Icewind's Ramblings

My last post started my annual adventure of Kenai Dipnetting where is found every July on the shores of Cook Inlet a throwback to the 70’s beach party. There are the ‘famous’ and almost famous Alaskans sharing the beach and enjoying a long standing tradition of sand, seagulls, and wind while spending time at the beach. If the fish are in there may be some filling of great big freezers with that fresh catch of the day. A while back as the snow was starting to melt you could feel that things were changing as the stores started selling huge fishing nets on very long poles. They were being sold in any and every kind of store, just as is any fishing paraphernalia in this part of Alaska . When Costco moved their nets from the back of the store to the front entrance row by the liquor cage it must be time to prepare for that mad rush to the river. I started hearing from other friends that they planned to make the trek this year and how the numbers of fishermen would swell beyond i...

Part One There is an annual rite of summer that occurs every July in Alaska that makes for a unique and usually different experience each year I participate. This amazing phenomenon occurs for a short time each summer as thousands of us, from all walks of life, take a break from whatever we're busy doing at the time to storm the shores of several Alaska 's rivers. It’s known as subsistence fishing but is largely called ‘Dip Netting’. Some dip solo and some with friends. Some make it a family effort and yet others combine the family with the friends and that makes for a raucous time camping on the beach! I have anticipated this time coming for several weeks and when both the dates of the open season for subsistence fishing on the Kasilof and the Kenai Rivers arrived I as well as thousands of others waited for word that the fish had arrived. I first heard the news at work when one of my plumbers called and told me one of his buddies was on the Kenai and had g...