Memorial Day Tradition- the Copper River Salmon Are Back!
Last Thursday, May 16th, marked the opening of the 2013 Copper River salmon season. Weather was rough and landings were low. We received a shipment of gorgeous sockeyes last Saturday, but none of the regal kings. 82,000 sockeyes or “reds” were landed and only 700 kings were taken.
Higher than anticipated landings of sockeyes, lower on kings. The second opening on the 20th saw better overall catches and we’re optimistic about next week’s supplies.
For the Memorial Day weekend we will have plenty of gorgeous sockeye but the king of salmon will remain elusive ‘till next week. Not to say that the Copper River sockeye won’t be some of the most scrumptious salmon of the year! We planked some on red cedar planks (available at Monahan’s) with some of our Irish whiskey maple glaze and it was amazing! And the leftover salmon salad I made was almost as good.
Check out our past Copper River articles for more info, including the story of how a man named John Rowley changed an entire fishery.