Gents,

Thought I'd share this over here too. I posted it at the 24hrCampfire website least week. It's just more pictures of life in Alaska, but not exactly hunting related.

Anyhow, the herring show up in S.E. Alaska every year around this time, and it's a big deal for us small town folk. There's a commercial fishery for the herring roe, which the Japanese (any suprise?) love to eat. Fifty three permit holders (boats) battle for a few million dollars in herring in openers which last anywhere for five to 30 minutes. Collisions are not uncommon.

After they leave, the locals get into the act gather herring for bait to use the rest of the year. The herring work well for salmon, halibut, crabs, and shrimp. Plus the natives (and some non-natives) also gather the eggs to eat.

Here's a couple pictures I snapped off quickly showing both sides of the boat...




...the water is usually dark green. I'll let you guys guess what makes the water nearly white. We work in tight to the rocks and it's a miracle we don't hit more often.

Here's my buddy pulling in his cast net...



One barrel full, a couple more to go...



The wife and another buddy working the nets the next day...



Oh, and here's a picture of me pulling some pots a couple weeks ago, just so you guys don't think that I never do any work!

Looks like everyone had fun...thanks for posting the pics!

The new boat looks like she's working out great..

dave

Eeek! BW, it looks too cold for me!

My father lives down on the Texas coast and I go down there and fish as often as I can. It's 60 degrees in the winter down there! Of course, in the summer you fry.

Regards,
Tom

HI,


BW,nice pics what area were you in?. I will be there in 4 months SE, and will be fishing for silvers and halibut.How do they eat the eggs?, any certain why they prepare them as you said some natives and non eat them?.And do you freeze them for bait,herring, if there are to many and use later?.And one more thing BW, I see you use pots and have the puller,do you ever drag,I believe there are small draggers for smaller boats, non -commercial.I talk to a gentleman who told me many scallops are in sallow water?.Alot to do in Alaska other than hunt and then people ask why I will move there, Kev

Kev,

I suppose the eggs are prepared several different ways. I've heard of them being dipped in boiling water for just a few seconds, and eaten with butter. Supposably they don't taste fishy, just salty. If offered, I'd try them once.

We fill all the freezers we can find with the herring, bagged in ziplock bags. We're catching them right around town, north and south.

I've never dragged a net, nor does anyone I know. I'm sure it's done though, I just don't know anything about it. The bottom conditions would have to be just right to keep the net from getting snagged.

Is you trip up here a fact-finding mission, or are you here to stay?

I haven't prepared herring roe, but we usually fill up a few pint jars of salmon roe after dipnetting.



For salmon roe, you poor boiling water over the skeins to make it easier to sepperate the eggs from the skeins. Seperating the eggs is very time consuming, I've heard the more mature eggs are easier to get out of the skein and have superior flavour.



Once sepperated, I mix in salt and lemon juice and refrigerate. They go well on bagels and creme cheese, crackers, omelets or Russin Blini with sour cream. I wouldn't say they don't taste fishy though. My kids and I gobble them up, my wife doesn't care for them, even though she's the one with the Russian blood.



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HI,

Thanks BW, I am comimg for facts finding and to look at land,if I see land that I like I will buy it.So it will be fact finding and I will also work in fishing,Kev

I love how the regulations vary so from one part of the state to the other. Over here in PWS we can't use cast nets. Has to be a rod with 15 hooks or less. Can only use one pole and if you catch any other fish witht he herring rig it is a violation.

Haven't heard of anyone catching any over here yet.

Dave,

You scared me for a second there, as I never considered that a cast net may be illegal. Of course everyone uses them here, and the local stores runs out of nets this time each year.

Then I remembered we were cast netting the other day and the local State Trooper pulled up in his boat and fished next to us. He can be a pain sometimes, checking licenses even though he's seen them before. But he didn't say anything to us, just a friendly wave.

BW I did not mean to scare you. I was just reading the regs and I have decided to hire a team of lawyers to hunt and fish with me so I can stay out of trouble.



For instance: In your area, a charte boat < !--color--> can use a rod with up to 15 hooks for herring as long as the number of rods does not exceed the legal limit of rods allowed. There is nothing I see in your area about herring other than that.



On PWS: It is quite specific, one rod with no more than 15 hooks. Herring are listed in the regs. Only 2 hooks for salmon. So the people in the fall here that are herring fishing, and catch a salmon on the herring rig are fishing illegally if they keep them.



