Wheels that fish

Fishwheels on the Copper River that is. Not the oldest way to fish but the most efficient I have ever seen. The power of the river turns the wheel, like a paddle boat, every other motion a slide the fish go down.

You don't want to fall in this river. Its full of glacier silt that will fill your clothes and weigh you down. This river flows all the way to the Gulf of Alaska never to be seen again.

Copper River Reds are a wild run of Sockeye that are highly prized for their high oil/fat content. The bones alone are mega calcium and when pressure cooked are crumbled and easily digested by humans.

The wheels are a subsistance lifestyle for residents of Alaska only. The commercial fishery is a whole different story. Gillnetters catch them on the flats of the Copper River fresh from the Gulf of Alaska before they hit the fresh water of the Copper River. Once they hit fresh water to the head waters up the Copper River they start to deteriate. The high prices you pay for the first run of fresh salmon from Alaska which are Copper River Reds is well worth it. That doesn't mean river ran fishwheel caught CCRs are any less prized. They are just as good and the FishTaxi has canned both.

Over the course of this blog I will show you how I can Copper River Reds or tuna. A can is good for 7 years and doesn't need to be refrigerated.

Fish, Peace & Blog on!