Orchid Borealis

The northern pike ( Esox lucius ) is one of the largest fish that we can catch in interior Alaska. Since last winter, Taiga and I have been talking about catching pike.  We have tried a couple times this summer without a success.  We wanted to give another try before the summer ends.  Right after we loaded up all the gear onto the truck on Aug. 5, an accidental injury occurred that morning and we had to postpone the trip.  It was sad to see Taiga's disappointment, but I'm always amazed by his ability to understand.  Then last weekend (Aug. 12), we could finally hit Tanana Lakes! Tanana Lakes Recreational Area is a relatively new park, which opened in 2014.  When we arrived to Fairbanks (before 2006), the area was junk-filled wetlands, where people were shooting abandoned cars.  It was a good spot for birding, though. Fairbanks North Star Borough Parks and Recreation Department has converted this to a wonderful area for families ( link to its histor...

Salmon dipnetting is a frequent summer conversation topic among Alaskans.  We use a big net with a 0.9-1.5m (3-5') diameter hoop and a 2.4-6m (8-20') long handle to scoop up fish.  We have been thinking of taking our 5-year-old son to dip-netting for a while, but we finally decided to do it this year.  Most Fairbanks people go to Chitna , about 5.5 hours of drive, to harvest the famous Copper River salmon. Chitna is too dangerous for kids since you have to fish from the shore of rapidly flowing copper river, usually on a big rock on which only a couple people can stand.  Instead, we chose Kenai River/Beach, about 9 hours from Fairbanks.  In Kenai, we are fishing from the beach at the mouth of Kenai River, so it is safe for kids. This post is just a brief travel log so that we can remember the fun time we had. Taiga experienced lots of "firsts" in this trip.  For example, touching and/or eating the cloud is something all kids imagine about.  While ...