit in the fridge until it is thawed.

Overall, it should be a good year for opening trout fishing starting on the third of May.