Monday was a bust due to weather so we vegged. Ken and Debbie left for Homer to spend a few days down in Time Bandit (Deadliest Catch) country. I believe they are camping on the Homer Spit.
There was a major "fatality" accident yesterday just down road involving an 18 wheeler and a woman and her dog in a SUV. She rear ended the truck. Highway was closed for a couple of hours while they tried to extricate the occupants. The driver died as did her Labrador. Sad.
We drove up to the Kenai River this morning dodging Moose all the way. Got on the water about 10:30 and immediately started catching fresh run Sockeye's.
The crowds are still very heavy so "combat fishing" is still the rule. We waded upstream to a spot we know where salmon congregate and rest before continuing their migration (we are becoming natives).
We immediately realized we made a mistake. Ken had the net! It is extremely difficult to land a 10-15 pound salmon without one.
Abby lost a couple of salmon when I tried to help so of course it was MY FAULT!
Fortunately a couple of military vets from Homer were fishing nearby and when they found out I was retired Navy, they loaned us their net. As our fish count increased, I think they got tired of loaning us their net and they moved downstream. Luckily a dad and his young (11) son "Jake" took over their spot and they had a net.
Jake is a neat kid from Southern California. His dad wasn't hooking any fish and Abby and I were constantly battling fish. Jake became our "netman". Until today, he had never netted a fish and he was having a ball. Jake became quite proficient and was doing such a great job that at one point Abby wanted to help me land a fish I was fighting and I told her "Jake is my man". You should have seen the look on his face. His chest puffed out and a huge smile was plastered on his face as he netted my fish.
At one point, a fisherman decided to wade in the water between Abby and I. Bad decision! I'm sure you have read about the mama Grizzly Bear that mauled some kids this weekend near Anchorage because they got between her and her cub. You should have seen Abby. After about 20 minutes the guy was complaining Abby hooked him in his ass! She replied, "You're in our spot, maybe you should move". Remember it is "combat fishing". I'm convinced she snagged him on purpose as she is quite proficient with a fly rod. A few minutes later, his buddy shows up and she says to him, "I suppose you are going to fish here too?" They got the hint and left. Nothing like a woman scorned, or PISSED!
After 3 hours we had landed 8 salmon and decided to call it quits for the day. Our feet and legs were numb from the cold so walking was difficult. I was carrying our salmon and Abby was carrying our fly rods. As we were walking downstream to the exit ladder, Abby did it again. She fell in! This time someone helped her recover her footing so it was a non event. If she had dropped the fly rods, that would have been a different story.
Unfortunately Abby's camera was destroyed when she fell in the river the other day and I have misplaced mine so there are no new pictures. Do they make disposable digital cameras?
Back at the RV campground I filleted the salmon while Abby prepared the bags for vacuum sealing. I figure we have one more day of fishing before we have to start shipping home fish due to overcrowding in the freezer. Anybody who DOESN'T eat fish can contact me to be the recipient of an overnight FEDEX delivery of fish to be deposited in our freezer. Well maybe you could keep a couple of bags.
Rain is forecasted for tomorrow so we will decide tomorrow what we will be doing. Tonight we are eating fresh caught Sockeye Salmon with a couple of bottles of wine (it was a TOUGH day).
Chao!
