Smoked Golden Shiners, just in time for the holidays

So you've been invited to Holiday Party and you are supposed to bring an appetizer.
What's an angler to do?

We at Catch-M-All have the solution! You'll be the talk of the party and a hero!

Smoked Shiners!

Go to your local pond and jig up or trap a pile of shiners. If you're not feeling adventurous go to your local bait shop...

Keep the shiners alive as long as possible.

Go find some wood for smoking, we chopped up a piece of Oak, but apple or hickory will also work.

Fire up one burner on your grill and put the oak right on top of the flames, keep the flames low.

Yeah, Clay could use a new grill!

We soaked the oak in water for a while before doing this, but if your using large pieces of wood it really doesn't help to soak them but it keeps your wife from worrying about a big fire.

Close the lid on the grill and let it get smokey, the temp should be around 200 degrees.

OK Now the fun part, take those little shiners, chop their heads off and gut them. Rinse them off and pat them dry.

Take the shiners and get them on the grill as far from the flames as possible, you want to smoke these on a low heat until they are pretty near dried, an hour will probably do it for small fish like these.

We served ours with Chog Nog and ate them on live TV!

Serve them to your friends on crackers and enjoy!