The bream, a flat fish that's at its best when about a pound, slightly larger than the outstretched had of an average-sized man, should ideally be cooked immediately after being caught. The preferable way to do this is outdoors, in an iron skillet, over either an open fire or on a camping stove, on the bank of the lake where you just caught them. Bream "bed" in the late spring/early summer in the South, and that's when it's easiest to catch a "mess" of them, a "mess" being enough to feed however many people you're planning to feed. Favorite accompaniments are home fries, hushpuppies, cole slaw, potato salad, watermelon, homemade ice cream, gallons of iced tea and a cooler of cold beer.

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