Looking For A New Adventure: Need A Job?

[JahReid]

Need a job? Looking for a new adventure? Currently looking for an energetic individual for an entry level commercial fishing position on Kodiak Island in Alaska for this coming summer.... Great opportunity to save up money for travel or a thru-hike while still fulfilling that never ending wanderlust many hikers posses.

The season begins the middle of May and lasts into September. Pay is based on on % of catch. Looking for a physically and mentally tough person with the ability to learn a new trade. It is necessary for any applicants to have a passion for the outdoors and a willingness to live off the grid for four straight months. The fishing camp is located in the ‘bush’ on Kodiak one hour by plane or one day by boat out of town. For further information, questions, and an application please contact me at [email protected] or send a private message here on WhiteBlaze.

After graduating college I went through a period backpacking addiction all over the United States. Many others on this forum can relate. During these years I found myself on the AT, PCT, Florida Trail, Arizona Trail, and eventually penniless camping in Alaska. This is a tough point a lot of young hikers come to (especially thru-hikers). What comes next? I realized it was finally necessary to actually get a serious job. My never ending wanderlust still ever present and seemingly never satisfied I knew I needed an alternative to an office. What a grand idea it would be to get into commercial fishing I thought. This was an industry I could work in without sacrificing my life in an office, a means to fulfill my cravings for adrenaline and adventure. I embarked on my new career quickly learning I could make enough money and have enough free time to continue on my journey of exploring this beautiful planet we live in. Commercial fishing changed my lifestyle in subsequent years and I continue to love every minute of it. I have an amazing job the gives me the ability to work extremely hard for periods of time and travel the world hiking and exploring in my off time.
Right now I am looking to hire someone for an entry level position this summer from approximately May 15th-End of September on Kodiak Island in Alaska. It is working at a remote salmon fishing setnet site. The work is hard both mentally and physically. If you are one of the few who are capable of the grind, for 4 straight months working every single day up to 20 hours, the end result can be very rewarding. You will have enough money to thru-hike any trail or visit any country. It is very hard to find good people who can handle the work and enjoy it at the same time. Over half of people who start a season end up leaving within a few weeks.
From my past hiking I have learned how many of the same qualities that are desirable in a commercial fishing crewman are often found in a hiker. The endurance, stamina, mental toughness, physical strength, etc of completing a 4 month grind. I get sick of hiring people who complain about being out of town, miss the bars, want a shower, can’t handle primitive living, whine about the work, and can’t keep a smile on their face in times of adversity and stress. The living conditions have similarities as well with the fish camp is located a day by boat or 1 hour by plane out of town. You are living in cabins off the grid in the middle of a wildlife refuge. Grizzly bears roam the land and fish swim the sea. The office it truly amazing for the right type of person. It can also be brutal when strong weather rolls in.
It is an incredibly hard grind at times but there is a very tangible reward at the end that always keeps me going. I’m deciding to take a different approach this time in hiring and thinking outside the box a little more. I want to see if there are any young energetic people in the hiking community who are interested in applying for this position. It is the exact same background that led me down the path to becoming a commercial fisherman. All of the qualities I see in thru-hikers would apply very well to salmon fishing.
Would there be any interested people in the hiking community who would want to apply for this job? It is entry level and everything will be taught to the right person, you just need ability to learn. Mental and physical strength/toughness are necessary. Perhaps fellow young hikers who need a means to support their lifestyle while at the same time having a wonderful life changing adventure in Alaska???

