Andy's Fishing Trip to the Chuitna River

I think we can say the fishing season has begun up here! Our chest freezer has been cleaned out and it is ready to stock some salmon. Andy and some buddies went on a 4-day fly-in fishing trip to the Chuitna River (across the Cook Inlet). They took a small (5-passenger) plane to an airstrip in Beluga. A guy (Kenny Rogers look alike) picked them up in a barely-running Dodge pickup and drove them (5 miles) to the general store to fill water jugs. Another guy took them to the mouth of the river (2 miles) where they set up camp. The weather was hot (and the fishing was slow) for the first 3 days. 3 king salmon were landed but, due to lack of ice, they could not keep them. :( Finally, on the 11th hour of their last day, Andy brought in a 25+-pound king salmon!! It was the day they were flying out so he got to keep that one. They safely arrived back in Anchorage on Sunday night. Andy vacuum-sealed the fillets and they were placed in our awaiting freezer.

Adam, Jeremy, Ben, Andy


Andy and his first (big) fish of the season


Now that's a thick fillet of fish!