July 31, 2010

Pink salmon are starting to come up the streams in Dyea Flats. And there is a big black bear – probably at least 700 pounds – who hangs around the spot where the best fishing is. Thursday Randy went fishing there, and after awhile he decided it was time to call it quits. We heard from some other people at the stream that right afterwards the bear came running out of the woods and down to the river, right where Randy had been standing - close call!

Yesterday we drove back to Dyea Flats, hoping to either catch salmon or see the bear (safely, from a distance). The stream is pretty shallow, so it's usually easy to see the fish.
















Right now the salmon aren’t interested in eating – the only thing on their mind is reproduction. So we didn’t catch any, although we did snag a big one on the fin. It’s illegal to keep a snagged fish, so we let it go. And we didn’t see the bear, either, so we’ll have to try again. But if we have to be somewhere not catching fish, it's hard to beat this place!