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I don't usually post about our dipping adventures anymore
since we typically do it annually and it's fairly routine now, but I thought I
would add our recent one to the mix as a refresher.
Last year it didn't work out for both Kevin and Luke (the
powerhouse dipping duo) to go during our normal time, so dipping the
Copper didn't happen. Instead, we made plans to dip as a family on the
Kenai. Danielle and Ashton were on the nets (with me helping Ashton
while driving) and Josie stayed at camp with the grandparents. Ashton had a
blast experiencing it for the first time, although he could barely handle the
net. We tried to avoid the craziness, but got sucked in once when we saw a boat
capsize and in the attempt to help we collided with another boat (nobody hurt).
Aside from that excitement, we easily got our limit for the year, but the fish
weren't as good as the oily Copper reds.
Taking last year off had us excited for dipping in 2024. The
weather was super weird this year since we had record breaking amounts of snow.
The heavy snow meant more to melt, which meant colder and higher waters. Colder
waters mean potentially later salmon migrations while higher waters mean difficulty
dipping. I get so nervous leading up to our dipping days because our dates
aren't flexible. The rigidity means high/ fast water (which was very possible
this year) would ruin our trip, as it has done in the past. I usually check the
forecast and water levels about every hour for a week leading up to our
departure date, as well as the sonar counts showing how many salmon are in the
river.
Water levels somehow looked good this year, even with the excess
snow still in the mountains. Weather wasn’t too hot or too wet, making for a good
and steady melt all the way up the Copper River Basin. About 6 days prior to
our departure, a huge push of fish was counted on the sonar too… perfect timing
for them to push up to the area we dip.
Instead of leaving after work on a Wednesday, we have
started leaving at 4:30AM on Thursday. This puts us at the river before 10AM. This
time is way better to arrive at because we have been able to find a camp spot
every time we arrive, as opposed to getting there at 10PM. The difficulty with
getting there so early is the urge to get in the water as soon as possible (the
fish are calling!). This makes for a very long day typically, especially if the
normal winds start gusting around 1 and weather moves in.
After unpacking a little, chatting with people close by about
how the dipping has been, and then prepping the boat… we head to the river. Launching
this year was nice! Most often, people are rude and park their boats and trailers
all along the bank, blocking launching access to the river, but this year,
there was an unofficial launch spot and it remained open the entire time.
As is typical, there were only a few boats drifting above
the bridge when we got there. We began our first drift and were immediately
hitting fish. In fact, Luke’s first fish in the net was a large king that
somehow jumped out before he pulled it in. It’s common on slow years to do a
drift and not boat a fish, but we landed fish on the first 8 drifts. When it’s
such good fishing, it’s hard to stop drifting, but we have learned that we can’t
push ourselves too hard without taking breaks for rest, food, and drink, or we
implode before the day is over. As a result, I often push the guys to stay
hydrated and fed, and then make sure we pull over and rest every once and awhile.
It was difficult with such good fishing, but I got them to take a couple
breaks.
Oh ya, I also surprised the guys with a gift… knee pads! I
got some easy on and off foam knee pads because it was hurting my knees in
prior years simply watching them drop hard on their knee caps caring for fish
while also riding the rough waves as I drive up river (in case you don’t know,
I always drive and Kevin and Luke due the netting).
We typically dip until we get our limit of king salmon (5 for
each person/family = 20 kings since we proxy dip for our neighbor Jim too).
Unfortunately, the king salmon have been hurting across the entire state, and
we felt the effects by only landing a total of 5, two of which were small guys.
This was offset by the run being the best red salmon dipping we have ever had
there. We have never filled our entire cooler, trash can, and bleed bucket before,
and that’s what happened. We had to stop dipping because we were out of room
and didn’t want to start filling the bottom of the boat!
Our success dipping on this stretch of the river is not
common for others. We see people also catching fish, but not as many as Kevin
and Luke put in the boat. Part of this reason is the combination two unique strategies.
First, we drift a lot further down then many boats drift. We specifically target
an outcrop that has TERRIBLE swirls and a deep hole. It’s extremely difficult
to keep the boat parallel and close to the cliff, but when that happens and the
guys are able to control their nets, it’s almost a guarantee to bring up a
couple fish with a great chance of sweeping a king. Secondly, we have learned
to not remove each fish from the net when one swims in. The less time the net
is in the water, the less fish that are caught; so we have started to keep the
nets dragging until the very end of a dip or when we feel a king hit. This
often results in nets full of multiple fish.
This strategy is also risky, especially through the twirly
part… we lost two nets overboard this trip; at about $150 each, this is an
expensive piece of gear. We were able to retrieve both of them with our awesome
buoy setup, however, the current was so strong and aggressive in the water, the
pole vibrated against the bottom rocks enough to break off. Luckily we had
backup parts so we could keep dipping.
We got done dipping at a good time, landing 118 fish, only
being on the water about 4 hours. We then spent just about the same amount of
time cleaning fish. We don’t do the whole thing on the river since it’s dirty
and there is no clean, running water; we simply gut and head the fish and then
toss on ice.
We were talking to a couple guys that we saw dipping on our
drifts. It turns out they didn’t catch a single fish. I think I may have upset
them because I thought and suggested they were kidding (since it was the best
dipping we have ever had there), but unfortunately, they were not. It was their
first time and their learning curve was STEEP. We ended up giving them a few
fish because we felt bad for them.
We then relaxed the rest of the night around the fire,
drinking beers, and stuffing our faces. I don’t know how we stayed up past dark
with how early we started, but it happened. We slept in the next day and then
took our time getting home. Thankfully Danielle was there ready to help clean fish.
