Watching a big black bear digging for food on the sunny beach along which I’m fishing. Their jet-black color sure sticks out. You can even pick them out from the air when flying in the small aircraft we use to get from town to town here.

Mark Stopha
F/V Dutch Master
Alaska Wild Salmon Co
4455 N Douglas Hwy
Juneau, Alaska 99801
907-463-3115

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Another beautiful day on hand. Clear and in the 60’s during the day. Caught 2 kings at dusk last night, which really made the day. Hard for me to catch fish on these sunny days as the fish go deeper and it’s harder to find them.

Reading “This Raw Land” by Wayne Short. It’s about the life of a family fishing, hunting, trapping, and operating Baranof Warm Springs to scratch out a living in the land they love. it takes place in the 50’s and 60’s I think. Life here has changed alot since then in some aspects – statehood, computers, cell phones, GPS and the demise of the fur market, but at the same time, has not changed – you can die out here in a hurrye, people still chasing the dream of commercial fishing, and most of the wilderness remains in tact. Hard to make a living off the land like that anymore as prices have not kept up with inflation, and so many more wants than at time – cable TV, computer, internet, and now, satellite radio.

…..
Mark Stopha
F/V Dutch Master
Alaska Wild Salmon Co
4455 N Douglas Hwy
Juneau, Alaska 99801
907-463-3115

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This is the first entry from the fishing grounds for 2005. We’ve caught just a few large kings this week. Arose to a pink sky behind Mt. Fairweather under partly cloudy skies, a west breeze, and the temp in the 40’s. Herring is showing here and there, a few sealions around, but few humpbackwhales in the area just yet.

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