What do fish prices and anvils have in common?

With three openers under our belts the fishing season here is starting off with a bang.  The first opener, which was 12 hours, the fleet caught 155,000 sockeye salmon verses an anticipated
32, 000 according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) www.adfg.alaska.gov and the price was pretty high at $4.00 a pound!  Not as many kings as anticipated were caught, 1,100 verses an anticipated of 2,100, but at $6.50 a pound, we’ll take it!  The sonar is clicking away steady, counting fish up stream that are returning home.   The cumulative count, as of May 23^rd is more-less on track at 17,184 with an anticipated count of 18,418 fish. 

Tender and gillnetters out on the fishing grounds

Monday’s opener turned out to be a good one, too, except for the fact that the price dropped like an anvil in a Road Runner Cartoon.  But the weather was nice and there were a few fish around.  The fleet caught 219,000 reds.  That is huge!  The anticipated catch was 94,000 reds.  1,300 kings were caught verses an anticipated of 3,455. The price is still shaking out and there are a few discrepancies between canneries, like one offering $3.10 a pound for sockeye and the other offering $1.75.  That’s a big price difference.  We’re still waiting to see if the low ballers are going to come up on price or how on that. 

Tender out on the fishing grounds

I just got in from another 12-hour opener, our third of the season.  It started out pretty sloppy out there, not much wind but tide running against the current, seemingly both against the wind.  Just made it lumpy.  My guts took a beating when we ran.  Nothing too bad, but you certainly couldn’t make Eggs Benedict.   That’s how I gauge how bad the weather is out there.  Is it a peanut butter and jelly day or can I make an actual sandwich?  Can I fry an egg or will it end up paper thin and the complete diameter of the pan?  Crepes are probably a good thing to cook out there on a snotty day, the thinner the better, right?  I was working on a tender one summer and tried to bake a cake.  For some reason or another, we had a port list.  And the cake, you guessed it.  Lemon list cake.  One side was about a half in high and the other was 3.  Anyway, I digress. Like I said, I'm writing this after the fishing opener.  I'm still rocking.

The price dropped again for reds (sockeye) to $1.30 a pound! I think that's lower than it went last year and this is only the 3rd period!  Wouch!  That is what I heard anyhow maybe it will come up.  But I’m curious.  What are you guys paying a pound at the store?  And where?  Do tell!

Rain-gear blowout.  I thought I felt a draft....

The turkey says "Eat salmon!"

Happy Thanksgiving

Everyone!

It's here!

You can feel the change in the air.  It is a bit crisper. The days are getting shorter.  We are losing five minutes of daylight every day.  Sunset and sunrise are now during normal waking hours.  There is actual darkness to the nights. Actual darkness still in the morning.  Northern lights have been spotted.  And then there’s the weather.  That is usually a good indicator that is FISH WRESTLING SEASON!  Otherwise known as silver season.

Yes folks, it’s officially official.  The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) started its silver management on Monday.  They are no longer managing the escapement of reds (sockeyes) they have already come and gone, done their thing.  They are managing for silvers now. Typically, silver season starts with one 24 hour opener a week then as the fish come in and the ADF&G get their escapement goals, it will open for 24 hours twice a week, Mondays and Thursdays. Also typically, Mother Nature schedules blows and snotty weather for those two days. Looking out my window, She must have thought there was an opener today.

Monday’s opener was the standard 24 hours.  Typical to silver season the forecast was for SE 30 and rain.  However, it turned out to be not that snotty and eventually, even, a nice day.  The scuttlebutt is that the fish are small and not too many of them, yet.  When I asked Hammer if he went out, he smirked and confessed “I didn’t go.  And I didn’t feel good about it until everyone got back”.  The fish haven’t really shown up yet, but are on their way.

