Alaskan Fishing

K

K man

Joined
Nov 26, 2000
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515
I am hoping to be able to get a summer job in Alaska on a fishing boat next summer. I am wondering if any forum members have had a similar experience, and if so, what are the most common tasks that a knife is used for? Would a cheap, easily replaceable knife be a good choice or is a quality knife sensible? Plain or serrated edge? Blade steel? Multitool options?

-All input is greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Kevin
 
if you do a search, I think this topic was covered in-depth a year or two ago. My experience was that in 4.5 years aboard a factory-trawler (bigger boat, 300', not a salmon boat), the people on the slime line were issued big'ole kitchen knives, and the only other folks who used knives with regularity were the deckhands, who carried cheapie victornox paring knives and sometimes an $11 Mora-type knife in a plastic sheath. Both of those are inexpensive knives with plastic handles, that you won't miss if it gets swept overboard. the Chief Engineer had a slip-joint for opening boxes. I had an Al Mar (clip, thumbstud) and it was regarded as an eccentric piece of extravagance by most of the crew.

Basically, whatever work you get, the employer will give you the necessary tools to perform it. whether it's a big boat or a small catcher, they have learned the best tools from hard experience. Also, saltwater & fish-guts is a nasty environment for any knife. I had a nice knife on me only because I got myself promoted out of the slime as fast as I could - I wouldn't carry it in the factory! But if you just want to be prepared, I would recommend a cold steel voyager. Sharp, sturdy, cheap, easy to sharpen & you won't cry too much if it goes deep-sea exploring or somehow finds its way into another crewmember's seabag.

Last note - bring a disposable camera! Your gonna go through living hell, but you will see some really cool stuff, and have great stories to tell your friends at parties. "So Pete's on my right, but his hand is by my left foot, and figure I'll use the net as a tourniquet . . . . "
 
Thanks for the informative reply. I kind of figured that cheaper is better, but I just wanted to make sure. How were you able to find a job? Did you enjoy it?
 
The first time I went to Seattle & wandered around . . . . at the wrong time . . .and found nothing. Later I found a company through a friend that worked there. there are all kinds of ads in papers to attract college kids, but with those you generally end up in a cannery on land, living in a tent and blowing all your earnings from 18-hour days on $100 bottles of crappy vodka (or so I hear). Use the net to look up companies, like Alaska Seafoods, that run factory processing boats. The small boats, you pretty much have to know someone to get on them, although you can try walking the docks and that sometimes can work. If you know any Native Americans in the pacific northwest, they can maybe hook you up, the tribes have a lock on most of the summer salmon fishing. The company I used to work for tanked. Try doing some internet research. Keep in mind that smaller boats pay more, but are much more dangerous. bigger boats are only very very very dangerous.

BTW, how are you with seasickness? Some people just CANNOT deal. Misery, thy name is BLLEAAAAAAUGHHHHHHHHHH!
 
I have done some internet research, but I am only having success in finding companies that want to sell me information. I really want to be on a ship (not a cannery!) and make the most money possible ~ college is very expensive. But I am also in it for the adventure, the responsibility, the fellowship, and just a chance to see a different part of the world. I have a ‘rambler’ side to me; I would love to get away from Michigan.

What are some of the dangers?

Do you have any stories?
 
My brother-in-law did it and ended up working for the DNR instead. Made about the same $$$ but wandered the forest rather than the sea. I almost went - stupid girlfriend freaked out...:mad: She's long gone now - so, yes, I wish I had gone.

I have heard some crazy stories. The first time my BIL went, he did the fish cannery thing and it took him 2 weeks to get the smell off his body. He had already burned all his clothes, etc. but still stank. Worse than being a garbage man. But hey, $15K is worth it right?

I'm sure you'll do fine. Just have to get your rear end up there first - which is usually the hardest part. I've heard March and April are best to get hired.

If you hang out at the ports in Seattle, you can sometimes swing a ride to AK.

Try doing a search on "Alaska" hear on the forum. There are many folks from there that might have better info. Contact them personally.


If you're still in need for a good knife in a month or two from now, drop me a line. I'm currently making some very cool salt-water resistant neck-knives, made specifically for saltwater fishing (which I do a lot of here on the East Coast). I probably won't have them finished till March...:(

Best of luck.

Dan
 
K-man,

here's a couple websites to look at. And you can always ask their HR departments if they know of any other places that might be hiring. Unfortunately, due to over-fishing the industry is on the decline, jobs are scarcer and wages are lower. But you can still probably find an adventure!

http://www.icicleseafoods.com/

http://www.akgen.com/

http://www.unisea.com/

http://www.tridentseafoods.com/
(I'd avoid these guys, they had a TERRIBLE rep for screwing over their employees in the early 90s, but you can still use them for information)

http://www.amsea.com/Index.asp
(these guys bought out my old company, Oceantrawl, and are pretty good folks I think)

The dangers include falling overboard, being hit in the head by a crane/falling gear/whatnot, slipping on fish parts and landing hard on your a$$, or landing on a piece of rebar that goes 12" into uyour chest but somehow doesn't kill you . . . the biggest danger is forgetting that the spinning flesh-rending blades [note knife content] in the factory will cut you up just as easily as a fish. I dealt with many mangled hands and severed fingers.

