Paul Went West

[gitano]

To Skwentna.

Flew out from Wasilla airport to Skwentna with Ethan, to fish in 8-mile creek. We took Ethan's Cessna 172. Here's Ethan and his 172 on the apron at Skwentna with some of our gear.

(And that's Grant's Skywagon in the background.)

From the airport, we walked down to the Skwentna river and took a boat a very short ride (maybe a half mile) upriver to 8-mile creek. Here's the boat landing at Skwentna.
Looking upstream toward 8-mile creek:


Looking downstream toward the Yentna:


We started fishing about 5 pm, and quit about 9:30 pm. In total, there were nine of us: Ethan and I, Grant and Bev (Ethan's dad and mom), Jillian and James (Ethan's sister and nephew), Caleb (a family friend), and two other "Skwentnites" Sean and Caitlin (which happen to be my son-in-law and daughter's names, but it wasn't them!). I'd guess we caught some 200 fish in that five-and-a-half hours of fishing. Most, about 90% were pink salmon, (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) the rest were silvers (O. kisutch) although there was one rainbow trout (O. mykiss), one chum salmon (O. keta) and one northern pike (Exos lucius) caught.

200 fish in 4.5 hours may sound like a lot of fish even for 9 people, but that's "only" one fish every 12 minutes for each person, or 5 fish per hour per person. It actually may have been more.

I had a difficult time keeping the pinks off of my line, and moved over to where I could concentrate on silvers. My CPUE (catch per unit effort) was less than the others for "all fish", but higher for silvers which is what everyone wanted. Let's see; I have been studying fish for a living for 45 years, worked for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game in the division of commercial fisheries for 12 years as head of the state's sonar program, masters degree in fisheries science, invented a type of sonar that can differentiate species of fish as part of my Ph.D dissertation, hold 5 patents for fish-related technologies, AND.... I couldn't convince the "experts" there that if they wanted silvers, they should be fishing "over there". I don't know what it is about me that MAKES people NOT want to listen to my recommendations. I "got over it" a LONG time ago.

Anyway, here are some pictures of me and some of my fish:




From top to bottom: 9lb 12oz,
 10lb 6oz, and 8lb 7 oz.


Here's what the other's caught. (Ethan's leg.)


So... the invitation stands to all THLers. Show up in mid August, and I'll get you on some good silver fishing. My back and shoulders are sore from playing fish. I kid you not.

Paul

[recoil junky]

I'd need a "pinch reeler"

RJ

[Hunterbug]

"Only" 5 fish per hour, you poor guy. ��Looks like a great time.

[sakorick]

You are killing me. Those are some beauties!

[gitano]

Surprisingly bright fish for the distance from the ocean - about 80 river miles. Even the pinks.

All the 'newbies' and other "experts" on Alaska fishing like to call pink salmon 'trash' fish. Wrong on several levels. Pinks have one characteristic about them that diminishes their otherwise excellence: You have to prepare them within 24 hours. They just don't keep WITHOUT preparation. That said let me point out a couple of their other traits that actually make them an EXCELLENT fish:

1) They are EASY to catch. They bite aggressively in freshwater. More aggressively than any other species of salmon. In fact, they are so aggressive, that ADF&G made some "Frankenfish" by crossing male pinks (the smallest salmon) with female kings (AKA 'chinooks' - the largest salmon) to create the "pinook'. A VERY aggressive, supposedly sterile, fish that could be planted in urban lakes to satisfy urban fishermen.
2) They are EXCELLENT eating. What do you think are in 99% of those canned salmon cans? PINK SALMON. The reason they're in cans is because that is the best way to preserve them.
3) They make excellent 'dryfish'. (Not a misspelling.) On the Yukon, there are 100s 0f millions of pinks, but a big one is 15" long. Most are less than 12". They are caught by the hundreds, gutted and split down the middle, and hung over rack to dry (not smoke). In the winter, you take 'dryfish' and dip it in seal oil. It is DIVINE!
4) They are the smallest salmon, but have the largest eggs. And I don't mean relatively. They are as big or bigger than all but the largest (Kenai) chinook eggs. "So what" you ask? They make EXCELLENT caviar! As a rule, when I am fishing, I keep only the females. I can the flesh and make caviar with the eggs.
5) And maybe most important: Pinks fill that niche as "fish for kids". We don't have ANY "panfish" - AKA bluegills, "perch", etc. - in Alaska, so because they're easy to catch, they offer high CPUEs and EXCELLENT fighting for youngsters and novices. A small pink (except on the Yukon) is significantly bigger than a large bluegill. (I once caught an 11-pounder on the Kenai). Who - in the lower 48 - would complain about catching salmonids (including "trout") on every other cast, that weigh ON AVERAGE about 4 lbs? A big male with the hump, knows how to use that slab in the current and always puts up a great fight!

When I hear "fishing experts" on Alaskan salmon fishing, (usually been in Alaska 10 years or less), bad-mouthing pinks, I know exactly how "Alaskan" (and "expert"), they really are.

So, don't think I was bad-mouthing pinks above when I said I was targeting silvers. The reason I did, is because of the daily bag limit. It's 6 FISH. 6 silvers produce more than twice the 'meat' of 6 female pinks. AND, I had to get the fish back to Wasilla before I could do anything more than gut them.

Paul

[JaDub]

Good time to be an Alaskan !    Thanks for the play by play.  Ditto on the pinks.  Smaller, don`t fight as much ( ie  give up  too soon ) and they are a bit mushy. `Course I`ve been spoiled by the Sockeye bug.  8-)  That said, catching Pinks works fine with me in the catch and release routine.  Makes a tall, cold Alaskan Icy Bay pale ale taste mighty fine at the end of the day.

[Jorge in Oz]

Great pics and narrative Paul.

I love the fact you guys in the US can fish packing heat, very cool.

I thought you said you weren't a belt and braces kind of guy.

Cheers

Jorge

[gitano]

I thought you said you weren't a belt and braces kind of guy.

Can't pack heat on suspenders, and belt doesn't keep pants up. :D

Paul

[Jorge in Oz]

[LvrLover]

How big was the pike and are they native or introduced there?

[gitano]

Sorry LvrLover, I didn't see your post.

The pike was about 24". It wasn't kept, so it wasn't actually measured. Pike are native to Alaska, although not native to this body of water. As a rule, they don't get as big up here as they do in say Minnesota. IDIOTS with float planes moved them from their native water down here in this area. They HAMMER juvenile salmon.

DON'T MOVE FISH! Not only is it against the law (for GOOD REASON!), it's @#$%^&*ing STUPID.

Paul

[sakorick]

It's a similar story with Missouri's Mussels. Missouri is home to 69 species of mussels and nearly 1/2 are of conservation concern, 15 are listed as state or federal threatened/endangered. Freshwater Mussels are disappearing at an alarming rate throughout North America where scientists consider over 70% of all species to be imperiled.  The main culprit is pollution followed by dams, gravel mining, water shortages, and nonnative invaders including the Asian Clam and of course Zebra Mussels introduced by careless fishermen. We know little about the role Mussels play in our ecosystem, however, certainly they contribute much more than we know. The mussel is a sentinel of danger much like the canary miners used to warn of danger. Mussels filter millions of gallons of water per day making them an important water purifier. Restoration efforts are needed and Missouri is at the forefront in bringing our Mussel population back to self-sustaining levels. Kind of sums up what Aldo Leopold said in 1949!

[JaDub]

DON'T MOVE FISH! Not only is it against the law (for GOOD REASON!), it's @#$%^&*ing STUPID.

 
 
   Commonly called `bucket biologists`  in Colorado.  Definitely against the law here.