Navy Flake and Fish Death

[alaskanpiper]

Went out on Friday to partake in the Alaskan tradition of dipnetting for Sockeye Salmon. Fly fishing is my passion, and there isn't much more fun than second run sockeye in deep moving fast water on an 8 wt. However, us AK folks all have family in the lower 48 that beg for fish like heroin addicts, and we also need to fill our freezers with fresh Sockeye for smoking as well. Dipnetting has turned into a bit of a shit show these days, but the Rod and Reel limit is 3 a day. The dipnetting limit for a 3 person household is 45. I'm no arithmetician, but.....
It was a fantastic day on the water, made even better by cruising along with a bowl of SG Navy Flake in one of my many fishing pipes, the Nording Compass. A great lightweight clencher that isn't long enough to get in the way of flying nets and whipping fish tails, and at a price point that won't make a man cry if it were to fly into the water or out of a shirt pocket onto the bloody, scaley decks to get stomped on or beaten with a fish bat. There isn't much better than enjoying a good Navy Flake when out on the water. Really makes you feel like you are connecting in some small way with past generations of maritime folks. Hope everyone else is having a great weekend!
The ol' clench and dip

Yay fish death

Fillets

More Fillets

 

[jzbdano]

That's it, I'm moving!!!

 

[Chasing Embers]

My favorite when I was still fishing was cutthroat trout. Bonefish are a fun challenge as well. Those fillets look amazing!

 

[alaskanpiper]

My favorite when I was still fishing was cutthroat trout. Bonefish are a fun challenge as well. Those fillets look amazing!

Cutties are a lot of fun! We don't get many of them up here, but there are some fun sea run cutthroats to be had in SE alaska. We go down to the Situk river near Yakutat, AK every year for the epic steelhead runs, and there is a place close by with cutthroats galore that provides a fun break from wrangling the hogs. Always dreamed of doing bonefish. Just can't ever seem to get enough time to go do it, and when I do get time it get's gobbled up by the aforementioned family.
Tawah Creek Sea Run Cutthroat

Yakutat Steelhead

 

[Chasing Embers]

Always dreamed of doing bonefish.

A belt harness is nearly mandatory. Those suckers will jerk a rod out of your hands like it's nothing!

Just can't ever seem to get enough time to go do it, and when I do get time it get's gobbled up by the aforementioned family.

Understand completely. One day turkeys will fear me again! :rofl:

 

[olkofri]

Hmm, how did you pack that flake? I had a dickens of a time smoking it last Thursday in my Curvy. I cube cut the whole contents of the tin I got about two years ago. You'd think it'd be dried enough by now (no, I didn't leave it out that long, but it got pretty dry before I jarred it), but I just couldn't keep it lit.
I too have a Nording Compass. Maybe it's the pipe?

 

[alaskanpiper]

Hmm, how did you pack that flake?

I rubbed it out as much as possible and gave it about 30 minutes of drying time, then it sat overnight in a ziploc. I always seem to have better results smoking flakes when rubbed out as much as possible rather than fold and stuff, particularly in taller/skinnier chambers like the compass, and particularly with Gawith stuff, a little drying time. Stayed lit through the whole bowl for me, but I did have some assistance from a little breeze, and Alaska has 0 humidity.

 

[olkofri]

Gotcha. This is how mine ended up:

Not many options left there, except for the 'gravity pack' that I learned from Embers' video. Time to sue the Cap'n, I guess. :P
Always been leery of smoking in a breeze as I'm afraid it'll go out and it'll be a bitch to light again, except with a Zippo, which I normally don't use as the fuel evaporates like crazy, but once I was at the range with a cob and I did notice that somehow in the light breeze the pipe wasn't going out at all, and smoking like a champ. Go figure.
Thanks!

 

[shayde]

That salmon looks amazing! If anyone ever finds themselves in Hawaii let me know we can go out and fish

 

[alaskanpiper]

Always been leery of smoking in a breeze as I'm afraid it'll go out and it'll be a bitch to light again, except with a Zippo, which I normally don't use as the fuel evaporates like crazy, but once I was at the range with a cob and I did notice that somehow in the light breeze the pipe wasn't going out at all, and smoking like a champ. Go figure.

Yeah, the boat we were using has a topper on it, so I just light inside, then move outside. Heavy breezes don't work very well, but a light breeze seems to help keep it going somewhat. Just gotta be careful to adjust with slower cadence so you don't incinerate that mother.
Yeah, I just rub them out with my fingers until I feel like the little strips aren't parting anymore. Seems to work with most flakes.

