FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2015
Outdoor Rec / Sports
THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS — 7
Wrestlers have
busy week
Submitted by Brandon Young
Submitted Photo.
Chase digs in to the special trout meal with a fish he caught f r the family.
Cedar plank grilled trout
plank, a
preparation I
have always
wanted to
try but never
have.
I am a
firm believer
that you can
learn to do
anything on
the internet,
so I quickly
started an-
gling through
THE OUTDOOR COLUMN
the cyber
world of trout
By Nick Myatt
recipes.
How to
Editor’s Note: This
Grill
Trout
on
a Cedar
week’s guest columnist,
Plank
Nick Myatt, is a local
How hard could this be?
father, husband, wildlife
Stick
trout on board and
biologist, and lifelong
grill,
Right?
Well it turns
hunter introducing his kids
out
that
yes,
it
is easy but
to hunting. He runs
after
some
research
there is
GrowingHunters.com, a
definitely
no
standard
way
popular blog. Readers can
of
doing
it.
go there to sign up for his
Here is what I learned
blog for free!
and how I cooked the fish
Cedar Plank:
A Special Meal using a
You need a cedar board
Special Fish
to
grill the fish on. Most
Last weekend I took my
large
grocery stores,
boys (3 and 5) on their first
seafood
markets, and
ice fishing trip. We were
culinary
supply stores sell
fortunate to come home
boards
for
this purpose but
with 10 beautiful trout,
you
can
usually
buy them
but one in particular was a
cheaper
online.
special fish
I have heard of DIYers
Just after getting set up,
heading
down to their local
one of the tips on our small
lumber
yard
and buying an
ice fishing rods began to
untreated
fence
board to
dance with the tell tale sign
save
a
couple
bucks.
Not
of a hungry trout below
me.
I
am
the
first
person
the ice. I set the hook and
to save a buck and make
quickly handed the rod
something yourself, but
to my five-yea -old son
with lumber I don’t trust
Chase.
folks enough to ensure
Boy with trout
there are no preservatives,
As the fish neared the
fungicide, insecticide, etc.
small hole in the ice, I was
shocked to see that this fish on the wood and put it in
was not the 10″ trout I was my families mouths. My
suspicions were confirmed
expecting out of this small
when I found a few lumber
farm pond. As the trout’s
mill workers online that
head broke the surface of
said they would never
the icy water, I grabbed it
eat off an untreated fence
just as the aged 3 pound
board, saying that in the
test fishing line snapped
Chase grinned ear to ear mill they use all kinds of
solvents and oils on the
as we all ogled over the
machinery.
16″ rainbow flopping at
To prep the board, soak
our feet – his first time ice
it
for
1 to 2 hours prior
fishing and by far his bi -
to
grilling.
Some infor-
gest fish eve .
mation
I
read
called for
A Special Preparation
pre-heating
the
board on
This was a special fish
the
grill
for
a
few
minutes
for Chase so I wanted to
before
placing
the
fish on
come up with a special
the
plank.
I
didn’t
do this
way to prepare it for the
but
in
hindsight
I
wished
whole family to enjoy –
I had.
making the experience
You can reuse boards as
even more memorable for
long
as they don’t get too
him.
charred
on the bottom after
I decided to grill the
grilling.
I suspect that
trout whole on a cedar
overtime the board will
loose some of its flavor
but it seemed like I could
easily have used my board
another time or two. If
you do plan on reusing the
board, just clean it with
warm water—unless you
are the type that enjoys
trout flavored with Dawn
dish soap.
The Trout:
To prepare the fish, firs
gut the fish by making a
slit with a knife from the
fish s vent, up through the
center of the belly, all the
way to the gills. Using
your knife and hands, re-
move all of the entrials and
gills – leaving skin, flesh,
bones, and fins enact
You can cut off the head
and trim off the tail and
fins but I think eating a fis
whole adds to the experi-
ence – especially for a five
year-old who gets excited
when mom is grossed out
by cooked fish eyes
Dress It Up:
Trout has a mild,
delicate flavor so you don t
want to overwhelm it with
bold flavors. I flavore
the fish by opening up the
stomach cavity and apply-
ing a liberal sprinkling of
kosher salt and a hand-
ful of lemon slices inside
and on the fish. I found
the acidity of the lemon
compliments the subtle fat-
tiness of the trout.
Grilling the Trout:
I found some recipes
that called for indirect
heat, some that called for
direct heat, while others
prescribed a combination
of the two – I chose a mix
of both direct and indirect
heat.
I preheated my Weber
Genesis (love my grill!)
gas grill on medium, leav-
ing one of the 3 burners off
so the fish could cook on
the indirect heat a portion
of the time.
Starting the plank on
indirect heat gave the
board time to warm. I was
worried if I put the plank
on direct heat to start, the
bottom of the board would
start blacken before the
fish and top of the board
had started warming up.
