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Tag Archives: Setnet

Back to the Real World

Fishcamp recap.

I had a hard time getting up Monday morning. No alarm for nearly 2 weeks, naturally waking is nice! Sleeping to ocean sounds is also nice. Neither of those things are happening anymore . 😂

Although technically not fishcamp related the Solstice Sisters headed to Homer on Sunday, which has become a tradition at least once a year when things are normal. We went for brunch and tried to get home at a decent hour. It was glorious. Doing the tourist thing on the Spit: eating at quaint little cafes and food trucks; shop hopping little boutiques and charter shops; and one cannot forget a pitstop at The Salty Dawg.

Fishcamp was different this year. The emergency orders restricting our fishing between 11:00 am and 5:00 pm essentially gave us about 5 days of actual fishing, for at least 20 mins. We had nets in the water whenever we legally could and we caught 1/3 of the number of fish we normally do. That’s not going to last the year but at least we didn’t come home empty handed. Our household allowance is 75 fish, we came home with 29. Just means we need more halibut. 😎 In total we caught 125 fish, split between 6 permits.

Good food and drink is always a part of our adventures.

I processed three cases of salmon in the beach. Came home and put 8 fish in the freezer for later processing and smoked 6. I tried a new brine, just salt and pickling spice. Smoked for about 6 hours. We’ll see how we like it. Then we’ll do more later.

Even with all the differences and split camps and odd vibes, it was nice to spend time with my peeps. The beach was not as crowded, no rowdy dudes to contend with, few beach racers and poorly behaved people made for a more peaceful beach time.

We also learned new things (Thing 1 got to observe a commercial setnet operation with Mrs Jane and learned about assembling a new net), met new people and had new experiences! Always good things. And we day dreamed of what we could do if this happens again…. Go hiking, camping, fishing, etc somewhere else. It would be more affordable probably!

Kids pulling in our first net.

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Kids pulling in our first net.
20 fish in 2 2/1/2 hours, all three nets.

Abundance

We figured this year would be plentiful with the Sh’mita starting this fall but we didn’t know how plentiful!

Everyone helps, even the little guy!

So far, two of our family units have gotten their desired count of fish. Three more of us are closer. We’ve shared with two other families that could come down and get fish, and have another couple of families on standby. And we’ve helped a couple young fellas fishing on their own this year navigate the regs and when they needed an extra hand.

A nice little flounder.

It feels good to be able to share Alaska’s bounty with others. There’s been many years when we just got enough to feed our own households. Sharing is caring.

Neighbor “boys” fishing for the first time on their own. Last night they had a huge haul and were a little overwhelmed. These two young men were polite and appreciative of any help. It’s nice to have good fishing neighbors.