Probably the World's Best Salmon Recipe: Part 1

Ingredients:

• 1 Hughey: AKA Captain Alaska, fisherman, hunter, knower and doer of things.
• 1 Powell: World's fastest learner, and author of How to Out-fish an Alaskan in Ten Minutes or Less.
• 1 Tamasese: AKA Captain Hawaii, Fearless free diver, boat captain and previous owner of one 8 piece wetsuit.
• 3 Alaska Airlines tickets to Sitka, AK

Note: You can substitute your own non-vegan friends, but flavor may suffer.

Directions

Gaze into your freezer, and lament the absence of salmon. Close your eyes, concentrate, and look again. Still nothing. Maybe under that garbage bag full of stuffed animals that's been in the corner of the freezer since the Lice Scare of 2015? No... Nothing. You have no salmon.

BZZZZZZZZT

Text message from Hughey. No words. Just a picture:

Hughey has the type of Salmon problem you wish you had.

Texts are exchanged. Dates are agreed upon. Tickets are purchased. Two from Hawaii, one from Seattle, all converging in Sitka, Alaska on the same day in late August. Except Powell. He inexplicably booked the wrong dates. May have gotten bad information from trip organizer-we'll never know.

Finally the day arrives. Out on the water again. Riding the open ocean swells of the North Pacific. Teaching Powell the age-old art of trolling for Salmon while captain Tamasese expertly runs the boat. The delicate threading of salted herring on hand-tied (by Hughey) double hook rigs. Careful manipulation of down riggers, testing current, depths and speed.

It takes years to master the intricacies of Salmon fishing, maybe lifetimes. Somehow Powell lands the first fish.

I don't get seasick. Sometimes in rough seas I perform prone inverted crunches with my head over the rail. Fantastic for the core.

Powell catches another Salmon.

I'm not seasick. However, the Silver Salmon of Alaska often respond favorably to chum comprised of partially digested pringles and Mom's Minestrone soup, so I volunteer.

Powell catches another Salmon.

I'm really not seasick. Haven't you ever worked out so hard you had to vomit?

Powell catches another Salmon.

Between dry heaves, I graciously correct Powell's pole posture and form while he lands another fish.

The day ends with Powell landing four fish for every one I catch.

Clearly, I've underestimated my teaching ability.

Read PART 2

Read PART 3 (has the actual recipe)