Things change alot here in 2 weeks this time of year. The tundra is now a burnt red color, as fall approaches. Most of the waterfowl chicks now look like their parents (except for the swans, which are still fuzzy), and about 2/3 the size of adults. And it’s now dark overnight. Still, it’s supposed to be sunny and 50 in a few days, a long stretch from the pouring rain I left in Juneau.

–
Mark Stopha and Sara Hannan
Alaska Wild Salmon Company
Wild Salmon and Salmon Pet Treats
4455 N. Douglas Hwy
Juneau, AK 99801
907-463-3115
www.GoodSalmon.com

Last night before heading back to Prudhoe, and like last month, I’m ready to go. Busy right up to the last minute. Packed fish. Ran to ship boxes of fish up to Savoonga. I dropped off my coveralls to get altered 10 days ago to the only person we knew in town, and I told her I needed it for work. Went today, and was handed back my coveralls with nothting done. Found out there was another lady out the road who did alteration, and she did it for me in one day. Gave her a good tip after talking with her husband about fishing and work, etc. Then she was very excited to find out we sold fish, so we might even have another customer from this.

Went fishing with Len on Mon-Tue. Slow fishing, and lots of rain. About 3 of the boats had humpback whales go through their nets to add insult to injury. I had orders that were supposedly ready to go, but the fish got shipped elsewhere before I packed them, and then we didn’t catch enough to make up for it. So it goes. I made my calls of disappointment and told the customers that their fish were still out swimming and they’d have to wait.

What cold, wet summer here. Weather looks great in Prudhoe. Calling for 50 and sunny soon. And dry. Bought a bunch of gloves to take with me so I have some that fit, and with the coveralls finally altered correctly, I hope to be comfortable this hitch.

Going moose hunting when I get back for a week. Ron and I are driving up to Fairbanks, where his son drew a cow permit. We can hunt for bulls. I called my friend Ken, who is from my hometown and moved to Fairbanks in the late 1960’s to teach. He’s back near our hometown now, but still has his property in Livengood. I called for permission to use it, and he was glad to oblige. I hope to deer hunt with him in Nov. back home.

Packed up gear for the elk hunt on Afognak in late Sept. Sent up the tent and sleeping bag and stove and mess kit. I’m hoping for the incredible weather we got last year, but not counting on it.

Made it in to absentee vote today. Kind of weird voting for party candidates when I’m a rabid non-partisan, but don’t want to miss voting and if the party wants me to vote, I’ll vote. Plus there were several ballot measures to vote on – another anomoly, since who votes in the primaries, anyway?

–
Mark Stopha and Sara Hannan
Alaska Wild Salmon Company
Wild Salmon and Salmon Pet Treats
4455 N. Douglas Hwy
Juneau, AK 99801
907-463-3115
www.GoodSalmon.com

Today started out taking my wife and her high school girlfriend to the airport at 4 frickin’ thiry am for their trip to Montana. Day was starting out kind of iffy, but it was to get much better.

I left about 945 am to start delivering fish to our Juneau customers. Most wanted sockeye a few days ago, but we had more coho. Most switched to coho, and we ended up almost selling out everything on hand. And boy howdy, were the coho nice.

Then, I get a call to go fishing Monday and Tuesday. Why not just ask me if I’m interested in a third slice of blueberry pie? Of course I’m going.

Next, I get an email asking if I want to go moose hunting in early Sept – which happens to be my next 2 week “off” period. I call the guy, and he says lets go over to your cabin, do some deer hunting, and talk about it over the weekend. Hell- give me that forth piece of blueberry pie. Don’t want it to go to waste.

I’m thinking it would be hard to have a better day….until I get notice from the Anchorage Daily News. Our legislature just approved sending all of us $1200 each to pay for the high cost of fuel. This, on top of the $2000 each we’re already going to get for the annual Permanent Fund Dividend giveaway. I smell another pie coming out of the oven right now. What a country.

It’s 930 pm now, and past my bedtime, but I might stay up till midnight just to press my luck…..

–
Mark Stopha and Sara Hannan
Alaska Wild Salmon Company
Wild Salmon and Salmon Pet Treats
4455 N. Douglas Hwy
Juneau, AK 99801
907-463-3115
www.GoodSalmon.com

Back to Juneau and good weather here. Sara and I went to our cabin, which Sara only seems to reach once per year. I fished one day and caught no cohos. The next day, I wanted to climb the ridge on Admiralty across from Horse Island to find a blacktail deer buck, but the clouds were sitting right on the top, so I wouldn’t be able to see anything. So, I climbed to the base of the ridge. I called a doe about half way up. The deer’s summer coats are so bright it looked like it was painted florescent orange.

I picked berries when I got back to the cabin. The blueberries were absolutely loaded with worms. I guess from all the wet weather. After I picked a container full, I dumped them in a bowl to pick the leaves and stems. There were so many worms burrowing out of the berries I put them on the outside table for the birds. Later, I thought maybe there was some salvaging to the berries, so I went through them one by one, and flicked off any worms. When I was almost done, I looked into the bowl, there were more worms than when I started! More had burrowed their way out. So I left them for the birds. I have find out what critter it is that lays it’s eggs for their larvae to eat my blueberries.

Back in town, it’s all busy with fish order packing and arranging. As always, nothing but work here!

–
Mark Stopha and Sara Hannan
Alaska Wild Salmon Company
Wild Salmon and Salmon Pet Treats
4455 N. Douglas Hwy
Juneau, AK 99801
907-463-3115
www.GoodSalmon.com

We went to Badami to do oil spill training with a skimmer yesterday. Badami is about 35 miles to the east of here, and my first trip in that direction.

After training, we were invited up to their mess hall to eat. What a beautiful place. The mile or two drive from the beach to the camp (part of the road also serves as a runway) was through beautiful green fields slightly higher in elevation than the lowlands around Deadhorse. The green fields reminded me of Iceland or something you’d see from Ireland. Again, it’s like driving through a game park or farm here. Caribou were on either side (or in) the road. Swans with fuzzy goslings. And new fox pups, which the Badami folks said were using the drain pipes under the road for a den, and which had been feasting on a swan their parents apparently killed for them.

Only about 20 people are at Badami now, as it’s a drill site apparently in what was called “warm storage”. Word is that the camp will see new drilling this winter, and balloon to 80 to 100 workers.

–
Mark Stopha and Sara Hannan
Alaska Wild Salmon Company
Wild Salmon and Salmon Pet Treats
4455 N. Douglas Hwy
Juneau, AK 99801
907-463-3115
www.GoodSalmon.com

Took a 35 mile trip to do training at a place called F Pad today. Saw my first polar bears on the way. The first was a large boar on a barrier island. Even though he was quite distant, the bear looked very large.

On a nearby island, we saw a sow polar bear and her cub. She, too, looked large.

I ran the boat on the return to our harbor. As we entered the area, an announcement came in on the radio reporting a polar bear headed towards the harbor, and the boat captain thought it might well be the boar we saw earlier in the day.

–
Mark Stopha and Sara Hannan
Alaska Wild Salmon Company
Wild Salmon and Salmon Pet Treats
4455 N. Douglas Hwy
Juneau, AK 99801
907-463-3115
www.GoodSalmon.com