Williams Creek Report - Brookies!

We caught some nice Brookies at Williams Creek today. We were using light (1/16 - 1/32oz) Maribou jigs, and they worked like a charm. The light jig was a great way to keep a lure moving slow but staying out of the weeds and rocks. Larger Brookies (the one pictured measured 16 inches) put up a heck of a fight and it was fun not getting skunked at Williams Creek again (it is, after all, a pretty long drive.) We found shrimp in the mouths of these fish, pictured below. Edit: I thought these were Mysis shrimp but I've learned that they are in fact of the Genus Gammarus and are an Amphipod. Their effect on fish meat is the same as shrimp it seems, these were pink meat fish.

Brook Trout have a distinctly different flavor and texture than Rainbows. The texture reminds me of crab meat a bit. It is delicious and delicate, but firm. I tried my stuffed Trout with the biggest, who was easy to butterfly. This time I stuffed the fish with Chorizo, Garlic and Parsley. It was tasty! I cut one of the smaller fish into steaks and steamed them briefly over a spicy beef broth before flash frying in some butter. They were served over rice noodles and we really, really, really tasty. Note to self.. next time, fewer noodles, whew. It is really fun trying to come up with a different way to cook fish every time. It is a healthy way to have some culinary fun, and get some Colorado sun.