dip netting the Keni
Posted: Wed Jul 28, 2021 4:49 pm
Just got back from our annual trip to the mouth of the Keni for dip netting our winter supply of salmon. We did pretty well getting 66 total with half being Silvers's which is pretty unusual. I think we only got two pinks this year and all the rest were Reds. Nice bright fish right out of the salt water.
Now the work begins! We got about a third of them fillet-ed and vacuum packed this AM for my third daughter so she could get on the road back to Fairbanks and will hopefully finish up our own tonight . I think I will smoke some of these.
We fish the beach on the South bank of the mouth of the Keni river and you have to four wheel about a mile down beach to where we fish. The sand is pretty soft and it's easy to get bogged down especially if to far out from the high water tide line. Well on the way out we see this new Ford Diesel 450 with duel wheels stuck out below the high water tide line and it's coming in fast with a good wind behind. A Ram 2500 diesel is hooked up and trying two pull him out with both trucks spinning all four wheels and no soap. Tide was up to his mid door and the surf is breaking over the truck but they kept on trying . Finally here comes a mini excavator to the rescue, hooks up to the Ford rear hitch and lifts his back end up out of the water and holes dug in by the spinning duely's and set him down on new beach off to the side. Now the ram which was still hooked up by a long tow rope hits the throttle and they finally gain some ground. The mini excavator had to lift him a second time before they managed to get him clear. I though for sure that new 80 K $ truck was committed to the deep six but their persistence paid off. Man when the breakers started covering the whole truck I think I would have abandoned ship but the driver stayed with it. It was a wonder the engine didn't quit ! Hope he got to a good car wash pronto quick to get the salt water and sand out of and off his truck. It was a squeaker by any measure.I had to stop and thank the guy in the Ram that didn't even know the person who was in trouble and stuck with him in his time of trial. It was the tracked mini excavator that really saved the day though as the Ram could not do it alone. Pretty intense deal there for about half an hour.
Now the work begins! We got about a third of them fillet-ed and vacuum packed this AM for my third daughter so she could get on the road back to Fairbanks and will hopefully finish up our own tonight . I think I will smoke some of these.
We fish the beach on the South bank of the mouth of the Keni river and you have to four wheel about a mile down beach to where we fish. The sand is pretty soft and it's easy to get bogged down especially if to far out from the high water tide line. Well on the way out we see this new Ford Diesel 450 with duel wheels stuck out below the high water tide line and it's coming in fast with a good wind behind. A Ram 2500 diesel is hooked up and trying two pull him out with both trucks spinning all four wheels and no soap. Tide was up to his mid door and the surf is breaking over the truck but they kept on trying . Finally here comes a mini excavator to the rescue, hooks up to the Ford rear hitch and lifts his back end up out of the water and holes dug in by the spinning duely's and set him down on new beach off to the side. Now the ram which was still hooked up by a long tow rope hits the throttle and they finally gain some ground. The mini excavator had to lift him a second time before they managed to get him clear. I though for sure that new 80 K $ truck was committed to the deep six but their persistence paid off. Man when the breakers started covering the whole truck I think I would have abandoned ship but the driver stayed with it. It was a wonder the engine didn't quit ! Hope he got to a good car wash pronto quick to get the salt water and sand out of and off his truck. It was a squeaker by any measure.I had to stop and thank the guy in the Ram that didn't even know the person who was in trouble and stuck with him in his time of trial. It was the tracked mini excavator that really saved the day though as the Ram could not do it alone. Pretty intense deal there for about half an hour.