09-24 REELLIFE digital - Flipbook - Page 10
bottom and then cranked
up two turns.
We tried to follow the
contour of the river bottom.
When it sloped up, we
reeled up, when the water
deepened, we dropped
weights down to touch,
then cranked up two turns.
salmon eggs. With one in
the boat, we motored away,
back to the ramp where the
crew had assembled a grill
and Dutch ovens.
Josh missed one. Andrew
missed two and I missed a
fish.
While a director in cowboy
boots stalked up and down
the beach, cigarette in
and out of his mouth, eyes
flicking from one element
of the scene to another,
Zimmern’s knives flashed.
When I angled in to check
on the ingredients, I saw
prime red-fleshed steaks
and two skeins of milt. Milt!
Our fish was a male.
In the east, the sun climbed
higher. Our chances
diminished. A drone like an
angel flew overhead and
three hundred pairs of eyes
on 65 boats looked to the
heavens.
In a male salmon, the
sperm we call milt lies in
two foot-long rolls. About
an inch in diameter, the
texture of fresh liver, it is
often discarded. It shouldn’t
be.
Then it happened! A fish bit
and the hook stuck.
On a sandbar on the big
river that is the lifeline of
The West, there is no better
way to taste the elemental
flavor of the salmon.
Fish bit. They flared their
gills, inhaled to sample the
salmon eggs and shrimp
then spit the baits.
Andrew arced the spine
of the rod against His
Majesty, the king salmon.
After a few tense minutes,
a seven-pounder thrashed
in the net. I looked at it,
pronounced it a female,
and guessed Zimmern
would try to spoon-feed us
Roasted lemons, eggplant,
and onions. Rice and a
reduction. Zimmern wasted
no motion.
Flames licked at the grill.
GARY LEWIS BIO
Gary Lewis is an award-winning author, TV host, speaker and photographer. Recent books
include Fishing Central Oregon, 6th Edition, Fishing Mount Hood Country and Bob Nosler Born
Ballistic. Gary has hunted and fished in eight countries on three continents and in the islands
of the South Pacific. Born and raised in the Northwest, he has been walking forest trails and
running rivers for as long as he can remember. Lewis is twice past president of the Northwest
Outdoor Writers Association and a recipient of NOWA’s Enos Bradner Award.
Seasonings are seared into
vegetables, salmon strips,
and organs. In moments
we held salmon bowls
while the good smells
wafted out to fishermen
still angling for their limits
of bright chinook.
The best place to eat
salmon is on a sandbar
in September. We ate the
strips of salmon with forks
and fingers. We ate the milt
and proclaimed it worthy.
Milt and eggs. These are
the building blocks of the
protein that energizes the
Columbia River. How does
milt taste? It cooks up like
a better version of tofu and
it adds a certain something
to a salmon bowl.
This was Zimmern's first
time fishing for fall Chinook.
While we labored for a bite
we talked fly-fishing and
grouse hunting. And it was
a chance for me to get a
glimpse into the machine
that was a big Travel
Channel production. At the
heart of it all was a chef
who was a risk taker, storyteller, all-showman, and a
real sportsman.
FOR A SIGNED COPY OF FISHING
MOUNT HOOD COUNTRY, SEND
$29.99, INCLUDES SHIPPING TO:
Gary Lewis Outdoors
PO Box 1364, Bend, OR 97709
Contact Gary Lewis at
garylewisoutdoors.com
