The world's Greatest Salmon

 Well....It went from an emergency to a ' stock of concern ' to a total closure and then to this...

only 6,630 Kenai Kings over the sonar by the time the counts stopped being published by the ADF+G on August 20th. The counts used to end when the sport harvest stopped on July 31, then it would stop when the commercial harvest end on August 15, then it was decided that every fish counted so why not let the sonar run until August 31....well, there's no fish...if you don't like the numbers just quit counting I guess but it doesn't take away from the fact that people need and deserve the information, they need to know how bad the situation is.  The black line represents this year , the worst run in History, maybe not even enough fish to sustain the run. the other climbing lines represent the last few years and the flat red line represents the desired sonar counts and the very top line represents the good ol days.

I have some observations. And if any of you say to yourselves ' ol Jeff there ain't got a dog in the hunt '  or why's he always so critical ....well....I owe this everything and invested my entire adult life in it.....so here goes whether you like it or not. But first here's the one on my wall, my reminder , my talisman , my wonderful memories.

The first step in problem solving is to admit you have a problem.

When you're in a hole quit digging ! Does it really make sense to anybody that with ALL (or at least most ) of the local harvest fisheries closed to experiment with a new gear type ? A new commercial fishery . Yup, ADF+G gave permission to an influential commercial fisherman to experiment this year with a beach seine because the theory is King Salmon can be released from this type of gear....HOW ARE YOU GOING TO RELEASE SOMETHING THAT DOESN'T EXIST ....unless this beach seine can somehow create more salmon what in the hell are we doing ?

There is a management line that runs east and west across lower Cook Inlet. To the south King Harvest is allowed, to the north it's not.....well...the salmon can't see that line. 

Cook Inlet and Kodiak  salmon share an area that the young fish would / will transit on their way to feeding grounds. The Shelikof Strait is Trawled by factory boats from Seattle and worked with Seine nets for salmon by the Kodiak fleet. Here's the same graph info for Kodiak's Karluk River which has had robust King and Silver runs for decades. Unlike the Kenai the fish are enumerated by a weir where they are seen and counted by humans, there is no degree of doubt with accuracy as is sometimes a question with sonar enumeration....this year the Karluk King Salmon return is 75 fish....75 !

It's clearly code red . In one short year the Kenai run was cut in half and the Karluk run has disappeared . If this were to repeat in 2025 we might easily be beyond recovery, not sustainable and maybe even not enough fish for an egg take to save the genetics by hatchery. It's obviously to big for ADF+G to handle locally, there'e no shame in calling in the cavalry. Get everyone on board. use the Endangered Species Act. And until we get this sorted out stop ALL harvest, bycatch , directed fisheries etc....

And now the one that everyone is gonna role up their eyes and moan over. The Homer Winter King Derby . Somewhere somebody somehow r ADF+G came to the conclusion that these immature King Salmon are not local fish and mostly of Canadian origen. I could go on and on about this but I'll save you all from that and make  it simple...This doesn't pass the ' common sense test ' ...  The Homer Chamber of Commerce loves this event as well as the winter fishery in general. STOP IT, you're contributing to the demise of the greatest salmon ever in the world . 

Fair enough

 Driving has been the thing that aggravates my neck the most so finally feeling better and coming off double secret probation there's only one thing to do....road trip .  On Friday we hustled on up the Montana State Fair in Great Falls . MP and me had one of our very first dates to the same Fair in 1975 and we have fond memories of walking the midway and eating corn on the cob while checking out the latest huge farm equipment and what they help produce.  Well, nothing stays the same does it ?  Today's version of the State Fair is just one thing....$$$$$$...that's right , it's one big fund raiser for the gypo Food trucks and the people reselling Mexican trinkets , and in most cases the people on the selling circuit aren't even from Montana . So we wandered, I appreciate the military recruiters and the political volunteers, thanks for making some of the fair normal to those two groups. We had deep fried Cheese curds, ten dollar milk shake with sprinkles and Mp got a huge smoked turkey leg for our picnic. It was really  hot at 1:00 so I was needing a nice cold Pacifico and we couldn't find the beer tent.....mmmm....so, we went to the information booth and find out they don't sell beer until 4:00 . Are you kidding me ? You've all heard me write of my astonishment at the beer culture in my new sate so this twist was kinda unexpected. I tell the gal at the info booth that we live in a State where beer brewing and consumption is in the High School curriculum and it's hard to believe ya gotta wait 3 more hours for a beer....she said " I know ".  

So we take the cooler which has Pacifico's and the Turkey Leg onto the Interstate 90 frontage road in search for the perfect picnic spot....and we found it . I took this pic after we started the car in Great Falls.

We picnicked in ' Thunder and Lightfoot ' country . Simply gorgeous .

The next day found us at the Broadwater County Fair in Townsend that has one of our favorite golf courses and thrift store...they were having a bag sale, yahtzee . This County Fair is what they should be about, the people that live there, the way of life, what it takes. There was no entrance fee, the livestock and the produce were incredible. Unlike Helena or Great Falls these 4-H kids aren't the Dentist's kid who's mom feeds the pig . They're all part of the industry that they they and they only create.

