With the summer salmon season starting in Alaska, we know fishermen are feeling the pull of the sea and wrapping up life on land. This time of year we all assess what essentials will end up in our sea bags to get us through months of hard work on the water. Here we're sharing our favorite gear picks and boat hacks, but we also want to hear from you! The first 30 young fishermen to fill out our questionnaire below will receive a free pair of Darn Tough Socks from Salmon Sisters in their mailbox before they head out to sea. (Update! Wed, May 17 @11:30am AKST - We've received 30 responses, and those fine folks will be receiving socks in the mail. Please keep sharing your fishing essentials in the questionnaire below).
Emma and Claire's Gear Picks:
- Guy Cotten Chinook Smock - a good choice for keeping your sleeves dry when picking fish
- Aleutian Fleece Hoodie - Warm windbloc fleece for everyday wear on the water, made in Alaska
- Aleutian Fleece Leggings - Warm and comfy bottoms, the perfect single layer under your fishing bibs, made in Alaska
- Emma Claire and Stanley K Darn Tough Socks - Built specifically for fishermen, these wool work socks are wicking and supportive in your Xtratufs
- Patagonia Joggers - A lighter bottom layer for work on the water and day-off downtime
- Smart Wool Merino Base Layer Top - The greatest wicking, warm base layer to wear under a jacket or raingear
- Dovetail Overalls - We love Dovetail workwear for women, especially the thermal lined bibs for early season boat work
- Arc'teryx Women's Atom Jacket - Lightweight down layer to keep you cozy when not wearing your raingear
- Red Ledge Free Rein Jacket - Lightweight fishing jackets that keep you dry and protected while giving you mobility
- Grundens Sedna Bibs - Our go-to fishing bibs for women
- Salmon Sisters x Xtratuf Tinned Fish Boots - Trusty boots to get the job done
- Giv’r Gloves - Insulated leather gloves that are great for keeping your hands doing boat work
- Skida - our friends in Vermont make all the greatest headwear (hats, headbands, neck tours, bandanas, and more), to keep your hair and sun out of your way as you work
Emma and Claire's Boat Hacks:
- Set up Starlink internet on your boat so you can check the weather forecast, communicate with your radio group and stay in touch with your family and friends back home.
- Set up all your bill payments on auto pay and update your voicemail and email auto-responder to say "gone fishing" and how to get in touch with you if there's an important message.
- Find out your boat mailing address for snail mail and encourage your friends to write. Share your seafood processor's mailing address and your captain's contact info with your family.
- Start making some playlists with music that really gets you going and download them early so you can play your tunes at sea. Podcasts are nice for wheel watch. If you have a hard drive, load it up with your good movies and TV shows for those days with downtime.
- Learn a couple easy, boat-friendly recipes and make sure you have the ingredients you need onboard to cook for your crew when it's your turn to make a meal. Check out this blog post about our adventures cooking at sea and the Salmon Sisters Cookbook for easy recipes featuring lots of wild Alaska salmon.
- Bring a special bag of coffee or fresh pair of socks or small treat to share with your crew to celebrate reaching your season's goals.
- Learn about quality harvesting practices of seafood from deck to dish, to ensure that they beautiful fish you harvest is just as beautiful and delicious for the person who gets to eat it.