Fishing for Salmon....and Catching

Our first instructions: be at the dock by 6 AM and have your fishing licenses.  I've heard before, 'If you're early you're on time, if you're on time you're late.'  We were early to the dock in Sooke, British Columbia, Canada, and you couldn't ask for a better start to the day.

Our Captain was a Frenchman named Luc.  He had been chartering his 25' boat, For Play, for seven years.  Upon our arrival, Luc asked if we liked crab...all four of us were yeahs...so he quickly filled a trap with bait that we would check before returning to the dock.  Water was calm, spirits were high, sun was coming up, a fast ride to our first spot and we started
catching.  So much fun...Chinook, Pinks, Sockeye..repeat.

 

We actually started releasing fish, because there is only so much you can eat.  We did keep six.  When we returned to the crab trap, Captain Luc tossed the three females back into the water and gave us the two males.  What a wonderful appetizer they made.

Using high water pressure, Captain Luc sprays against the grain to remove the scales before cleaning the fish.  By the way, Luc is a big man at 6'4", his frame seems to be diminishing the size of our fish.

Here I am with my Chinook, the biggest fish caught, and a Pink.  Great day on the water.

My friend Kitty and I love cooking together.  The house we had on Lankford Lake was equipped with a wonderful kitchen and boy did we use it.  None of us thought four nights of salmon was excessive.  Then there was salmon with scrambled eggs for breakfast, and sushi one afternoon. 

Great memories.