Fishing Report

It's no lie that my husband has fun.

He has had some amazing opportunities our first year in Alaska.

Part of it is his job. He probably has the best hours - only working Tuesday through Friday, plus getting off early on Friday. And his job accrues the best leave out of any job I've seen.

Another part of it is the people that he is friends with. I don't know if it's a curse or a blessing that our next door neighbor is a fishing guide on the Kenai River.

Either way, Joshua really has had such a great time hunting and fishing in Alaska.

If you talk with my husband, he would quit his job tomorrow if that meant we were to live in the middle of nowhere Alaska where he could trap in the winter and be a fishing guide in the summer. He literally gets tears in his eyes when he thinks of the possibility of becoming a fishing guide... Okay, not really, but he is passionate about it.

On this blog, you've read about his many hunts. But you've rarely read about his fishing. Well, fret no more. Here are a few of Josh's fishing experiences this summer.

^^ This is the first Rainbow Trout I had ever seen. This was when I was still in Newtok, and Joshua sent me this picture. I couldn't believe how pretty these fish were!

^^ This was Josh's first fishing experience on salt water. He did pretty well, if you ask me. Because then this happened:

^^ Fresh Alaskan fish ready for us during the cold winter months!

A popular fishing spot in Alaska is the confluence of the Russian and Kenai Rivers. This is only about 45 minutes from our house. In the summer time, when the salmon are running, it'll become what's called combat fishing, where people are lined up, shoulder to shoulder, trying to snag as many salmon as they can. It can get crazy. But this spot is really great - fishing or not. This is one of the spots where I enjoy coming with Joshua because it's just so nice to be outside. You definitely feel like your in Alaska here.

^^ The Russian River meeting the Kenai River.

One of the best things about fishing in Alaska though, besides the actually fishing, is definitely the scenery, which I hope you are getting from the pictures. Josh has definitely had some amazing views, some peaceful, colder mornings, and some vibrant sunrises during his fishing trips.

And then, this fishing trip happened. Josh took off a week or so ago to go fishing with a buddy out on Middle Kenai River. 

 ^^ His early catches of the trip ^^

He had the best time and caught the biggest "bow" of his Alaskan fishing career.

Interruption: Yes, in the Hall household we do give nicknames to fish. Rainbows are called "bows" and halibut fish are referred to as "butts". It's a thing here...

But anyways, back to this fishing trip. Like I said, Josh just had the best time. Beautiful weather, he was out with a buddy, and he caught his biggest fish. You should have seen him when he got home. He went through the whole timeline of this catch. I've never heard anyone do better noises and sounds of his fishing line getting caught and zipped as Joshua. Boy oh boy, he was on cloud nine. And what a beauty! 

^^ I mean, have you seen a happier husband?

Caribou Hunting Trip

Disclaimer: In this blog post, it talks about Josh's hunting trip, as told by Joshua. There will be some pictures of him and Doug field dressing the caribou.

Last week I had the chance to go on a caribou hunt with my buddy, Doug.  Doug drew the caribou tag, asked if I wanted to come with, and of course I said yes.  We were scheduled to fly out on a float plane into the Kenai Mountains on Aug. 7th, but the weather didn't allow it.  We had to hang around the house waiting for the call to fly out.  We ended up booking another flight service and we finally left on Aug. 10th. 

We landed on the lake around 11:00 a.m. and we immediately set up camp and started scouting.  (In Alaska you cannot hunt the same day that you are airborne)  It was obvious that we were in some beautiful, but rough, country.

Our plan ride in:

Watching it take off.

 The first morning, Doug woke up earlier than I did and he decided to head out to a ridge and glass (look for animals) while I would trail behind.  As I was climbing over a ridge, I noticed a bull caribou not far from where I thought Doug should be.  Before I could even get my binoculars up, I heard a shot and the watched the caribou go down.  I made it up to Doug and he told me that he hoped the caribou did not fall into the river.  I tell you what, it sure was close.  It was on the other side of the river so we found a way across. That's when we started the real work.

Behind Doug it is straight down into the river.

We cleaned and got the caribou ready to pack.  The biggest difference from hunting in Illinois and hunting in Alaska is the fact that you have to practically be a cross between a marathon runner and an Olympic weight lifter to survive the packing... We actually got somewhat lucky and only had to pack the caribou about 1 1/2 to 2 miles through a river and over a mountain to camp.  (It took two extremely tiring trips)

 Caribou quarters hanging out of our packs

 Second trip with the rack

 Crossing the river

 Finally made it.

When we made it back to camp we cooked up some fresh caribou and hit the hay. 

We ended up going out for black bear the next day, but the weather turned awful and we decided to use our in-reach to text the flight service to pick us up.  The flight service picked us up along with other hunters in the area because of the weather.  All in all, it was a great trip and I am thankful for having great friends and great opportunities.