What’s needed for a fisherman’s picnic

Food which is heavy to carry and gets in the way of fishing gear won’t be popular with fisherman.

Easy to eat food is essential for fisherman as they will be concentrating on reeling in, casting out and baiting hooks.

Provisioning planning

Think about food which is nutritional, can be easily eaten in one hand and which is substantial such as a beef or pork pie and salad. Fill a plastic container with potato salad and wrap up the pie separately. Add a bread roll or two. Extra food for fishermen might be a container of bite-sized things like small squares of hard cheese, cocktail sausages, cherry tomatoes, nuts, and dried fruit. Morsels to enjoy while waiting for the fish to bite.

More fisherman’s food ideas

Include crumbed lamb cutlets, cold sausages in a long roll with BBQ sauce, roast chicken legs or slices of a vegetable or meat loaf. In winter months it can be very cold especially, early dawn until the sun comes up, so a hot flask of soup is a good idea.

Remember to pop in a knife, fork , spoon, paper towels and a rubbish bag, as well as bottled water and a flask of tea or coffee. Pack the picnic inside a suitable sized Esky, so the food won’t be crushed. The Esky can also double as a fisherman’s foot rest or even as an extra piece of safety equipment.

June 2019 newspapers reported two men and a seven year old boy were rescued after their boat sank 14 nm off the coast of Caloundra, South East Queensland . They had been fishing in their 5.2 metre. All three were rescued after treading water in cold conditions for six hours and and clinging to their esky and were rushed to hospital suffering from hypothermia. The adults took turns holding the young boy out of the water in an attempt to keep him out of the cold water.  Police confirmed they were not wearing lifejackets at the time the vessel started taking on water.

Keeping energy levels up

Snacks are a necessity to keep energy levels up and if the fish are not biting, fisherman will need a little something sweet to console them!

Try out our Fisherman’s Chocolate Slab Cake recipe. Let us know how you rate it.

Ingredients

½ cup (50g) cocoa powder
½ cup (125ml) boiling water
160g unsalted butter, softened
3 eggs
1½ cups (330g) castor sugar
1½ cups (200g) self-raising flour
⅓ cup (50g) plain flour
½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
¾ cup (180ml) buttermilk

Chocolate icing (Optional)
100g dark cooking chocolate, chopped coarsely
25g butter
1 cup (160g) icing sugar, sifted
1½ tablespoons hot water

Method

Pre-heat oven to 180°C/160°C fan-forced. Grease 19cm x 30cm lamington pan; line with baking paper.Blend cocoa with water in a small bowl and set aside to cool.
Beat butter and sugar in a small bowl with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time. Transfer mixture to a large bowl, stir in sifted flours and soda, and buttermilk; stir in cocoa mixture. Spread mixture into pan. Bake about 30 minutes. Cool cake in pan for 20 minutes before turning, top-side up, onto wire rack to cool.
Make chocolate icing. (Optional) Spread cold cake with icing and throw in some whole strawberries to eat with the cake. Cut cake into squares.

Chocolate Icing
Melt chocolate and butter in a small saucepan, stirring, over low heat. Remove from heat; stir in sifted icing sugar and water until smooth.

Before heading out on the fishing trip

• Check that your boat is seaworthy.
• Check that you have all the required safety equipment aboard.
• Report your trip. Let someone know where you are going, how many will be aboard and when you plan to return.
• Make sure you and your crew know how to handle the boat.
• Check the weather forecast.
• Make sure you have sufficient fuel and water aboard for the duration of the trip.
• Go easy on alcohol.
• Keep in touch – use your marine radio to log in and log out with the local volunteer marine rescue.
• Carry a registered EPIRB . An EPIRB is a legally required item of safety equipment when travelling 2 nm or more offshore.
• Carry a personal beacon.
• Wear a lifejacket.