...salmon frenzy

Local welding shops build and sell dip nets.

This is the dream vehicle of dip netters. Everything is here including: dip nets on the roof, coolers, wagon with pneumatic tires for the sandy beach, and firewood.

The view of dip netters from the bluff above the beach at the mouth of the Kenai River.

Getting ready to put a dip net in the water near Bridge Access Road.

The prize--a salmon in the net.

The mouth of the Kenai River has been besieged by dip netters for the past couple of weeks. Since this is the final weekend of the dip netting season (unless there is an emergency opening extending it), I decided to drive around Kenai this morning and take a few photos of what was happening. As you can see, the dip netters were out early and I expect the growth in their numbers will crescendo until sometime late this evening. Then it will start all over again tomorrow.

It used to be that I would join the crowds and fill our freezer to overflowing with packages of salmon. Every time we would open the freezer door frozen solid packets of sockeye would fall out and nearly break our toes. I'm beyond that now, but I did go dip netting yesterday morning and spent six hours standing in the water for a meager amount of fish. There is no danger of broken toes this year. I do have to say that I enjoyed my time dip netting in spite of the lack of fish. I was able to visit with some very interesting people and got a first hand view of a guy who put on a wet suit and swam out into the middle of the river with his dip net. Then, he floated downstream toward Cook Inlet. He must really like salmon.

I may go back and try dip netting again after the crowds thin, but for now I'm just going to watch and enjoy the...salmon frenzy