THE STRANGEST THINGS REMIND US OF ALASKAJust the other day our neighbor was preparing his swimming pool for the upcoming season. As he was skimming across it with a long poled net it reminded us of Salmon dipping. Every year about this timeframe we would pack up our camping gear and head to the junction of the Chitna and Copper Rivers to do some "dipping." The Copper River is known to have the world's best salmon and we were blessed annually with getting some into our freezer.
Now when I talk about a pole with a net on the end, I'm talking a loooong pole with a HUGE net on the end. A pole with extensions that reach out 30 ft. into the rushing silty water. The sound of he silt hissing is an audio reminder that you've reached your destination. You skim your pole along the bottom hoping to find a salmon swimming upstream. If a "KING" salmon hits, you better have your footing or they'll pull you right in, because they can get huge.
Oh how we miss the summers in Alaska ~ now the winters, well let's just say that's a different story!
The Five Million Dollar Bridge, we camped right across the river and Thom "dipping" at Chitna.
6 comments:
be best...
Nice blog, Cheryl! That strawberry rhubarb pie looks pretty good. . .
Nice Cher...I'll bet you do miss lots of your Alaskan adventures....you were blessed to see a part of our country most of us can only dream about......love the pictures...thanks for sharing
I agree with Dar.
Alaska is a mysterious place so far removed from the way we in the lower 48's live that it seems almost like a legend to most of us.
Thanks for sharing your memories with us. I enjoyed your post and wonderful pictures very much!
:)
Salmon is great - I love it with
salt and lemon pepper, sliced lemons on top
and lemon juice squeezed all over it,
a touch of butter and sometimes onion....
then wrapped in foil and either on the grill or
in the oven for awhile - then if there are any
leftovers left - good old salmon patties with
a pea cream sauce on top.....
man, I know what I'm having for supper now!
Sadly, dipnetting for king salmon at Chitina has been closed this year for personal use. We have been shafted, yet again, by Outsiders and their commercial interests. See http://www.newsminer.com/news/2009/jun/07/king-closure/?opinion for more info on this subject.
When fishing on the Chitina, the most important thing to remember is to bring the Tabasco sauce.
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