Holly Heyser: 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