My Alaskan Mistake

I grew up eating fresh fish -- in our house it wasn't just a delicacy it was a necessity.

For all sorts of reasons I eat less and less fish that I catch. And I'm frequently disappointed that supposedly fresh fish served by others carries a heavy "fish" odor that I learned to disdain at a very young age. To avoid that disappointment I avoid eating fish; and when I was asked by the Johnsons at the Naknek River Camp how many fish I hoped to bring home I sort of mumbled a half-hearted answer.

Even eating Phyllis Johnson's delicious salmon (often the most "fishy" smelling fish I encounter on a fine dining plate) one night in camp didn't cause me to rethink my plan to return home empty handed. But after watching the guides fillet the bright orange sockeye flesh, I decided to bring a handful of fillets home for my wife (who is more tolerant of fishy fish) and some friends.

Kyle cleaning a day's catch of sockeye salmon.

Well the last fillet has been eaten and my wife is asking me to see if anyone up at Naknek would be willing to ship down another box of frozen salmon. Turns out there is nothing that beats flash frozen salmon cleaned within an hour of being caught. And I should have brought home 50 pounds rather than 10...

While my taste for fresh fish has been restored, I know I will be eating even less fish. (Nothing will be able to top the Naknek sockeye, so why bother.) That is unless I get that box of fish delivered.