by Tele | Nov 22, 2012 | Commercial Fishing, Culture, F/V Nerka, Family, Hooked Favorites
Earlier this week, a friend asked what I’d be doing on Thursday. When I blinked dumbly at her for a few beats, she prompted, “You know – for Thanksgiving!” Oh. Right… Growing up in a fractured family of three insular people far more...
by Tele | Oct 6, 2012 | Culture, Hooked Favorites
I’m holding a battered metal compass in my hand tonight. It says my writing desk faces southwest, and that the cat curls her tail northward. It doesn’t say which direction skirts despair, doesn’t guide the path toward hope. Folding it closed,...
by Tele | Sep 11, 2012 | Alaska, Commercial Fishing, F/V Nerka, Hooked Favorites, Salmon Trolling, Sitka
Friday, September 7th, is a bad day on the ocean. With the forecast calling for Southeast winds of 35 knots and 11-foot seas, the Nerka spends the morning trolling in the mouth of Gilmer Bay. We hadn’t expected to be fishing at all today. If we...
by Tele | Aug 25, 2012 | Alaska, Commercial Fishing, F/V Nerka, Hooked Favorites, Salmon Trolling, Women in Fishing
Hi friends. We’re in the midst of Southeast Alaska’s second (and last) king salmon opening, trudging through Day 14. It’s been a rough one – beautiful weather negated by coast-wide poor catch rates, far from the season’s salvation that so many...
by Tele | Jun 22, 2012 | Alaska, Commercial Fishing, Culture, Hooked Favorites, Sitka, Women in Fishing
I’m a nosy person. My social worker days allowed entry into others’ most private moments, while fishing’s mode of communication, the VHF radio, provides socially acceptable eavesdropping. The Backdoor Café’s elbow-close tables are just as handy for...
by Tele | May 15, 2012 | Alaska, Culture, Hooked Favorites, Sitka
No halibut on deck here… Consistent storms have tethered us to the dock for two weeks, waiting out weather like 45 knot winds and 22-foot seas. We take it for what it is – what else can you do? – but watching steady gray sheets pouring down the cabin windows...