I worked out there for almost 5 years, several months straight then a couple months off then several more months on, etc. I have stories to last a lifetime! The best image was silently breaking through endless ice in russia, surrounded by nothing but white to the horizon, with sea lions basking in the sun and barking at the boat as it passed. I saw and treated horrible injuries, saved a life, drank unimaginably bad coffee, learned to play poker, made friends and enemies, learned a lot about myself and grew from it, and met the most diverse and fascinating cast of characters you can imagine. Sometimes it sucked beyond belief, and sometimes (like in a storm with 100mph winds and 60-foot waves) saw things that you simply can't experience anywhere else. AND I saved enough $$ to eventually put myself through law school!

That said, we should probably not diverge too much further from knife content, so I'll save my stories & perhaps let you find some of your own . . . . .
 
If you want a general-use folder for carry at sea, as opposed to a task-specific knife for use on the job, there are two that you should look at.

Probably the best folder available for use at sea is the Boye Boat Knife. The blade is dendritic cobalt, which is very similar to Talonite. It simply cannot rust, shows outstanding edge-holding, and cuts at least as well as the best steels. (A lot of folks, including me, think the cobalt alloys cut better than steel.) You can currently get one for just under $100.

Another excellent choice, at a lower cost, is the new Spyderco Salt 1. It features H-1 steel, which is also immune to rust (not just resistant like regular stainless steels). Edge-holding is not as good as with the cobatlt alloys, but it performs as well as a mid-level stainless. It can be found for less than $45.

I would think seriously about having a decent knife in your pocket "just in case".

--Bob Q
 
I worked on a small charter boat the last 5 or 6 summers, granted, it was nothing at all like what you'll probably face up in Alaska. But, I think I would have to reccomend two folders, a Spyderco Rescue, and a Salt. I haven't owned either one of these two, but knowing Spyderco's quality, I don't think you could go wrong with them. Other than that, any other knive you may need will probably be provided for. Also, you may want to keep a small triangular ceramic stone in your pocket for edge touch ups.

Chris
 
I worked a set net for red salmon six years ago. The main use for a knife was cutting rope. I used a cheap vitrinox serrated blade for most tasks. It was thin and cut well. One day the blade snapped off at the handle. I bought another one the next day at the local cannery. If I worked again fishing I'd ave an extra blade on me at all time.

Once my partner almost go pulled overboard when he go tangled up in a rope that wrapped his foot when he was setting a 90lb anchor. I had my knife on the rope ready to cut when he yelled at me to stop. He was barely able to stay in the skiff and keep from getting ripped over by the strength of the moving boat and tide.

Set netting is considered tame by most fishing standards. Let's see... dangers, misc. comments. Our third partner, actually the license holder, mangled three fingers between two aluminum boats on the third day I was there. I never saw him after that. A drifter almost crushed our boat when we were unloading our fish at the factory boat. I got the cr*p beat out of me just about every day hawling nets by hand. I couldn't sleep because my fingers felt like sausages after picking fish. (40,00-50,000 lbs between the two of us.) We were threatened with death on more than one occasion when someone thought we caused them to loose fish. We took a drifter's net after it wrapped and sank our outside bouy. (see death threat above) I lived in a shipping crate with windows cut in the side. Stinky fish, low pay, back breaking work... All in all an adventure!!! :D I also caught huge dolly varden and a on a day off fly fishing. Hooted with excitement when our nets almost instantly sunk when it got slammed with reds, laughed histerically on several occasions,....

I say move up here. Find any old job in Anchorage or some other town of choice. Make some connections and start your Alaskan adventure. Don't wait to get a job from afar. I took that advice from an old time herring fisherman from Seattle. Been up here going on 11 years now. Currently I take the summers off. Best "job" I've ever had!

Oh yeah knives. You can buy 'em at B & J commercail here in Anchorage. I'd bring a folder that is somewhat rust resistant when your not actually working. I wish I had my Sharpmaker then to touch 'em up. Sorry if this message is a little garbled. I'm still waking up.

Best of luck.

Bruce
 
Any knife you carry on your person would be used for working on the fishing gear mostly,then the boat rigging such as lifting gear and dock lines,then just normal knife stuff such as you find on land.
Don't worry about getting any knife for prossessing seafood,they might be very fisheries specific and they will be provided.

Fishing gear you cut is mostly nylon and poly rope and twine and nylon monofilament,depending on the fishery,some involve a bunch of knifework,some not much.

I prefer 2.5" to 3.25" plain edge pocket knives with straight blades for ease of sharpening.
Corrosion resistance is a must,a carbon steel slipjoint will rust shut in your pocket in a week.
I love one handed opening knives,but one one handed closing is much more important IMO and I will take a slipjoint over a knife I can't easily close one handed.

I carry a small,plain,single stud lefty Sebenza with the clip and fob removed most of the time and it works for me.
There are plenty of less expensive options out there,especially if you are right handed.

Good luck.:)
 
There are less-adventerous options for seasonal work also. The ferry system hires a good number of seasonals. The tourism industry, from cruise ships to restaurants and camp grounds, hire a ton of folks. Summer is also construction season and the guys in road construction or building houses/buildings/etc. can do pretty good.
 
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