We're ready to fish!
Mike left last week and made it from Homer and Naknek in record time- three days. They crossed Cook Inlet early last Saturday morning and reached Williamsport Saturday night, where they waited in a pond to be pulled out of the water and trailered down the haul road. They were then launched back into the water in Pile Bay. Next, they crossed Lake Iliamna with excellent weather. Lake Iliamna is the third largest lake in the U.S. It's 77 miles long and up to 22 miles wide. The maximum depth is 998 feet. Then, they braved the braids of the mighty Kvichak River, where many a boat gets stuck on sandbars. They carefully navigated through channels and very shallow water. They made it, once again, without incident!
They checked in with our cannery and went to our storage unit to get some items for the boat. We keep a 40 ft. Conex in Naknek to store all kinds of stuff. They grabbed some gear, then headed out to fish. Mike says the boat sounds better than ever.
This morning, Mike called to say they were watching Beluga whales.
They're currently fishing in the Nushagak River. They've had three openings and are doing great.
If you're a numbers person, here is a link to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game website for the Bristol Bay region. You can follow openers and learn more about fish counts and escapement goals. These folks do an excellent job keeping our fisheries sustainable.
Thanks for following!
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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.
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.