Cooking and eating fish that you caught that day is a real treat! As long as it’s cooked properly, the smell is sweet, the flavors are rich, and the meat is succulent. Here are a few salmon recipes for your next fishing trip. They are simple to fix but very tasty. Of course you can use these at home on fish from the market too. But it won’t taste as good as when you cook your fish fresh out of the water right next to the river.

This recipe is perfect for Sockeye (Red) Salmon.

Ingredients:
Sockeye Salmon fillets (as many as you want)
Marinade (you may use one of the recipes below or use a pre-made marinade sauce such as Yoshida’s Gourmet Sauce; you need enough marinade to coat fillets.)

Also Needed:
1 large (2-gallon) zip lock bag (or more, depending on how many fillets you’re cooking)
Cooler with plenty of ice
Good quality charcoal briquettes (do NOT use lighter fluid)
Small wire grill
Heavy duty aluminum foil

Lemon-Dill Marinade:

Ingredients (makes enough for 4 fillets)
¾ cup of vegetable oil
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
1 teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon of dill
½ teaspoon of chives
1 teaspoon of parsley
¼ teaspoon of lemon pepper

Make the marinade just before you leave to go fishing. If going for longer than a day, mix just prior to marinating fish. Place all ingredients in a zip lock bag, seal, and mix until evenly distributed. Store in cooler.

Honey and Basil Marinade

Ingredients (makes enough for 4 fillets)
½ cup of fresh basil leaves
3 tablespoons of olive oil
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
2 tablespoons of honey
½ teaspoon of pepper and salt

Use the same directions used for Lemon-Dill Marinade.

3 Sauce Marinade

Ingredients (makes enough for 4 fillets)
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons steak sauce (such as A-1)
2 teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce
3 cloves fresh garlic (minced)
1 tablespoon dry tarragon

Mix as with other marinades.

Prep and Cooking

* Place fillets in marinade in plastic bag, seal, and store in cooler for 30 minutes to 1 hour. (Do not marinate too long or fillets may start to deteriorate. Always marinate in a cold container.)

* Make a small fire with charcoal.

* Once coals are hot– ashen white– place fillets skin side down on grill, brush or drizzle with marinade, and cover with a tent of aluminum foil. (The foil acts like a lid, allowing fish to cook on both sides at once)

* With the grill about 3 inches over the coals, cook the fillets for about 15-20 minutes. When the meat flakes, the fish is done. Overcooking will dry out the fish and compromise its flavor.

* Serve at once.

* Store any cooked, uneaten fillets in the cooler for the next day.

Each of these marinades is simple to make and will keep in an iced cooler for a few days. Never reuse marinade; once you’ve put raw fish in it, only use in cooking and NOT as a dipping sauce. Leaving fish too long in a marinade can turn it mushy. To be safe, marinate fillets for 30 to 60 minutes.

Enjoy your fishing and good eating!

Is there such a thing as organic fish? Surely all fish comes from the sea and eats whatever fish eat? How can we control that?

As far as I know, fish caught in the wild cannot be marketed as organic in the UK. However, several supermarkets and many independent organic retailers now stock organic trout and salmon produced in fish farms. Several types of farmed mussels and shellfish are also likely to become more widely available in the future.

In organic fish farming, many of the pesticides, dyes and antibiotics widely used in conventional fish farming are not permitted and so these fish products are generally accepted to be credible organic products by both the soil association and consumers.

However, from an animal welfare point of view, there is some controversy about allowing farmed fish to be labelled as organic. Organic principles demand that livestock (which includes fish) should be able to express its ‘natural’ behaviour pattern and be kept as close to natural stocking densities as possible. How can this be when they are kept in cages in either inland or in fish farms out at sea?

The true cost of fish farming

Fish farming seems like a practical solution to the problem of overfishing. Fish farming, however, is the cause of many problems. In the UK, its salmon thats most closely associated with farming – and its shortcomings. Public demand for cheaper food means that farmed salmon are often kept, for financial reasons, very densely stocked, with huge numbers of fish crammed into very little space. In this state, the fish can more easily become diseased, and these diseases can spread to wild fish. Huge amounts of antibiotics are required to keep the fish moderately healthy. Also a confidential study for the UKs top organic body highlighted gaps between its principles and the standards it accepted, BBC Newsnight reported.

Is organic fish sustainable?

Other problems are escapes, when farmed fish interbreed with wild fish and potentially weaken wild stocks, as well as pollution to the water and seabed around fish farms. Farmed salmon, which are carnivorous, eat three times their body weight in fish feed, which is made from other fish – not the best use of resources from an environmental point of view.

About the Fish

Salmon stocking started in Michigan in 1967 to combat the excessive Alewife population. The first species to be stocked was the Coho. As time went on the Chinook was added to the mix. Since that time they have taken off, and between the naturally reproduction that occurs and the DNR stocking we now have one of the best salmon fisheries anywhere. For pictures of the fish please refer to the Michigan Fishing Regulation book for the current year. In addition to the Coho and Chinook salmon you may also occasionally catch a Pink Salmon or Atlantic Salmon, but to the best of my knowledge it doesn’t happen often. Maybe someone reading this can correct me if I am wrong.

