Last weekend gave me the amazing opportunity to go salmon fishing on my buddy’s boat. That’s been a major one on my list! Here’s the lovely vessel, Overtime, fitting because its owner has spent 500 hours on her in the last year.

He can load her into the water in just a couple minutes, and backs up the trailer like it’s second nature.

Out at sea with two ladies and a cute dog, we’re ready for adventure and fearless to the fog and cold.

Less than an hour out, we get our first bite. My friend, Slim, let me reel the first one in.

A hefty 16 pounder was not too bad for our first catch.

What a thrill!

The fish can flap around on the deck for a while, and sometimes even escape, so it’s important to club them and spear the gills so they bleed out.

With salmon you troll the line through the water, and often don’t even need bait. Here is one of the lures my friend is hooking up to the line.

Slim brings in another one. He thinks it was all the female pheromones that helped us get 6 salmon and 1 rock fish for the day.

Here’s a better look at the club he uses, with the curved blade on the end. If this seems cruel, remember that fish would suffer more if left to suffocate to death.

With a hook on the end, when looped through the gill, this shows the fish weight. Our biggest was over 20 pounds!

Check in tomorrow to learn about cleaning fish at sea. Look out, it’s not for the feint of heart!