The upper Kobuk River is gin clear as it tumbles out of the Brooks Range, so transparent as to be dimensionless. Not only is it clear and cold but it is also home to the sheefish (Stenodus leucichthys), the tarpon of the tundra, the prize of the Arctic. Sheefish is famed for its aerial displays when hooked and rumored to be easy to catch and sweet of flesh when cooked. We were all eager to find out.
Sitting in the screened in porch of the Bettles Lodge, Grandpa had told me and each successive member of our expedition who walked in through the screen door how to catch a sheefish. “Big ol’ shiny spoon. You just wiggle it around on the sand. And boom. There you go.” Not only did they take shiny spoons wigglin’ in the sand, but they were as big as your arm too. “You don’t catch no little ones,” and tasted “just like halibut.” All big, eager to bite and tasting like the best eating fish in the sea. Sounded like a fish story to me, especially after I had heard it three times before finishing my apple pie.
But Grandpa wasn’t lying. Sheefish caught in the upper river are all big because only mature 7-to-9 year old fish return to spawn. The smallest fish we caught weighed 7 lbs and was 78 cm long. I know people with much shorter arms. Shee are not particularly shy and, boy, are they fond of shiny spoons. Jeff Mount won’t be shy either when you ask him if it’s true he caught 7 fish on 7 casts with a shiny spoon and an Ugly Stick. “Yes” he will say (or something like it but a bit longer). And he won’t be lying either.
Finally, how do they taste? Like halibut of course. If you’re lucky enough to wet a line in the Kobuk as summer wanes, you should be lucky enough to put a sheefish on the shore. The fillets are large and the meat is white and flaky. Shee cuts just like a big salmon. I found the meat to be dry (not unlike halibut), so being careful not to dry it out further when you cook it is essential.
Incidentally Bill and Hillary Clinton and Queen Elizabeth II of England have all, on separate occasions, proclaimed smoked Arctic char to be their favorite fish. That is only because they have never dined with me on a river bar north of the Arctic Circle. So here’s a recipe that you may find useful, especially if you plan on lunching with royalty.
Cold coal-roasted Sii with honey, thyme and carrots.
Ingredients:
One thick fillet of Stenodus leucichthys.
Minced garlic to taste (read a whole damn lot, especially by Peter Moyle)
A splash of olive oil
1/2 pound of baby carrots (halved lengthways)
1/2 cup of honey
As much thyme as you would ever bring on a river trip
Instructions:
Go to Kobuk River in late summer, if you really want to impress the Queen, allow several hard freezes to precede you (that knocks down the skeeters).
Get a good spruce and drift wood fire going 1/2 an hour before you want to put the fish on.
Step to river.
Cast one Ugly Stick fishing rod (pole if you prefer) equipped with a shiny spoon.
Wiggle the spoon in the sand.
Boom
Reel in Sheefish, cut a gill arch to allow blood to exit the flesh.
Bonk on head.
Fillet.
Leave the skin on all fillets.
The tail portions of the fillets may be cooked together in the same foil package, but the thicker center cuts will need much longer to cook and should be wrapped alone.
This recipe works best with the thick center cut.
Take a large piece of tin foil (big enough to wrap around the fillet twice)
lay it out with sides pulled ever so slightly up to form a big shallow bowl
splash some olive oil it
toss in an ample amount of minced garlic
lay the fillet meat side down and rub it around to coat it with oil and garlic
turn the fillet over so the skin side is down
make three diagonal cuts across the fillet to a depth half way to the skin
(this will help it cook all the way through)
mix honey, carrots and thyme then
nest the carrots all around the fillet and drizzle honey mixture over fillet
dust with pepper and salt and paprika (just for the color, your trying to impress a Queen here.)
wrap the thing up tight as a drum. Like it’s a Picasso in a rainstorm. Make sure the seam is on top so it won’t leak when you place it directly onto the red-hot coals, skin-side down.
Commence sizzling.
Cook for 15 –20 minutes. (the thick skin and beautiful Sii scales will insolate the succulent flesh.)
Flip for 5 minutes.
Remove from coals using two carefully selected alder braches as tongs. The Queen will be impressed by your ingenuity, but not as impressed as when you serve it for the next day’s lunch in close proximity to grizzly bears. The dry meat will absorb the cooking juices and honey over night. It will be fit for a Queen. Serve with tea, biscuits and bear spray.
When the Queen asks what Sii is, you can tell her it is the proper Inupiaq name for Stenodus leucichthys. That’s sure to impress her. You’ll probably be knighted.