Pink salmon and roe

Today’s catch was two pinks – one male, one female – 21 inches, and 22 inches.

While fishing, after I had caught the first one, a ferry went by at a fairly rapid clip. I know that ferries displace a considerable amount of water, resulting in large swells and surf along the shore. I miscalculated how much surf would come crashing through. I had my tackle high enough, but I thought the fish would be fine where it was. When the waves came in I realized I would have to hold on to the fish to keep it from getting washed away. As a result I was hit with water from head to toe. I was wearing a long jacket so it kept most of my uppers dry, but from about thigh down, my jeans and shoes were completely soaked. (I still have water in one of my ears from getting hit with the water.)

Pink salmon roe is noticeably larger and lighter in color than the silver roe. You can see the huge color difference in the photo below. If you look closely, you can see the size difference as well. I needed a jar for the new roe, so I had to finish off the silver caviar (on rice) from the first silver catch from last Thursday.

I also baked some of the silver from Saturday. This is one of three filets I baked tonight. Cook’s Illustrated had simple oven-baked directions – start in a very hot oven (500F), then immediately lower it (275F) and let the filet bake at the lowering temperature until done (about 9-13 minutes). I must say it turned our quite well – better than my previous attempts using the broiler.