It's Called "Fishing"... Not "Catching"!

(photo credits go to Leaca... thanks for always having your camera)

One of the greatest things about the Kenai Peninsula is the fish. If we walk about 30 seconds out our front door, we can see the mouth of the Kenai River, which is famous for its salmon. Up to this point though, for lots of different reasons (a new baby last summer, non-resident status, etc.), I haven't been able to do any fishing. I decided that I'm not about to let another summer go without finding out for myself what all the fuss is about! Enjoying our new resident status and the lower prices for licenses, Jacob and I both bought our fishing licenses. I even bought a pair of neoprene chest waders!

We'd been talking to Cameron (our non-resident friend who seems to be the one showing us how to do all this cool Alaskan stuff!) about fishing. Just two nights before returning home to Utah, he invited us to go fishing with him on the Kasilof. We in turn invited a few more friends: Ben Nelson, Gordon and Leaca, and our friends Mike and Erika, who were visiting from North Pole.

We put our kids to bed, got a babysitter, and left home about 10 or 11 p.m. After getting the poles all set up for us, Cameron took us one by one and started showing us the "how-to's" of flipping for salmon. From my understanding (simplistic though it may be!), my goal was to cast my line out into the water , drag it to my left and wait for a salmon to miraculously run open-mouthed right into that tiny little line. I think I was supposed to feel for a tug and then "flip" the line, thus snagging the innocent fish right in the mouth. Well... during the four or five hours that I stood in the freezing cold water (thank goodness for my neoprene!), one sorry fish ran into my line... and got away! One not so sorry fish (a king salmon, we think) ran smack into Jacob's leg and we all watched him torpedo right past our legs. Two tiny fish (not even the size of one my fingers) were snagged by Cameron and Mike. One fighting fish was snagged by Cameron... and after a vicious fight, also got away.

I must admit that it was a bit frustrating to watch some fisherman just up the river from us catch a few fish, but all in all, I had fun just experiencing the whole thing. Cameron kept reminding us that the sport, after all, is called "fishing"... not "catching"! Ha, ha!!!