Cooking time will be
variable depending on
the size of the fish and
thickness of your plank. I
cooked the fish on indirect
heat for about 15 minutes
and then slid the plank
onto direct heat for the
last 10 minutes. The grill
temperature was around
375 the entire time.
As the fish grilled, the
distinctive smell of cedar
smoke filled the ai . It
smelled just like a sauna
(think small, wood fired
sauna down by the lake—
not naked, old men at the
gym).
I took the fish o f the
grill and let it rest for at
least five minutes before
sliding back the leathery
skin to reveal the delicate
meat below.
Presentation, Presenta-
tion, Presentation:
Creating tasty meals is
not all about satisfying
your palate. It is amazing
how a visually appealing
presentation can enhance
the experience and flavor
– cook for your palate
but plate for your eyes!
Plate your fish with fresh,
contrasting colors in you
garnish. I choose a simple
presentation of lemon
wedges and flat leaf par -
ley, placed over a clean,
white serving dish.
The Final Product.
I laid the cooked fish
down in front of Chase and
his eyes widened know-
ing that this was a special
meal that he provided for
the family. Sure he does
get excited over hot dogs
and macaroni and cheese,
but he knew this meal was
different.
Going into this culinary
experience, I was suspect
whether the cedar flavor
would actually show up in
the taste of the meat.
As I served the dish,
the aroma of cedar quietly
filled the room. As I took
my first bite of delicate,
moist meat, I was surprised
to find the smoked cedar
aroma does show up in
the taste of the meat but it
is very subtle. Any other
flavo , even a squeeze of
fresh lemon juice, would
overpower and potentially
hide the essence of cedar.
So the real question –
would I cook trout again
this way? Yes. While the
cedar flavor is slightly hi -
den in the delicate meat,
the bang of the presenta-
tion, the uniqueness of
the preparation, and the
tradition of the cedar plank
makes this meal a neces-
sity for a special occasion
—or a special fish
Local swimmer competes in Ellensburg
Submitted by Noel
Scott
Riana Scott was the
only local swimmer to
attend the 2015 Winter
Open in Ellensburg, WA
on Jan. 24-25. There were
327 athletes representing
11 teams from Oregon &
Washington. Listed below
are her results.
Girls 11-12 200 Yard IM 1
Scott, Riana L 12 LGSC-IE
2:23.63
Girls 11-12 100 Yard Breast
1 Scott, Riana L 12 LGSC-IE
1:15.58
Girls 11-12 100 Yard Free
1 Scott, Riana L 12 LGSC-IE
58.34*
Girls 11-12 100 Yard Back
1 Scott, Riana L 12 LGSC-IE
1:08.00*
Girls 11-12 500 Yard Free
1 Scott, Riana L 12 LGSC-IE
5:41.47
Girls 11-12 100 Yard IM 1
Scott, Riana L 12 LGSC-IE
1:07.70
Girls 11-12 200 Yard Back
1 Scott, Riana L 12 LGSC-IE
2:24.00
Girls 11-12 50 Yard Free 1
Scott, Riana L 12 LGSC-IE
27.57
Girls 11-12 200 Yard Breast
1 Scott, Riana L 12 LGSC-IE
2:37.60*
Girls 11-12 200 Yard Free
1 Scott, Riana L 12 LGSC-IE
2:08.81
Scott set new meet re-
cords in the 100 Free, 100
Back and 200 Breast. The
next meet for LGSC and
BST is the Inland Empire
Short Course Cham-
pionships on February
27-March 1, for swimmers
who have qualified
First was an exciting dual with Mac-Hi on Thursday,
then the Grant Union Tournament, and then we finished
off in Madras at the White Buffalo Classic. And four of
our younger guys went to Imbler on Saturday as well.
Baker 30, Mac-Hi 47: With only 14 kids in our
lineup we cannot afford to have anyone out. We had two
key wrestlers out and it hurt us. Hopefully we can get
everyone on track by next week and end with a different
result on Thursday against LaGrande and Payette. We
started at 285. After the 120 pound match Mac-Hi had
built a 6-13 lead. Whoever won the 120 pound match
was likely going to win the dual. It was also by far the
best match of the dual. With Elijah Banister trailing 1-6
in the first round, he battled all the way back and came
within 2 points, but lost 8-11. We had to try and come up
with a way of getting the points back. The way we had it
figured the best we could do after this was 36-41 Mac-Hi.
