valdez - family and fishing

by: Sofia Jaramillo

By KAVU

August 27^th, 2019

I'm flying over the Chugach Mountains from Anchorage to Valdez, Alaska. There are about 30 people on board this two-prop plane or, "puddle jumper" as the locals call it. Our stewardess is talking so fast I have no idea what she's saying, but it doesn't phase me. I'm completely distracted by the view and can't stop looking out the window.

Dark, curvy, green islands and iceberg-spotted teal waters fit perfectly together like puzzle pieces. In the distance, steep terrain drops straight into Prince William Sound. Covered in crevasses and snaking glaciers, monstrous mountains dominate the landscape. I've never seen peaks like this in my life. Now, I know why they film so many ski movies here....... there are endless ski lines. But, I'm not here to ski. I'm here to photograph salmon fishing and to visit my family.

For years, my uncle and aunt, Brad and Bonnie Scudder, have been sharing photos and stories of their Alaskan life. Brad has been fishing for over 40 years. He owns and operates the boat and Bonnie helps with the finances. They are a fun-loving and cute "power couple" and I've always admired how they run their business together and live their lives.

Bonnie and Brad purchased their first boat together about 30 years ago. Now they've upgraded to a 58-foot salmon purse seiner called the Andy Sea, named after their son Andy. Purse seiners catch primarily Humpback (pink) Salmon or as they are nicknamed “Humpies”, and herring by encircling them with a long net and drawing the bottom closed to capture the fish.

The Department of Fish and Game strictly regulates commercial salmon fishing. Fishermen can't just go out every day and throw their net in the water. They first need a permit, which are hard to come by since the government only sold a limited number back in the day. Then every day at more or less 2 p.m. the department sends out an announcement stating whether or not the following day will be open to fishing. These rules and regulations are put in place to ensure the longevity of salmon and the sustainability of Alaskan fisheries.

Andy also has his own boat, the Gorbuscha.

Gorbuscha is the scientific name for salmon. I've learned names of boats are important around Valdez because it's usually how captains identify each other throughout the season.

Names of boats are often creative and humorous. The Cat-bil-lu, Polar lady, Lucid Dream, Swamp Fox, Mayor Alpha Centauri and the Touchdown are just a few I noticed.

I am lucky enough to join the Andy Sea and crew for about a week. I arrive in the evening and we set out from Valdez harbor shortly after I land. The sun is slowly setting and streams of light flood over mountains into the sound. The crew grills fresh salmon and shrimp on the back deck. It's a beautiful sunny evening and we drive out into Prince William Sound for about two hours until we find a spot to anchor.

The next morning I awake to the roar of the engine and my uncle Brad yelling my name. "Sofie get up! It's going to be a good one!" It's 6 a.m. and the crew is about to make their first set. Brad and his crewmen Matt Connelly, Logan Brooker and Hunter Serene work quickly so they can catch as much fish as possible during the time period they are allowed to fish.

It's both fascinating and inspiring to watch the crew work.

Brad and Matt communicate with headsets to choose the location where they will drop their net. Brad excitedly yells "JUMPER!" indicating a fish flew out of the water nearby. After spotting a few of those, they know where to set their net. Matt powers up the jet skiff, a small aluminum boat, and speeds away, pulling the net off the back deck in a straight line. Once the net is pulled out they wait for fish to swim in. Meanwhile, Hunter and Logan get ready to pull in the net on the back deck. After about 20 minutes, things start to move a little quicker. Everyone is working at the same time.

I decide to climb up into the crow's nest, a small bucket on the upper part of the main mast of the boat. It is tall enough to stand in, but narrow enough that your legs hang off if you sit down. The crow’s nest is about 30 feet above the water and ensures a better view for spotting fish. As I climb up the ladder, the process is in motion and the net starts to come abroad. I take a few pictures halfway up. Slowly the weight of the net tips the boat towards the horizon. The ladder I am climbing up is also tipping toward the water. I find myself also tipping toward the net of fish and I scramble up to the top.

While the net is coming in, Logan and Hunter work to stack the corks and seine. They organize the net and remove anything stuck in it, all the while dodging stinging jellyfish. Brad uses the boat's hydraulics to pull in the heavy net. Thousands of humpback salmon come flopping and flying over the side of the boat into a gigantic refrigerated fish hold below the deck. The space is so large it can store up to 90,000 pounds of fish.

At night we play games on the boats. Mexican Train Dominoes quickly changes from a competition to see who can get rid of the most dominoes into a contest to see who can make the best train and rooster sounds. Later my aunt and uncle bring out a laminated paper with the Jabberwocky poem printed on it. We have a glass of wine and I recite the notorious nonsense poem. We all laugh and giggle as I try to pronounce the first stanza:

Twas brillig, and the slithy toves

Did gyre and gimble in the wabe

All mimsy were the borogoves

And the mome raths outgrabe!

If you're ever confined to a small area with the same people for an extended amount of time, try this poem out. It'll get everyone acting silly quick and it's one heck of an icebreaker!

On the days fishing isn't open, if there is no work to be done, we get our swimsuits on and play in the water! One day, my cousin ties up his boat to ours and we spend the day in a little lush cove. Bonnie and I go for a quick paddleboard down the coastline. We are amazed at how fast we travel and we get about 30 minutes away before we realize the reason we've gone so far is because the wind was at our backs!

There is an intriguing cape right around the corner from us, but we laugh and decide we better not go any further or we could end up in the middle of the sound.

When we get back one of Andy's crewmen, Ian Carbone, decides to catch some dinner.

In proper KAVU style, he ingeniously sets a camp chair on one of the paddleboards, grabs his fishing rod and floats off. We all watch in amazement, hoping he'll catch a big one. Soon his line is taut, he's wobbling a bit on the board and we are all cracking up as he successfully reels in a small Rockfish!

On one of the last days on the boat, I spend my time sitting on the bow. A seaplane flies low over the boat, spying for salmon. Waves gently tap the shoreline. Just a few yards in front of us, a flock of seagulls harass sea lions. The lions surface, cocking their heads back and swallowing salmon whole. The gulls bob up and down in the water, hoping they might get some dinner leftovers. Dense forests surround me. Clouds cover the peaks high above and veil massive glaciers. The glaciers slowly creep forward, melt into waterfalls and feed the sea.

I'm a bit bummed to be leaving soon.

My family and the crewmen have made me feel at home. The rocking of the boat and the sounds of the ocean are familiar and comfortable now. Land doesn't seem as appealing as the ocean anymore and I feel so incredibly lucky to have experienced the magic and fun of Alaska.