Hello Dolly, Goodbye Sockeye

"Woah I've got a big one! Oh, just a tree" (yeah, that one)

So I give up on the whole red sockeye idea (maybe)- Scott and I head over to Little Kitoi Bay and bang there they are. So we bring this gnarly HUGE snagging hook (aka treble hook that's about the size of a fist- domination- yes, it's legal and yes, it's cruel, but I want that damn red sockeye). So I get that snagging hook in the water and start ripping it through the schools of fish. I snagged one sockeye, two sockeye, five sockeye. Issue- all were females and not pretty and I was so MAD! And I felt bad. Okay I'm a fish biologist here and I don't mind brutally murdering fish if I'm going to eat them or if they are for science or whatever, but snagging the belly of a ripe female fish and watching her unborn (I know, fish aren't born but whatever) eggs just blasting all over the place as the pressure of the hook ripped her skin open made me feel a little bad. A little. I was still determined to get my big male sockeye (I know, I'm a total bitch). So I get the snagging hook in again and start tearing it even harder. I blasted that thing through the water so hard that it almost flew out and caught me and Scott. So I decided I was getting too angry and gave Scott a try, which he also failed. Meanwhile, during this snagging dilemma there are two bears at the nearby fish ladder SCREAMING at eachother for 45 minutes. No big deal right? Wrong. So this fish ladder is also the pathway that Scott and I have to walk on to get over to the lake where we were going trout fishing.

Hello little pretty Dolly you are so dang adorable

So I've got a bad bad feeling about this because I know how angry people are. When I'm angry, I don't care who is around me or what they are saying or anything, I just need to yell and let it out. Then I'm good. So, in my mind, these angry bears wouldn't care if we yelled at them to go away because they were just angry and didn't care. Guess what? I was right. So I'm like all nervous walking through this area. It's like the "lair of the bear" combined with the forests in Lord of the Rings and Jurassic Park. Place is littered in bear poop and smells like straight hell. Worst smelling place ever. So we make it around the fish ladder to the boat, bear free. But, by the time we are at the boat, I'm freaking because I know there are 2 pissed off bears around and I haven't seen them yet, so I don't know where they are. "Scott, can I do anything to help you get that boat in the water?" "Umm nah you're fine", "Well hurry up I'm frickin nervous". Boat gets stuck on its way in the water, and I'm panicking. Finally, after what feels like forever, the boat slides into the water, Scott jumps in, I jump in, I just push us from shore. We are about 7 feet into the water and this bear comes RIPPING around the corner, right where I was standing 10 seconds earlier and just stares at us. I decide to try this yelling at the bears this "HEY BEAR, GET OUTTA HERE" thing just locks eyes with me and stares me down. Shittt. Scott tells it to go away, doesn't listen. Thing walks right to where the boat was and just stands there, staring us both down. Um, yeah, scary scary time. So we make it out of that area and shoot over to where a stream meets the lake. Bang, one after another little Dolly Varden.

Me catching us dinner...again.

I also caught a nice rainbow trout (bringing back the home front!) we ate for dinner- delicious. So aside from the adorable Dolly Varden (which, I was like "aww this is the cutest thing I've ever seen!" when I caught one, then started singing "The Joker"... you're the cutest thing I ever did see, I really love your peaches wanna shake your trees.... hooked a tree right then and there) I caught a rainbow, 2 trees, 8 sticks, a stump, and (get this skill) a rock WITHOUT loosing my spinner. If that isn't amazing, I don't know what is. Oh, and I got trapped in the front of the boat, my boot got stuck in the angle and I fell like 3 times trying to get up and Scott and I were laughing so hard I just stayed there because well duh couldn't get up! So we get back and grumpy pants bear is still there, milling around the fish ladder.

What actually happens when I hold fish...

Scott and I managed to sneak by through the jungle (I was videotaping the whole thing- I sound like a woman about to give birth with the way I was breathing) and get back to the boat safely without any mishaps with the grouch. Thank god he chilled out.

These rocks are everywhere! So cool and beautiful.

We ate rainbow trout and venison and salmon burgers (I am so addicted to the things) for dinner- um how am I going to survive once school starts without all of this delicious fresh food? Good thing I froze a LOT of salmon. Tomorrow we have Alaskan king crab for dinner... hell yes.