 

[ashdigger]

My cousin just dropped off 50 pounds of sockeye salmon. Oh yes. I'm eating good in the hood.

 

[danimalia]

However, us AK folks all have family in the lower 48 that beg for fish like heroin addicts, and we also need to fill our freezers with fresh Sockeye for smoking as well.

Well, well... Look at El Chapo up here. LOL.
Looks like a good time out and fish look delicious

 

[Chasing Embers]

Not many options left there, except for the 'gravity pack' that I learned from Embers' video. Time to sue the Cap'n, I guess. :P

You're tamping that after packing aren't you?

 

[alaskanpiper]

Well, well... Look at El Chapo up here. LOL.

Haha, El Chapo gets paid significantly more per lb. than I do. ($0)
But yes, when it comes to dealing death, we are probably on the same level :lol:

 

[mso489]

Sashimi on the fin you might say. Beautiful fish. On Midway Island, a group of us paid the boat fee and went out deep-sea, away from the coral atoll that makes the fish toxic. I caught a nice plump (but not very big) yellow fin, others caught bigger, but the grand champ was the youngest kid in the group with a sixty pound wahoo. Our boss, a warrant officer, had his wife with him in officer housing, and she was Japanese and made us the first sashimi I'd ever tasted, right out of the water. I've loved this ever since. Good salmon is another great version of it.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

That looks good enough to eat! Awesome looking fish and thanks for sharing your life style. Looked like a really fun day.

 

[alaskanpiper]

Sashimi on the fin you might say. Beautiful fish. On Midway Island, a group of us paid the boat fee and went out deep-sea, away from the coral atoll that makes the fish toxic. I caught a nice plump (but not very big) yellow fin, others caught bigger, but the grand champ was the youngest kid in the group with a sixty pound wahoo. Our boss, a warrant officer, had his wife with him in officer housing, and she was Japanese and made us the first sashimi I'd ever tasted, right out of the water. I've loved this ever since. Good salmon is another great version of it.

Sounds like an awesome experience in the middle of goddamn nowhere. Yellowfin and Wahoo are both excellently good eating, I have caught and eaten many in Hawaii.
Sashimi is a favorite here. It might surprise you (or not) to know that Anchorage, Alaska has some of the best Sushi and Sashimi in the world. We have large Japanese and Korean populations here, and Anchorage is littered with dozens of Sushi restaurants and Asian markets. Having the world's 5th busiest Cargo airport (Anchorage International) and our proximity to Asia is a factor. In fact Air Force One regularly refuels here when traveling back and forth from Asia as well, although they do that at Elmendorf AFB. POTUS usually comes out, jabbers at the troops for 5 minutes, then heads on his merry way. In fact, Anchorage is one of the most diverse cities in the nation, with with over 100 different languages spoken in the Anchorage School District. The neighborhood of mountain view in particular is notably diverse and can be quite the cultural immersion.
I have an amazing recipe for sockeye poke, and we regularly enjoy it as Sashimi/Nigiri as well. Beats the hell out of any salmon sashimi you will find in a sushi place (Usually made with farmed Atlantic Salmon, or as it is colloquially known here "poo salmon."). Sushi places here often have White King Salmon sashimi though, which is delicious, as well as fresh Big Eye from Hawaii (a quick 5 hour flight away).

 

[danimalia]

That actually did surprise me about Anchorage's population, but it makes sense. Hard to beat the location for freshness of the fish/sushi/sashimi. I enjoy the stuff, poke too. We have a very large East-Asian population here in the Bay Area, but fewer Japanese as compared to Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean and Filipino. So while there are a ton of sushi/sashimi places, I've always wondered about authenticity and quality. It all pretty much tastes good to me, though, regardless.

 

[loadclear]

However, us AK folks all have family in the lower 48 that beg for fish like heroin addicts, and we also need to fill our freezers with fresh Sockeye for smoking as well. Dipnetting has turned into a bit of a shit show these days, but the Rod and Reel limit is 3 a day. The dipnetting limit for a 3 person household is 45. I'm no arithmetician, but.....

Sooo, you're sending your dipnetted fish to family in the lower 48?

 

[alaskanpiper]

Sooo, you're sending your dipnetted fish to family in the lower 48?

They usually take some home after they come here and visit. Can't say if they are those fish specifically, there's a lot more fish in the freezer that are caught on a rod n reel than dipnetted, but yeah, we usually send family home with some. That and moose meat/sausage, halibut, deer, rockfish, etc. Usually box them up a couple pounds of each, but they always want salmon and moose, haha.