First Fish

We have been waiting and waiting for some fish!

And did you know that Ben is a certified fish whisperer?

He is amazing and to the frustration of any fellow fishermen... just ask my Dad!

Right now the Reds (otherwise known as Sockeye) are running.  Saturday we headed out fishing on a whim.  I mean at 10:00 I said, "Hey high tide's at 10:20, let's go!"  We went to the local hotspot, paid the $10 to park there and ventured out into the cold, drizzly wind, wondering why we were even there (an hour after the tide).  But Ben went out and I got the boys and myself reasonable comfortable.

It ended up being a wonderful experience.  Eagles were flying by 30 feet from my head to deliver their fresh catches to their families in the nearby trees. 

And an hour later, Ben came back with this:

Look at the proud fisherman! 

This beauty weighed 8.5 pounds when we got him home.

We couldn't believe he got one, because plenty of people left empty-handed.

Ben decided to go back at low-tide and came back having caught his limit for the day (5 more)!

Including two 7.5 pounders.  He even gave one away that got tangled in another guys line.  I am just amazed by nature's bounty here.  That $10 to park got us at least $100 worth of fresh, wild caught sockeye salmon in one day.

We prepared it with some S&P, some fresh thyme from our window box herb garden and mayo.

Mayo is the secret to grilled fish my friends.  I learned that thanks to my Daddy-o.

A feast!

Haha, Russ was so excited.

But then he ended up not wanting to eat any of it and we forced the salad and rice down him... dang.  Would someone tell that kid that he lives in Alaska and we'll be eating salmon at least twice a week now?  We love that crazy boy.