On The Road Again
Happy New Year!
Mrs. B & Stephanie are clearly excited after watching Simon guide long-time friend
"Larry the Pilot" his first Tyee salmon (Chinook/King) over 30 lbs.
We trust that you had a wonderful time with friends & family over the holiday season. 2016 is here & our 33rd. fishing season is rapidly approaching. If you have not already done so, please contact us to arrange your fishing trip so that you can get the dates that most suit your busy schedule.
During the off-season, we miss the face-to-face interaction with our guests. To keep in touch, we are going to a few shows this year so we are officially “on the road again”. Simon will be at the Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction in Scottsdale from Jan 23-31. He will also be at the Fred Hall Shows in Long Beach from March 2-6 & San Diego-Del Mar from March 17-20. 2016 will be the 70th year of the Fred Hall Shows so lots of fishing history there that we are excited to be a part of! If you plan to attend any of these shows please contact us so that we can arrange to meet & talk fishing. Barbara is often “on the road” as well, & frequently has the pleasure of meeting guests & potential customers during her travels. She is in San Jose del Cabo, Mexico all winter so if you are down that way let us know.
What’s new for summer 2016? As usual, we have many “behind the scenes” improvements in the works. Being an air-access only, floating facility, off the grid producing our own power & water, the up-keep of the lodge is literally mind-boggling. We won’t bore you with the details involved in that. However, there are two main projects of note for next season. Firstly, we plan to extend & upgrade the pier to allow for more boat slips & to have better access for the float planes. Secondly, we are installing a new much larger walk-in freezer. We are very excited about this project, as the new freezer will have substantially more shelf space. Once your catch is flash frozen, we will be able to store your fish in your actual fish box & you can do a “box inspection” at any time during your stay. This will eliminate the fish sorting procedure on the last day & lend itself to better accuracy in managing your catch & a better quality of product with the reduced handling.
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Guest Testimonial
Recipe – Slow Roasted Salmon
Slow-roasting is foolproof method to cook any type of fish.INGREDIENTS
• 1/2 cup unseasoned rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon caraway seeds
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more
• 6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1 small fennel bulb, thinly sliced, divided
• 1 1/4 pounds salmon fillet
• 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon chopped preserved lemon peel
• 1/2 cup dill fronds
PREPARATION
1. Preheat oven to 300°F. Bring vinegar, sugar, caraway seeds, 2 tsp. salt, and 1/3 cup water in a small saucepan to a simmer over medium heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Remove from heat and add garlic. Let sit until garlic is slightly softened, 10–15 minutes.
2. Add half of fennel and toss to coat. Let sit until fennel softens slightly and tastes pickled, 8–10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, place salmon in a 2- or 3-qt. baking dish and coat with 1 Tbsp. oil; season with salt and pepper. Roast until flesh easily flakes apart and a paring knife inserted into fish meets no resistance, 15–18 minutes.
4. Drain fennel mixture; discard liquid. Toss in a small bowl with lemon juice, preserved lemon, remaining 3 Tbsp. oil, and remaining fennel; season with salt and pepper. Mix in dill.
5. Serve salmon topped with fennel salad.
The Raven
We often see ravens at the lodge just hanging out in the nearby trees & I always feel for some reason that they are “watching” us. It is hard to even think of the word raven without your mind going back to school & the study that most of us did of the famous Edgar Allen Poe poem, which is steeped in mystery & intrigue. Worldwide, the raven has had a strong place in multiple cultures for thousands of years & for many reasons. The raven is referenced in the Bible & in the writings of Shakespeare, Dickens, J.R.R. Tolkien & even Stephen King. One of the main reasons for the proliferation of this “raven culture” is because this bird is so widely distributed geographically. Its range extends from the polar-regions to the mid-latitudes, from the rain forests to the desert, remote distant islands & all places in-between. It is able to survive pretty much anywhere & everywhere. It is perhaps the most widely dispersed of any creature on the planet! Ravens are formidable in size reaching a length of up to 30 inches & can weigh upwards of 4 lbs. They typically live up to 20 years in the wild, however, captive birds like the famous ravens that occupy the Tower of London have been known to live up to 70 years.
The raven has long been considered to be the bird of ill omen & death because of its dark colour & penchant for feeding on dead carcasses. It is also known for being a “trickster” & noted for being greedy, lecherous & mischievous. More specific to our region, the raven is a central character in the mythology & folklore of most of the indigenous peoples of the Americas & especially the Haida people of the Pacific Northwest.
The other main reason for their legendary status is because they are smart.
The brains of ravens are among the largest of any bird species. They display ability in problem solving, as well as other cognitive processes such as imitation & insight. A real sign of intelligence is that they like to “play”. Ravens have been observed teasing other wildlife in “catch me if you can” chases, dog fights with other ravens & even tobogganing down snow banks for “fun”. Ravens have been known to call wolves to the site of dead animals. They lure the wolves to the kill to open the carcass after which the remaining flesh is more accessible to them. And then they are thieves. They watch where other ravens bury their food & remember the locations of each other’s food caches so they can steal from them. They in turn even pretend to store food to “fake out” other ravens doing the same. They are also one of only a few wild animals that make their own toys. They sometimes break off twigs to play with socially & have a tendency for collecting anything shiny. Amazing creatures!
Barry & the boys are all smiles after a successful morning Coho/Silver salmon fishing.