Silvers are fun to wrestle, I mean catch.  The average silver weighs 8-12 lbs but can get up to about 15 lbs.  Most guys fish inside the barrier islands and this kind of fishing is done by making “fliers” or short sets with the tides.  Since the sets don’t soak very long, the fish are, more often than not, still quite alive.  And fight.  Hence the commencement of the wrestling matches.  In addition to short sets, the water is pretty shallow, too.  So, instead of your net laying straight down in the water, its laying on the bottom and gets all accordion like.  Fish become real tangled.  And wiggle.  A lot.  A fisherman’s job is to tussle them out of the net.  And mind the teeth.  I usually forget this part but am reminded quite quickly.  Reds don’t have teeth like silvers.  I mean, they have teeth, but just in front, like a horse.  Kings and silvers have little razors evenly spread though their whole mouth.  With reds, sticking your finger in the fishes mouth to clear the web is mostly a good idea.  Not so with silvers. 

There is a natural loll between the run of reds and silvers.  This year, it seems like it was a long one, about three or four weeks.  I like to take this time to mend all my aches and pains caused from picking reds.  Sore hands, carpel tunnel, achy wrists and knuckles, those shooting pains the run up your arm, hands going numb at night.  I almost shit the bed one night when I rolled over and felt a strange hand laying next to me. I grabbed it and felt it before opening my eyes.  Only then did I discover it was my own hand, completely numb.

A few weeks off and these complaints tend to mend themselves. But fish wrestling season always brings something new for me, tennis elbow.  I don’t know why, but I get it every year.  I used to just bust out the Bengay. But I find as I get older, I no longer like to make an olfactory announcement of my ailments.  My new thing that I’m trying is to take an old wool knee sock, cut off at the foot, and pull it up my arm.  It makes a nice warm sleeve and seems to help, so far.

Another reason I like silver season it that the fleet is smaller.  Most guys who don’t live in Cordova go home.  Less boats, bigger slice of the pie.  But my favorite thing about silver season is the light at the end of the tunnel.  It means the season is winding down and going to come to an end.  Something I start to think would never happen. 

Copper River Flat's 4th & 5th Fishing Period.

There was a big run out tide Monday morning before the opener.  Skipper got up at 4 AM to run out the Grass bar.  Low water was a 6:47 AM with 12 feet of water moving.  Crossing the bar at low water could get a bit dangerous.  Unfortunately, this proved to be true, though not for us.  We were floating around waiting for the 7 AM work bell to go off when we heard someone relaying a MAYDAY call to the Coast Guard on channel 16.  Hearing a MAYDAY never ceases to send a chill straight through to my spine, each and every time. 

At first, we were getting just getting bits of information, waiting for the story to unfold.  The fishing vessel (f/v) Topnotch was standing by a vessel in the break at Kokenhenik Bar.   Vessel was upright but appeared to be without power, two souls on board.   Coast Guard asked the make and color of the vessel.  Topnotch reported that it was a 30’ aluminum bowpicker.  Well, that narrows it down to about half the fleet.  After a few more minutes Topnotch spelled out the vessel name “Golf-Uniform-Lima-Kilo-Alpha-November-Alpha”. Skipper and I looked at each other, incredulous.  At the same time, we both said “Did he just spell out Gulkana? That’s my buddy, Billy Jr., fisherman, direct marketer, Copper River Salmon Marketing Association Board member, Prince William Sound Yacht Club President, Wine on Wednesday (WOW) goer and boat builder extraordinaire.  6 flags over Billy. So named after the 6 pennants he flies on his boat.  Flew.

Topnotch, being a single engine, fiberglass Miller rig, and the wrong side of the bar, was unable to assist.  There would have been 2 to rescue if he had attempted.  The Gulkana was on bottom in the breakers and taking ‘em over the cabin.  I waved to him on his was out the night before.  We were both leaving the harbor at the same time.  I could see he had his girlfriend Lori with him.  I don’t think she usually fishes with him but since it was a long weekend, Memorial Day and all, she probably had an extra day off.  It was a nice forecast and probably thought it would be a fun time on the flats.