[JahReid]

Here is a basic timeline of a typical season:

The job starts in Kodiak on May 13th-17th depending on when you can get up there. You are responsible for getting your own flight. We will all meet in the town of Kodiak around that time. I usually show up every year on the 15th. We will all stay in a hotel for a couple days in town (which will be payed for) and will get all our last minute supplies, licenses, gear, etc in order. Then we will fly on a small rented float plane from town and get dropped of out at the fishing camp on the other side of the island. The actual site borders the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge. There are 5 cabins out at camp where we will stay for the entire summer and catch as many salmon as possible! The beginning will be a couple weeks of preparation for the season including spring cleaning, repairing nets, setting anchors and lines for our net, cutting up driftwood for firewood, etc. These days will typically be loosely 8 am until 8 pm of pecking away at all the odd jobs we need to get done to prepare everything for fishing. The real fun starts in June when the season opens and we start fishing like crazy. Then the work becomes driving up and down the net (set right out in front of the cabins) in one of the aluminum skiffs. We fish with one big net set in the ocean that is 600 feet long and about 40 feet deep. Starting at 5 am until dark (as late as 1 am at peak solstice) we pick fish out of the net, clean the net, put the fish on ice in holding barge, and guard the net from up on the hill where we have a high lookout point (to keep the sea lions from robbing our catch). There are scheduled days when the fishing closes down, usually a couple days a week, and we take the net out before closure and then set it back out when it opens again. On closure days there is time for a little more sleep but it is also necessary to continuously mend the nets from the holes that accumulate being set in the ocean (whale wholes, sea lion holes, shark holes, misc tears, etc.) It has to be in top shape so as many fish as possible get gilled. We will have one brand new net this season which will be a bonus. This type of scene plays out over the course of the summer, it gets easier over time because there is less daylight and the fish slow down later in the season. June and July during peak season is a non stop frantic pace some people can struggle with. The season ends typically around the beginning of September with a week or two of cleanup and winterizing the cabins at the end. I flew home from Kodiak last year on the 21st of September to give you an idea. It’s possible it could end in July too, you just never have a whole lot of certainty in commercial fishing because it is highly regulated by fish and game. It just depends on the numbers of fish that are returning to their rivers. Salmon stocks have been overall very healthy in recent year though and I would expect the season to last into September. With exact ending times very much up in the air please just specify on your application if you need to be done by a certain day, for instance you start college on such and such day. Accommodating end dates especially for school reasons is no big deal.
This is a general outline of how a season goes and the most of the major tasks involved. Everything can be learned if you have the will and mindset to do so. I can teach you how to mend nets like a pro. Picking fish out of the net is easy for most people once you get the hang of it. Things like driving the skiff can be slowly learned in the first few weeks. I personally find this job fun. Certainly not every minute. It seems like half the time is hell and the other half is pure bliss. The times of pure bliss I get and the big paycheck at the end vastly outweighs the misery for me. I love having Kodiak Island as my office, getting the adrenaline rush of catching boat fulls of fish, living in the bush, and getting paid for having a grand adventure. It really comes down to a person wanting to undertake a challenge like this and having the physical and mental ability to succeed at it. Being a big time hiker myself I think mining for new talent within the hiking community seems logical. Again thanks for your interest and I strongly encourage you to apply if you feel like you would be up for it and want a new adventure in life.

[Boo8meR]

I danced with a sow and cubs on the east side of the rock in 2012. No stranger to Kodiak, by any means. I'd be your guy if I wasn't planning a thru hike - hell, I have a buddy who sold a fish camp in Larsen Bay a few years ago. You left out how good you guys will eat...

[JahReid]

Your right about eating good... Dinner consists of the freshest fish you will ever taste Right out the front door is an ocean full of cod, steelhead, halibut, pollock, rockfish, octopus, lingcod, crab, not to mention the 5 different types of salmon. We have been known to have a little venison around camp from time to time as well

But to be balanced I should say the fresh fruits and veggies are a a little hard to come by We get a bountiful crop of berries in July-August though...

[JahReid]

A note about Pay:

Pay in commercial fishing is on a percentage scale. You will make a percentage of the fish sales. The actual percentage will be determined by the owner of the operation during the interview and hiring process. It is so hard to predict what you will make in a season fishing salmon. It can be boom or bust depending on the year. There are no guarantees of anything until we start catching fish... then the money starts adding up. It is up to mother nature the amount of fish that swim into our net each year. Last year was a little slow but we work at a great site and we still caught over 100K lbs of salmon. The price of salmon is ever changing year to year as well affecting what we make. We never are certain of prices until after the season starts and the market forms. In recent times the price has been VERY strong around $2 per pound for sockeye and should continue to be in that range. I don't spend any money in the course of a season and fly home with one big check. If you need to have money to pay bills or to send someone during the summer arrangements can be made but let me tell you it is one amazing feeling walking away with a summers pay in one check. Feels like you can do anything/go anywhere in the world. Love it!