Where to Go

We are lucky to have access to a state that has such a diverse fishery. Very few states have as many lakes and rivers as we do, or have the variety of fish that live there. For our particular purposes we need rivers that drain into the Great Lakes, since that is where the salmon spend their adult lives. If you search the internet you will find many rivers that have salmon such as the Muskegon, Big Manistee, Little Manistee, Pere Marquette, and Betsie, just to name a few. Some of these rivers have naturally reproducing populations of Salmon while others are stocked by the DNR. There are also several rivers in the Upper Peninsula that play host to salmon in the fall. In all the rivers you have to pay close attention to the fishing regulations because certain sections of the rivers may be closed to fishing to protect the spawning fish or have limitations on the gear you can fish with.

When to Go

The main salmon run occurs every fall. There is no set start date, but you can usually start to see fish in the river in early September, and expect the run to be pretty much done by the end of October. A lot of this depends on the weather. A lack of rain and/or warm weather can make the run start later, and extra rain with cooler temperatures can cause the run to start a little earlier. I guess it all depends on when the fall rains and cooler temperatures hit the area. If you go to the rivers during September and October you are going to eventually find fish, it’s just a matter of timing it to catch the big run.

How to Fish For Them

This article is only going to cover techniques for the fisherman who wades. Most fishermen use either a spinning rod or fly rod and do the Chuck-and-Duck method. I believe this fishing method was named by the fly-fisherman because of the extra weight involved and the problem of getting hit in the head (Been There-Done That). You can also cast flies, such as Wooly Buggers, egg patterns, streamers, nymphs, and probably others I don’t know about yet. Yet another method is to suspend spawn, flies, or jigs below a float of some type. Whatever rig you choose you will need some waders, a net of some type, a head-lamp or other light source for night fishing, rain-gear, and some warm clothes.

The Chuck-n-Duck method usually involves a three-way swivel, some type of weight, and a hook with salmon eggs or yarn balls. I have also seen anglers use flies or plugs instead of the hook and spawn. A diagram can bee seen at Figure 1 which is listed at the end of the article.

I personally prefer to use about a 3′ leader when I fish this method but you will have to experiment and modify it to fit the conditions. If the fish are spooky you might need to lengthen the leader a bit more. You can also do a modified version of this without the three way swivel by using rubber-core sinkers for weight. To do this, tie the hook directly to your main line and then connect a rubber-core sinker above the hook about 18″ for weight. This will get your lure into the current but not necessarily bouncing on the bottom. Again, you will have to experiment with the length of line between the weight and the hook, but I would keep it at least 12″ from the hook. A diagram of this rig can be seen in Figure 2 which is listed at the end of the article.

Fishing flies for salmon is gaining in popularity. I have not tried it yet, but plan too this year. I understand that the usual flies are either egg patterns, woolybugger variations, big streamers, and egg-sucking leaches. I am going to try them all and see if I can get a hit. The nice thing about fishing the flies is that you also run the chance of hooking other trout species while searching for the salmon. If you want more professional instruction on fly-fishing for salmon there are several outfitters that are offering the service now. Do an internet search on it and you should have little difficulty finding one.

Without a doubt, Alaska is one of the most popular places where anglers can expect to catch a record breaking number of salmon fishes. The cool waters of the rivers, lakes and oceans of the western area of the state are well known for the availability of high quality of salmon fishes in huge quantities.

In general, you will find salmon fishes in almost all the regions of Alaska. However, if you are looking for king-sized salmon fishes then there are a few areas famous for that. Below I will give you a list of the rivers and the type of salmon fishes you will find in each one of them.

1. Kenai Peninsula and River- One of the most famous hot spots for salmon fishing in Alaska is the Kenai Peninsula and river. Here you will be able to find several different species of fishes such as King Salmon, Chinook, Silver and Sockeye or Red salmon. The weight of a salmon fish depends on its variety but usually adult salmon fishes weigh anywhere between 25 to 90 pounds.

2. Golsovia River, on the edge of the Bering Sea-This is another area in Alaska which is world famous for easy availability of several different species of salmon fishes. Interestingly, apart from salmon, you will also find Artic Char fishes in this region. The typical varieties of salmon fishes found in this area are Chum, Pink, Silver and King salmon. If you are looking forward to fishing salmon in this area it is best to do so during June to August, because this is the time when most guests reach their fishing limit and then, in order to continue their fishing enjoyment, use a catch and release programme.

3. Sitka-This is another area in Alaska known for its exciting fishing opportunities. There are however limits on the number of fishes you can catch. For example, you cannot catch more than one salmon fish per day, and not more than three during one year. So far as the Silver salmon or the Coho is concerned, you cannot catch more than six Cohos per day, but thankfully, there is no annual restriction. Apart from being a hot fishing spot, Sitka is also one of the largest cities in Alaska; so if you are going to do salmon fishing there it will make an ideal base point for your family.

4. Yentna River- This is yet another hot spot for the lovers of salmon fishes. While this river in itself has plenty of salmon fishes living in its waters, you are not limited by this river alone! This river has many tributaries which are equally rich in fishing opportunities. Depending on your fishing license, you can do salmon fishing either by using a fishing boat, or by nets, or even off the shore. King, Silver, Sockeye, Pink and Chum are some of the varieties of salmon fishes you are likely to find in this river. Fly-fishing is a frequently used method to catch fishes from this river.

Overall, I can say that Alaska will give you a rich experience as far as salmon fishing is concerned. The interesting thing about salmon fishing in Alaska is that many of its areas are virtually left untouched and unexploited, which makes it an attractive fishing spot for the adventurous. It is best to visit Alaska during the months of July and August, when the weather is comparatively warm and there is sufficient daylight for long hours of fishing enjoyment.

If you need more information about Alaska king salmon fishing, we have a complete resource guide available for that purpose. Simply click the link below in my resource box in order to access the guide.