Like a sea lamprey in the throngs of passionate spawning bliss, the end is near for 2011. It has been a great year for the Catch-M-All quest and, to celebrate, we invite our readers to enjoy a traditional Italian Feast of Seven Fishes—Catch-M-All style.

The Feast of Seven Fishes is usually served in southern Italian households on La Vigilia (Christmas Eve). The number of fish courses corresponds with the number of sacraments in the Catholic religion. Another name for the feast is The Vigil, because it commemorates the wait for the birth of Jesus. For us, it symbolizes the wait for solid ice to form on lakes and ponds so we can get out fishing again.

First course: Sfere della trota (Trout Balls)
Our first big fish of the quest was a rainbow trout caught with a big fat worm under a tip-up through the ice of Lake Ossipee in Effingham last February. The rainbow is not native to the Granite State, but has been widely stocked to satisfy the fisherman’s passion for catching trout. Clay was inspired by this fish to create a cream cheese and red wine trout appetizer ball coated in chopped walnuts. We felt very refined as we enjoyed the creamy concoction on crackers while ice fishing a few days later.

Second Course: Notropidi affumicati sui cracker (Smoked Shiners on Crackers)
We first tried this dish back in June when we caught common shiners in the Lamprey River in Epping. During late spring, the small common shiners develop bright red fins and congregate over nesting mounds of fallfish to lay their eggs. We caught one after another using an ice fishing jig and a bit of worm. At home, we smoked about a half-dozen of the fish using hickory chips for 45 minutes. The flavor and texture of these fish was outstanding. We liked them so much that we smoked golden shiners later in the year and got the same tasty results. But please, if you see us hanging around the bait shop for dinner, get us some help.

Third Course: Punte del filetto di Pumpkinseed (Pumpkinseed Tenderloin Tips)
The pumpkinseed is one of our favorite fish because its wild coloration reminds us that the underwater world of weedy ponds must be a psychedelic wonderland in which this colorful sunfish is perfectly camouflaged. We caught pumpkinseeds all year long, but our first was in Center Harbor on Lake Winnepesaukee in May. Like all sunfish, pumpkinseeds are delicious, but their small size allows for only small strips of meat. We took a few choice cuts and fried them in light oil with just a dusting of flour.

Fourth Course: Partito poppers del marrone pesce gatto (Brown Bullhead Party Poppers)
If someone asks you how a bullhead tastes, just say “really well,” because catfish have taste buds all over their bodies. But these fish, called horned pout around here, also taste very good on the dinner plate. We caught ours in Pequawket Pond in Conway in late April in about six inches of water using a worm. Given how excited bullheads get around worms, we are considering calling them catfishnip. Our recipe consisted of bullhead fillets dowsed in Cajun spices and coated in a mixture of  flour, cayenne pepper, salt, pepper and garlic. We dropped them into hot oil and finished off the golden brown poppers with a sprinkle of cheddar jack cheese. PBR washes it down perfectly.

Fifth Course:  Filetti di rock basso su spring spinaci (Rock Bass Fillets on Spring Spinach)
Rock bass are commonly misidentified by New Hampshire anglers as a hybrid between a bass and a sunfish. These spunky panfish do live among the rocks and always keep their red eyes peeled for a lunch of crayfish or minnow. We caught our rock bass on a tiny jig tipped with a piece of worm this spring on the shores of Lake Winnipesaukee. We filleted the little seven-inch fish and sautéed it in hot oil with salt and spices. We plated the delicate morsels on a bed of baby spinach. Delizioso!

Sixth Course: Pepite della pertica bianca (White Perch Nuggets)
The white perch is not really a perch but the smaller cousin of the saltwater striped bass. We found these fish spawning in a protected cove in Center Harbor this spring. The large females were so full of eggs that they floundered in the shallows, so sluggish at times that we could reach into the water and pick them up. Using a rooster tail, we caught a nice sized fish that produced thick fillets. We chopped the meat into chunks and deep fried them in beer batter. They were some of the best fish we ate all year.

Seventh Course: Sperlano fritto (Fried Smelt)
This dish is actually a treasured part of the Italian Feast of the Seven Fishes. Rainbow smelt are minnow-sized and are caught for bait in large lakes in New Hampshire. However, we caught larger sea-run smelt from the Oyster River in Durham while ice fishing this year. To prepare the smelt, we simply chopped off the head, gutted, floured and fried. We recommend a nice dill sauce to complement the crispy fish that, when fresh, has a faint scent of cucumbers.

We hope you enjoyed our Italian tour of Catch-M-All fish and the Italian translations provided by bablefish.com. We’re going to celebrate the New Year by doing some carp fishing in the Merrimack River. See if we are successful by following us on Twitter (@catch_m_all), liking us on Facebook and following our blog at www.catch-m-all.com.