Fishy Fishy Fishies!!!!!!!!

How exciting that day was. I really had no idea where I was going, what it was gonna look like, who I was gonna meet, how many people worked there, what the facilities were...... mmm, kinda the same as my whole travel I guess. Still, this was different by all means. My first plane from Homer to Anchorage, 35 min, was a 20-seater, I've never been in something like it, super luxury, and you can watch the pilot.

The next one was a normal size from Anchorage to Kodiak on Kodiak Island, which has a population of 15.000. It took only 55 minutes to get there.

The one after that was a Chesna, or Bush plane. For 40 minutes we flew low over the Island, being able to see all rivers, streams, beaches, hills and a few snowy mountains. The anticipation was growing: Where was I going? In Larsen Bay the whole place (its only a Cannery with 250 workers at the top period, but most of the year only 100 people live here) came down to see if there was mail or ordered goods for them. I was 'ordered goods' for the Fields, and a lady drove me down to the cannary warf where Weston and Diana (his wife) were waiting to take me to Bear Island. This is what I saw when we drove on the barge towards my new home for the next month.

Can you see the bear head on the right side of the Island?

From the air you have a better idea of where an how I was situated: Bear Island, the little Island to the right has been bought by dad Fields many years ago. At the present moment this is where Weston, the oldest son, lives and where most business takes place. The other brothers bought property in different places and build their houses there. Duncan, the second son, lives on the pointy left side of the big Island, called Harvester. Wallace, the third son, lives across from him on Kodiak Island. Our 16 nets were situated around Harvester, Bear Island and along 7-mile beach, the halfround beach from the sandspit to Rocky Point. Fields and Sons is started in 1961. Its the biggest setnetting company in the world, and besides the three brothers and their kids, they have around 15 other people helping them. Bear Island is only 40acres big, its kind of one big hill and if you hike to the top you have a good overview of the fish camp: You can see Westons and Diana's house in the left bottom, the white beach wearhouse where all our raingear is, the little white house inbetween which is the gearshed/storehouse for food. The generator, which roars 24/7 is in a little house half behind the Hilton. The huge red building is the Hilton where most of the boys stay in dorm rooms. The other bigger red building is the Bear Den with downstairs more tools and upstairs our diningroom/kitchen. Across from the Bear Den is a little red duplex with two rooms, one was mine. Two other small buildings are a cabin and the Banya (which means Sauna in Russian). The big red shed to the right is Grandpa's shed, used for all kinds of big indoor work. And in the top, far away, you can spot the outhouse.
During low tide the Island will connect with Kodiak Island (seen on the other side) by a dry sandspit, leading from the sandy point. You can also see RunningLine Rock to the left, this rock, with a cement walk to it, is the spot where we tie the last skiff to the Running Line that leads to a bouy out in sea.

First I was shown my new room, which I started decorating with beach clutter straight away, and that same evening I met the whole crew, present at that moment, during my first diner.
Clockwise we see: Rick, Bruce (the cook and later, when Mikes mum came, fishing with us), Jarred, Elijah, Paul, Kyle, Michael, Kyleb, Justin, Eli, Mike, Chris and Matt. All the boys are between 20 and 26, I was the only girl and the oldest. The boys were sweethearts and easy to hang around with. The only thing I did not get accepted in was the Banya; I think they liked their once every two weeks sauna to be girl-free. So I just had my three showers, in those 31 days, on my own, hahahaha.In the next days I met the brothers, here seen together, which was a rare occasion: Weston, Wallace and Duncan Fields.

So, to explain how a fishing days works, I have to start with explaining what a Set Net is. Its called that way because its 'set' on shore, starting from the beach and running into the sea. Here you can see 'The Cape' one of our nets which always had a lot of fish. The net is attached to a cork line on the top (to help it float) and a lead line on the bottom (to stretch it out). From shore to the King Bouy we have a line called the Running line and the Cork line is attached to this set-up. The first part of the net is made from a thick, sturdy orange net called 'the Lead'. It hits the bottom with every low tide. The net will start when its deep enough. At the end of the sways (in this picture there are three Lead sways and four Net sways) is 'the Hook', a diamond shaped setup, made out of four nets/sways, to confuse the fish that think to be smart and swim up along the net. The Fields have 16 nets and every net is a different length and depth. They all have a different name too.

A day would start at 7:25 for me.

The sun rose and eggs, sausages, pancakes and hashbrowns were waiting...... for the boys, I stayed with granola and my tea.
At 7:50 the watershed would look like this: At 7:55 it would look like this: Everyone poking and hussling to get their eight piece suit in shape.

Yep, to fish and stay warm and clean you need some protection, starting with hipboots, a lifevest/bodywarmer, a ropeknife with belt, a overall, surgical gloves, plastic gloves reaching to above your elbows, and cotton gloves and as finishing touch your heavy duty rain jacket. I assure you, it was super warm and windproof in the skiff, but how light did you feel when you could take it all off.

8am (is 8am) we stood ready for Weston who would come down to tell us the catch from yesterday, the weather forcast and who would go in which skiff and where.

