Aug 6, 2020
Stevie Parsons is an angler and conservationist whose values were shaped by her upbringing in native Hawaiian culture. Stevie joins Artemis to talk about how she got into fishing. It started with a book, a GPS, and a can-do attitude that she could bag a salmon if she gave it a try. (Spoiler alert: She did bring home a salmon.) Sharing the ocean's bounty with friends and family is part of her mojo, and it works to spread the love and enthusiasm for wild places, too.
5:00 Hawaiian Native words for 'love of the land' and 'balance' - which are part of a greater ethos for living/harvesting responsibly, and sharing bounty with friends/family
7:00 "To take and to not give back is to be a thief." With harvesting comes a responsibility for conservation.
12:00 First fish: A two-inch bluegill on a spinning rod. For the win! Then upon moving to Oregon, learning salmon-fishing
15:00 Salmon fishing... Stevie started with a book, a GPS, and a great attitude! No really... that's all you need to get started
18:00 You can do a lot to be ready before your line hits the water... there's YouTube, there are books, etc.
22:00 If you're flailing to fly-fish, why not pick up a spinning rod? What you learn from spin-fishing totally carries over to fly-fishing
24:00 Sturgeon fishing: Trying to land a big, strong dinosaur
26:00 Lingcod are about as fun in the kitchen as they are on the line. Miso lingcod is just... [smacking fingers to mouth]
29:00 Where to find lingcod - just about anywhere off the Pacific Coast
31:00 Lingcod can be bluish-green when you cut into them, they have some gnarly teeth, and they're adventurous in what they'll bite. A super-fun game fish!
33:00 Use your bait in scale to the fish. Want a big fish? Need some big bait on that hook, like herring or salmon bellies
38:00 Big fishing rods, little people
41:00 Part of what makes fishing so awesome is that you're always learning new things... no one has seen it all
42:00 Chinook versus sockeye/coho fishing
43:00 Stevie's salmon-smoking secrets! Rub recipe: 3 c. brown sugar, 1 c. Johnny's seasoning salt, 1/4 c. fresh ground pepper (don't skimp!). Mix it up, put it in a bottle, then sprinkle it over the salmon. Put it in the fridge overnight. Next morning: Put salmon out to drain (no toweling it off!) -- you need that tacky surface for good smoking. Stevie uses a Traegar for smoking, and she watches it closely. It's done when the white oiliness starts to appear on the surface. (Also a winning recipe for sturgeon!)
51:00 Albacore tuna fishing off the Pacific Coast
56:00 Bear-on-car vandalism!
1:00:01 Artemis Book Club: "Black Faces, White Spaces" by Carolyn Finney Discussions start this week.