Our Tribe Flourishes!

The day that Maygen and I went to Tutka Bay with Steve and Kathy, we were having a conversation about why we were not catching any fish. The fish were everywhere and yet we were incapable of snagging any.

Finally I said, "You know, this must be what happens to the tribes that are there...that the archaeologists have proof of...that suddenly disappear and those archaeologists don't know why. They don't get fish for whatever reason and then poof! They disappear!"

This statement did not relieve Maygen one bit! She snarled, "I will NOT be a member of the tribe that becomes extinct!"

Today, our tribe flourished.
We arrived in China Poot just as the tide was coming up. We were not the first boat in the river, but early enough to make this a successful day. Maygen and Vince went up the waterfalls. The picture on the left is of Maygen telling Vince, "I just saw 5 fish behind me!"

Once those two had a game plan going, Falcom and I took Iris back down to the mouth of the river with Iris's grandma, Susan. Susan was quite the trooper! Waded across the river and everything. (The water is not warm, if you were wondering.) I told her it would not be long until she was a certifiable Alaskan. She's not convinced.
When we got to the mouth of the river Falcom found two fish floating down the rapids. It looked like they had been caught and then jumped back in the river upstream, only to be exhausted and float back down. Falcom jumped right in and caught them again bare handed. Then he grabbed the net and caught two in one scoop! I was so proud of him and his fantastic fishing skills.


I was also proud of Susan for helping me get the fish out of the gill net and then bonking them on the head with a rock. Iris sat patiently watching and yelling out, "You can do it, Falcom!"

Maygen and Vince each carried at least 50 pounds of fish down from the waterfall to the boat. Falcom had his catch on shore and added it to the bag.On the way home Maygen said, "We are not part of the tribe that goes extinct! We did it!" She then saved all of the hearts from the fish for a ritual blessing of our catch to keep the Gods pleased with us... I'm joking, but it might not be a bad idea.