Not to my taste

The choice of fish supper for some pier anglers causes a surprise

Many years ago, while putting a feature together for a British angling magazine about boat fishing in the Kattegat, which is the water dividing Denmark and Sweden, I fished with some anglers from various parts of mainland Europe.

After a hard day’s fishing, during which we caught some wonderful cod to 20lb-plus, I watched the 30 or more anglers on board killing their fish with empty beer bottles that only a few minutes earlier had been full. How things have changed.

After dinner one evening, I went for a walk along the local pier and noticed four or five anglers were floatfishing on the end. When I wandered over to them, I discovered that they were from Germany. They spoke about as much English as I spoke German, which is extremely limited, so our communication wasn’t easy, but, as anglers, we always find a way.

After introducing myself, I asked what they were catching and one of them pointed to a bag against the wall. The bag was moving, indicating that the fish were still alive.

I asked if I could have a look to see what they were and moved towards the bag. When I picked it up and looked, I quickly dropped it again. I asked why they were keeping this particular fish, of which there were seven or eight in the bag. Seemingly surprised at my question, one of the anglers pointed out that they tasted great with bread and butter. The fish in the bag were greater weevers.

As I wandered off, I said: “I think I’ll stick to fish and chips, if you don’t mind.” ■