[JahReid]

I'm surprised what little interest people have had in this job. I have yet to have any serious applicants and this position is still very much open! Would love to hire some new blood from within the hiking community... Figured it would be no problem drumming up some applicants but it seems everyone is out on the trails Anyone who thinks they have what it takes to fish salmon and wants to discuss it further please contact me ASAP. I'm going to have to start posting on more general job sites in a couple more weeks... still holding out hope for a hiker in the time being

[4eyedbuzzard]

I'm surprised what little interest people have had in this job. I have yet to have any serious applicants and this position is still very much open! Would love to hire some new blood from within the hiking community... Figured it would be no problem drumming up some applicants but it seems everyone is out on the trails Anyone who thinks they have what it takes to fish salmon and wants to discuss it further please contact me ASAP. I'm going to have to start posting on more general job sites in a couple more weeks... still holding out hope for a hiker in the time being

Well, I think you have to look at the perspective that some (many) may have from a young prospective employees standpoint. It's a long EXPENSIVE trip (probably $1000+ one way from much of the US) on one's own dime to (and then from) Kodiak for a really hard job with long hours and no guaranty that you'll be able to perform up to expectations. What happens if you just can't physically do the job? Or you can't handle it mentally? And wind up quitting or getting fired and dropped off in Kodiak after a few weeks trial without enough money to even make the trip back home. Or get injured, or work all season, and wind up with a share that's far less than what's expected. I can see where it's a tough sell.

[Colter]

It's a long EXPENSIVE trip. It's a long EXPENSIVE hike.
What happens if you just can't physically do the job? What happens if you just can't physically do the hike?
Or you can't handle it mentally? Or you can't handle the hike mentally?
And wind up quitting or getting fired and dropped off in Kodiak after a few weeks trial without enough money to even make the trip back home.
And wind up quitting the hike without enough money to even make the trip back home
Or get injured, or work all season, and wind up with a share that's far less than what's expected.
Or get injured, or hike all season, and wind up with an experience that's far less than what's expected.
I can see where it's a tough sell. I can see where it's a tough sell.

A thru-hike or fishing in Alaska are both definitely risky and not good choices for most people.

Both are difficult, highly adventurous undertakings with no guarantee of success with potentially big payoffs. I know a guy who hikes half his life and fishes in Alaska to pay for it.

[JahReid]

Valid points 4eyedbuzzard. I guess I am always thinking about it from my perspective; especially how exited I was to be offered the job when I was a young hiker. In reality it is a highly unique and niche job very few people want to undertake. And it probably does sound scary. Kodiak is generally around a $500 flight from most of the US; I fly from Boston and pay less. If somebody fails and winds up back in the town of Kodiak with little money it isn't as bad as you would think. It would take only a few days to land another job around town or on a boat. You can camp for free on the island and even hop on a ferry to mainland Alaska for around $100. Work is plentiful in Alaska during the summer and easy to come by across all the industries. It isn't all that bad winding up wandering around Alaska The job is for an adventurous soul to begin with. You have to take risks in life to ever get ahead.

Great responses Colter; the parallels between thru-hiking and commercial fishing are amazing. They are both so similar in certain ways, especially in the ways which both of them can be so difficult. This is the exact reason I thought I would have success in recruiting for an entry level position in the hiking community. A thru-hiker from recent years who needs a job would be an ideal candidate to succeed at the job. When I post this job on Alaska job sites I start getting hundreds of responses but very few that are what I am looking for.

