The Shore Lunch
By Chris Chin, Bay Comeau, Quebec, Canada
We don't keep many trout anymore. We don't even keep
the biggest ones. After all, the skillet IS only about
12 inches across. We do like to keep a trout now and
again to have a shore lunch.
I'm not sure if the shore lunch is a tradition all
over the world, but for many of us it is a dying
tradition. There are many reasons why folks don't
do shore lunches anymore. Some can't be bothered to
take time to prepare one. Others only practice catch
and release. Some waters are too polluted to eat the
fish there. Whatever the reason, it has become apparent
to me that our shore lunches here are not only a treat,
but a bit of a privilege too.
Of course, we always bring along the fixings for lunch,
just in case the trout don't want to cooperate with our
culinary expectations. A typical snack for us on a cool
September day will be some sort of soup. We usually follow
this up with our "famous" fried chicken pot pie and baked
beans.
I suppose the "traditional" shore lunch around here would
be the old stand by. When nature decides to be bountiful
for us, lunch is:
Skillet fried corned beef hash with cubed potatoes;
Grilled trout with bacon;
Coffee or hot chocolate, depending on your preference.
We like to start off most meals on the river with a bowl
of steaming soup. The aroma of simmering soup is often
enough to pull friends out of the run and up to the beach
for lunch.
In all honesty, I think that the promise of a shore lunch
was the determining factor in getting JC to come up last
summer for the Quebec '06 FishIn.
A bit of preparation can also make for some very simple
shore lunches. A non-stick frying pan helps to speed up
clean up. Pre-mixing ingredients into small containers
makes for easy and rapid lunches, especially when your
fingers are numb. We use a white gas stove. It's less
expensive to run than butane and less messy than using
a camp fire.
Whatever the reason, IMHO, the shore lunch is an essential
part of an outing on a cool September day. After all, the
chilly air and cold water make for a demanding day of fishing.
A leisurely lunch is a wonderful reason to relax, chat, meet
with friends and restock the energy reserves.
If you're ever in our neck of the woods, drop by for lunch.
~ Christopher Chin - Bay Comeau, Quebec
About Chris:
Chris Chin is originally from Kamloops,
British Columbia. He has been fly fishing
on and off ever since he was 10 years old.
Chris became serious about the sport within
the last 10 years.
"I'm a forest engineer by day and part time
guide on the Ste-Marguerite River here in
central Quebec. I've been fishing this river
for about 10 years now and started guiding
about 5 years ago when the local guide's
association sort of stopped functioning."
Chris guides mostly for sea run brook trout
and about 30% of the time for Atlantic Salmon.
"I often don't even charge service fees, as
I'm more interested in promoting the river
than making cash. I like to get new comers
to realize that salmon fishing is REALLY for
anyone who cares to try it. Tradition around
here makes some of the old clan see Salmon
fishing as a sport for the rich. Today our
shore lunches are less on the cucumber sandwich
side and more toward chicken pot pie and Jack
Daniel's."
Chris is 42 years old as of this writing. He
is of Chinese origin although his parents were
born and raised in Jamaica. He has a girlfriend,
Renée. "She and her 12 year old son Vincent
started fly fishing with me in October 2002."
To learn more about the Ste-Marguerite River,
visit Christopher's
website https://pages.videotron.com/fcch/.
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