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[milo]

Like mvelasco, I was also on the Vedder yesterday, and at the end of the day decided it was going to be my last kick in the can for the season. There's fewer and fewer fish in decent shape out there, and the days are getting far too short to justify a drive from Vancouver in my truck. Besides, it's getting colder and damper out there, and I am not exactly keen on standing in cold rain all day whipping a fishing rod. If I have to keep my head under the hood of my Kodiak jacket all day without being able to enjoy the surroundings, I'd rather stay home or do something else.
Don't get me wrong. I love to fish, but I don't live to fish. 

Yesterday I fished a stretch of slack water known to be quite generous to fly fishermen when they approach it in the right manner (no heavy sinking tips), and I have pulled more than my fair share of fish from that spot. I worked it hard, really hard, and after hooking into a few tomatoes and one decent looking wild fish, I landed what appeared to be a healthy and fresh hatchery doe.

As a rule, I don't kill does because I know that the quality of their meat is inferior to that of the bucks. But I was really craving some coho roe caviar, so I killed it and bled it.
When I dispatched that fish, she was chrome like a dime. But an hour or so later, when I went back to it to gut it, this is what I saw:



The fish had turned considerably in the couple of hours it spent dead out of the water. Pretty pathetic compared to the hatchery buck I killed on Remembrance Day, the picture of which was also taken a couple hours after killing it, just before I would gut it:



Compare the fillets from the two fish side by side:



No need to tell you which one is yesterday's female, eh?
Her meat is so mushy that it is destined for the smoker, while the buck is already vacuum-packed and in deep freeze as part of my winter stash.

But not all is bad about the doe, for she gave me this:



Which I will promptly turned into this:



In addition to the above goodies, I caught an exceptionally fresh chum in the canal on Remembrance Day (with sea lice still attached to it). It is now in the brine after having spent 48 hours in the freezer and another 24 hours defrosting:



I am looking forward to a real feast Sunday evening.

To sum up, while I am sad to be calling it quits for the year, I am thankful for the privilege of having had another great coho season on the magnificent Chilliwack River. I now look forward to doing some other stuff that had been put on hold during my piscatorial pursuits.

To those of you that will be keeping at it, tight lines. The North of the Fraser tributaries are seeing some decent action, too. I'll see you back on the water in late January or early February when I will be searching for the elusive steelhead.

Cheers,

Milo

[mistermongz]

Great write up. Always a pleasure.

[ynot]

Nice looking caviar. yum yum

[liketofish]

Nice catches Milo. The caviar looks good. Do you have a recipe for that tempting caviar?  By the way, steelhead show in good number even before Christmas in last few years. I will start my steelheading before the Derby.

[Athezone]

Good report as always Milo. Always enjoy reading your posts and one Big reason I keep coming back to FWR for a peek. Yuck to the caviar though. Gives me the heebie jeebies.

[Stratocaster]

I agree Milo, it has been a great year on the Vedder this year.  That marinade for the chum looks good.  Care to share what's in it?

[milo]

Great write up. Always a pleasure.

Thank you. It is nice to know that people enjoy reading something I enjoy writing.

Nice looking caviar. yum yum

It's even better now that it settled - and the eggs got the translucent shine to them.

Nice catches Milo. The caviar looks good. Do you have a recipe for that tempting caviar?

Easy peasy.

Put skeins in salted lukewarm water for 15-30 minutes depending on size of eggs. About 20 minutes for -average coho eggs is fine.
Take out of water, drain thoroughly, and press skeins through plastic mesh (any old badminton racket will do) to separate eggs from skein without crushing them. Eggs should fall into a container with cold salted water. Leave them there until desired saltiness is achieved. Drain thoroughly using a plastic colander. Put eggs into ceramic or glass storage container. At this point, you may mix in a teaspoon of grape seed oil to keep them from sticking. Enjoy on blini, crackers or toast with either sour cream, butter or cream cheese.

Good report as always Milo. Always enjoy reading your posts and one Big reason I keep coming back to FWR for a peek. Yuck to the caviar though. Gives me the heebie jeebies.

Thanks Athezone. Caviar is an acquired taste. You either like it or not. People who do like it, like it a lot.

I agree Milo, it has been a great year on the Vedder this year.  That marinade for the chum looks good.  Care to share what's in it?

Absolutely.

The measurements are good for two large chum or spring fillets.

- 4 cups demerara sugar
- 2/3 of a cup kosher seasalt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder,
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Epicurean brand lemon dill dip mix
- 1/2 teaspoon Epicurean brand sun-dried tomato and herbs dip mix (you may use any other dry herb mix of your choice, but there must be dill in it)
- a generous squirt of lime juice
- 2 liters of cold water to mix all of the above in so all the pieces are fully covered by the brine. Ceramic container is preferred. Never brine the fish in a plastic container.

Let the brine sit for a couple of hours before putting the fish in. Fish should stay in it about 24 hours.

Very simple, very tasty.

[Stratocaster]

Thanks!  I'll give it a try on my coho.

[bcguy]

The measurements are good for two large chum or spring fillets.

- 4 cups demerara sugar
- 2/3 of a cup kosher seasalt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder,
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Epicurean brand lemon dill dip mix
- 1/2 teaspoon Epicurean brand sun-dried tomato and herbs dip mix (you may use any other dry herb mix of your choice, but there must be dill in it)
- a generous squirt of lime juice
- 2 liters of cold water to mix all of the above in so all the pieces are fully covered by the brine. Ceramic container is preferred. Never brine the fish in a plastic container.

Let the brine sit for a couple of hours before putting the fish in. Fish should stay in it about 24 hours.

Very simple, very tasty.

Interesting, been smoking fish for a while now, and have moved towards a dry brine, which I find to be effective as well, but what I have never heard before was the part about never brining your fish in a plastic container??? Whats the scoop? What have I been missing out on here?

Cheers
Darren

[milo]

Interesting, been smoking fish for a while now, and have moved towards a dry brine, which I find to be effective as well, but what I have never heard before was the part about never brining your fish in a plastic container??? Whats the scoop? What have I been missing out on here?
Cheers
Darren

Hi Darren,
I try to avoid plastic as much as possible due to the PVC and BPA it usually contains.
In addition, I find that liquids, even plain water but especially brines, marinades or pickling solutions (anything with a high salt content) take on a 'plasticky' flavour if left in a plastic container for an extended period of time. Even more so when you have to stir the content often, like you do with fish in brine. I usually brine my fish between 24-48 hours, which is a fairly long time, so I feel more comfortable avoiding storing it in a plastic container.

Maybe it's all in my head, but there is some solid science out there to prove my case.