Stock that freezer!

Gone fishin'

Most people do it.  Down home, you put a pole in the water and hope for the best.  Maybe it's a bobber, a fly or just the old cast and drag.  Father-in-law likes to tell us it's "skill" that gets him the hits.  I think it's because he gets up earlier.  When we go, it's really to spend time together.  We love it when the fish bite and if we are really itching for a bite, we'll hit up the barrel (maybe). 

Sustenance fishing is a whole different world.  It's not really fishing, it's catching.  No bones about it, you're going to get fish.

Out in the water holding onto a fish

I was lucky enough to be invited by a local Native family to enjoy a BEAUTIFUL day out on the beach catching fish on their license.  They showed me the ropes once and I was out in the water by the time I could shimmy into the "preens"  I felt like a vacuumed pack fillet!   You set out a net and the fish can't see in the murky water, the swim right in, get caught and you gotta go and pick them out.  Some do a pretty darn good job of getting very caught.  Other's just kinda bite at it and you walk right up, unhook them and it takes only a few seconds.  *I like those kind!  They were impressed by my picking abilities and that was to be my main job for the day.

The student of mine that was with me, his main job was helping me out if I got a fish I just couldn't pick and watching for seals.  He held his .22 and made sure they didn't get to close.  They see the net and know there's an easy meal to be had so they get warning shots if they start coming our way.  If they get to close, he yells out seal which means I get out of the water and he starts shooting at it while I'm out of harms way.

Picking fish from the net

While waiting to pick, I was also helping clean slime off of the fish, clots out of the gills and watching for whales swimming up the river from the ocean.  We saw a pod of Beluga Whales cresting at one point but I was in the water and didn't get the camera in time.

The haul for the day was 50 Silver Salmon and 1 Red Salmon.  Only one of the Silvers had been up and started to spawn.  He still had half of his milk sac left but he looked to be a bit older as well.  That one was still cut into fillets and was cooked up for their hard working dogs.  Sorry Ciqu!

The half-spawned old guy.  Look at those teeth!

There are really 3 fish on each hand!  Each weighed about 10-15 lbs.

We filled the freezer of the Native family and my freezer is looking pretty good!  20 fish, 40 fillets.  It's amazing how much fish that really is!  I can't even imagine how much that would cost back home.  All this cost me was a beautiful day out on the river, 8 hours of hard work and a bit of a sunburn on the face.  Oh yeah, and some goofy looking glove tan lines.