We've been out and about lately, Luke on an unsuccessful Sheep hunt (but fun) in the White Mountains a couple weeks ago and dipnetting for Copper River red salmon last weekend. Luke will head out again to the White Mountains to focus on caribou this time. We are going to try and make it to Valdez over labor day weekend, our last summer hoorah before fall/winter come.
Last weekend we drove 6 hours south of Fairbanks to Chitina and walked a 1/2 mile carrying dipnets and other gear along the cold raging Copper River to find a good fishing spot our friends told us about, but had to wait about 45 minutes till the people who were in it left. Luckily the weather was fantastic with warm temperatures (70?) and great views of the Wrangell Mountains nearby. The household limit is 30 fish per year. We got into the spot at about 9pm and started dipping the net in hoping to catch them as fast as the previous couple in the honey hole (10 fish per hour). We went until it was dark 11pm, with Emily doing most of the dipping and Luke gutting the fish one after another. By 11pm we had 20 fish, and decided to bail because it was dark and the walk back was on a sketchy cliff and narrow 1/2 mile trail. Good thing we had good headlamp and flashlight and a frame pack with a garbage can attached for Luke to haul the fish back in. We
made 2 trips carrying out the large nets and fish. We hit bed in our camper at about 12:30am and woke up the next morning at about 7am and debated going back to finish and get 10 more fish. We decided it wasn't worth it (because maybe we'll get some silver salmon in Valdez) so grabbed breakfast at the historic hotel in Chitina and raced back to Fairbanks with the fish. Once we returned to Fairbanks at about 4pm, we cleaned and filleted the fish, vacuum-sealing and freezing 30 fillets and then preparing 10 fillets (cut into smaller chunks) into a brine for the smoker and then canner the next day. Finally we were done with the ordeal on Sunday and enjoyed a meal of Salmon Charmoula with couscous, cauliflower, and greenbeans. Here are some photos:
Salmon getting ready to go in the smoker
Salmon charmoula
View of the Gulkana Glacier on the way back to Fairbanks from Chitina.
2 comments:
What a relaxing weekend! I located Chitina on the map and enjoyed the photos. Very informative how-to. Will think of your ordeal everytime I buy frozen Copper River salmon at Trader Joe's.
Aunt Joanne
Great description of your efforts to get the salmon. What a job! The photos are all super.
Enjoy your last weekend trip to Valdez and see you Sept 6.
Mom Y
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