July 18th

Well, yesterday Gary and I both caught our limit… well…. Actually I caught one out of the 6 fish taken. It was a good day for the Kiddo. However, he had an unfortunate incident occur. While reeling in the 6th fish his rod broke about 2 feet from the tip. He was still fighting the fish so I ran over and tried to net it quicker so he wouldn’t loose it. We did get it in, but Gary is down one rod. The fish weighed in at 7 pounds and his rod was an 8 weight rod that should have held a 15 to 20 pound fish.

There is a whole procedure in catching these fish that I don’t think I’ve explained. First, of course, the whole technique of getting one on the line and keeping it hooked. It takes a lot of strength to pull in one of these 8 to 10 pounders. I think because they come fresh out of the ocean they have a lot of strength. They put on quite a show as they are being reeled in. They jump, twist, and “dance” across the water on their tail fin. Very cool to watch but it makes it more difficult to reel in. Once they are close enough you need a “netter”. Everyone here is so nice, they all come to your aide if you need it and net the fish for you. I have netted Gary’s fish enough times now that I’m finally feeling comfortable doing it but it’s always scary. I have seen MANY fish lost at the net. Yesterday Gary was netting for a guy and he got the fish in the net but it jumped up again over the net, heading straight back into the water. It was like watching a lacrosse player as he quickly re-netted the fish in the air!! Everyone was quite impressed with his skill. I, on the other hand, take a shower every time I am netting. I am not tall enough or strong enough to hold the netted fish out of the water so until I can make it back to shore, he thrashes around in the water and gets me completely soaked. Once on shore, the fish needs to be knocked in the head. Yes, you heard me right. I tried to do this once and it seemed as though the fish looked at me and laughed. In order to get them to stop fighting so you can get the hook out of its mouth, you give it a good crack on the head. So that’s why everyone is carrying what looks like miniature bats. They call these clubs, or knockers, or as one fisherman said, a Kenai Convincer. After the hook is removed and they are on a stringer the gills have to be cut in order to “bleed out” the fish. Sorry, I forgot to warn those who are a bit squeamish not to read this part. Anyway, you tie the stringer to the boardwalk, let the fish lie in the water and continue to bleed out and then begin the filleting process. So there’s your lesson on salmon fishing. We have learned a lot in a week and a half.

The Big Run has officially begun so we have been issued badges by the campground allowing us to fish off this dock. Every once in a while someone from the office will walk the boardwalk and make sure that those in the water or fishing from the boardwalk are officially campers. If not, they are asked to leave. It makes it nice for us, the fishing pressure remains low. I’ll try and post a picture of the badge.

So we decided that we have had our fill of fishing for reds here in Saldotna and we are moving on from this campground. We are moving just 15 miles south to a town called Kasilof and staying at the Crooked Creek Campground. We will be trying to catch a final 10 pounds of fish in order to send back a total of 100 pounds of salmon! WOW! All in one week. Amazing.

Picture Description:

1) Gary dropping fish off at the fish processing shop
2) my little friend 'Tanner' who would coach me when I had a fish on!
3) the River Badge
4) a fisherman getting to numb the fish
5) 'Kenai Convincers'... ours on the left, store bought on the right
6) Busy day at the fish cleaning stations