So we took a gamble at 138 and put Nick Blair in. Nick
did a great job and gave it all he had. It’s a tough job for
a freshman to get called up to the big leagues. I’m proud
of Nick, he went for it! After inserting Nick we bumped
everyone else in our lineup up a weight class. We took a
gamble and it didn’t work. But, that’s all we can do is try
to win. Final score Baker 30, Mac-hi 47
Weight-Name-Record-Pins
285-Will Goodwin (Bk) Lost 0-11 to G. Moreno (MH)
106-Baker Forfeit to Z. Crisman (MH)
113-Jace Hays won by Fall over D. Zerba (MH)
120-Elijah Banister lost 8-11 to R. Chester (MH)
126-James AhHee won by Forfeit
132-Logan Valentine won by Fall over I. Riley (MH)
138-Nick Blair Lost by Fall to B. Ryan (MH)
145-Marco Vela Won by Fall over G. McAlester (MH)
152-Sean Stanford Lost by Fall to C. Skramstad (MH)
160-Dylan Feldmeier lost 5-13 to A. Shaw (MH)
170-Baker Forfeit to J. Jones (MH)
182-Sam Harper Lost by Fall to V. Roff (MH)
195-Peter Baker Won by Fall over J. Torres (MH)
220-Baker Forfeit to J. Podolski (MH)
Grant Union Tourney:
113-Jace Hays, 2-0, 1 pin
113-Jesse Hamann, 1-1, 1 pin
120-James AhHee, 3-0, 3 pins
120-Elijah Banister, 3-0, 3 pins
132-Logan Valentine, 3-1, -
132-Nick Blair, 1-1, 1 pins
138-Marco Vela, 2-0, 2 pins
145-Sean Stanford, 3-0, 2 pins
152-Dylan Feldmeier, 2-1, 1 pin
170-Peter Baker, 2-1, 1 pin
170-Sam Harper, 0-2, -
285-Will Goodwin, 1-1, 1 pin
Overall the Bulldogs went 23-8 with 17 Falls. Jace
Hays defeated State Champ/Muilenburg Champ Ryan
Smith by a 6-0 decision. Peter Baker defeated Elgin’s
Vermillion 7-0 and nearly had Chad Witty of Union. Lo-
gan Valentine had the toughest pod out of everyone today.
Sean Stanford has been working in the classroom and is
finally eligible!! He went 3-0 on the day
Madras: We brought 9 wrestlers and were doubled
up at 120lbs with James AhHee and Elijah Banister. You
can only have one scorer per weight class so we had a
total of only 8 scorers out of 14 weight classes. Our
team started out on fire in the first round with everyon
advancing to the next round. We battled back and forth
from 1st place to 3rd in team points throughout the day
with South Albany and Summit High Schools. Even
though Elijah was not scoring team points he was still
helping block other teams scorers from accumulating
team points. In the quarter finals he was losing to Su -
mit’s varsity wrestler Thomas Brown and battled back to
take the lead in the 3rd round and then got the fall. Elijah
finished with 3rd place. Peter Baker also finished in 3r
at 170lbs. He had his hands full with Logan Blake a stout
Bend opponent. He told me,”The only thing I could think
about was I can’t let that little freshman (teammate Elijah
Banister) place higher than me!” Peter was losing after
the first round 2-1 but was able to gain the lead an hold
on for a 4-3 victory. In the Championship Semi-Finals
James AhHee was losing 6-2 entering the third period and
then unleashed the beast. He went after his Wilsonville
opponent turning him for a 3 point near fall with about
40 seconds left in the match. His opponent was able to
fight o f his back and maintain the lead over AhHee 6-5.
But then with about 15 seconds left AhHee turned him
again and got a 5 count from the official signifying that
as soon as his opponent came back to his belly he would
be awarded a 3 pt near fall, and then the crowed erupted
as AhHee pinned him with literally 1 second remaining
on the clock! Marco Vela pinned all of his opponents
enroute to the finals where he faced a tank from South
Albany, Ron Beverly. With the team race so close to-
wards the end of the tournament we put the pressure on
Will Goodwin and he answered by pinning his opponent
in the Championship Semi-Finals to advance to the finals.
Will finished with 2nd place. Logan Valentine had a
great tournament pinning his first two opponents and then
he met Jace Oppenlander of Madras in the Champion-
ship Semi-Finals. It was a close match with Valentine
trailing 1-2 when he made one mistake and got taken to
his back for the fall. We can fix that and hopefully get a
rematch at the state tournament. Logan pinned his next
opponent Blake Snow of Bend in the first round to finis
with 3rd place. Sean Stanford and Dylan Feldmeier both
competed very well, but were eliminated before making it
to a placement round. And our lone champion was once
again Sophomore Jace Hays with a dominant perfor-
mance, pinning all of his opponents enroute to the Finals
where he won 11-0 over Quinton McCoy of Summit.
The Bulldogs finished in 2nd place overall in team points
with 143. South Albany was 1st with 162 and Summit
was 3rd with 129 points.
Next up is LaGrande/Payette on Thursday at 4 p.m.
Then the Middle School’s “Baker Brawl” on Friday.
And then the high school team travels to the Homedale
Dual Tournament on Saturday.