Wilderness Blues- Ramblings from the Great Land

  For the past three weeks or maybe a month we've had unusually hot temperatures here in Southeast Alaska. Actually it's been happening all over the state I believe. I know that eighty plus degrees doesn't sound so hot to some folks, but here, where the average temperatures range in the mid sixties to mid seventies in the summer, having the temps soar to the upper eighties was quite uncomfortable. No, it wasn't just uncomfortable, it was outright miserable, truth be known. Much like last year, there hasn't been any rain since the beginning of June, so the grass around the house was starting to dry out and turn yellow, and the creeks are exceptionally low. Not something you want to see right before the salmon show up to do their annual spawning run up the creeks and rivers. For some reason the horseflies seem to thrive on this hot, dry weather, and they were out in droves. I was fishing up the bay for King Salmon last week and the flies like to...

  Last week I went out with my number one crew hand Adam, and in what turned out to be a very wise decision on my part, a lady friend who owns the F/V Talache. I was having a heck of a time finding a second crew hand, when the idea occurred to me to ask Barbie if she would like to go.She jumped at the chance and I was so glad I asked  her. She was the perfect addition to the crew. The trip, as often is the case, didn't start off so well. I hooked up the long line drum and when I turned on the hydraulics, the motor that I had purchased just three years ago started puking hydraulic fluid like a college kid after an all night bender. What a hassle! The only person in town who works on hydraulics was out of town on vacation-go figure. Soooo..... I had to send the motor over to Juneau and order a new one, for a mere $775.00. We hadn't even set the first hook and I was already in the hole. Anyway, the second day I got the new motor hooked up and we ma...

     I know this picture doesn't exactly look like the essence of tranquility, and I guess it's not. As you can see there is a little breeze blowing out of the Northwest I believe. However, the grey skies and rows of mist hovering over the mountains are a pleasant reprieve from the scalding hot weather we've been having. For what seemed like days on end we've had hot sunny weather. I know, I know, when it's cold and snowing and blowing, I'm complaining about that, so you would think that when the weather heated up and the sun came out I'd be tickled pink. It's more like sunburned red. If we could just experience a happy medium, you know, a few days of cloudy weather, maybe a day or so of refreshing rain and then two or three days of sunshine with temps up to about seventy degrees or so. When I 'm fishing I would prefer a high overcast sky or clouds with a misty rain so that I don't get drenched when I go out to the cockpit to pull a fish or t...