Thursday, July 10, 2014

Stocking the Freezer

My brother came to Alaska in late June and I've spent the last couple of weeks with him. Our first trip was to Chitina on the Copper River. One perk of living in Alaska is the Salmon. Chitina is know primarily for dipnetting which is a great way to fill your freezer with Red Salmon. My brother coined the term "shoveling fish" instead of "fishing" to better describe the process.   

Looking up the Copper River from Chitina.
Looking down river from O'Brian Creek
The white trailer is fish cleaning station. The gulls are here for the scraps.  
Bald Eagles aren't above scavenging scraps. I couldn't tell if these two were engaged in an arial duel or just playing. 
The barrels of fish the last group had caught looked like a positive sign for our harvest so I dropped my net in.
This fishing spot is only accessible by boat. 
Tony and I. Dipnetting techniques vary by river and location. In our spot the best approach is to find an eddy where the water flows up stream, place the net in and wait.  
My dad sitting on the bank.
Some of our Salmon waiting to be loaded on the boat. Filleted and frozen they almost fill a 5 cubic foot freezer. Not bad for 5 hours of fishing
Cooking part of a Salmon over our campfire. 
We took the fish back to my dad's house vacuum sealed and froze them. It isn't the most sporting way to catch fish, but it was a beautiful day on the Copper River and this winter's minimum salmon ration is secure. Hopefully I'll be able to go to Valdez in August and catch some Silvers to supplement the freezer.