Landing a fish is great sport, but converting a prize catch into flavorful fillets, steaks or pan-fried entrees is just as challenging and awesomely rewarding.

Great fish flavor doesn't begin at home, or even at the campfire, however, but as soon as the catch is removed from the hook.

"There are only two ways to keep your catch impeccably fresh: by keeping them alive or by keeping them on ice," explains Minnesota fishing guide and chef Ron Berg in Northwoods Fish Cookery.

"Stringers and live wells are of limited value in keeping fish alive, especially when the surface water is warm. The fish are soon floating belly up and your fine meal is well on its way to being ruined."

Berg recommends killing fish as soon as they are landed and putting them on ice in a cooler. The optimum temperature for fish storage is just at freezing.

Once gutted and cleaned, the preferred storage method depends on how soon the fish will be cooked and consumed:

1-4 days: wrap loosely and store under refrigeration (30-34 degrees F)

5-6 days: wrap loosely and store in ice under refrigeration in a self-draining container such as a colander set over a bowl, replacing ice as it melts

7 days to 3 months: wrap tightly in plastic wrap and aluminum foil -- as airtight as possible -- and store in a freezer. (Freeze lake trout no more than 1 month.)

In Northwoods Fish Cookery, Berg offers instructions for water-glazing fish in the freezer to protect them against freezer burn as well as recipes for making frozen breaded fish that can be deep-fried directly from the freezer.

Another way to keep fish for long periods of time is by drying or smoking the meat. "Food smoking is a human invention. No other species on the planet incorporates any similar activity into its food gathering, preparation, and strategy for survival," writes John Manikowski in Fish Grilled and Smoked.

Smoking preserves fish by reducing moisture content, thereby retarding the growth of bacteria.  But there are still heat-resistant microorganisms that survive the smoking process, like Clostridium botulinum,  capable of causing food poisoning. To stay safe, refrigerate smoked fish.

The smoking process consists of five basic steps -- cleaning the fish, brining the fish, drying the fish, building the smoker, and smoking the fish.

Step 1. Cleaning the Fish

Depending on the species to be smoked, fish may be: (1) dressed in the round (whole); (2) gutted, split, and beheaded; (3) filleted; (4) halved; or (5) cut into pieces with or without the skin. For smoking in the round small fish are best. Large fish like king mackerel do well when filleted. Mullet can be halved at the backbone, and catfish are best smoked with the body skinned but intact. Fish should be cleaned and scaled immediately after removal from water. They may also be cleaned and frozen for later smoking.

Step 2. Brining the Fish

Step two, brining the fish, means steeping fish in a solution of salt, water, and spices. Brining is important for two reasons--it helps firm and preserve fish by removing moisture, and it adds flavor to fish flesh. Fish may, however, be smoked without salt curing, in which case they are cooked but have no keeping quality. (That is, they are cooked and have good smoke flavoring but must be eaten immediately to prevent spoilage.) There are as many brine recipes as there are individual tastes. The strength of the brine (salt content) determines the type of cure the product receives. One gallon of brine using 12 cups salt is enough for about four pounds of fish. Here's a basic brine recipe: 

 6 gallons water
4 pounds salt
1.5 pounds sugar
1.5 ounces saltpeter
3 ounces whole cloves (optional)
1 ounce bay leaves (optional)

Mix ingredients well. Place cleaned fish in an enamel, earthenware, or glass container large enough so fish lie flat and straight. Submerge fish in brine solution and refrigerate 12 hours. Remove fish from brine and freshen under running water for 10 minutes.

Step 3. Drying the Fish

After brining comes step three, drying the fish. Pat fish dry with a cloth, then place them on a racking the refrigerator and drain one to three hours. Drying increases keeping quality and promotes development of the Apellicle, a glossy finish of dissolved proteins on fish surfaces which gives them the desired appearance, retains natural juices, and helps spread smoke evenly.

Step 4. Building the Smoker

A simple smokehouse may be designed from a large cardboard box, a metal oil drum, a wooden barrel, an old refrigerator, or even plywood. The cardboard box is perhaps easiest to obtain; it should be 30 inches square and 48 inches high. Here are the construction directions: a. Remove one end of box to form bottom of smokehouse. b. Unfasten flaps at opposite end so they fold back and serve as a cover. c. Strengthen box, if necessary, by tacking 0.75 inch strips of wood on outside of vox--vertically at corners and horizontally across sides. d. Cut a door 10 inches wide and 12 inches high in bottom center of one side. Make one vertical and one horizontal cut, so uncut side serves as hinge.  e. Suspend several rods or sticks (iron or wood) across top of box. Cut holes through box, so rods rest on wooden strips. A rack of wire mesh (0.5" or 0.25" mesh hardware cloth) may replace rods. Refer to diagrams at right.

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Step 5. Smoking the Fish

Smoking is the final hurdle before tasting that anxiously awaited fish treat. Here are the simple steps to follow:

a. Arrange fish on rods or rack so they do not touch. Fish may be hung on "S"-shaped hooks, strung through gills by rods, split and nailed to rods, or simply laid on rack. Use regular nails, 8 or 10 guage steel wires, S-shaped iron hooks, or round wooden sticks.

b. Build fire on level gound with nonresinous (hickory, oak, maple, apple) wood chips or sawdust to produce light, constant volume of smoke. Soft (resinous) wood gives an acrid flavor and odor to fish. Never use wood containing pitch, such as pine. Liquid smoke is also less satisfactory.

c. Center smokehouse over smoldering fire and close flaps. Danger of fire is minimized if ventilation is controlled to promote smoke rather than flames. Alternate method: fire may be built in covered pit or trench outside chamber. Smoke is conducted into bottom of smoking chamber via tile or stovepipe.
 Outside fire can be controlled without disturbing chamber, and provides cooler smoke supply.

d. Put fish in smoker at inside air temperature of 100°F, where fish flesh will be about 180°F. (Monitor fish temperatures by inserting meat thermometer into fleshiest part of fish.) Maintain this temperature for well-kippered fish.

e. Smoke four to five hours. Don't overcook fish. Fish well-smoked have a glossy, brown surface. Flesh will flake easily from bones and be moist and tender. Allow fish to cool a few hours before eating or storing. Wrap in waxed paper and refrigerate or freeze for later use.