Katja and the EEK

This past weekend, I ventured up the EEK river again with my fishing buddy, Seth. This time I brought my 22 rifle and Katja along for the ride. Seth's dog Ginger is accustomed to the journey, but it was interesting watching the two dogs interact. Ginger is a healthy female Chocolate lab who is very focused on bird hunting with Seth. Katja is a ... playful dog that doesn't like to work much at all unless it is on her terms. The dogs had their little tiffs, but all was fine in the end.
It was a little colder traveling in the boat this time and Katja wasn't used to the lower wind chill and having to sit still. Eventually she came around and joined Ginger up at the front of the boat to spot the hundreds of ducks we saw on the water. Katja must have gotten really keyed in on the birds, because shortly after this picture was shot, she leaped out of the boat, traveling at 30 mph, after some ducks that were flying along beside us. Hitting the water at 30 mph was quite a shock to Katja who skipped twice, spun, and then tumbled to a halt all within about 2 seconds. Seth and I were laughing hysterically. Katja wasn't. With her head about 12 inches out of the water she was making her way towards the shore and out of the frigid river. She shook it off rather quickly and was very willing to get back in the boat. She stayed still while the boat was moving in the future. I wish I had my camera out for that moment. It was priceless. Luckily for Katja, she jumped out of the side of the boat and not off the front. It could have been a little more tramatic for her and us.
Seth and I did manage to catch about 12 - 15 Grayling and a couple of pike. The Grayling were all pretty good size, some reaching almost 18 inches. I took a couple of them home for dinner and released most of them back into their chilly environment. Still looking forward to catching a couple of trout in this part of Alaska. Maybe next weekend. If not, I'll have to wait another year.