There are few, if any freshwater fish that rival the taste of recently caught walleye, be it for shore lunch or a gourmet dinner back at the lodge. There are a multitude of ways to prepare walleye, from straight fried in the back country to the most incredibly tasting appetizer consisting of walleye nuggets (and cheeks) wrapped with thick-cut bacon or maple bacon for an extra hit of goodness.

Walleye yield a large fillet and succulent cheek meat that many anglers will travel miles to enjoy while sitting on a perfectly comfortable rock watching the north drift by. Here is one of my favorite ways to prepare walleye. This recipe comes with a warning – once you try it, you may never experience fresh fish cooked so amazingly again. (not really, but It’s pretty darn good!)

This recipe comes from www.tasteofhome.com

Ingredients
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1 cup coarsely crushed saltines (about 22 crackers)
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 4 to 6 walleye fillets (about 1-1/2 pounds)
• Canola oil
• Additional honey

Directions
1. In a shallow bowl, beat egg and honey. In another bowl, combine the cracker crumbs, flour, salt and pepper. Dip fillets into egg mixture, then coat with crumb mixture.
2. In a large skillet, heat 1/4 in. of oil; fry fish over medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily with a fork. Drizzle with honey. Yield: 4-6 servings.

The fresher the fish, the better it will taste. I rarely freeze fish and use that fact as a great excuse to get out and enjoy the outdoors, the fresh fish dinner is an added bonus for everyone.

Walleye are plentiful and found in many of our water systems. The smaller fish taste the best (under 19 inches) while the bigger fish are the genetically superior fish that are well responsible for breeding and repopulating the fish stocks. Choose wisely, and enjoy the fruits of your labor – fresh walleye – can’t be beat!