Sunday, July 21, 2019

Another Great Fishing Trip!


We went on our annual fishing trip Friday - this time bringing along Stepson #2.  It was a beautiful day out on the water, sunny, 20 degrees so not too hot and the fish were biting.  The Chinook fishery only opened 4 days prior for keeping 1 per person - but at the same time, the fishery department limited the maximum size for keeper fish at 80 cm.  I managed to catch one that was 17 pounds and 79.5 cm :)  It is the largest fish I've ever caught. It took 20 minutes to reel it in and my arms were numb afterwards.  All three of us caught fish.  For the privacy of my stepson I am not showing the family picture and only shots from the back of him and his dad.





 Needless to say once again we have a very full freezer full of salmon.  My stepson is going to buy a cooler today so we can send some frozen fish home with him on the plane.  We still had a few packs of salmon left from last years fishing trip plus sent some salmon home with Mom and yet there is still lots for us to keep as well.  We had a salmon bbq last night with lemon and dill sauce, rice and caesar salad - it was scrumptious.  Our guide fillets the salmon for us - I kept the fish heads and yesterday we delivered them to the wildlife rescue for the 2 permanent resident eagles there that can't be released to the wild.

We had hoped to catch some Coho, Rock Cod and Ling Cod but no luck - there is always next year.  I happen to love this annual trip.  While not inexpensive, it is worth it in enjoyment for my family plus I take the funds out of the "fun money" pot that comes from returned deposits on bottles, rebates, and selling household stuff we no longer need or reselling stuff.   

It has turned hot here again, 26 degrees Celcius today and since I've been in the sun the last couple of days I am staying home today with Buddy.  Hubby and Stepson#2 are going hiking up the mountain.  I need a day of R&R as have a headache that keeps returning, maybe too much sun. 

I am not sure when I will next post, thinking of taking a few weeks off blogging to just relax a bit.  In the mean time enjoy your summer!

27 comments:

  1. Wow, you just barely made it under the limit. I can imagine your arms hurt from holding up that huge fish. I was wondering as I read who was going to clean the fish. Have a nice day at home and rest the arms, well, rest everything.

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    1. I do know how to gut a fish, did it plenty of times as a kid but he is such an expert at filleting we just let him go ahead and do it. I wouldn't be good at the filleting part

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  2. Wow, that fish is beautiful! But seriously? You got that fish to shrink by half a centimetre so you could keep it??? Don't blame you either way. And enjoy your break from blogging!

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    1. No really, we measured it as fisheries is doing inspections and we don't want our guide to lose his license lol. We caught some bigger ones too that got off the line and some we had to return to the ocean as had already got our limit.

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  3. What a wonderful trip! Lots of great memories and best of all fresh caught fish for dinner. (Yes, I realize you've frozen some).

    Enjoy your break!

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    1. Lol - even frozen this fish is far fresher than what you buy at the store:)

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  4. You look gorgeous - don't think I've ever seen a photo of you!

    And, congrats on your big fish haul! We've been eating a lot of Copper River at our house. It's my husband's favorite, so we eat it almost constantly for the very short season

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    1. Thanks! There are very few pictures of me on this blog. Copper River used to be available on a very limited basis at our Costcos but I haven't seen it this year

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  5. Yow! What a beautiful fish!

    I grew up in Michigan -- uncles and cousins went fishing regularly on the "Big Lake" (Michigan) and would bring back buckets of smelt, plus a lot of salmon. I ate so much of it as a kid that I'm not a fan today. (I can eat it, just not a fan.) My family finds this hilarious -- it's one of their favorite foods. So I make it for them, particularly Husband, who LOVES it, and gag it down myself.
    Nice job. This will make for some feasts in later months for you.

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    1. I am the same, find I don't really love fish but still do eat it. Most of this will be eaten by Hubby and Mom, I only eat it at family dinners and once in a blue moon. Hubby makes a really good salmon chowder which is my personal favorite but sometimes he has salmon and I have chicken.

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  6. You have some gorgeous salmon there!. Glad you were under the legal keeping limit. Nothing like a great haul!

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    1. Yeah, if you go it is nice to bring some home

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  7. What an amazing day! Before we were married, my hubby and I used to fish in the waters off of Rye, NY, but only caught flounder. I can't imagine catching something that big. How exciting!

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    1. I could barely hold it up in that picture as my arms were dead - I was probably shaking a fair amount lol

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  8. Wow, what a catch. Good thinking of feeding the fish heads to the eagles. Sorry about your headache.

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    1. The sick eagles are on a special diet but our 2 resident eagles that can't be released will be fed them as a treat :)

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  9. I can’t believe I’m saying this but your fishing trip looks like fun. And oh for some fresh caught salmon! I love what you do with the fish heads! Enjoy your break!

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    1. The salmon was delicious, nice healthy wild salmon is so much better than anything you can buy at the store, especially when just caught. Thanks Mitchell!

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  10. What a whopper (as we say in the Uk!) I'm glad you all had a fantastic time and how lovely to think of your resident eagles when you were getting your salmon filleted! x

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    1. It was a whopper, not sure I'd like to catch one that big again, it was extremely difficult to get it into the boat and took a looooong time. I hope the eagles were happy :)

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  11. Wow! That is a big fish! Sorry about the headache. When I have a headche, I try drinking lots of water. Sometimes it does help. ENjoy your summer too!

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    1. Fortunately it went away quickly, I really think I just got too much sun and needed a rest. Thanks!

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  12. Good for you guys. We just stayed in Campbell River and watched all the fish coming in to be cleaned. We had to wait until the day we were heading back to Powell River to fish so we could take our catch straight home. Unfortunately we didn't even get a nibble. I am sure using a guide helps since they know more about where the fish are running. But we did have a wonderful time on the water and also visited a favourite place, Heriot Bay on Quadra. - Margy

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    1. Heriot Bay is beautiful, I do love Quadra. Am also looking forward to checking out Malcolm Island in August for a few days - peace and quiet, our favorite.

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  13. Wow! You impress me enough on an "average" day, but this is something else. What a catch!

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  14. Your 'few weeks' are up, lady! What's going on... your faithful audience wants to know. We miss you.

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  15. You caught a beauty and a big one at that. The place is gorgeous and nice to make it a family outing.

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