All us orange penguins hobbelt down the beach and the skiff on the running line got pulled in. We all duck-dived in and got distributed around the different skiffs on bouy's. The Driver would steer the skiff in the direction of his assigned net and the Bowman (which was a task I did often) started scooping ice in the three toads so a fresh cold bed was made for the catched fish. Bags are put in the toads and we're ready to pull up a net. The driver pulls up beside a net and the bowman bends over and pulls in the running- and cork-line. There are two different ways of picking fish out of the net: Rolling and power-picking. With both, the net is pulled up totally at the stern and it slides between two poles, but in the front its only pulled up in the bow-roller when you roll it, otherwise you hold the two lines while you move forward. In those photo's I am power picking:

You pull up the net,
struggle the fish out of it's caught position,
and throuw it in the right toad. And that's what you will do for an hour or four. Sometimes you have a lot of Bulk Kelp and that will slow you down, you have to free the whole net for the next catch.

When all nets are done we drive together to the Tender, Sierra Seas. This bigger boat collects all our fish and brings it to the cannery in the evening.

The bags in the toads have loops on the corner that hook onto the weight and pully system. Bill, the skipper, writes down how much we catch from what, writes it down and lets the fish disappear into the bottom.

Our last duty is to get new ice from the Cowboy, a huge icemaker in the middle of the bay.

And then its time to head back to Bear Island,

put the skiffs on their bouy's with a dubble clovehitch and a bowlin knot with an extra safety, pick everyone up in the last skiff,

drive to the running line rock, tie it on,

carry the empty gastanks and post up to shore and......

....... enjoy lunch.
Every lunch and dinner we were fed potatoes, lots of meet, canned / frozen vegetables AND dessert.

The mail came with Sierra Seas which goes into Larsen Bay every day. The boys wrote lots of letters and were send cookies, new socks, cd and books and love letters. Every time again.

And then at about 4pm it started all over again.

This is the cannery in Larsen Bay, built in 1911. The fish is first sorted (we catch Red/Sockeye. Pink/Humpies, Silvers/Coho, Dogs/Chums and Kings/Chinook), un-headed and de-gutted, hacked into pieces, put into cans, cooked in the can and labelled, all in less than three hours.

Sometimes we catch a Steelhead/Rainbow Trout and we take it ashore to filet and freeze it.

Or a Halibut. Still, we only ate fish maybe three times in the 31 days I was there.

A few times I would practise driving the Skiff.

Ones we had a three day storm, the wind was blowing and we could only go out one shift a day. After the storm had passed many of the nets were so tangled it took us hours to undo.
The last week of fishing the jelly fish came into the bay and made the skiffs look like a gutted pig. If you get that stuff in your eyes its like a needle sticking right through your eyeball, I tell you.

We fished for 21 days before the catch trickled down so much that it was not worth it to keep going. So the cleaning started. First the nets need to be power washed. This gets done throughout the fishing days as well, so the net stays clear and invisible for the fishies. Then we roll it into the Skiff.

The skiff gets taken on land and the nets gets taken out,

dryed and put into bags.

Next step is to power wash the Lead, that's really a bitch, the net is thick with hairy seaweed and its almost impossible to move the heavy material apart to spray in between. But when this is out of the water too we start taking up the anchors. All lines are set with anchors ofcourse, so it all stays in one place with the current and storms. One set will take about two to three hours to take up. The boys work up a sweat coiling the ropes and snapping the anchors, I was given the easy job of power spraying the line that rolls in, so its free of slime and seaweed. You can see me in the foreground.
Here the barge full with all the ropes and anchors from one set.

And this is what you look like when you do not use a mask while spraying.
All this stuff on the barge gets hauled onto the beach or into bags and will be moved into Grandpa's wearhouse for the winter.
When the weather was not good enough for anchors we would do shore work. Painting boards,
Boarding Duncans wifes writing house,

Painting propain bottles and whatever else needed to be done.
In the hours between lunch and the second shift I would beachcomb, explore the buches, three deer, birds, few hills and shore of the Island, knit, write letters or my diary, read or have discussions with the boys, especially about God, as most of them were Christians and attending a bibleschool of some sort. I even read a part of the bible with the help of Jerrad. Many questions were discussed openly.

Eli's birthday was celabrated,
It was astonishing to see the condiment assortment on the table grow and the sun sink behind the ever changing clouds.

My visit to Bear Island was everything I did and did not expect. I learned so much and loved the fact I could really help out. Although the people didn't change, the weather made all the movements one needed to not get bored. I'm impressed with the boys that stay here for four or even five months with no alcohol, no sigarets, no drugs and no girls. They bare Bear Island with diplomacy.
And for the brothers it must be hard to have a new crew every year, having to be so patient with all the questions, teachings and 'stupidity'.

The skiff rides out to the setnets were my favorite. The motor roaring so there was no need for conversation, just spacing out over the ever changing sea. Sometimes we would spot Sea Otters (so much bigger then the River Otters), many Bald Eagles, deer on the Islands, bears on the beach of the main Island, seals, sea lions and whales. I saw hmpback and others saw Killer Whales. Absolutely making you feel blessed being here and having this chance to see it all.

Weston, thanks for this unique opportunity. The words of praise with my goodbye were extremely flattering. And there are as many for the Fields on my side.

Back to civilization, cars, stores, my three planes and my house, waiting for me at Eve's place.
She had left long ago to travel herself, but her dad, Craig and wife, Eva, who I had not met before, were extremely welcoming and hospitable. It blows my mind every time again.
Up to Anchorage, cause someone from Europe is coming to visit me...........