The f/v Cape Fear , an aluminum twin jet boat, came in from the other side of the bar to tow Billy and Lori out of there, but got the tow line sucked in his jet and was unable to assist.    The f/v Sewak, also an aluminum twin jet rig was able to get a hold of the Gulkana and tow them out of there with both on deck in their survival suits.  The Sewak is Bill Sr., Billy Jr’s dad.  Billy built both boats. 

In the mean time the Coast Guard was sending a helicopter with a pump, but it was 45 minutes out.  The Sewak was able to tow them to safety but reported that only the bow rollers of the Gulkana was the only part above water.  She sank in 80 feet of water.

Here is the story I was able to piece together. Billy was running out, rode a wave, came down on the bottom and snapped off his two lower units.  A wave hit his stern, busted out both windows, flooded the engine room and left them without power, which is why they never made the MAYDAY call.   Several 12 footers crashed down, tweaking the cabin and making it impossible to open the door.  They were able to escape out the window.  They were pounded by breakers about 45 minutes before anyone could get to them and tow them out of there. 

It’s been a crazy season so far.  The weather hasn’t been too bad, only that one opener, but there sure have been lots of rescues.  Luckily, so far, everyone has made it through. 

Fishing was pretty good on Monday then slowed down a bit for Thursday's opener.  Thats the way she goes though.  We'll try 'er again on Monday.  Until then, eat fish!

I’ll catch ya on the flip side. 

1st Copper River Opener of 2011!

This is a PSA.  Due to technical difficulties (my blog host was down yesterday) this blog is a day late and a dollar short.  Must be a Friday the 13th thang.  My apologies for any inconvenience.  With that said, let's get started.

It's here!! It's here! It's almost here!  The 1st commercial fishing opener is Monday, May 16th at 7:00 AM!  The whole town is a buzz.  Everyone is scurrying around (or running around like a chicken with it's head cut off, depends how you look at it) gearing up for the season.  Last minute things like fixing broken valves on hydro's, repairing nets,  attaching out-drives, launching boats, or, simply even just arriving town. It's all gotta get done.  It seems every year this date sneaks up on us and there is never enough time to pull it all together. But, we usually all manage anyway and usually make it out there on Monday.  Though I already heard of two guys that just aren't going to make it.  One guy, his boat sat for a few years before he bought it.  A unused boat is not a good thing.  Things seize up, rust, break, etc.  In his case, I think it's a prudent move to wait.  The Copper River Flats is no place for a shake down cruise to find faulty equipment.  It's too dangerous for that type of thing.  But, I digress.  The other guy, and this has got to be frustrating, a store clerk dropped the ball on ordering his part and that delayed its arrival by 5 days..........so he'll miss the opener.  Sometime, its just not up to us.  Me?  I'll be heading out on this one.  It will be nice to get out on the water again.  I ran my raingear and survival suit down to the boat yesterday.  A strange familiarity came back the instant I stepped aboard.  I'll go fish and report back next week.

A good place to keep up with the excitement is Copper River Salmon on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/CopperRiverSalmon. They even have a count down 'til the opener.  If you want to keep up with the official news you can check out the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) at http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=commercialbyareacopperriver.salmon.  More info here: http://aprn.org/2011/05/12/first-salmon-opening-of-the-year-starts-monday/.  And, if you are looking for ways to cook your fresh Copper River Salmon, check out this site.  I think the King Salmon with Lemon Caper Butter looks divine.   http://start.tastespotting.com/tag/wild+salmon.


The sun is shining here in Cordova for three whole days now The sunrise is 5:17 and sunset is 10:37 giving us tons of daylight (sorry to make you do your own math there, it's about 17+ hours of day). And...........SHOREBIRDS!  Shorebirds are here.  These little critters land here every year on their migration from some place like Chili to the Arctic Circle.  I think its the longest migration on earth.  Anywho, they land out at Hartney Bay and gobble up some bugs before taking off again.  I was lucky to catch them on a nice evening and got a few pics.

Shorebirds at Hartney Bay

Shorebirds

Until next week, eat fish!!