Tyson Fick

“I caught my first king salmon on the Kenai River on my eighth birthday. It was kind of funny, because my folks were there with their friends, and hanging out around the fire, and I was so fired up to go fishing that I wanted to go at 5:30 in the morning. I was ready. But they said their friend whose boat they were on told them ‘Salmon here don’t even bite until 8:00, so you don’t have to worry about it. We can just hang out.’

So we got in the boat a little before eight and started our first drift. 8:03 a.m., BOOM! Fish on. I fought it all the way down the river. It was a 45-pound king salmon, as an 8 year old.

It isn’t the first salmon I caught, but it’s the one I always remember. It led to a lifelong obsession with chasing after salmon with fishing rods, nets, frying pans, and everything in between. I’ve just been so into salmon ever since.”

—Tyson Fick, commercial fisherman, Taku River Reds