Combat Fishing

There is something in Alaska known as "combat fishing". Generally it's just shoving 10-20 fishermen fisherwomen fisherpeople in where only 1 should be.

Case in point:


This was our trip to the Kenai River. Notice that people aren't fishing with poles. In Alaska, residents can dipnet for salmon in certain rivers.

Here is my brother-in-law showing off his dip net.

First there are several things to do. We drove from Anchorage to the Kenai River and parked the RV about a mile from the fishing. Then loaded up the ATVs...
And drove down the beach.

Now some people will actually drive their cars and trucks on the beach. Some even make it out without getting stuck. Some.

Once you are set up to fish you just hang out in the mouth of the river hoping a dumb fish salmon will swim in. Like here...


My father-in-law caught one. Here is his girlfriend holding up. -I told her to look like she just caught a fish ;-)


Then you conk it over the head and throw it in the cooler. Or if you are lucky you have someone right there on the beach to clean it for you. I loved this lady. She was there with a group of her family. They would catch a fish and she would clean it. You can see the ulu knife there on her cutting board. The Ulu is used by native Alaskans (and tourists). Actually I have one that I really like. It works well for chopping herbs and nuts. And I guess fish, but I have a hard time cutting large things straight.


Here is a better shot of the ulu (again I'm saving you from the gore)...


Then you just hang out and wait. And wait. And wait. It can be pretty boring if you aren't fishing (or have a camera - I got lots of strange stares as I took photos). Obviously it can get pretty boring even if you are fishing.


Here is one of the kids finding something to do.

It was a pretty fun experience and very, very Alaskan. Certainly not on the typical sight seeing tours.