June 21: Water haul

This is an important, if undesirable, expression in fishing. We needed it on this morning's tide. Though I accidentally didn't go out. I was a little early and did that thing that so often gets me in trouble: "I probably have enough time to do this." Usually, I don't. The crew was geared up and went fishing without me. But it looks like I didn't miss much. Water haul means no fish. At all. Maybe this afternoon...


This did give the chance to take some pictures of the fishing process on a beautiful day (except for the "no fish" part) from up on the bluff. The crew went out on an outgoing tide. We have one net that is inside relative to the others and it goes dry first. It also is most likely to catch ebb fish. So the decision must be made: pick it first, to be sure it doesn't go dry? Or after so we don't inadvertently leave some fish in the net? David lives on the edge, so he decided to pick it last. (Me, I would probably pick it first and last.) In this first photo, they are running in from the outside site to the inside site. Note the belly to the left in the outside site. That's because that's the direction the outgoing tide goes (southwest). Usually, the wind blows from that direction so we sometimes have to deal with competing forces of nature. Today was a very calm day. The second photo shows the approach to the net. David has chosen (wisely) to start from the inside and work his way out. The reason for doing this is because the inside will go dry first. If he started from the outside, he might not make it all the way to the inside before the net went dry... and if he did, the water might not be deep enough to float the heavy Ambi.


It isn't always feasible to make that choice. We don't like having a lot of waves and weather to the stern. It's not designed to keep the water out, so when the stern is facing the storm - like when our prop gets tangled in web so the web acts like an anchor, but off the stern of the boat - we are more likely to swamp because big waves will have an easier time getting into the skiff from that direction. Or if the wind is blowing strongly out of the west - then it is really hard to pull the boat through the net against the wind.

Because the bow is so high and with the crew standing there, ready to lean out of the boat to grab the corks, it is hard for the skipper to see where they are, so the crew signals - forward, left or right, and stop. I ask them to let me know when they have it so I can stop the outboard and come up to help if necessary. On a day like today, they wouldn't need help. But in heavy weather, with nets heavy with fish, it's really hard to get that net up over the bow. This photo shows the pick up.

Once corkline and leadline are over the bow, the crew works together to pull that section of net toward the stern of the boat and then lift it over the power roller, so the skiff is situated perpendicular to and under the net. Usually with the assist of the power roller, we pull along to the other end.


I think Patrick may have taken this photo - this is Roger and Jeff installing the bolts to attach the turning mechanism on the power pack that powers the power roller for the Bathtub. But they can't get it quite aligned so it's going in to Roy.

Here I feel compelled to say that we didn't have power rollers until 1995. Before that, we pulled everything without any help. Prior to 1982, we didn't use skiffs and even when we got skiffs, it took a couple of years to realize that we could fish on the incoming tide as well as on the falling tide, which was all we had ever done when we just followed the tide out in our waders. Prior to 1979, we didn't have rangers, which meant that we picked just as fast as we could, into our little 6' dingies to float as many as possible of the fish we caught into the beach so we wouldn't have to drag them in through the mud. That fear still haunts me.

I've been thinking about the way that relative to old people, young people are very devil-may-care in many things, including risk of bodily harm. I don't think it's because young people think they are immortal as we so often say, but rather because old people have seen and been traumatized by just how wrong things can go and we want to be sure that doesn't happen again. Young people think it's unlikely to happen because in their (limited) experience, it hasn't. So young people are relatively fearless not because they think nothing can hurt them, but because in their experience, it hasn't - and why would that change?

The "free week" ends tomorrow morning at 9 am. We could fish it, but we so rarely have any fish at night that I think it will be better to just pull our nets in after this evening's tide. Then, the waiting begins. (And this season, the waiting will begin with a bonfire! Yay - beautiful day, probably a cold night. Perfect for a bonfire on the beach.)

Fish and Game will monitor the escapement of the salmon into all the rivers. We'll pay closest attention to those returning to the Naknek and the Kvichak. That is what will determine when we are allowed to fish again. We need to listen to the radio at specific times or call the ADFG "Info" line or watch our email for announcements. I do really appreciate being connected to the Internet here, but getting these emailed announcements is probably the most important reason for it.

After the morning tide, most of the crew went to town to take showers. David and I stayed behind. (Going to town wears us both out.) Jake and Patrick came back early on the four wheeler and I'm glad they did because they helped us move along some projects. Here we are, marking the corks and repairing the torn leadline and ripped net. On the afternoon tide, we brought these nets to the water's edge and loaded them into the Ambi so that we could put it into position to set when we are next allowed to fish (assuming David's permit appears by then).

When the rest of the crew returned, David, Jeff, and Roger got the small outboard working - the one that we attach to our handy Porta-Bote that carries us to the skiffs when they are anchored too far out. They were successful - one more working little boat. And Chris finalized the washdown system -- now we have running water on the beach. It isn't clean water - it's from the shallow pond behind my cabin, but it's cleaner than we are when we come off the flats. You can see the business end of the hose in the photo above.

We ended up with only three fish on the afternoon tide - a king and two reds. We kept them for dinner, adding them to the hotdogs, potato salad, and s'mores we brought to the bonfire; the first of the season and I hope not the last.

The crew filleted the salmon after the tide, attracting a family of eagles. Roger got many photos of the whole ballet. I pulled out just a couple here.










It was a beautiful night, we were mostly relaxed, knowing that we weren't fishing tomorrow. I know Harry misses some aspects of setnetting (I don't believe he misses the mud at all), so I was really happy to be able to invite him and his crew to the bonfire, along with Phil and his crew. And I had my camera so I got photos of everyone.

Here are Makenzie
and Daniel, Harry's crew. We were able to persuade Harry to sing a song he wrote about Bristol Bay and he remembered all the words to The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, which Jake initiated.

And here are Phil and his son, Tom, who surprised and thrilled us with their musical talents. I love it when people sing, and I'm even more impressed when they can make it sound right, unlike me. I learned about my inability to sing when I was singing to my two-year old David while making his lunch. Imagine my dismay when I turned to him in his little highchair to see that he had put his fingers in his ears. A gift I've often wished for but have not yet received. And here is Patrick from Phil's crew. This is his second year. I'm looking forward to when he has learned the songs too.






At the bonfire, I got these beautiful shots of my great crew. I think they are even better than last year, and last year's crew was a tough one to beat. They have become even better at thinking about what needs to happen and moving forward with it. I feel like they have my back and in fishing (and in life in general) that is crucial.

Here they are: Chris: water-master, roof-master, patience-master, beast, looks innocent - watch out!

Jake: multi-talented, knows what needs to be done and does not hesitate to act, has long, flowing locks, and can sing!

Patrick: the third of the Montana contingent and he is a great find. He is the guy I can count on to take note of and act on what I mention we need to do. Plus, he can levitate, lifting himself into the skiff when it is over his head.

David: I don't know how I would be able to do this without him. He and I are similar in many ways and I am so happy to say that he also has strengths where I have weaknesses.



Jeff: This guy is very quiet and when he does speak, he is hilarious. In his quiet, he is a learning machine. He often surprises me with what he has learned here and other depths of knowledge.


Roger: Competent, courageous and undaunted, he can fix stuff and even if he can't, he is always willing to try and can figure out where to start. It is such a comfort to know that Roger is near.


Evan ("Eightball"): another multi-talented crew member - Smart and strong, he can sing and he knows songs. He always offers to help and his help always helps. I'm not sure what he sees when he looks in the mirror, but it isn't what everyone else sees.

I don't know anywhere in the world that has more beautiful sunsets. Patrick said that this place is photogenic.