Jon's Alaska-Thursday (Fellowship of the Bridge)

Jonathan spent most of Thursday and all of Friday fishing. In the rain. I went with him on Thursday afternoon. To read and take some photographs. I sat in the car most of the time, it was really very wet! 

Before he left,  Jon was discussing different sorts of lures and bait with me. Things he'd learned  the previous day. The Fellowship of the Bridge is a very real thing out on the Swanson!

You can see how wet it was. I opted not to add the photo where all you can see is rain! 

3 fish were caught this afternoon. None of them by Jonathan. 

You can see the difference in the river . Tides are a huge factor in fishing off the bridge. When they come in, they bring the fish. When they go out, the fish seem to be waiting under it. 

Of the three fish caught, this one was the most aggravating. It tried a couple of different hooks, before succumbing to one of them. Meanwhile it managed to tangle lines completely. Jon was out for the count as his line was one which was threaded hither and yon around the net.  

Nets on the bridge consists of the bag part of the net with a rock tied in the bottom, and ropes around it.When a fish is caught, the fisher folk sort of move out of the way a bit, the closer net is lowered , and the fish is hauled up to the bridge. 

This is another prettier silver-

 Who happens to have a mouthful of teeth!

Bank fishing is pretty popular. Some of the guys take plywood down to stand on. The bank is rather soggy and the silt on the river is not cool to get stuck in. 

The Fellowship of the Bridge doesn't extend to everyone. However, this particular group is the friendlier one. The lady in the jacket facing us is married to the guy in the yellow coat. They were given all the fish at the end of this day and the remnants of the eggs one of the other guys was getting rid of. They were from Germany, I believe. The couple brought a bottle of wine with them to give to another couple they'd befriended over the days or weeks fishing. The lady in the pink hat with the bottle was pretty excited this day. The fish responsible for the tangled lines was deemed hers. She'd never caught a fish off the bridge before! There is one woman, Gina, who appears to be one of the main fishing gurus. Not many women fish off the bridge, Gina is one of the best and adopted Jon as he entered into the Fellowship. 

Later in the day, Jon was in the shop and found a new musician. Buzz Martin, an Oregonian logger and singer. I must admit, the stories he sings  definitely have a northwest flavor!