After five fairly quick weeks I'm standing outside the Pen Air gate at the Anchorage airport. I reach into my backpack, take out my cell phone and turn it on for the first time. 8 New messages. That's amazing considering last season I had zero. In a few hours I will be heading home to Portland. I can't wait to see my wife.
This fishing season was weird. There is really no other way to explain it. The projections for the amount of fish running up the rivers this year jumped from last year. We where all gearing up for a painful yet profitable season. We came ready to fish but the fish never came. It was weird. We ended up catching about half of what we did last year. Thankfully the price per pound stayed strong so we didn't lose out there.
But despite it being a slower fishing season we tried to make the best of the time we had. There where trips to old abandoned canneries, long walks on the beach with the bears at Brooks Lodge, BBQ bonfires, and consuming large quantities of smoked salmon from a smoker that only took an afternoon to construct.
The beach at Brooks Lodge. That bear wants our skiff.
Getting ready for an excursion.
The Pit Crew
A view of Naknek Lake
Are we there yet?
Nothing like cooking up a king salmon on the beach.