The VFW had ice cream with Carmel sauce and m+m sprinkles for 3 bucks.  No carnival but the volunteers set up a home made playground for the youngest kids . They didn't have any guns to raffle off but they did have home made Corn Hole boards that said ' Farm Life on them. As we cruised the few building we walked right into the Pie eating contest and I hope this video turns out cuz we had a pretty good belly laugh going....

I don't think I've seen, thought of or heard of a pie  eating contest since I was a kid. That's pretty good stuff eh ?....A young 4- H'r told us the way about pigs. He told me about the art of showing them and how you try to keep your pig in front of the judge as much as possible . I asked him why he didn't just get a McDonald's cheeseburger and put it in your back pocket as I guessed that pig would follow you anywhere. He said that wasn't a bad idea but ol porky there might very well bite a whole in you pants.

Now MP didn't think it was to funny , she didn't like the pig excrement on her feet...should'nt have worn sandals baby . She wiped it all of . No harm no foul.

Me and Tom went fishing this morning. Lots of trout like this one here in Mooootana. Guess I should do another fish posing primer as a way of public service for any of you up and coming fishermen that would like to be famous....and ya, I know they're slimey and hard to hold before the release but it goes like this. Hold the fish in front of you as far as possible without pulling a muscle. If you keep your arms tucked in tight to your body the viewers might miss that you're ' long arming ' the photo . There's no shame in this, everybody does it . Have him cradled in one hand if possible. In a boat hold him over the net in case he slips out of your grip . Smile confidently, and an 0 face gets extra points . So it was fun today Tom, I'd give you a B on the pose and of course....and A on the fish.  

And the scenery , the chase, the fellowship and of course breakfast at Smiths in East Helena get an A+.

 

The fix is in

 Here's a pic of ol retired #003 after being wheeled back into the recovery room after my Radio Frequency Ablation ( rfa ) .  Even though the Deep Vein Thrombosis I've dealt with lately was very serious this old age arthritic neck of mine was really interfering with my life style , me and MPeasy had coined our own clinical name for it ....3 hour neck...because that's about as long as I could do anything before the pain / tingling / numbness would send me to the recliner .

Well....to the rescue Dr.'s  Anthony Russo and Steve Perry at the Billings Clinic in Bozeman Montana . When it became unbearable I went to a Helena Doctor who offered Cervical fusion surgery . I settled on Physical therapy and just hoped it would get better...it didn't. So then I went searching for the best care available and I found it. If I'm good at anything it's public relations so I ask people, sometimes strangers, I do research and then I am persistent and finally got the call that Dr. Russo would take me on as a patient . After looking at my MRI and x-rays that I had to rather forcibly retrieve from my first Dr. and talking with me about lifestyle and goals Dr. Russo said that yes, he could fix it with surgery but he suggested we try the less invasive RFA first....so O.K. ...off we go. When you seek counsel always accept it . 

This deal is not for the faint of heart. To make sure the ablation has a good chance of success they first do two Medial Branch Blocks which are kinda like a spinal pain block. They insert 4 needles into my neck at C3 through C6. These needles are flexible and they probe using imaging technology to find just the right nerve bundles. No anesthesia as you have to be awake to tell them if you feel anything that you shouldn't or if you lose any movement and then they inject lidocaine and it's simple, if the pain / tingling stops they know they're in the right spot. One of the reasons the procedure is bearable is because it happens fairly fast and Steve keeps you motivated by telling you how much longer you need to be still. I told the operating theatre the wisdom of Willy Nelson when he said ' the weight of an object is not as important as how long you have to hold on to it ' . Then several weeks after the 1st procedure they do it again to make absolutely sure they are in the right spot. On the follow  up Steve asked me how it went and I told him that I was actually having fairly severe numbness and tingling  when he did the procedure and it stopped immediately but I was disappointed in that it came back within and hour.....He said ' Perfect ' that's exactly what we want to see !

So Tuesday was the day for the main event , the actual Ablation . They had kinda used up the surprise factor on me and I was having pretty good anxiety leading up to it , and for good reason. But this time they said I would get a mild sedative that would help the discomfort and still allow me to talk with them. It was described as ' like have two margaritas '....I told them I'm usually a 3 or 4 Margarita guy and they said har har but you're still only getting 2. So the procedure it kinda the same but longer and after probing and positioning they go from one needle to the next with the Radio Frequency which creates heat and kinda burns the nerve bundles. Kind of like a caughterize .Then they inject some cortisone to help you in the short term . Then they pull the needles out and ask you how you feel....I tell them I really liked the Tammy Wynette and George Jones music. 

The Ablation needles are bigger than the block needles at 8 or 10 m.m. , 1/8 of an inch or so . On the first two procedures they have a needle in you and are prepared to do sedation if the patient can't handle the procedure and as uncomfortable as it is they said I was good to go for the whole show, some patients don't make the cut....I learned a lot about myself. MP said that I'd been very brave....well, I found out that bravery is what happens when you're in a situation with NO options.

It's three days later now and the site of the injections is sore as hell....but...yesterday I had an entirely pain free day, the first in about 2 years. I can tell I'm better . I can tell this next season in Mexico I'll be able to do the things I love.....Thank You sooo much Dr's Russo and Perry....if ya ever need a stress relieving boat trip with the chance of catching a slimey, I'm your guy !