Just about everyone followed our advice this season and we got a good break in here as the first-run of kings wound down and we wait eagerly for a few more second-run fish to show up.

We got a few teasers of our time off in Stam & Bucket's thread of their brief visit to Kasilof / Soldotna last week ... we've got some more pix of them & more of our little vacation

First priority, of course, is filling our freezer. Seven months prego, and Fishgal can still dig a limit!



Makes it easier when they are sometimes just this easy ...



MMMmmmmm, the beginnings of many a mid-winter clam fry!



One step ahead of us in pooch training ... gotta teach Rainey to bring up our digging utensils in the near future!



Oh yeah, we'll give Steve a little grief about his opher afternoon! Quickest draw in the west!! Wish you guys could have come visit when we had more than a few leftovers from the first-run still milling around

With Bucket & Stam in tow, we took off with our halibut captain for a full-fledged steamer mission. He too, has a new yelloow pup ... Dakota is smart enough to stay in the cabin out of the rain!



More ....

Despite making me look bad again by sppulying Corey with a nice load of flowers ... she seems to enjoying some form of sick humor here watching Bucket ... (FILL IN BLANK / MULTIPLE GUESS)

a) PUKE
b) BE WAY HUNGOVER
c) INSPECT MEMBER
d) PUT ON HIPBOOTS



One thing about steamer digging, you get lots of butt shots!!



Another glorious shot of Bucket ... seems to have trouble keeping those eyes open. Too much fun out in the Bush for him I think The makings of a great feast!



The Orcas were kind enough to put on a show for us as we hit the end of the Homer Spit



More ...

Speaking of great feast ... we followed up our three hour fishing trip on afternoon one of their stay with some jumbo cuts of prime ribe at Louie's ... thanks guys!!

After our Homer adventure on the second day ... it was time to enjoy some Alaskan oodies. Of course we had to start with a big bucket of steamers:



Next item on the menu is a fresh sockeye served up with garlic mayo and some tiger sauce:



No feast is complete without some deep-fried razors:



And we of course had to have some halibut and beverages as well:



Speaking of razors, the last few hours of their stay, we put Stam & Bucket to work helping us babysitting this unruly crowd! Ben, Rainey, Mya and their cousin Katelyn struck terror in the gut of all sane clam diggers on the beach!!



While Rainey hasn't figured out that she's supposed to carry the buckets, she's not afraid to dive in to get dad's clam!



Stam demonstates the perfectly-executed clam reach to make them appear huge!!




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Ben & Bucket ... the dynamic digging duo. Nice kelp frond, Benny!



Looks like lots of clam fry's coming up this winter in Forks!!



We were sad to see the fellas go, but alas, we couldn't mess up their schedules any more than we did

Other activities included, of course, spending time with the kiddos ... Mya at soccer practice:



But those clams kept calling our name ... Round two of Homer steamer dig ... No giant salt boat this time around, Nate donates his river boat for the cause today!



Glorious weather this time around ...



But it ws short-lived as a wicked SW wind picked up! You'll notice no end of day digging pix as we loaded and ran back as fast as we could as seas in the bay built to 4-5 feet. Needless to say, I was a just a wee bit wet after being on the tiller all the way back!

While I though I would have the whole week off, a last minute date popped up and I went off to work for a day ... nicely rewarded we were with a dandy 40+ second-run Kasilof king



More, of course!!

Next on tap was a fishing trip for ourself!

Can't go to Seward to chase fisheys without a whole load of doughnuts from the Moose is Loose!!



Before went searching for groceries, we took the kids over to the Alaska Sealife Center for an afternoon.

Katelyn completes the food chain puzzle:



The kids are completely dwarfed by Woody the Stellar Sea lion ... weighing in at just over 2200 pounds:



Everyone got a turn hand-feeding the puffins!



The next morning we were off in search of halibut off of Montague Island ... about 70 miles each way!

Fishgal laughs as this one near the surface, goes all the way back down. If Rowan has a goofy plus sign of a birthmark on her forehead, we'll know why!!



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Not a bad way to start the day ... 60+ pounds of groceries. I'll stay away from that set of chompers, thanks very much!



My turn



C gets a bonus fish off the bottom, 27 pounds of feeder king!



Now the fun begins ... a moment for a pic of Fishgal's dad, Steve and our load of flatties as we wait for the community fillet table to open up:



Sparkey and his real girlfriend, Valerie. Yes, she does exist! Came to pay us an after fishing visit in the lauch area where we steamed up another mess of our Homer goodies!

Day two, off in search of some lings and yelloweye. Not many pix today as I somehow managed to crush the screen of my little Optio overnight ... nothing like taking pix with no idea of what you're pointing at!

Lings ... check!



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Yelloweye ... double check



The 4th was spent eating up a mess of king, king crab, and the very last round of steamers.

Now it's time to get on all those chores we've been neglecting for a week

Sunday night feasts at the Ball's this winter!

Looks like lots of fun,I need to get up that way some day soon.Thanks for sharing.Good luck,
STRIKE ZONE

Them young un's was far from unruly! Well maybe Ben got a little wild with the big knife he was haulin around. Wouldn't ya know it, they are perfect little angels then their mother stops by to pick them up and all hell breaks loose!
OH what gooood time!

I am mesmerized by all those razor clams. The necks are huge. Damm it looks like ya'll had some fun.
We had a good mixed harvest over the 4th, but they were only blown off Indian fingers, and slow white guy thumbs. They don't taste as good as razors.

Looks like fun was had by all!!!


You had better get that white growth behind your ear checked (halibut pic)

Wonderful pics!! Those razor clams are impressive. They had to be from Ninilchik at minus 4 tide.....

Thanks for brightening up my work day in downtown Portland!

Killer post, Bob. Lookin' forward to some big Kasilof King photos.

I'm living in the wrong state.......

That big white growth is why I am a river guide and not a salt guide

I wish we would have had a minus 4 to show off some jumbos ... minus 2.0 or so is all we had

I'll try to make sure Dee gets some nice close-ups for you soon, Parker!

2007. 2007. Just gotta hold out until July 2007.....

Actually, if I had any form of AK miles left, I'd get a ticket and whore myself on the Barge for a float or two down the river with Delbert. *Someone* has to be there to tell Delbert where his float is! Unfortunately, I used up all the miles on the Cabo trip.

In the meantime, I'll practice up on my newborn handling skills. Not that I'll even get close to Rowan with all those Grandmother Hens up there, but I did promise to give you two a day on the river. It's been a while since I've been pooped, peed, and puked on in the same day.

Oh, the fun you two are going to have soon.....

Put in a big chew, have a smoke and a shot of "tonic" and those white growths will disapear.

Let's just hope she doesn't live up to the reputation of her newest cousin ... Canon ... that you'll see some pix of in future years as he gets old enough to join us in our piscatorial pursuits. The spelling should have "cannon" and the name does seem to refer to bodily functions from all orifaces

Mental Note for Bob:

When changing Rowan's diaper in the first 6 weeks, after you open up and release the diaper tabs, DO NOT remove the diaper.

Much like the signs on your boat state:

Wait....Wait......Wait.......Wait........

Babies are very opportunistic and can sense fear and carlessness in their handlers and will happily pounce on their victims...usually around 3:00 am...and all over the carpet, crib, sheets, Rainy, or whom or whatever happens to be close by.

Oh yeah, and Rainy does NOT substitute for a lack of wipes in the house!

Parker is right about the waiting. Something about the cold air hitting the "member" causes it to leak in a stream that reaches alot farther(and more accurate) then you would think possible.