Gillnetting with W

Well, as some of you have seen in posts of June days past, we have been scavenging bits and pieces of gill net, floats (corks), leadline, and floatline from our daily walks and gradually getting them sewn together.

As a recap from those past posts:

The gym up at the school ended up being the final destination for the project, and last night was the opening in the subsistence fishery we were hoping for.  We constructed the net for the purpose of it being a set net, using 4 inch mesh and measuring just under the 60-foot maximum length specified by the regulations we have been fishing under here in Russian Mission.  We have been waiting though for a shot at drifting, as the small mesh is better at tangling the Chums than it, apparently, is at allowing them to swim into it and get caught while sitting still.  In other words, a moving net with slack in it works better when your mesh is too small for your targets.  Yesterday's opening relaxed the dipnet, beach seine, or set-net only regs and allowed drift nets of 6-inch or smaller mesh.  And drifting we went!  Yet another bush task that many folks keep telling us our boat is too small for, yet somehow it keeps on accomplishing everything the larger boats are... ;)  When we sell it next year there will have to be a write-up.  Anyway, here are some pics, and then at the bottom is a dropbox link to the video.

 Some of you have seen or will see these in the video.  This one has to start it all off, taken at the house as we were leaving, with W all ready to go, gloves and all :D

Then, on the boat, before the first set, as we were waiting for start time.  Kinda reminded me of mornings waiting for trout season to kick off - or even the trout rodeos for that matter...the anticipation is always the greatest part, while the unknown is still possible.

And the first fish of the evening, with a boy hooked for life - I hope:

Last of the photos - a parting shot of some curing eggs for the fishing yet to come this summer/fall.  Any steelheader worth his or her salt has their own recipe for curing eggs, and my days (years) on the Olympic peninsula of Washington filling steelhead punchcards taught me mine.  The number one ingredient is pictured, but the rest I will reserve here for now.

Here's the dropbox link to the video of some of the fun - **You should watch it...**

Click Here to watch "Gillnetting with W"