The salmon is done!

concealedG36

Well, I made it home from Michigan's beautiful upper pennisula! I managed to can about nine gallons (27 pints and 21 1/2 pints) and freeze about 20 nice fillets. For those of you who were interested, the place IS located in Moran, Michigan. About 25 miles north of the Mackinac Bridge on US 23. $2.00 per fish regardless of size (some of these bad boys are almost 30 pounds!!). They were out of Whitefish this time, but they usually have those too.Also, did some scouting for Whitetail on my dad's property. Lots of deer sign, but no buck rubs? The closest neighbor said they've seen three nice size bucks running around, though. So, I hope I see them November 15th (opening day firearm deer season).Also, a word of advice for anybody who is considering building a tree blind. I built mine between four trees that grew from a single point, about 15 feet up. The wind caused the trees to rock back and forth and it has managed to loosen almost all the 2x4s holding the blind together. The roof is completely detached from the trees, but it is still held up by the rest of the frame. I think I'll build a ground blind next year.

DaRoosta

Glad to hear it. Sounds like you're really excited. Looks like you didn't break down and get one of those Foodsavers, though. My parents put another 73 lbs. in the freezer this weekend. My father caught a 11 lb. silver and a 24 lb. chinook, while my mother brought in a nice 38 lb'er. They only have 4 more to fill their season limits here in Oregon. Best salmon season for a long time.

shane

You guys are making me hungery![This message has been edited by shane (edited 10-10-2001).]

idsman75

Is it true that you should eat only so much salmon taken from Lake Michigan due to mercury content?

rsnyder55

They let you keep silvers in Oregon? Here at Ft. Bragg, any silvers caught in the ocean have to be released. Still managed the two limit each for our party.

concealedG36

Well, actually, I borrowed my dad's foodsaver. That's how I froze the fillets. That thing works GREAT! Also, yes, there are always concerns about mercury, PCBs and other contaminates in fish. But, if you clean the fish carefully, making sure to discard the fatty tissue (skin, belly meat and the tissue along the lateral line) you reduce the risk substantially. I also selected smaller fish for my personal use, as they have had less time to accumulate toxins (1-2 year old fish). Also, the way I see it, EVERYTHING is dangerous to some degree. If I die of poisoning due to eating salmon at least my belly will be full and I'll be smiling...

DaRoosta

rsnyder - Silvers are good to go in the river, just not in the ocean. They opened up the mouth of the Columbia River earlier this season to a limit of 4 fish/day per person. That was amazing. And to think, just a couple years ago they were thinking the coho were nearing endangered species numbers. My parents fish in the Nehalem River, between 1 mile and 2 miles upriver from the ocean.concealed - Don't those Foodsavers work great? You just can't beat them. I still haven't bought one for myself yet, but it's on my personal Christmas list (to me, from me). Since it doesn't take any time to pack anything, I can definitely see the benefit of buying everything in quantity and then vaccuum sealing it for later. Save tons of $$. Just make sure you cook the heck out of those Michigan fish...no problem.