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September, 2004
Saltwater report from Kitimat/Douglas Channel
 We have spent our time on the salty's these days as low river condition is
making for excellent trolling. Each day has been very productive as these
fresh Silvers/Coho are rippin the lines out of the downriggers, coming to
the surface, then dashing down under the boat. These fish are hot and dime
bright as the pictures shows in this report. Notice the sea lice on the
lower part of the fish. Also the net marks are quite obvious as the Chum
Fishery is now ending and the commercial boys have their limits.
Our number one tactic was the anchovies as baitfish are everywhere. During
the days trolling we would check the lines and baitfish had aggressively
taken our hook, still fighting as we released them back into the water. As
soon as we launched the boat each day the rods were out instantly. It took
a matter of getting one rod attached to the downrigger 30' and as the
second
rod was being rigged up a fish would be on. With three rods always in the
water I would try different things. One downrigger would be 40', the other
20', so you pretty much have it all covered. With the Channel crystal
clear
I do not think depth is that important in the sunlight. We would watch the
surface always, looking for rising fish, "there's one! And another." We
knew it would be fish on. And every time it seemed the same, fish on! As
we
passed over and or near the spot we saw them rise.
These Silvers are in a feeding frenzy like you cannot imagine. Our larger
was a nice buck 15Lbs. I set the depth down to 40' with a shiny Apex and
the rod went off like a Chum had a take. After some fancy fishing and
stickhandling with the rod this beauty was in the net. The Apex was
working
fine but color was key as some did not work as well as others. I still
like
using them as they make such a nice action in the water, very fishy.
 With the catch numbers for saltwater 4 per day anglers have the opportunity
to take home some fish. I remind people that want to retain fish to "use
what you take". I find it silly that fish has to be thrown out the
following season. One way to ensure that this does happen is the process
of
smoking fish.
When it comes to smoking fish I use a very simple recipe and it works every
time. First thing is to fillet your fish remove any bones. Some of my
friends will go as far as taking a tweezers to remove the bones. It works
very well and does not take allot of time. In the end when you are done it
is a nice touch. I like to trim the excess off the sides of the fillet and
now you should have a nice piece of beautiful Pacific Salmon. Ok, now
comes
the mix. I use 2 cups of brown sugar to 1 cup of rock salt; mix it
thorough, that's it. Now, what you need to have is a proper deep basin to
lay your fish flat to apply the mix. I use a cooler because it holds 4
fish
and is easy to wash out after you are done, and has a lid with a seal. Lay
2 fillets, skin side down, side by each at the bottom of the cooler, take a
handful of your special mix and rub it generously on the flesh. Then take
your next 2 fillets and lay them on top of the other two, skin side down,
repeat with the mix. Cover and let stand for the nite. The next day take
off the lid and notice the brine solution. All that liquid is drawn out of
flesh, and taking in a sweet and salty flavor.
 It is now time to wash the fish with cold water and let stand to dry. At
this time you can plug in your smoker and get it nice and hot as well clean
your cooler, if you wait till the mix dries you will have to scrub.
When it comes to smokers, for years I/we used the "Big Chief". Today the
top choice is "Bradley", very easy to use, simply a Cadillac of smokers.
Quite expensive but a nice toy to have. With a smoker that has temperature
control you can do your fish in 6hrs. To 34hrs.
I set the smoker temperature to medium/low and that day the fish is
perfectly done to my liking. Do a taste test during the process to find
the
way you prefer. Some people like it soft and others like it like jerky.
Enjoy the recipe and remember when you're fishing to "take little, leave
lots". Catch and release is very rewarding, tight lines.
Tracey John Hittel
Kitimat BC Canada
250 632-9880
250 639-4277
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