Let’s talk fish!

The fish have returned to the river.  People like to use gill nets to catch the king (Chinook) salmon, but they are not very abundant this year.  Some say it’s from over-fishing, others say it’s because of the commercial fisherman.  I’m not really sure the reason, but I do know that the people who fish for subsistence are worried.  The kings can be 30-40 pounds and feed a lot of mouths.  Even though the kings aren’t running, the chums are and according to KYUK, over 30,000 fish were caught during the 12 hour opener last Saturday (June 24).  We watched two men pull in a net and they probably had a hundred fish.  We tried to rod and reel, but got skunked. 

I work with an elder named Jesse Gunlik who has a fish camp across from the harbor.  We stopped there to see how he did on opening day.  I think he got about 30 chum, and no kings.  He was really hoping for a big one.  He said he built his fish camp about 25 years ago.  He has a place to cut and hang fish to dry and a smokehouse.  He doesn’t can his fish, he just dries it and smokes it.

Where the fish are cut and hung to dry

 Alex found a guy willing to lend us a net, and we gave gill net fishing a shot yesterday.  We had to use a net with 6 inch holes or smaller and could put out 150 feet.  Our loaner net was 300 feet, so we had excess on the floor of the boat (which I kept stepping on).  The river was open from 3:00-9:00 pm and we started as soon as we could.  I was quite impressed—there was only about 15 minutes of swearing and frustration until we got the hang of it.  No one else has a boat like ours.  The other boats are open and have a large area to stand in either the front or back which allows for a lot of extra room.  We don’t have that, and we have lots of little grommets and what that the net can get caught on.  We, of course, were at a disadvantage because of the boat.  Since the net was put out from the back of the boat, Alex couldn’t back up to keep the boat straight.  The idea is to stretch the net out across the river and then motor to keep the net perpendicular to the current.  

We put the net in and maneuvered as best we could, then pulled the net in so we could start all over.  The second launching of the net caught us fish pretty quickly.  The fish just swim upstream and get their heads stuck up to the gills in the gill net.  It’s not rocket science and there is really no skill to catching fish that way.  Some people catch hundreds.  We could have had a lot more, but 16 was enough to start with.  I think we got 10 chums and 6 reds (a.k.a sockeye).  We gutted them in the river and cut them up at home.  Alex cut and I shrink wrapped them.  We also smoked some on the grill and canned that.  All in all, we have 18 pint jars and 11 half-pints and about 15 bags in the freezer.  And that’s just from the first trip out.  Net fishing is so easy that it seems unfair, but I'm not complaining!  What I will complain about is that my hands smell like fish . . . .

The net got caught around the propeller

For anyone who would want to come to Bethel next summer when the salmon are running, you can be on the boat, but you can’t touch the net or the fish while were are in the water.  As soon as we get on land, you can help cut and gut and package.  Then, you can find a big box and mail your fish home!

We have celebrated our one-year anniversary here in Bethel and have seen the summer solstice come and go (twice).  About the former, we are quite happy—where else can you stare at the tundra out one window and watch a garden grow out the other?  About the latter, I’m not so keen on seeing the sunlight die away, but we have a long way to go before it’s really dark.

Happy Summer Solstice (notice the need for a hat!)

 Brad has finished school and is enjoying the summer.  He is once again playing soccer.  He has also spent some time at the pool and he has been hanging out at the 4-H teen center in the afternoons (along with 70 of his closest friends).  The teen center offers free child care, free lunch, and free dinner.  It’s quite amazing.  I don't know where the funds come from, but it offers a great service.  And Brad really likes it there.  He also likes Bethel and has told me several times that he likes the way his life has turned out (what 9 year old says that?).  He said he misses his friends in Norway, but likes the people  he has met here. 

 Brad attended an art camp put on by the Artist's Guild here in Bethel.  He painted a dumpster, and he liked it!  He also made a ceramic turtle, a self portrait out of plants, and he carved a stamp out of foam.  His dumpster is next to the cemetery.  Bethel is much improved with the new paint on the dumpsters.

Alex and I still trudge off to work every day.  He’s busy as ever seeing patients and making a difference.  I make a difference too, teaching the health aides.  We have started another session of “newbies” and it’s pretty great to watch them learn new skills and concepts.  The trauma and tragedy is ever present with frequent injuries, death, and suicide.  Somehow people manage to go on, and most of them do it with a smile.

The tundra has greened up nicely and is very pretty against the sky.  It’s harder to walk on now that it’s not frozen, and the mosquitoes are quite ferocious at times.  The berries are starting to grow and I am anxious to get out and pick them.  The view of the tundra is always pretty and will never tire of watching the sunsets.

Alex has a new app to help him identify birds. There are so many around here.  He found the nest of some shore birds out in the tundra in a swampy area.  We have seen the birds flitting along the tundra, but it’s hard to find the nests.  There is a lake that we can see from the house that is a feeding ground for trumpeter swans.  They are the largest water foul species native to North America and have a wing span of up to 10 feet.  And they like the little lake here.  We tromped out to get a closer look at them, but they flew away.  Alex and Brad took out the little pack raft and had a paddle nonetheless. 

The river seems to be much lower than it was last year.  The low tide is very low, so low that we were caught off guard and were actually stranded (beached) for about 5 hours in the Napakiak Slough.  I was very surprised to watch the water run away with the tide.  Like, an area that had water up to my knees was barely a puddle 10 minutes later.  I was equally surprised to watch the water return.  We thought we’d be stuck on a sandbar until 2am, but as luck would have it, we were on our way home before midnight.  We stopped 5 miles south of Bethel to pull another boat that had run out of gas back to the harbor.  Good thing we live in the land of the midnight sun (literally) because we didn’t have to worry about the dark.  During our tenure on the slough, Brad played in the mud and I read The Count of Monte Cristo. 

Alex tried to pull us, but there just wasn't enough water.

boat in tow with an empty gas tank

For anyone living in the upper Midwest, hang on to you hats—the Judys are coming back!  We will arrive in Chicago on July 15 and leave on July 31.  We will be somewhere along the path of Reedsville, Iron Mountain, and Appleton.  We hope to see a lot of people, but if we don’t lay eyes on you, please don’t think we don’t like you. 

Bethel is quite contemporary.  We have a food truck.  I believe we actually have two.  I may have mentioned the Mexkimo truck in a previous blog, but it's just so cool to talk about.  It's owned by a guy from Texas who is Hispanic.  He has a grandson that is part Yup'ik, and said that Mexkimo was the perfect name for a half Mexican, half Eskimo kid.  He makes really good carne asada burritos; they only cost $15 a piece.

Some closing pictures-- 

Rain suit and bug spray.  Ready for a night at the soccer field

My Alaska fishing licence

The power company had an upgrade or maintenance or something last week and had to shut the power off for 3 hours.  EVERYONE lost power.  The only notice I got was a text from the cell phone/cable/internet company.