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Dentry: Carp merit place on table

Published May 30, 2007 at midnight

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The verdict is in on Gary Hague's smoked carp recipe. And, at least among the human guinea pigs in my family, the verdict was:

Two "not bads." One "It tastes good." One "Awesome." And one "No comment; go catch us some kokanee salmon."

Hague, you might remember, is the Greeley bowfisher and food inspector who arrowed fresh carp at Jackson Reservoir and shared his Swedish ancestors' smoked fish recipe (in this column Friday).

He and his greater family from Wisconsin love the stuff, and he dislikes wasting good protein.

Having tasted carp before, I dutifully took some fillets home to soak and smoke, keeping my own opinions close to the vest.

In fact, many years ago, I accompanied a bowhunting club in a major carp-lancing fest and then talked the gang into a barbecue instead of using the golden monsters for garden fertilizer.

The reactions were mixed. In fact, the flavor of the barbecued carp chunks was oddly diverse. One chunk was delicious; the next tasted like dirt.

"I see where you get the dirt," one of my familial guinea pigs said a couple of days ago.

He had just sampled a delicious smoked carp strip, chased by another strip from the dark side.

More than some other fish, each common carp, it seems, is two fish for eating purposes: One is delicate and tasty; the other is not.

So we shouldn't be dissing carp altogether. The good parts, which are light in color, are very good. The bad parts, well . . .

Carp goes way back in culinary history. Asians have eaten them for centuries. The Dutch kept carp in tubs of milk and fed them bread to sweeten their flesh. Russians poach carp in sour cream.

King Henry VIII paid his subjects to "bring carpes to the king." To this day, carp-tournament fishing is a huge pastime in Britain.

Carp were brought to the United States in the late 1800s as a food fish to be stocked in farm ponds and for sport. But they never really caught on.

In recent years, however, carp have gained respect among some fly fishers, who compare their sporting qualities to bonefish.

If you Google carp on the Internet, you'll get 11.5 million hits. Carp recipes as a search scores about 640,000 hits. There are recipes for buttermilk fried carp fillets, roasted carp, carp cakes, you name it. All that can't have happened by accident.

The key to ensuring prime flavor, nearly everyone agrees, is trim, trim, trim. Take out the dark meat. Or simply smoke the fillets and eat around the dark stuff.

It's delicious.

MEET THE GUIDES: Anyone who has considered hiring a guide for that special fishing or hunting trip - or just picking a guide's brain about hunting or fishing - might consider visiting Guides and Outfitters Weekend, June 23-24, at Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World, Stapleton.

The big outdoors store has joined with top fishing and hunting guides and outfitters from the Colorado Outfitters Association and members of the Mule Deer Foundation.

The two-day event will include seminars about how to select an outfitter, fly-fishing opportunities, elk-hunting strategies and choosing the best rifle for mule deer.

Attendees also are invited to bring their deer or elk trophies from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. June 24 for free scoring by official measurers of Pope & Young and Boone & Crockett clubs.

Seminar schedule and information: BassPro.com, under Denver and Store Events.

Fishing hot spot: Big Thompson River

? Why here? With spring runoff affecting many other streams, the "Big T" below Lake Estes has been flowing generally clear.

? What's hot? Blue-wing-olive mayflies have been hatching on cloudy days and some stonefly and caddis activity has been noted. Trout are feeding.

? Fly box: No. 12-16 Stimulators, No. 18-22 BWO Thorax, Parachute Adams and HatchMasters, Pheasant Tail nymphs, Elk-Hair Caddis.

? Best times: Late morning through midafternoon.

? How to get there: From Denver, take U.S. 36 to Estes Park. Then take U.S. 34 east as it follows the river downstream.

? Ask the experts: Estes Angler shop in Estes Park, 1-970-586-2110.

? Fishing report: For the Colorado Division of Wildlife's complete fishing report, visit RockyMountainNews.com/ fishing.

? Solunar Table 19