Salmon Chowder recipe from Brookings Fishing Charters

Surprisingly easy to make, salmon chowder is a great way to enjoy the bounty of West Coast ocean or river fishing. Hearty and delicious, the recipe is simple and quick.

Many people were first introduced to salmon chowder by guides in remote areas of Alaska. After showing customers how to catch salmon in small rivers and streams flowing into Bristol Bay, the guide will often take the first fish of the day and prepare lunch for his or her clients right on the river bank, over a propane stove or campfire. Often impressed by the tasty concoction of salmon, bacon and potatoes, anglers often come back for a second serving, and the recipe to take home.

Salmon chowder is a great way to enjoy one of the West Coast's most prized game fish. It is simple, easy to make, and delicious.

Start by cooking several slices of bacon. Set the bacon aside, and save the bacon grease.

Cook bacon, and set aside cooked pieces and grease.

In a large pot, saute a yellow onion and a few stalks of celery over butter or olive oil. One or two medium onions will make a regular pot of chowder to feed six to eight people.

Saute chopped onion and celery in a large pot using butter and/or olive oil.

Add five to eight small potatoes, chopped into small pieces, to the pot of onion and celery. Add 1/4 cup flour, stir well. Cook for five minutes over medium heat, stirring frequently, then add just enough water to almost cover the potatoes. Bring to a boil, reduce to medium low, and cook until potatoes are just about done (usually 10 to 15 minutes).

Add six to eight small potatoes, cut into small pieces, to the onion and celery. Add 1/4 cup flour. Cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes over medium heat.

While the potatoes are cooking, add a generous amount of salt, pepper, dill weed and lemon pepper.

Add salt, pepper, dill weed and lemon pepper while the potatoes are cooking.

Once the potatoes are just about done, add chunks of cut up raw salmon. One or two backbones from a filleted salmon will also work well. This works especially well with the backbones from salmon caught in the ocean, or coastal bays, as those fish have lots of fat and there is a surprisingly large amount of meat remaining along the backbone. Smoked salmon can also be used instead of raw salmon, as can canned salmon. Add the crumbled bacon, and a few tablespoons of bacon grease.

Salmon chowder can be made with the backbone from filleted salmon, which still have a surprising amount of meat. After just a few minutes of cooking, the meat will fall from the backbone.

Remove any bones or skin from the chowder. The raw fish will be cooked in just a few minutes. If using backbones, scrape any remaining meat with a spoon. Discard the bones.

Once the fish is cooked, add a can of drained sweet corn. 

Add a can of drained sweet corn. Fresh corn also works well, when available. 

Just before serving, add half and half to the chowder for a rich, creamy taste and appearance. Add more salt and pepper, to taste, and serve.

Just before serving, add a couple cups of half and half. In remote Alaska, guides will finish the chowder with a can of evaporated milk, as half and half often isn't readily available in the bush.

Sprinkle a few drops of tabasco sauce in each bowl. Enjoy.

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Andy Martin is a full-time charter boat captain and fishing guide based out of Brookings, Oregon. For more information, visit www.brookingsfishing.com or www.wildriversfishing.com

Chetco, Smith salmon season off to good start

Jackie of Bend, Ore., with a nice Chetco River king salmon caught in October with guide Andy Martin of Wild Rivers Fishing and Brookings Fishing Charters. The fish hit a 5.0 MagLip plug.

With ocean fishing practically over for the year, the attention has turned to the fall salmon runs on the Chetco and Smith rivers. Fishing is off to a good start on the Brookings-area rivers.
We knew we were likely in for a good run when the Rogue River and Rogue Bay had one of it's best seasons in recent memory. Like the Rogue, the Chetco and Smith river fall salmon runs are south-migrating fish, which means they spend the ocean portion of their life off of Northern California and extreme Southern Oregon instead of heading to Alaska like other salmon runs. The Feather River, another south-migrating run, had an incredible early fall season.
Brookings Fishing Charters and Wild Rivers Fishing began fishing the Chetco estuary in early October. Fishing was good. The short ocean season at the mouth of the Chetco also was good, with lots of quality fish. The Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife estimated 300 salmon would be caught during the four-day sport season in the ocean off of Brookings in October. The final count was 530 fish, an indicator there are a lot of salmon off of Brookings right now.
The first rains arrived the week of October 20. Brookings Fishing Charters and Wild Rivers Fishing guides Andy Martin and Travis Sallander were among the first to float down the Chetco this fall, and they encountered a lot of bright king salmon. The Smith River also fished well for a few days, but the Chetco was the bright spot during the good flows of mid-October.
Another big rain is expected this first weekend of November. We are expecting good fishing on both rivers. Most of our fish have been caught on Yakima Bait Company MagLip plugs, but we also caught some nice kings on roe fished below bobbers. Beginning Nov. 4, we will be back-bouncing roe was well as running the MagLip and FlatFish plugs.
Here are a few photos from the first part of our salmon season on the Chetco and Smith rivers and in the ocean out of Brookings in October.
To learn more about our river trips, visit www.wildriversfishing.com or www.brookingsfishing.com.