Be Afraid

... Be Very Very Afraid!

A week or so before we headed out on our journey across the western United States and the midwestern United States, Pops went fishing with a friend and came home with this beauty of a "Springer."

I don't remember for certain, but I think it is a Spring Chinook Salmon. He was pretty excited about his fresh catch and the fish stories that he now has to tell. Something about being in the drift boat fighting this behemoth of a fish while dodging the mulberry tree branches that were attempting to floss his teeth??!? I'm sure that it would have been a great video if nothing else!

Pops helped me rustle all the big kids into bed before he began processing the fish for our next day's meal and for the brining and smoking that would ensue. First, off with that tail fin.

Next, off with the head. Let's not waste any time, here!

Uh, er, well... what is up with this baby?!?

Apparently, wasting time is NOT... I repeat, Absolutely NOT tolerated by the younger set! Why? Well, you take a look at the time wasting activity (in the back of the above photo or closer up in the next one, for Pete's sake)!!

Oh, my... Bump really was not amused. I'll bet that Pops could have gotten a laugh out of Bud! Maybe it will just take a while for Bump to grow into the weirdness of being a male and all that jazz.

The fish was filleted - and apparently, it looked AWESOME enough to just create a bit of sushi with some raw salmon...

I reminded of him of my request for some nice pieces of marinated and grilled salmon and he recalled his desire for smoked salmon and he refrained from the sushi and finished filleting the fish.

I know that we should have kept the back, head, tail and all that jazz to make some wonderful fish stock for some delicious fish dish, but I do not know what fish dish that would be! (I feel like Dr. Suess will appear any second with my "fish dish" don't you?!?) So, we did not save anything for making fish stock. Perhaps someone has a great fish dish recipe for using fish stock so that I can kick myself for not getting those zip-top freezer bags out before Pops threw out those pieces for making the fish dish stock?? Let me know so I can save them next time!

Nice catch, by the way, Pops!!