Check

 

Defiance Boats!

LURECHARGE!

THE PP OUTDOOR FORUMS

Kast Gear!

Power Pro Shimano Reels G Loomis Rods

  Willie boats! Puffballs!

 

Three Rivers Marine

 

 
Topic Options
Rate This Topic
#880676 - 01/16/14 02:49 PM Dungeness day job
Phoenix77 Offline
River Nutrients

Registered: 10/04/06
Posts: 4047
Loc: Kent, WA
Certainly no high school guidance counselor could have predicted Sam Bain's path. The 34-year-old from North Carolina began commercial fishing 11 years ago in Alaska. During his first season he gillnetted for sockeye out of Dillingham, and for the last 10 years he's been traveling to Bristol Bay each summer to setnet salmon.

He wanted fishing to be more than a summer job, but he didn't see much of a future beyond crewing in Alaska, where the cost of boats and permits can be prohibitive. That's why he began running his own 25-footer to pot for Dungeness crab in Puget Sound's small fishery three years ago.

I just finished writing about the day I spent with him for National Fisherman's March issue. What struck me as most compelling about his story was his dedication to building a future for himself on the water near his home of Port Townsend, Wash.

As a writer, I didn't have a career path laid out for me to follow either. But I know what's important to me, and so does Sam. He values his work as a fisherman as well as sustaining the resource and environment that surrounds and supports him.

This is no gold-rush fishery like the ones you see on TV. The waters are calm and though there's a short peak after the Oct. 1 opening, the price falls as the season progresses (mostly because of other areas opening and fluctuating overseas markets).

But the resource is sustainable, and Sam's overhead doesn't usually exceed the cost of filling up his 100-gallon fuel tank every third day and $150 a day in bait. Even with the slowdown, he can keep going until the season closes on April 15.

That's the point. This isn't a quick get-rich gig. It's a job. It's a home. It's a life.

You can read more about Sam's life on the water in the March issue of National Fisherman, which will be out in the beginning of February. http://www.nationalfisherman.com/blogs/coastlines/2879-dungeness-day-job
_________________________
I fish, ergo, I am.

If you must burn our flag, Please! wrap yourself in it.
Puget Sound Anglers, So. King Co.
CCA SeaTac Chapter

I love my country but fear my government

Top
#880692 - 01/16/14 05:11 PM Re: Dungeness day job [Re: Phoenix77]
Larry B Offline
River Nutrients

Registered: 10/22/09
Posts: 3020
Loc: University Place and Whidbey I...
The article doesn't say where Sam crabs but Port Townsend is in MA 9 or, for the crabby folks, Area 2W. This is the MA within which WDFW bios when analysing the impact of the new policy thought all of the State's share would be harvested during the summer recreational fishery. Yet that area has had an extended NT commercial season since implementation of the new policy. How is that possible??

Did the bios over-estimate the recreational impact under the new policy (which may have resulted in unnecessary limitations on the days open per week and/or summer season lengths)?

Or

Have WDFW and the tribes set total harvestable poundages higher so as to ensure crab being available for NT commercial harvest (which begs the same question about limitations on recreational seasons)?



Edited by Larry B (01/17/14 02:36 AM)
_________________________
Remember to immediately record your catch or you may become the catch!

It's the person who has done nothing who is sure nothing can be done. (Ewing)

Top

Search

Site Links
Home
Our Washington Fishing
Our Alaska Fishing
Reports
Rates
Contact Us
About Us
Recipes
Photos / Videos
Visit us on Facebook
Today's Birthdays
3Gonads, herm
Recent Gallery Pix
hatchery steelhead
Hatchery Releases into the Pacific and Harvest
Who's Online
1 registered (1 invisible), 1078 Guests and 2 Spiders online.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Newest Members
John Boob, Lawrence, I'm Still RichG, feyt, Freezeout
11498 Registered Users
Top Posters
Todd 28170
Dan S. 17149
Sol Duc 16138
The Moderator 14486
Salmo g. 13520
eyeFISH 12766
STRIKE ZONE 12107
Dogfish 10979
ParaLeaks 10513
Jerry Garcia 9160
Forum Stats
11498 Members
16 Forums
63773 Topics
645298 Posts

Max Online: 3001 @ 01/28/20 02:48 PM

Join the PP forums.

It's quick, easy, and always free!

Working for the fish and our future fishing opportunities:

The Wild Steelhead Coalition

The Photo & Video Gallery. Nearly 1200 images from our fishing trips! Tips, techniques, live weight calculator & more in the Fishing Resource Center. The time is now to get prime dates for 2018 Olympic Peninsula Winter Steelhead , don't miss out!.

| HOME | ALASKA FISHING | WASHINGTON FISHING | RIVER REPORTS | FORUMS | FISHING RESOURCE CENTER | CHARTER RATES | CONTACT US | WHAT ABOUT BOB? | PHOTO & VIDEO GALLERY | LEARN ABOUT THE FISH | RECIPES | SITE HELP & FAQ |