Desperate times, indeed! (Smoker of the Year Contest entry)
November 18, 2007
Kevin Pohley of Auburn, CA sent in this Smoker of the Year Contest entry — a fish from the Feather River, near the infamous Thermalito Afterbay Outlet Hole, where the season was an absolute bust. He pretty much summed it up with this:
“The 2007 salmon season….Desperate times call for desperate measures.”
Hurry and get those Smoker of the Year photos into us…the deadline for the 2007 season is Dec. 15. At that point, the judging will begin!
Something Smells Foul (Smoker of the Year Contest entry)
November 9, 2007
Ronnie Zebco, who lives in the metropolitan suburbs of Hayfork, CA sent in this Smoker of the Year Contest entry.
Zebco caught this handsome Trinity River Chinook salmon quite by accident.
“I was drifting roe and a Fish Pill for steelhead when this guy bit,” he says. “Okay, so he’s a little on the skinny side, but he’ll smoke…”
I’m thinking Mr. Zebco may be better off using his catch as soup base — or better yet, food for his tomato garden, but what do I know?
We thank Ronnie for submitting this picture, but I’m afraid there’s a slight problem that the judges at the end of the contest may have to take into consideration: This fish was foul-hooked. If you take a close look at the photo, you can see the hook (with roe cluster still intact) is buried in the fish between the ventral and caudal fins. I’m not going to automatically disqualify the fish and declare Mr. Zebco a poacher, but let’s just say the rules committee is looking into the matter…
Takes one to catch one (Smoker of the Year Contest entry)
October 22, 2007
Our latest Smoker of the Year Contest entry comes from Danny Sozzi, who wished to remain anonymous (for obvious reasons), but…uh…well…oops….I already mentioned his name, so I guess it’s too late.
Anyway, Danny caught this fine Bugle-Mouthed Golden Trout on Northern California’s American River some years back and sources say that he still often refers to that morning as “one of my top 3 angling moments of all time.”
Asked to comment on the incident, his father, Dan, swore he couldn’t remember Danny’s catch.
“I was too busy catching steelhead that day,” he says.
In any case, we appreciate your entry, Danny, it’s a fine European Brown Trout!
Soldotna Fire Engine #47 (Smoker of the Year Contest entry)
October 6, 2007
This angler, we’ll call her “Pamela Anderson”
(the angler’s true identity was asked to be concealed),
hooked this bright red fire engine on Alaska’s Kenai River
while fishing with guide CW this summer.
In CW’s words:
Our day consisted of a few bites and this animal in the box. I don’t want to say anything bad about this fish considering it was big and bad and fought like a true
Kenai King. This King daddyo hit a back trolled k-16 like a freight train.
Now, some folks will argue that many Kenai River kings come straight out of the salt with red flanks but you can tell this fish had been around for awhile.
Check out the kype, the extremely skinny belly and that nice notch in the tail. Sweet!
Check out the Smoker of the Year Contest link to the left for contest details.
A new leader in the Clubhouse (Smoker of the Year Contest entry)
October 2, 2007
Wow! Up until this point, the 2007 Smoker of the Year Contest was anybody’s ballgame. But this one is going to be extremely difficult to beat…
Harrison “Purple Bead” Ibach of Arcata, CA traveled 357 miles to the Feather River to hook into this big buck (hmm, how can you tell it’s a boy???). In doing so, he’s the first person ever to score a perfect 10 on the Smoke-O-Meter.
Get a Grip! (Smoker of the Year Contest entry)
September 26, 2007
Our latest Smoker of the Year Contest entry comes from Alaskan fishing guide Mike Stratman who put a lucky client onto this lovely doggie.
While the fish is certainly ugly enough (the congealed blood is a really nice touch!) to score high marks, it’s the size of the guy’s hand that is really impressive….
When have you ever seen anybody who could “tail” a salmon right behind the dorsal fin??
Oh, and by the way, time is running out…don’t forget to get those Smoker of the Year photos in…we’ve only got a few months left in the 2007 season. The deadline is Dec. 31.
Brains….uuuumm good! (Smoker of the Year Contest entry)
September 13, 2007
This Smoker of the Year Contest entry comes from Griz Lee Bear (his friends call him “Brownie”), who lives near Haystack Creek in the Alaskan bush. Though we’re not sure what Bownie caught this nice humpy salmon on, it appears that it was sharp.
A man of few words, Brownie told us:
“Yum…salmon brains good!
Blackened Chinook: Good Vittles! (Smoker of the Year Contest entry)
August 16, 2007
While the identity of this gentleman is going to be withheld for his own protection, I can tell you this: The Smoker of the Year Contest entry came from the American River on a guided fishing trip ran by none other than yours truly (hey, what can I say…dark fish love me!).
Some say that dark kings aren’t worth eating unless you smoke them…hence the term “It will smoke…” But I beg to differ. Next time you throw a blackie in the box, try this recipe out:
Come on, get a room! (Smoker of the Year Contest entry)
July 10, 2007
Ron H. of Sacramento sent in this photo for our Smoker of the Year Contest. Obviously very skilled in fishgizzgetsu, the ancient art of fish undercarriage massage, Ron had this…um…encounter at the American River’s infamous combat zone, the Nimbus Basin. Ron says that this steelhead actually had a better side…
Walk softly & carry a big stick (Smoker of the Year Contest entry)
June 25, 2007
“Come one step closer and I’m gonna whack you over the head with this thing. I’m serious…stay away or there’s going to be trouble!”
Our pal Mike Fridley sent in this fine photo of his buddy with a Trinity River chinook to be considered for our Smoker of the Year Contest and it gets high marks not only for the excellent darkness of the fish but also for his pal’s menacing, cyborg-like (check out those red eyes!) look. Kinda seems like a scene from a bad futuristic alien-invasion horror flick…or maybe one about a Zombie Apocalypse!
