The F/V Courageous is currently in the Nushagak fishing district with about 650 other boats, waiting for the sockeye salmon to strike.
Yesterday marked our first big opener of the season- the crew hauled in 400 fish in the first set of the 7.5 hour opener. That's about 2000 lbs. of salmon! They finished with much more and Mike was stoked when we talked yesterday. The season is off to a great start.
Fish for dinner! Here's the first fish of the season.
I'll back up a bit to fill you in on the past week.
The crew left Naknek to head to the fishing grounds on Friday, June 19th with one of their radio group members. A radio group typically stays in the same area, and helps each other find fish. They also assist one another if someone gets stuck or has mechanical issues.
Things happen quickly in Bristol Bay, and you need a group to have your back. These are Mike’s people for the next two months.
A few hours into their trip, their group member's engine died. They ended up having to tow him to a tender, which helped him from there. A tender is a large vessel that takes salmon from the small fishing boats to the processor. They also provide food, fuel, showers, mail delivery, and other assistance as needed.
The ordeal added a significant amount of time onto the journey. The Courageous goes about 8 miles per hour, and having to backtrack is never fun. But that's what group members are for. They'll help us next time we need it.
Mike called me Saturday morning and told me about the incident. He had planned on getting fuel along the way to the Nushagak district, and wasn't planning on having to turn around and backtrack.
The Courageous was rewired this winter, and the fuel gauges are acting a little funny. He was worried they might not make it to the next tender to fill up. Luckily, a couple hours later, they made it and fueled up. Phew!
I told him to keep these things to himself because I worry too much. But then, I guess I wouldn’t be passing the stories onto you, and what fun is that?
Mike had to cut the bouys off the boat to get it into the shop this winter. Randy's the right guy to get them back on.
Close quarters on the Courageous. It's a good thing they all like each other!
The crew is ready for some more big days. Today, they fished from 2:30am- 8am and they'll fish again from 12pm- 5:30pm. In between openers, they're delivering icy cold fresh fish to the tenders to deliver to the processor. There's not time for much besides grabbing a bite to eat before the next big push.
If you're interested in following the fishing schedule and harvest data you can do that here.
Stay wild!
Comments will be approved before showing up.
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.
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.