Clean pata and slit skin (3-4 slits on both sides) without cutting bone. Place in a deep pan with a tight cover. Add water, 7 Up and salt. Bring to a boil after 15 minutes, add baking soda. Baking soda will hasten the softening of the pata's skin.
Hook 4 to 7 pound sockeye salmon from June 10 to August 1, with a peak from July 1 to August 1. Take your pick from 50,000 three to five pound pink salmon from July 20 to August 20. Silver salmon runs of 150,000 strong stop to bite from mid-August to their peak in late September.
Fall colors occur from early September through about the third week of October with maple colors peaking the last week of September into the first week of October. The next week the golden peak season occurs. Rainfall and temps affect both when the colors occur and how long they last, so it is variable each year. Starting Labor Day, I will provide weekly fall color reports with suggested tours each Thursday.