Our Northern Narnia: Fishers of Fish, For Now

They say this was one of the last good weeks for fishing salmon. Never had I been a fisher or hunter. I'd thought these activities were for sport, or a hobby to perfect during a created season. Kind of like basketball.

But it's a necessity here. They also say you need a least two salmon in your freezer for every week of the winter. And salmon in the river don't stay fresh past fall. The flesh start to rot and meat turns old and grey.

There are many things that I'm learning here. These first two weeks have been AK school for me. Fishing involved many lessons. The way the water ripples indicate the depth; fish eggs can be used as bait but the color of the hook could be in your favor too; and bull moose are the only ones to be hunted (that's not fishing, but you always take a gun in case you see a bull.)

After long days in Dillingham for teacher PD, and the first days of work for Ben, we wanted a family outing. So we took both kids fishing on Saturday for what turned into a five hour trip. The boat was larger, allowing them to walk and lay down while we fished. Wolfe help our neighbor, Josh, reel the first one in. That was good considering Wolfe was the most intent on catching a fish.

The day after I went a second time with Josh and Beth, a girl from Tennessee who came to be a nanny. Here I learned that you can't drive the boat with the fish hanging out of the side.

I learned that despite the fact you caught zero with a rod and reel, you might end up with twenty fish in your set net. I learned how to fillet.

Yep, me. The one who gets squeamish with bloody stories, passes out in hospitals, closes her eyes during gory movie previews. I skinned that fish each side and tossed the head and tail in the water. Blood was on my gloves and coat (thanks for my birthday present, Mom) and even splattered in my face. I worried about getting cut with the knife, but they assured me that if I did, I would not faint. I wouldn't be able to tell between the fish blood and mine. Sure. I didn't cut myself with the eight fish I butchered, and I didn't get light headed. And we have enough fish in the freezer for winter now.