Here's a glimpse into harvesting wild Alaska salmon in Bristol Bay, and a way for you to connect to the catch through storytelling of the exciting season aboard the F/V Courageous.
We've been super busy with preseason tasks the past few weeks, and now the F/V Courageous and its crew are on their way to Bristol Bay.
They left Homer at 12:01am on Saturday, June 14th. It's bad luck to leave port on a Friday, and Mike is so superstitious that he'd rather cross Cook Inlet in the middle of the night than risk the bad luck.
There's still plenty of light at midnight in Homer these days. The sun currently sets around 11:30pm, but light lingers for hours.
They had excellent weather crossing the Inlet and reached the small village of Williamsport on Saturday, late morning. The trip across the Inlet takes 8-10 hours. After that, they waited to get pulled out by a tractor and hauled along a 15-mile mountain road. This part is slightly sketchy- boats have fallen off the trailer in past, which makes having a successful season pretty tricky.
Boats must be under 16 ft. wide to use the road. If they're too wide, they typically spend the winter in Bristol Bay. 
The boat made the journey without incident and launched into Pile Bay. They spent a night there and then crossed Lake Iliamna with two other boats. The Lake is 77 miles long and nearly 1,000 ft. deep in spots!
Next came the trickiest part- navigating the braids of the Kvichak River. The river is super shallow in spots, and boats get stuck there every season. Earlier in the week, two boats got stuck and everyone behind them was unable to pass, creating quite the traffic jam.
Another boat that we know sold over 250 gallons of fuel to the operation in Williamsport so they wouldn't be so deep going down the river. They ended up 7 inches shallower, thanks to the sale.
The F/V Courageous got stuck in the braids for about an hour and had an exciting time getting out. Mike just called to let me know they made it to Naknek safely and told me the story about the boys running all over the place with ropes and buoys to get off the sandbar.
Mike's voice has a different tone during the fishing season. Being on the boat fills him up and I know he's doing what he's made to do.
Now that they're in Naknek, they'll get their RSW (refrigerated sea water system) checked, sort through and organize food into boxes/coolers to be sent out each week, grab nets, and do some last minute boat work.
The crew is in Bristol Bay earlier than ever before, and they're ready for a big season, full of sparkling sockeye salmon to fill freezers across the U.S.
Speaking of crew, we have an excellent one this year! The guys live at our house during the preseason- hanging nets, doing boat work, and making freezer food.
Our crew is like family. They play with the kids and we all share meals together. Ours is a unique operation and I wouldn't have it any other way.
I'm truly stoked about the crew dynamic this season. It was fun hosting them for a couple of weeks and we were all sad to see them go.
Our Texas boys hang Alaskan fishing nets in cowboy boots.
This season, we have Linden returning for his 3rd season. He brought his buddy Markham along to learn the ropes. Both boys are from Waco, TX.
Randy is also back for a second season, and we're stoked to have him on board for the whole time this year. Last year, he came out for a few weeks during the peak. Randy is an awesome photographer and camera man. He has worked on the Discovery Channel's Deadliest Catch boats for years and he sends me some really great content during the season to share with you (thanks, Starlink!)
When Mike first started fishing in Bristol Bay, I would go weeks without hearing from him. Things sure have changed. We can now FaceTime and communicate easily, and it makes the two months he's gone a little easier.
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Owen joins Mike in Bristol Bay to finish out the season
The time has come when sleep comes in two hour chunks and the deck of the Courageous is filled with fish. The crew is working around the clock, harvesting the world's best wild Alaska sockeye salmon to fill your freezers.
The F/V Courageous is currently in the Nushagak fishing district with about 650 other boats, waiting for the sockeye salmon to strike.