2019 Alaska Trip - Day 62 - Salmon Fishing Success On The Klutina River, Copper Center, Alaska

We wandered out to the river around 10:00 a.m. to try some of the suggestions we got last night. And we learned a lot has to do with the spot you are fishing from so that your line drifts into the eddies and slow moving spots where the fish come through with the least resistance.

But you still have to have proper weights to bounce off the bottom so the line is presented to the fish swimming near the bottom. And you need some technique.

Of course, the biggest issue for me has been the snags. This river is fast and silty, so you can't see anything. And there is debris constantly coming downstream, so there may be a snag today in a place where there wasn't one yesterday.

It gets frustrating very quickly when you are getting snagged a lot, but it comes with the territory and you just have to learn to avoid them and learn to retrieve your hook without losing too much tackle. The other fishermen were encouraging though as they said "Snags lead to fish" referencing the fact that the fish will swim in behind the snags as it makes their travel easier (the snag blocks the current a little).

Before long, using some of my new information, I caught and landed my first Sockeye.

They are a beautiful pinkish silver, and they put up quite a fight for their size, although you don't play them too long because 1) it interferes with other fishermen, and 2) if the fish gets in a strong current, gettin' 'em in is a lot harder and the fish is more likely to get away. For most people out here, it's not about the sport of fishing as much as it's about getting fish in the freezer to eat.

Once I landed the fish, I knew there were other procedures, and I looked around for guidance. First, you bonk them hard on the head with .... well with anything from a rock to fish bonkers made just for that purpose .... to stun them. It may take several whacks. Then you either cut their gills or rip the gills with your fingers to bleed them out.

I didn't have a knife on me, so a spectator showed me that I could just rip through the gill on each side with my hand. That's a bloody mess, but it felt like the rugged, manly thing to do.

Next, I had to find my stringer. It was still in the package in my fishing gear backpack, so a wonderful lady, Kathy, assisted me. With the fish stunned and the gills cut, it dies pretty quickly, so it's not going anywhere, and I just found a place to hook the stringer where the fish stayed cold in the water.

So, I got my first non-guided red salmon, and now I know what to do if I get another.

Not long after that, I caught a second one. But it was hooked in the stomach and wasn't legal, so with some help from Stephanie, the campground owner/fishing guide, we released it.

Several people have been so kind and patient in helping us figure out the fishing.

Linda then gave it a try. I had rigged up a spin-casting rod for her because she doesn't like spinning reels. She hooked one, but it got off. Then she hooked another and it was doing a number on her reel before it broke the line. Yep, she's going to have to use her spinning rod and reel for these salmon.

Unfortunately, she didn't get another one. However, I caught my second legal fish and was thrilled that the first one wasn't just a complete fluke.

I didn't get my third to "limit out", but I was still pretty happy.

Then it came time to clean them. I had watched videos before, but forgot everything. So, I watched a couple other guys and tried to mirror their cuts. Fortunately, cleaning these salmon isn't too bad. And, hopefully, I'll get better with practice, but not bad for the first time.

After I got the fillets out, Linda went to work with her spoon.

Back in Washington last summer, we met some folks on the coast that showed Linda how they spooned the meat out of the carcass to use for salmon cakes. They tried not to leave any usable flesh, so Linda decided to do that with our two fish. She got quite a bit.

With little faith in our fishing abilities, Linda had already thawed out some chicken for dinner, so she put the salmon pattie meat in the fridge and used her vacuum sealer to package the fillets and put them in the freezer.

Our RV freezer is pretty full, but they have a camper freezer here we can use. If we do really well, we can freeze a bunch and then take it with us to Anchorage next week (where shipping prices are lower) and ship some to her Mom to use and save for us.

So, it was a successful day. Hopefully, we'll get to the point where we can catch our limit, but I'll be happy with a fish or two each day as the fishing is a little "spotty" as I've heard the regulars say.

That's it for another day. Now let's catch some more.