Break up in Alaska....

Happy Easter Everyone!

So I was driving back home from a little town called Talkeetna today and was thinking about Easter and how nice that Break Up is FINALLY here in Alaska.

For those who do not know what "Break Up" is, it is Alaska spring. It is at times very short, sometimes it is long (a month or so) but no matter who you are in Alaska, it is a welcome sight other then snow. How do you know it is break up in Alaska? Well the real reason they call it break up here is because of the rivers, streams or any bodies of water. The ice begins to break up, and the water begins to start free flowing again. The snows melts fast.... think of 2 foot of snow in your yard and it is almost gone in a matter of days. Another sign is usually the seagulls come back. I saw them as of last Wednesday, so I know that is a sure sign. Lets hope that summer will be better then last year. As it was one of the 5th coldest on record since it has been recorded here in Alaska. Break up also has a "aroma" that many don't like. It smells like wet mud and dog poop. True but a fact of life up here. If you can't scoop your poop, due to the fact 2 ft of snow has fallen, most people aren't going to go digging for it. So you have poop soup around town until the water resides enough.

Break Up is also a time to get your stuff straight before the "Fishing Season". Trust me, no one plays with the salmon when they start trickling into the streams and rivers around Alaska. You won't see me blogging much then either. I am a fish-o-holic. I love catching King, Silver and Red salmon. Pinks I smoke, as they aren't the best to eat like the other, but that is my opinion. Now what I mean by getting your stuff straight, is extreme spring cleaning. You don't want to be home cleaning whatever it is, when you know of a run of salmon.

Many people in Anchorage do what they call suicide runs to the Kenai and Russian Rivers. What that is, is when you get off work (say around 5 PM) you have everything packed for the 120 mile drive down to the river(s). You get our gear on, bag your limit and drive back home. The reason it is also called suicide runs is because some people were so tired after fishing, bagging the limit of salmon and driving back, they can be up almost 24 hours and have driven off roads and in some cases have had head on collisions. The picture you are looking at is when I went to the Russian River area, and that is called Combat Fishing. Most of the Alaskans know how to get inbetween the people and "flip". But you always have some knucklehead who thinks they are some God to fishing and won't let you in. I can't help myself when I see people like this (usually men who are 18 - 45) and show them up with my fishing skills. Not many of my friends will bet me anymore, they usually lose. And you always have that ONE hot head who gets his panties in a wad when you tell them to back off. If you have ever heard stories of people cutting lines, well I am one of those infamous people who will, but I only do it if there is a reason. I have only had one guy freak out on me... but after 2 hours of dealing with his crappy attitude and him constantly getting tangled in MY line which he blamed me for, I had it. And CUT his line. He didn't know I also had my .40 cal under my rain coat and decided he wanted to try to kick my ass. I bring a gun due to the bears, but for some people like this, it is a good idea to keep one around to "adjust" attitudes. The man came after me (and I am the only female in a 100 foot radius on the bank) and I whipped the side of my jacket my gun was on and told him to either back away or else. He say the light... but got pissy and went to grab a Fish and Game cop. Now this cracks me up, as in Alaska you can have a gun, and do not have to have a CCL up here. Especially in areas like the Russian where it is full of bears. The F&G guy laughed at the man who called him... and back to fishing I went. The F&G guy also said that if jerk kept bothering me, to give him a call and handed me his card. Awesome! I gotta new friend. But the other guys who saw this clown being a clown, told him to move on. They were also tired of the BS. Gotta love Alaskans!

So, if you ever decide to come up to Alaska to go fishing. Make sure to contact me..... I promise it is never a dull moment when I go fishing!