Are we done yet?

That is the million-dollar question. As August is coming to a close, boats are dropping out like fly’s and fishermen are packing up and heading home. The season is nearly over, but for us, it’s never over. So far we have caught over half a million pounds of salmon and my dad is on a mission to catch the very last fish.

As for me, I am merely just trying to survive.

I have pushed my limits physically and mentally, beyond what I ever thought possible. I know what doesn’t break you will only make you stronger. I hope I can walk away from this experience feeling that way because right now I feel anything but strong.

This season is dragging on longer than I had anticipated and they are talking about going into September. As of now it’s a mental battle for each one of us on this boat. Who will make it to the end? Stay tuned…

When I return to civilization I will be posting a series of videos from this season and will share this story with you in full. Internet is as rare as Gold up here and free time is about as far away as planet Mars.

Enjoy this video from The Real Alaska’s Brett Veerhusen about his awesome drive from Seattle, Washington to Homer, Alaska. Don’t expect anything less than epic.

Hello from the Fishing Grounds!

It’s been almost 4 weeks of  fishing and nothing less than a mad dash trying to salvage what we lost from missing the first week of the season. We’ve caught just over two-hundred thousand pounds of salmon with a little over a hundred thousand pounds of it being Sockeye salmon. At this point in the season we consider this to be below average. Nevertheless we are trucking along and making headway. 

Whale in the Net!

When fishing your vulnerable to just about anything. It’s true, what could go wrong, will. About ten minutes into one of our sets, I start to feel my skiff being towed back. I turn around and see a huge whale coming up fifteen feet out of the water. At this point I am not sure whether to be stoked to see such an awesome site or scared for the damage it could do. It’s tangled in the web and pulling my skiff back. Mind you, these whales are powerful creatures and can easily sink a skiff. I quickly radio my dad then take the skiff out of gear.  As I get pulled closer to the wale it finally breaks free, leaving us with no more than a huge hole to patch up. I don’t have a picture to show for it but you can use your imagination. It was epic to say the least.

Sleep While you Can

When the fish are coming you don’t stop fishing. They dictate your schedule. You have to take every opportunity you can to squeeze in a power nap, even if it means in between sets. We’ve had nights where we only get 2 hours to sleep and days where we don’t ever stop. That’s the reality of commercial fishing.

More to Come!

We are in the heart of the season right now but will be bringing you more updates and videos soon. Internet out here is about as slow as you can imagine.

My photo from the 2010 Sitka Sac Roe Herring fishery was featured in Pacific Fishing Magazine.

Ahoy!

Now that I have internet for a few minutes I thought it would be best to give an update. I’ve been busy fishing since the middle of June and I haven’t been able to post anything new. However, there is a lot of great content coming as soon as Bristol Bay is finished. I’ll be wrapping up on July 20th.

I hope your summers are slimy!

Brett