Smoked Trout from the Front Yard
I've been running an aquaponics system for a number years and have lost my last three batches of trout due to silly mistakes, leaving them in too long into warmer weather, water flow shutting off due to a dead one being sucked in the pump with no air pump and last year I filled up the pond and later pulled the hose from the tap which siphoned the pond empty.
Alas this year I foolproofed my system and only lost three netting 17 trout for the smoker and a winter of fresh garden greens, sweet radishes and crunchy snow peas.
The trout start out as 4cm fingerings around May and are ready for harvest around the time that we start getting 30 degree days as they're very O2 sensitive and don't handle water temps above 22 degrees too well.
Officially off the Pies bandwagon
Billcollector
Posts: 2006
Date Joined: 16/05/09
Well done Frosty. Looks the
Well done Frosty. Looks the goods
sea-kem
Posts: 14857
Date Joined: 30/11/09
Take my money!!!! I'm
Take my money!!!! I'm drooling.
Love the West!
makai
Posts: 459
Date Joined: 28/10/08
Looks fantastic!
I'd love to see a photo of your aquaponics setup too.
And presumably you freeze the trout after vac packing them, or do you just refrigerate? If so, how long will they keep?
big john
Posts: 8726
Date Joined: 20/07/06
Cool
Now that is pretty cool.
How big is the tank?
WA based manufacturer and supplier of premium leadhead jigs, fligs, bucktail jigs, 'bulletproof' soft plastic jig heads and XOS bullet jig heads.
Jigs available online in my web store!
Sea goat
Posts: 941
Date Joined: 26/03/17
this looks frikkin
this looks frikkin awesome!
how much room does a setup like that need? any chance of posting a photo of the setup?
well done! im drooling loking at those smoked trout!
Da pirate
Posts: 1521
Date Joined: 03/05/15
Nice
nice frosty.. I did a few years back from
harvey dam . Is that a cold smoke your
doing them in ??
Jackfrost80
Posts: 8050
Date Joined: 07/05/12
Cheers lads. Harvest time is
Cheers lads. Harvest time is always exciting when I have a few to smoke. I brined them in a salt/sugar solution for 4 hours and then hot smoked them at 215f (100c) and started with a handful of mequite and then fed through dried offcuts of my apple tree over the next four hours and I'll make an angel hair pasta with capers and rocket tonight and freeze the rest and I have a smoked trout cream cheese and sour cream dip that I pull out for special occasions.
I've attached a pic but the system (approx) is a 600l fish tank with a 400l growbed and comfortably does 20 trout. I have pea gravel in the growbed as the grow medium and expanded clay is way lighter and kinder on the hands when planting but way more expensive and the whole system takes up a footprint of approx 2.2m2. The idea is that you pump water from the tank up to the growbed and let it drain back into the tank. The bacteria in the pond convert ammonia from the fish waste into nitrites and the bacteria in the growbed convert the nitrites into nitrates which feeds the the plants and filters the water to keep the fish healthy.
Officially off the Pies bandwagon
big john
Posts: 8726
Date Joined: 20/07/06
That's it
That's great. Doesn't look to expensive to establish either, although the pump etc probably costs a bit.
WA based manufacturer and supplier of premium leadhead jigs, fligs, bucktail jigs, 'bulletproof' soft plastic jig heads and XOS bullet jig heads.
Jigs available online in my web store!
little johnny
Posts: 5330
Date Joined: 04/12/11
Should try silver perch
In summer they grow very quick. Not bad on the chew . Cheap to buy alive
sunshine
Posts: 2555
Date Joined: 03/03/09
Veggies look like black kale and broad beans
Or am I mistaken
Shark1
Posts: 1084
Date Joined: 21/05/12
be very interested what u
be very interested what u did with the smoker - does that digital readout also control the smoker?
got same model but i wired mine up to switch off on internal temp
Jackfrost80
Posts: 8050
Date Joined: 07/05/12
Yeah mate. I found that the
Yeah mate. I found that the smoker's control was useless as the probe is at the top of the smoker where the temps are hottest and it works on a thermostat so I had big temp swings.
I have bypassed the smoker's controller and it is now plugged into an Auberins PID controller (not cheap at around $200) with the probe where the food cooks so it's an accurate rock solid temperature rather than the +/- 10 degree swings I was getting
Officially off the Pies bandwagon
piston broke
Posts: 776
Date Joined: 05/11/08
Cool
Frosty boy. Smoked trout friggin awesome
Rob H
Posts: 5745
Date Joined: 18/01/12
.
Mate that is a great result, bit of effort gone in there!
Give a man a mask, and he'll show you his true face...
The older you get the more you realize that no one has a f++king clue what they're doing.
Everyone's just winging it.
Jackfrost80
Posts: 8050
Date Joined: 07/05/12
All built slowly from Gumtree
All built slowly from Gumtree bits and pieces Rob but still cost around $500 to put together
Officially off the Pies bandwagon
Faulkner Family
Posts: 17868
Date Joined: 11/03/08
Well done. A hobby into
Well done. A hobby into fresh food. At least you finally got a feed in the smoker
RUSS and SANDY. A family that fishes together stays together
sea-kem
Posts: 14857
Date Joined: 30/11/09
Now tell me you harvested
Now tell me you harvested them with a Stradic 1000 , Gomoku and pe 1 braid ;)
Love the West!
Jackfrost80
Posts: 8050
Date Joined: 07/05/12
LOL, tried with a soft
LOL, tried with a soft placcie one year with my bream gear. No dice
Officially off the Pies bandwagon
timboon
Posts: 2924
Date Joined: 14/11/10
Good shit Frost, Good to get
Good shit Frost,
Good to get a result from something thats been a fuck around and set you back a few times mate...
How good is smoked food!!
I've always wanted a cold smoker but always thought it needed to be elaborate until one day watching something i saw they had some round gutter pipes running through a steel bin full of uce to chill the smoke, thought that was clever. I went out and bought half the bits ( about two salmon seasons ago ) but have not got there yet!!
Doc
Posts: 691
Date Joined: 29/05/16
Bloody nice, few beers and
Bloody nice, few beers and that will be a feast.
jighead
Posts: 718
Date Joined: 03/02/12
.
Got your trout in for this season frosty. I've had my perch in for seven years now I reckon they're about 50cm long but I'll never eat them. Plenty of chillies though.
Jackfrost80
Posts: 8050
Date Joined: 07/05/12
I usually get them the first
I usually get them the first weekend of May but it's still pretty warm this year. Want the pond to be under 22c before you start out. Maybe next weekend as I've got a pretty hectic weekend coming up.
Officially off the Pies bandwagon
out wide
Posts: 1535
Date Joined: 30/12/08
They look finger licking
They look finger licking good. Good back yard setup Frost.