Alaskans think about fishing all year!

[Alasgun]

We certainly do and utilize far more than the fillet’s! Everything else goes in the drum and on-to the garden. Kinda, sorta like one of them symbiotic relationship things!
We have that dip net fishery here and each year 4-600 of us converge on the bank, in the mud, in a canoe or a truck inner-tube; with our dip nets!

I'm a canoe guy and had a young family fishing with me all season. I’d take one of they’re kids in my canoe and they’d fish two people in theres as well. So i coerced them into making Mom a canoe paddle for Christmas and you’re looking at it 95%done!
Im also making a new Carbon fiber dip net to allow younger kids to experience this. This is the smallest one i’ve made and only weighs 22 ounces!

 

[seedcorn]

Dip net nursery?

 

[SPedigrees]

We certainly do and utilize far more than the fillet’s! Everything else goes in the drum and on-to the garden. Kinda, sorta like one of them symbiotic relationship things!
We have that dip net fishery here and each year 4-600 of us converge on the bank, in the mud, in a canoe or a truck inner-tube; with our dip nets!

I'm a canoe guy and had a young family fishing with me all season. I’d take one of they’re kids in my canoe and they’d fish two people in theres as well. So i coerced them into making Mom a canoe paddle for Christmas and you’re looking at it 95%done!
Im also making a new Carbon fiber dip net to allow younger kids to experience this. This is the smallest one i’ve made and only weighs 22 ounces!

Love the artwork on those canoe paddles.

 

[Dahlia]

We certainly do and utilize far more than the fillet’s! Everything else goes in the drum and on-to the garden. Kinda, sorta like one of them symbiotic relationship things!
We have that dip net fishery here and each year 4-600 of us converge on the bank, in the mud, in a canoe or a truck inner-tube; with our dip nets!

I'm a canoe guy and had a young family fishing with me all season. I’d take one of they’re kids in my canoe and they’d fish two people in theres as well. So i coerced them into making Mom a canoe paddle for Christmas and you’re looking at it 95%done!
Im also making a new Carbon fiber dip net to allow younger kids to experience this. This is the smallest one i’ve made and only weighs 22 ounces!

What kind of fish are you catching with those dip nets?

 

[Alasgun]

Sockeye (Red) Salmon!

 

[Dahlia]

Sockeye (Red) Salmon!

Yummy!

 

[catjac1975]

We certainly do and utilize far more than the fillet’s! Everything else goes in the drum and on-to the garden. Kinda, sorta like one of them symbiotic relationship things!
We have that dip net fishery here and each year 4-600 of us converge on the bank, in the mud, in a canoe or a truck inner-tube; with our dip nets!

I'm a canoe guy and had a young family fishing with me all season. I’d take one of they’re kids in my canoe and they’d fish two people in theres as well. So i coerced them into making Mom a canoe paddle for Christmas and you’re looking at it 95%done!
Im also making a new Carbon fiber dip net to allow younger kids to experience this. This is the smallest one i’ve made and only weighs 22 ounces!

 

[catjac1975]

Ahhh I can imagine you going fishing in a balmy -40 degree day...haha. Kidding. I cannot even imagine having fresh fish for the taking any time I want.

 

[Rhodie Ranch]

Holey Moley!! The paddle artwork is great as are the fab nets! Are there really that many fish swarming for everyone to catch some????

 

[Alasgun]

A dozen or so of these “personal use fishery’s” come to mind around the state. They are heavily utilized by the locals and can be very productive or just a day in the mud.
Last year was my worst in terms of how quickly i caught my fish as it took 5 trips to get the limit of 35.
However; the young family i fish with made it all worth wile. Relatively new folks to Alaska heralding from Oklahoma and brand new at dipping! At first blush, as seen in the one photo; it just looks like a leisurely day drifting around in the sunshine. Wrong, most days are drizzly which makes everything harder, slippery’r colder etc. As for the fishing the state will only open this fishery after an escapement of 35,000 fish have passed the weir. Some years the run is so strong you’ll get all the fish you want in a couple hours but that’s the exception.
1/4 mile in from the mouth there’s a tiny opening in the trees where we drag all this gear thru and into the stream for a wild ride downstream to the flat water where we can paddle. Going down is fine if you know what to do where as you negotiate the rocks, downed trees and such but the return trip is brutal (for an older guy). Walking against the strong current dragging a boat now containing roughly 100lb. Of fish is more than i can handle these days. Not a lot of “old dippers” for this reason.
Being an opportunist i took these folks under wing, found them a canoe, got them some net’s and paddles, and really enjoy bringing them along. Fishing with they’re kids is an especially nice treat because like you guys, it’s hard to believe you can just stick a net in the water and have fish swim in it! Them kids eye’s and faces light up everytime they catch one And in a fishery where everyone’s so close; it’s fun to watch the conversations they enter into with folks around us. I’m kinda losing my story line here; I wanted to focus on Dad a bit who’s a bruiser and can easily walk against the current dragging BOTH his and my canoe! This one thing is huge for me and will keep me in the game longer and it’s been a win for them as well. I’m looking forward to seeing “Mom’s” face as she runs the gauntlet, paddling thru a couple hundred dippers, sporting that new canoe paddle, made by her kids!
The sun will be bright on that day for sure.