When Doug first hits North Knife Lake in the spring he eats nothing but fresh fish for at least the first two weeks. Whoever goes with Doug eats the same.
On his first visit, Mike (Helen’s son-in-law) not only ate fish but learned to cook it as well and this is one of the recipes he came up with. It wasn’t until a year later that we were having dinner with Mike’s folks and Doug mentioned how he and Mike had enjoyed eating all this fresh fish, that Mike’s mother said, "but Mike doesn’t like fish!"
He had learned to like it that summer – I guess he thought it was a case of like it or starve!
- oil for deep-frying fish
- 2 lbs. fillets, any type of firm white-fleshed fish, pike and pickerel work well
- 1 ½ cups flour
- 1 tbsp. DLS* OR 1/2 tsp. salt and 1 tsp. pepper
- 12 oz. can beer
- 2 tsp. dill weed
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 egg
- Heat the vegetable oil in your deep-fryer or a large Dutch oven to 375 degrees F. You should have about 3 inches of oil.
- Cut the fillets into serving pieces
- To make the batter, in a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients with a wire whisk until smooth.
- Drop fish pieces into the batter and then into the hot oil. Fry until deep golden brown, on both sides, turning once. Drain for just a minute on a wire rack placed over a cooking sheet.
Serves 6 hungry men or their equivalent.
Did you enjoy this recipe? It can be found in our book, Blueberries & Polar Bears, pg. 30.
*Dymond Lake Seasoning is a mixture of spices available from the authors. Learn more about Dymond Lake Seasoning…



