Paul Smith’s mom, Nellie Smith of Spaniard’s Bay, was the best seafood cook in the world, at least in his opinionAuthor of the article:By Paul Smith • For The TelegramPublished Aug 06, 20257 minute readPaul Smith says it wasn’t easy pulling these two whoppers of cod up from 240 feet at the same time. Photo by Boyd Winsor Photo by Boyd Winsor /THE TELEGRAMArticle contentThere’s a lot going on right now and there are so many different topics I could write about. I’m doing some gun prep for fall hunting. The days are getting shorter and there will soon be a nip in the evening breeze. Hunting is approaching. There’s that, and I will get to it soon, no doubt.THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY.Subscribe now to access this story and more:Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsSUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES.Subscribe or sign in to your account to continue your reading experience.Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsRegister to unlock more articles.Create an account or sign in to continue your reading experience.Access additional stories every monthShare your thoughts and join the conversation in our commenting communityGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorArticle contentMy grandson Harry was with me for a few days, and we hiked the Brigus Lighthouse Trail. That was fantastic and I’ll devote a column to that soon, maybe combined with some more hiking stuff that I have planned. I have a new Canadian-made sleeping bag ordered and it will be here at the door very soon. You will see that for sure. I hope I’m pleased with it. And I have a new tent on the go as well, also Canadian. So stay tuned if you are into the overnight on the trail life.Article contentArticle contentArticle contentBut you know what? For today, I just have to write about cod fishing once again. Oh, and cod eating, which I love every bit as much as cod catching. Wait, I’ll make that an almost.Article contentI’ll start with the catching. You might recall that for the last couple of years, I’ve been doing most of my cod fishing with my cousin Boyd Winsor. Boyd and I have a long history in the hunting and fishing domain. There are many stories I could tell from our good old days. I’ll have to get to that, especially as duck season approaches. We were super hardcore young waterfowlers back in our day.Article contentAnyway, Boyd has his new Coastal Vokey 198 docked in New Harbour, and it’s a fine location for fishing out in Trinity Bay. By the way, that Coastal Vokey is one damn dandy 20-foot boat. We have been out on the water in some stiff breezes, and she is rock solid both in a following sea and pounding head-on into the waves. I’m impressed. I love the self-bailing feature, which essentially makes the boat unsinkable, outside of complete structural failure.Article contentArticle contentAlso, maybe more on boats another time.Article contentArticle contentAMAZING EXPERIENCEArticle contentTo the story at hand, and what an absolutely amazing fishing experience we had a couple of days ago. Boyd and I usually leave the dock at daybreak, but due to other obligations, we set sail at noon. After a short steam to the ground we had planned to fish on, we were disappointed to find a couple of gill nets strung right across the area.Article content Paul Smith says a day out cod fishing resulted in a “dandy catch.” Photo by Paul Smith /THE TELEGRAMArticle contentBack in the late ’70s, when I fished commercially, there was an unwritten code of conduct amongst fishers about not setting gillnets on hook and line fishing grounds. Nowadays, many fishers still play by those rules, but unfortunately, some do not. I think priority should be given to hook and liners, both commercial and food fishers. On the commercial side, there is no way that gill-netted quality can match hook and line. Do you agree?Article contentAnyway, after a few minutes of trying to figure out fishing around the nets, we gave up on it and moved on. We decided to try a spot that we had discovered last year during a period when the fish were a tad on the spotty side. It’s one of those locations with deep water all around, but a sort of underwater knoll seems to be attractive to cod.Article contentDepending on the tide, I suppose, cod will feed on one side of the slope or the other. The water on the knoll was still quite deep at 215 feet, but it goes to over 300 in short order. It’s a long haul on fish, but Boyd and me are game for it, not unlike the duck hunting days of our youth.Article content If you resort to gravy browning while making your fish stew, don’t tell anyone, says Paul Smith. Photo by Paul Smith /THE TELEGRAMArticle contentBoy, oh boy, did we ever strike into them, actually at 240 feet or so, slightly off the actual shoal. Our lines would stop on the way down, and we’d have a fish on before ever reaching bottom. I’m talking about big cod in the 15-to 25-pound range. These are fish that can hardly fit in a standard plastic fish pan.Article contentWe were both working hard for half old fellas but having an absolute time of it on the water. It was a large day. We had our quota filled in no time.Article contentAnd this is no tall tale. Almost at our quota, my line stopped