Boatyard Bulletin Vol. III

In Bristol Bay we like to say that each day is so nice you get to live it twice.  This is due to the long hours and two a day fishing opener schedule, part of measures to keep our rivers regulated and safely managed while we fish around the schedule of the tides.  While it’s true that when you’re working around the clock the days stretch on forever, it’s also true that the season flies by in a blur of stormy seas and midnight sunsets, the drifts and deliveries amassing into one memory cutting through the constant hum of a diesel engine.

            One morning in late July you wake up and set your net, looking for the small splashes indicating fish hitting the web, and when you see very little, you know that another healthy salmon season has run its course, and it’s time to put the boat away on dry dock and go home.  You blink, and the August you have been dreaming of curled up at your doorstep has pricked up its ears and risen. 

This is to say, last week with quiet fishing and a storm approaching, I called it for the season, motored back to Naknek, Alaska and hauled my fishing boat the Leila M out of the water.  I am so grateful to have had another safe and productive fishing season, with a few minor mechanical issues along the way but nothing so serious as to keep us out of the water.  My crew worked really hard, picking fish out of the net, bleeding them and placing them in fish holds full of freezing water under our deck, so thank them as much as me for bringing you our bounty of sockeye salmon this fall!  While I am already looking forward to next year’s salmon run, for now it’s time to walk in some grass, eat some leafy greens, and start prepping for the Slipstream Sockeye pick-ups in the fall.

I can’t believe how lucky I am to fish around the amazing community of fishermen and fisherwomen I work with in Bristol Bay, and four years in, I still can’t believe the support I’ve received with this dream of bringing sustainably caught salmon to my community back in the lower 48.  There are so many pieces of this puzzle, and so many hats that must be worn and changed out daily in my line of work, and while I sometimes joke that being on the water with little sleep and a lot of stress is aging me rapidly, I think what it really does is keep me on my toes.