Dang, I like the way the herring look. I've smoked many things, but not herring. Looks like it's time for me to try smoking herring. Hopefully, they're going to show up in Crescent City shortly.
Do you use a wet brine or dry brine?

25 year old Big Chief here that has had all parts replaced. I only use dried alder rounds that I cut myself. Nothing else for me. Just smoked 15 lbs of tuna that probably won't last me very long.

Dang! That's hot!

Thanks for the compliments, guys. It's painted on a scrap of plywood I couldn't bring myself to throw away. Ocean has been too rough to fish for crab, I have enough herring now, water in the Smith has been too clear for steelhead fishing.

What a great tradition! Thanks for sharing.

I live here and have used both of the places mentioned to launch.

Most days there is quite a beach break to launch from the rock quarry where the old road goes down. Not impossible, but you're fortunate if you're there on the easy beach break day.

Garth's is doable but you may need help pulling your yak back up the bank. It is a good place to launch with minimal swell, especially if you paddle outside the surf zone.

I generally launch at the last turnout on Pebble Beach Drive since it's  easier to get down to the beach and Castle Rock seems to minimize the beach break. Also, if you have help, the steps just south of Pacific Ave is where I sometimes launch from, but now you're getting pretty far from Pt St George.

Great job! I always hate to see the filleted salmon carcasses thrown away and not eaten in some fashion. Salmon are so hard to come by and tasty. I grew up with my folks steaking any salmon we got and we dealt with the bones, but yet using the entire fish. Whatever wasn't eaten was composted in the garden.

Let me get this straight. We live far north of the city of my birth, San Francisco. We only go through about every 4-5 years and it's a new nerve-wracking high blood pressure evoking bridge paying experience every time.

So, you're saying that there is no one to man the toll booths anymore? Only the trusty cameras are in full force? A person traveling must have a FasTrak account or set up by "automatic pay by license plate." How does one do that? It's not I don't want to pay to keep the bridge up by blowing through the gate, it's just that an extra $25 penalty would kind of chap me. Thanks.