Simple pleasures

salmonchaser · Wednesday at 5:58 PM

My night to cook, a little silver salmon seems to be in order. God is good.

JD338 · Wednesday at 6:56 PM

I bet that was an amazing dinner

JD338

DrMike · Wednesday at 9:08 PM

I had pink salmon Monday evening. A little oil and some Kosher salt and a quick bake at 375 degrees. Fresh asparagus and we were set with a fine feast.

Blkram · Wednesday at 9:49 PM

DrMike said:
I had pink salmon Monday evening. A little oil and some Kosher salt and a quick bake at 375 degrees. Fresh asparagus and we were set with a fine feast.

And you left Susan and I to suffer with hospital food!?!?

Just teasing...glad you and Lynda enjoyed a fine meal!

Blkram · Wednesday at 9:51 PM

Was just reading an article in a magazine about steelhead fishing on northern Vancouver Island...still a bucket list adventure for me. Need to try steelhead someday soon! Should be tasty too!

salmonchaser · Thursday at 4:57 AM

The fish of a thousand casts. Steelhead is good eating. I use to like it more than salmon but at some point that changed. Get them fresh to the ocean, as you would on Vancouver Island they are excellent eating. Get one out of the Clearwater river in Idaho, not so much - it’s’ a hard trip.

DrMike · Thursday at 6:52 AM

I do miss fishing for steelheads since moving to the north. Dont make it over to the coast all that much. Now I have to content myself with pike and walleye, rainbow trout and grayling. Tough life.

salmonchaser · Thursday at 4:42 PM

Char and Dolly Varden are favorites of mine. Been known to build a fire about lunch time when I was guiding in Alaska. My clients would wander over, take a seat and foolishly leave their fly rods unattended. I would take advantage, make a cast or two which resulted in a 20 or 24 inch char ending up on an alder spit, jus right for lunch.

DrMike · Thursday at 5:18 PM

Dolly Varden have always proved to be sluggers. They were plentiful in the river of the Lower Mainland. While they didn't perform aerobics as did steelhead, they were sluggers giving powerful slugfests deep in the current. I recall my son-in-law crying out in alarm after tying into a massive dolly, "Dad! I think I hooked a submarine!" And I introduced an RCMP friend to fishing on one occasion. While he was reeling in a nice brook trout of about eleven inches, a Dolly grabbed his catch. When he just had it to the surface, we saw maybe an inch of tail on one side of the critter's mouth and perhaps an inch of snout on the other side of the maw. Before we could net the Dolly, it casually spit out the brookie and sunk back into the depths. Yeah, I love those fish. And don is correct in stating they make a fine lunch.

I was always astonished when years ago I witnessed people throwing these beautiful fish on the shore, with the disgusted (and disgusting) explanation that they ate trout eggs. Dollies made my days bright on more than a few occasions. They were (and are) a source of genuine joy for me.

Blkram · Thursday at 6:33 PM

As a kid growing up on the Fraser River for a few years, I got to fish for Dollies for a few summers. As I mainly fished th feeder streams, I caught more small dollies, but got see some of the big ones in the clear waters of the streams entering the muddy Fraser waters. We only ever caught a couple on set lines, so did not get to fight them on my small rod and reel.

Here on the east side of the Rockies, our Bull Trout can get as big, but they can prove to be just as hard to catch. One friend says the best bait for them is Hot Buffalo wings...don't know, never tried it myself as I would be eating the wings myself!
I have caught a few smaller bull trout over the years (less than 24"). And yes, they make a great shore lunch too!