On PWS: Only five shrimp pots, no crabbing at all.



Your area: Looks like up to four pots and if attached to a crab pot line......no more than ten pots total????



I ran into 2 Feds up outside of Old Womans Cabin and they had to even look up the regs on caribou there. They did not know them.

hey BW is fishing your main source of income or just alot of fun , often thought about living in alaska just don't know much about it is there any work in your area . I used to have a boat in new jersey we had crab pots and we did some clamming it was good for exercise and some spending money thats about it .

Dave,

No crabbing? How weird! Down here the regs state 5 crab pots per person, with a max of 10 pots per boat. Only 4 of which can be King crab pots. We're allowed 10 shrimp pots per person, 20 max on a boat.

Herring are under the 'Other Fish' heading, and there's no bag, size, or possession limit.

I'm running 4 shrimp pots (the 36 inchers) on one line. Thank goodness for the hydraulic puller! I spread them out on 200ft of ground line (floating polypro) with 470ft normal sinking line to come up to the surface.

I lost a crab pot today. It was stuck HARD to the bottom. It was only in 60ft, so I was pulling it up by hand. When it got stuck I fired up the puller, but it started to bog down and the line was burning up. So I tied it off to an aft cleat (huge welded on suckers) and did the old 'circle around both ways' technique hoping to free it. It wouldn't budge, and the boat was starting to list a bit too much for my liking, so I salvaged all the line I could and cut it loose. I figure a $30 pot isn't worth breaking something expensive. Naturally the pots have 'bio-line' holding the side closed, so it will rot away and anything in the pot will go free.

Tommorow I'm going back to check my shrimp pots, and I think I'll set my halibut skate. The Feds gave us 'subsistence' halibut licenses, and we can set a skate with 30 hooks these days!

I'll take some pictures, as the entrance to this bay is incredibly narrow (about 20ft)! I was coming out at high tide around 1:00PM and the water was flooding in so hard I was at half throttle and still barely making headway! There's a few nasty rocks in there, and the water was flowing over them making it look like a river rapids. I was honestly a bit nervous! The depthfinder was reading 2.5ft, the engine was trimmed up, and I thought for sure I was going to nail the prop.

Strangely enough, the dog didn't seemed too worried.

747,

Heck no, my family would starve if I was a commercial fisherman!

I assume, from your handle, you fly the big jets. I'm a helicopter mechanic in the Coast Guard. Also fly as a Flight Mechanic and do the hoisting during SAR cases. This December I retire, and plan on working as an A&P mechanic for the local air-taxi operator. He has a couple Beavers and a C-185, all on amphibs, plus a couple twin planes for passenger service.

However I have dreams of buying a 40+ boat and running a hunting transporter business up here. I passed my 'six-pack' test, and am in the process of getting the license from the USCG (different folks, I don't work with.)

Are you looking to fly up here? (for a living)

BW: I think the restriction on crabbing has to do with the oil spill too. I think I want some settlement money for my not being able to crab. Exon must have a few bucks left.

We do get octupus in the traps from time to time.

Fish story: Last summer I was out near the entrance and got pulled off anchor. So I drifted a bit before decideing to pull up since I was out of rope. When i did there was a chunck of octpus leg about 5 inches long and 3-4" in diameter stuck on the fluke of my danforth anchor.

So how big does that make it? The suction cup was almost a half dollar in size. I know I don't want to think of the possibilities.

BW: Ok, I give and it is driving me crazy. What makes the water white? I also see that the snow does not look that bad in your photos. Have you seen any bears out yet?

Robert

That's a big one, Dave.

Last summer we got one that FILLED a shrimp pot. I'd say his total lenth was 6'. I'd hate to wrestle him.

HI,

Let me tell you all, you gentlemen in Alaska are lucky.if you were in CT anything would be restricted, if you fart in CT you have to worry about the cops showing up at your door. Kev

rwj,

Sorry, I didn't realize anyone was still waiting for the answer. How can I put it nicely.

The herring are spawning, and the white stuff is the males contribution.

It's an amazing amount of spluge!

BW---I was thinking that but I would not allow myself to utter that biological thought . There are a lot of herring out there guess...now I'm laughing!

Deleted

Hooligan (also known as candlefish) are very tasty if smoked, lots come into Turnagain Arm between Anchorage and Portage - have net will travel - KMule