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

New Oregon rockfish and lingcod regulations (Dec. 9, 2016)

Oregon anglers can keep bigger variety of rockfish, lingcod population stable

BROOKINGS, Ore. - Oregon fishery managers have adopted the rockfish and lingcod regulations for the 2017 season, allowing anglers to keep a wider variety of rockfish while maintaining the seven-fish limit for snapper and two-fish limit for lings.

Oregon anglers will be allowed to keep more canary rockfish in 2017. In 2016, only one could be kept. In 2017, up to seven can be kept as part of the seven-fish total limit for rockfish.

Lingcod populations on the Oregon Coast have remained stable, allowing the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife to keep the two-fish limit for lings. The minimum size remains 22 inches.
Oregon's lingcod and rockfish season remains open year round, keeping it the only state on the West Coast with 12 months of lingcod and rockfish fishing.
The 2017 ocean fishing regulations were set at the Dec. 2, 2016, Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission meeting. Seasons and limits for salmon and halibut will be set in the spring of 2017.
Anglers will be allowed to continue to keep seven rockfish per day. The daily limit of black rockfish is six fish, as part of the seven-fish overall limit that includes other species of rockfish, as well as kelp greenling and cabezon. The two-fish lingcod limit is in addition to the seven rockfish.
Rockfish are also known as rock cod, sea bass and snapper.
During previous seasons, anglers could keep only one canary rockfish and three blue rockfish as part of the seven-fish limit. Copper rockfish, China rockfish and quillback rockfish were prohibited. Beginning in 2017, there is a four-fish sub-limit that includes any mix of blue rockfish, China rockfish, quillbacks and coppers. There is no sub-limit on vermilion rockfish, and now there is no sub-limit on canary rockfish, which have recovered to levels capable of sustaining a fishery, according to federal biologists from the National Marine Fisheries Service. Yelloweye rockfish must still be released.
Fishery managers were concerned about increasing harvest of black rockfish along the entire West Coast, so the daily limit for blacks was reduced from a total of seven to six in Oregon. The one-fish decrease in the black rockfish sub-limit will allow Oregon to keep its 12-month season, biologists said.

An angler holds a trophy vermilion rockfish caught aboard the Miss Brooke of Brookings Fishing Charters during the 2016 season.

In California, meanwhile, the black rockfish limit was reduced to three fish. It is also closed for part of the year.
"The new Oregon Coast regulations are actually really good," said Capt. Andy Martin of Brookings Fishing Charters. "Sure, we now can keep one less black rockfish, but we still will be able to keep seven total rockfish, and now we can keep more canaries, as well as Chinas, coppers and quillbacks. And the sub-limit for blues has increased, as sometimes we get into some pretty good-size blues."
The total limit remains nine fish, Martin said, counting the two lings and seven rockfish.
"We can keep a lot more color now," Martin said. "Anglers will leave with the same amount of fillets as before, and maybe a little bigger when we get into the coppers, quillbacks and canaries."

It's always exciting catching three rockfish at a time. Beginning in 2017, anglers can keep six black rockfish per day as part of the total rockfish limit of seven. Canaries, blues, cabezon, coppers, Chinas, quillbacks, vermilions, blues and kelp greenling also can be kept.

Brookings Fishing Charters begins its 2017 ocean season in March, after steelhead season wraps up on the Chetco and Smith rivers. Trips depart daily from the Port of Brookings Harbor. To book a trip, visit www.brookingsfishing.com or call (541) 813-1082.

The limit for lingcod remains two fish a day at least 22 inches long, in addition to seven rockfish per day.

Lingcod, crabbing best bet out of Brookings (Aug. 11, 2015)

After a few weeks of slower lingcod fishing, we are now enjoying limits again of lingcod, as well as great rockfish action out of the Port of Brookings Harbor. Salmon fishing, meanwhile, is slow, although some kings are showing up fairly close to the harbor, with a few boats catching fish near the whistle buoy.
We have been focusing on lingcod, rockfish and crab, and are catching lots of fish. The weather in Brookings has been exceptional, a great place to get out of the hot weather and smoke inland.
The lings appear to once again be moving into shallower water. We have limited out the last several trips, along with good catches of quality rockfish.
Checking the crab pots on the way back to the port has yielded a couple dozen keeper crab per day.
Lingcod and rockfish action will continue into September.
We also are gearing up for the fall salmon seasons on the Chetco, Smith, Coos, Elk and Sixes rivers. Please visit www.wildriversfishing.com to learn more about these great drift boat seasons.

Below are a few photos from the past couple of weeks. To book a trip, call (541) 813-1082 or my cell (206) 388-08988 or visit www.brookingsfishing.com.

In a few weeks our new sweatshirts and T shirts with our new logo will be available. Just in time for back to school shopping. The hoodies will be available at www.brookingsfishing.com
Here is the new logo.