Once we have caught the fish, we clean the fish. We do this with long, skinny blades and a great deal of deet-infused bug spray. Because we are wearing rubber gloves covered with blood, we have no good way of squishing the mosquitoes that land on our tender necks. In spite of the nuisance, we fillet with good cheer. And when I say “we,” I mean everyone else. I’m pretty sure that when the photo below was taken, I was inside changing a diaper.

When the fish are cleaned, we vacuum-seal them for the long trip home.

You can basically vacuum-seal anything. I think you can buy the machines at Costco.

We kind of feel like the ants, laying in provisions for the long winter ahead.

But we only vacuum-seal most of the fish we clean.

A small selection of fillets get the ultimate honor of being cut into strips and hung on the laundry line.

There on the edge of the bluff, they catch the breeze and develop a sort of “glaze” across the the surface.

Lover of sashimi that I am, I always have difficulty not taking a bite right then and there.

But to do so would be missing the point, for a far greater treat lies ahead. All we need is some dried alder branches.

And a smokehouse.

And some smoke.

And an enthusiastic workforce.

And four days of continual smoking later, you have smoked fish. Salmon jerky. Simply delicious.