exhaustive anticipation

I'm going to try to make this quick, as I'd really like some sleep. But I wanted to drop a line, as it has been at least a couple of days.

We're going dry on the night tide to come in and re-stock, shower, etc. It is still somewhat slow. It's been interesting because the last two or three seasons (even more) have shown big fishing by the 28th or so of June. But up to this point (Happy Fourth of July), it's a scratch fishery.

Fisheries biologists, both hired by the ADF&G as well as those from the University of Washington are observing unseasonably cold ocean temperatures - 4 degrees Celsius out by Port Moller where the test fisheries are conducted. These temps are just rising now, some areas showing 6-8 Celsius. This is one of the main hypotheses to try to explain officially a...late run.

The last two tides, however, have shown some more consistency in terms of catch and the way the fish look. We are seeing the big, meaty, turquoise-backed "Naknek Slabs" as we like to call them, which signifies the first part of a healthy run. They are absolutely stunning fish - works of art by Mother Nature. We'll see.

The boat and skipper are well. Just tired. The brake on our hydraulic reel has failed. One of those things that you really notice when broken and take for granted when operational. We're making do without for now, but it will need to be resolved soon. Good spirits all around, though. Dad is dropping some good one-liners.

Area M fishermen are on a "refrigeration strike" - Peter Pan dropped the price of sockeye to $.85/lb from a dollar for refrigerated fish. Fishermen invested tens of thousands of dollars for RSW systems, suggested by the big canneries, to provide a more "quality product". Now a major player is no longer playing by the rules when all signs show a hot market for wild sockeye. Go figure? And as for the Bay, tenders aren't even measuring temperatures of chilled fish versus dry-hold fish. And those fisherman who installed RSW are getting $.15 more per pound. So this argument for investing in RSW systems is pretty up in the air as far as I'm concerned. Those Area M fisherman on this refrigeration strike - well, they've shut down their chilling systems until the cannery bucks back up to its original promise.

Anyways, bedtime. Happy Fourth to everyone and talk soon. Sorry for typos; I'm in a hurry.