Well – we didn’t – but practically everyone else we’ve met these past 3 weeks is. The salmon are running, and the Kenai peninsula is frequently referred to as “South Anchorage” during the salmon runs. Never seen a salmon run??? Just check out Susi’s video at the end of this story.

Let me tell you, Alaskans are serious about fishing. They even print a 50 page fishing manual every year that you have to say you’ve read when you get your fishing liscense! Boy are the rules complex – you have to use different kinds of bait, or lures, at different times during the season to catch the same type of fish! There’s also a difference if you are a resident of Alaska or a tourist on the type of equipment you can use – the easiest way to catch salmon is with a dipnet – only used by Alaskans with a special liscense – where most people catch their daily quota in 1 hour!

The different types of salmon return to fresh water to spawn at the end of their life (3-5 years) at different times around the state. There’s a state website https://www.sf.adfg.state.ak.us/FishCounts/ that fishermen and women use to that tells the daily count of each type (5) of salmon running in the different rivers and bays and it’s pretty easy to see when the count is at it’s peak – there’s “combat fishing” along the shore! People literally stand shoulder to shoulder and cast their lines out at the same time so none get tangled.

Bears also join in – but they don’t always have the fishing etiquette mastered and can cause a little chaos. We’re now heading to the bear sanctuary in Hyder at the southern tip of Alaska (accessible only through British Columbia) where we plan to watch the bears fishing during the peak of the salmon run the second week of August.

Here’s a video of a really big school of salmon heading up river to spawn:

[flickr video=3777790519]