before the bottom as usual. I pulled back and brought up full standing. There was no moving whatever had grabbed my line. I had my drag a little too tight, and my rod buckled right to the gunwales.Article contentArticle contentI actually could not handle the strain, and I’m not weak by any means. Anyway, I fumbled and got the drag properly adjusted so as not to break my rod or strain myself. The fish tired a bit after a minute or so, and I began the slow lift and reel 240 feet to the surface.Article contentI figured I had the biggest cod of my life on the end of the line, and the excitement gave me extra strength and energy. Then, with some degree of disappointment, I saw two fish instead of one loom up in sight from the depths. But they were two whoppers, still. One was 25 pounds and the other 20 pounds. Still quite a catch, but I would have preferred a 45-pound cod. Maybe another time.Article contentTIME TO DINEArticle contentNow I’ll get to the eating part. My mom, Nellie Smith of Spaniard’s Bay was, in her time, the best seafood cook in the world. At least that’s my opinion, biased of course it is.Article contentArticle contentI grew up eating fish of all kinds, four or five meals out of the week. It was her specialty. My favourite was stewed fish. So I suppose one might say Nellie Smith made the world’s best stewed fish. But wait, Boyd’s mother Mary Winsor — originally a Smith from Bishops Cove but living her married life in Harbour Grace — was right up there with my mom in the stewed fish game. I ate it just once 45 years ago and have never gotten over how good it was. I really like stewed fish.Article content Paul Smith advises that while making cod stew to brown the fish in the oil, skin side down first. Also, you can use part cooking oil and part rendered fat, if you like. Some pork is essential, he says. Photo by Paul Smith /THE TELEGRAMArticle contentWhile cleaning up our fish, Boyd and I got to talking about our mothers’ stewed fish. They both used whole fish, partially deboned in the old traditional Newfoundland fashion. Boyd was saying that nowadays, he makes his mother’s recipe with skin-on trimmed fillets, zero bones. I figured I’d give it a try with Nellie’s recipe. I picked out a nice fish and prepared the fillets accordingly.Article contentIt was hot that evening, so I decided to do the cooking outside on the deck, a great way to end a fishing day. I have to confess here before going any further. I had never cooked stewed fish in my whole life, only eaten lots of it.Article contentLuckily, Goldie learned my mom’s recipe many decades ago. Now I was going to learn. And I’m going to cook a feed for the boys at the cabin when we go goose hunting this fall. I promise.Article contentI’ll share my learning experience with you right now. If you are doing this outside on a warm summer’s day, first of all, crack open a cold beer, and maybe have another in reserve, because this is a bit of a process for us amateurs.Article contentCut up some fat pork and onions and brown them up together in a Dutch oven, iron pan or something that distributes heat well. Oh, and set your turnips and potatoes to boil around this time as well. When the pork is rendered and browned a bit, and the onion softened nicely — a bit of a balancing act, but you can do it — move the onions and pork to one side in the pan. Take a swig of beer and add the skin on fillet chunks to the hot, sizzling pan, not on top of the pork and onions. Now salt and pepper the fish to taste, and balance the added salt with the pork.Article contentArticle contentI brown the fish skin side down first and then turn it, trying not to have it fall apart on you. You want to keep your chunks of fish intact. That’s why skinned fillets may not work well at all.Article contentEnjoy your beer and inhale the aroma as the cod browns. Now take out the cod and place it one side.Article contentYour second beer should be open now. Add hot water to the pan and stir in a thickening mix of cornstarch and water. If you nail this perfectly with the right amount of previous browning, the mixture will stir and bubble to a tantalizing dark-coloured gravy, like semi-liquid. If not, add a bit of gravy browning and don’t tell anyone. Now put your fish back in and let it all bubble up just a tad.Article content Paul Smith says his cod stew may not be as good as that his mother Nellie Smith used to make, but he still finds it delicious. Photo by Paul Smith /THE TELEGRAMArticle contentBy this time, with immaculate precision, your vegetables will be cooked perfectly and you will have half of your second beer left to drink with supper. Put your veggies on your plate and cover them with fish and thickening.Article contentEnjoy Nellie’s stewed fish. Although I’m not sure if she would approve of using fillets, even with the skin left on.Article contentAnd my recommendation for the beer is Corona Light. Sorry, Canada, but you may want to choose a local brew.Article contentSee you next time.Article contentPaul Smith, a native of Spaniard’s Bay, fishes and wanders the outdoors at every opportunity. He can be contacted at flyfishtherock@hotmail.com or follow him on Twitter at @flyfishtherockArticle content
PAUL SMITH: The love of fishing for cod, and stewing it
