Sockeye

KATIE GREENE | THE BELLINGHAM HERALD - Maren Anderson, left, of Olympia, watches as Raquel Ruiz Diaz, of Lummi Island, puts more ice over the day's sockeye catch Monday, Aug. 30, off the shore of Lummi Island. Reefnet fishing, which is a stationary fishing practice that depends on the water's conditions, is a Lummi Island tradition. "(Reefnet fishing) is the best kind of fishing because the fish come to us," Anderson said.

Surprisingly, this year has seen a huge run of sockeyes, and I remember last year hearing on the CBC about the abysmal runs on the Fraser River - to the point where there were altercations involving shootings and such between the First Nation and commercial fishermen. Oh, those violent Canadians.

But this year is different, and there has been a murmur out and about regarding this year's bounty. Geeze, when I went out on a gillnetter a few years back, I shared the boat with some burly seaworn guys, not the hotties in this picture. Maybe it had something to do with the chum salmon versus the sockeyes? Wrong season?

At any rate, winding the week down to take a trip over to Orcas Island tomorrow to see all the amped-up Seattleites trying to unwind. Fortunately the Bellingham groove is only a few notches above relaxed, so I won't have too far to go.

Probably no posts until Tuesday.