Last chance for these guys, or they're back in the bait bucket

Fish or cut bait—we'll see.

I've tried to eat mackerel a number of times over the years, and hated it just as many times. But the young'ins are clogging the harbors, and I keep hearing that they can be delicious, so, although dubious, I've reserved two of the dozen I caught this morning and will grill them tonight,  cooking technique I haven't tried, while bagging and freezing the rest of them to use as bait for striped bass, which is delicious. 

Fortunately, I also stopped by the local farmers market while waiting on the tide, and I'll be putting up some peach chutney this afternoon. If the mackerel fails, peach chutney in a grilled-cheese sandwich is a meal in itself. I'll keep you posted (I know that Walt will be waiting with bated—or baited— breath).

UPDATE: This is for Walt

Mackerel fisherwoman

UPDATE II: Bummer! I marinated the fish in a combination of soy, ginger and vinegar, then grilled them, and for the first time ever, found the flesh to be tasty—very good, in fact. But I also discovered that mackerel is one of the few foods I'm allergic to (I assume I'd never eaten enough of it before for my body to discover this). My air path shut down, which was disconcerting, but this weird allergy happens from time to time, usually when some combination of foods attacks, so I simply stopped eating the fish, and the attack passed. But damn, who knew mackerel could do that? I looked it up just now and there is indeed a specific allergy to the fish but generally, it's considered one of the best bets for those with allergic reactions to our finned friends.

Go figure.