Here fishy fishy fishy!

So last weekend Ginger's dad was kind enough to let us come down to the cabin for some salmon fishing!  Sockeyes (also known as Reds) were running into the Kenai River in record numbers, so it was set to be a good weekend.

Their cabin is right on the river, so we fortunately just got to stand on the bank and fish.  Didn't have to invest in any waders etc so that was nice.

So here is my lesson on sockeye salmon fishing from the banks of the Kenai River.

First step... get your hook in the water...

Second step... set the hook in a fish...

Third step... bring him (or her) on shore, bonk it in the head and cut the gills...

Fourth step... pose for a picture...



Fifth step... fillet!

And finally... grill them up!

Now, that is a delicious dinner!

So, that was all Friday afternoon/evening... then on Saturday we took a guided float trip down the Kasilof River (about a 30 minute drive from the cabin) and tried to catch some King Salmon... those get pretty big... 40 to 50 pounds or so...

Here we are on the boat... these are all co-workers at CH2M Hill.

We didn't have much luck on the river though... just one small king... he wasn't much bigger than the sockeyes we had been catching the day before.  They supposedly taste differently though, so I'm looking forward to trying it.  Technically, Ginger caught the king, so here she is with our guide and her fish.

Then on Sunday, the "residents" went out dip-netting... which means, that after you have lived in Alaska for 12 months, you are allowed to get 25 salmon via net versus the 3-6 a day via rod and reel.

Here's the haul they brought back from their dip netting adventure... we spent the rest of the afternoon filleting/cleaning/packaging all of these fish for the freezer...

I didn't get to keep tooo much, but I have 6 big fillets frozen to be put on the grill sometime and 2 fillets that are currently being smoked that will then get frozen.

Should make for some GOOD eatin'!!