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Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Copper River salmon - a story in the Sacramento Bee

This is a dish prepared by Chef Jeremy Storm of the
Orca Adventure Lodge. Click here for the recipe.
Photo © Holly A. Heyser
Spent a few days in Cordova, Alaska, this summer indulging in great fishing, more great fishing, endless great eating and drinking a lot of Alaskan ale (mostly Summer and Amber, in case you're curious).

A few pounds and 2,800 photos later (yes, literally), I gave birth to this big ole spread for the Sacramento Bee about the delights of eating Copper River salmon. I'm pretty excited that I got the words "orgiastic gluttony" into the first paragraph of the story.

Do I have your attention now? Awesome! Click on over and check it out. And if you'd like to see some of the photos that didn't make print, scroll on down.

This was the view from our campfire at the Orca Adventure Lodge in Cordova, Alaska. Those were bald eagles on the pilings, BTW. Saw LOTS of bald eagles up there. Photo © Holly A. Heyser

Captain Brian Rutzer, left, talks with food videographer Daniel Klein while we're out fishing for sockeye on Rutzer's gillnetter, Controller Bay. Can I just say that my Tokina 11-16mm lens served me really well in tight quarters on this trip? Photo © Holly A. Heyser

Mikal Berry is the owner of the Fishwives food truck based in Cordova, Alaska. Beautiful woman! You've got to check out her salmon chowder recipe on the SacBee site. Photo © Holly A. Heyser

Can you think of a prettier backdrop for a food truck? 
Photo © Holly A. Heyser

That's my boyfriend Hank Shaw setting the hook on the last salmon we caught that day - a pink. Epic fishing - you couldn't go more than a cast or two without getting a bite. Our guide was Ian Winder of the Orca Adventure Lodge.  And BTW, Hank just posted a salmon recipe on his website this week. We've been eating LOTS of salmon.
Photo © Holly A. Heyser

Brian Wildrick, who owns Harborside Pizza, makes a couple mean salmon pizzas. 
© Holly A. Heyser

These sockeye salmon are near the end of their lives, just chillin' and hanging out, waiting for the last act: spawning. 
Photo © Holly A. Heyser
Food videographer Daniel Klein photographs the surreal glacial melt near the sockeye spawning beds. 
© Holly A. Heyser
© Holly A. Heyser 2012

Saturday, September 1, 2012

California's see-sawing dove seasons - a column in Shotgun Life

It's the dove opener today in California, and probably in most other states with a dove season as well, and wanna know what I did this morning? I slept in.

Yes, it's true. I wasn't there for the thunder at dawn - our morning hunt plans fell through. Wah!

But we'll hunt the afternoon, and I can't wait, because I've been wondering all summer what it's gonna be this year: awful, like last year? Epic like the year before? Something in between?

You can check out my prediction in my latest column in Shotgun Life. If you've been out after doves already today, be sure to weigh over there (you can comment on that site with your Facebook sign-in) and let me know if I was right or dead wrong.

© Holly A. Heyser 2012