[4eyedbuzzard]

I also like Colter's responses to a great degree, but there is at least one big difference between a thru-hike and this job. One is pay for recreation, the other is work for pay. There are thousands who line up to thru-hike for months every spring and even shell out money to do so. I doubt there is anyone lining up to do any commercial fishing for free. So while there are parallels, they are very different animals in that sense. BTW, I'm not suggesting that someone in the right situation shouldn't consider doing this. It could be a great opportunity and experience. But given your own words in the original post

Over half of people who start a season end up leaving within a few weeks.

I was just giving a few reasons as to why many people might consider the endeavor too risky.

[ralph23]

It's hard to imagine anyone taking this level of commitment seriously without even a couple of ballpark pay numbers. I'm not personally interested but this sounds like serious work and the description leaves a lot of money questions.

[MountAndew]

Might be something I would be interested in if you're still looking for someone in 2016. I'm thru-hiking the AT this year though. Let me know if you need someone next year!

[TennJed]

It's hard to imagine anyone taking this level of commitment seriously without even a couple of ballpark pay numbers. I'm not personally interested but this sounds like serious work and the description leaves a lot of money questions.

Agreed, although I could be interested.

[Walkintom]

It's hard to imagine anyone taking this level of commitment seriously without even a couple of ballpark pay numbers. I'm not personally interested but this sounds like serious work and the description leaves a lot of money questions.

Fishing for a living (which I have very little experience at) is similar to farming for a living (which I have a bit more experience at) in that there are a lot of variables that can really swing the pay drastically. Market price of the catch, availability of the catch, efficiency of the labor force, and fuel cost of operation are ones that I would guess are some of the biggest factors in play with this sort of operation. If one or two of them swing hard in the same direction the effect could be huge on the money involved.

The fuel cost for running a boat all day long and catching nothing is pretty close to the same for running it all day long and catching all you can hold. An efficient work force can turn out 2-3X as much labor as an otherwise willing but inefficient one. Etc.

So I would imagine the pay is pretty variable.

A camp operator could moderate that some by paying the workforce less on bumper years and being able to pay more on bad years, but most places that pay piece work or share percentage work the workers take a significant pay risk right along with the owners and get a bigger piece of the pie for that risk.

[JahReid]

Very true Walkintom. Farming has many similarities to fishing as well. It is necessary to be an efficient worker. It is so fast paced at times their is no alternative but to pick fish at a frantic pace out of the net. Fisherman never have enough hours in a day, it is just the nature of the game. The harder you work the more money you make and the goal of the season is to make as much as possible as fast as possible. If your not working hard your not making money.

As far as actual numbers go I will say this; entry level people usually get 7-10% of the total catch. This isn't just the profit but the total amount of the fish sold. A realistic range for money in a season is 10K-25K. It would have to be catastrophic to be less than 10K. I try not to give out many figures because I want people to want the job for reasons besides just money. Sometimes young people can think that is a lot when in reality you work tremendously hard to get that money. There are certainly easier ways to make money than commercial fishing, you have to get some enjoyment out of it for it to be worthwhile. I have found in the past people to caught up in the money don't usually work out. The first tough time when things turn bad they are the first to quit instead of grinding it out and lasting the season and actually walking away with good money. If all you want is the money you will fail. If you want an adventure and a physical/mental test of yourself to accomplish a meaningful goal you will then succeed and the money is a motivator. You need to be up for a challenge. Completing a season is like completing a thru-hike, so many people wash out in the first month. The people that stick it out through good times and bad get the satisfaction at the end.

[OCDave]

Dang! Wish I'd have seen this before signing on as a Door-to-Door Encylopedia salesman.

[Colter]

Very true Walkintom. Farming has many similarities to fishing as well. It is necessary to be an efficient worker. It is so fast paced at times their is no alternative but to pick fish at a frantic pace out of the net. Fisherman never have enough hours in a day, it is just the nature of the game. The harder you work the more money you make and the goal of the season is to make as much as possible as fast as possible. If your not working hard your not making money.

As far as actual numbers go I will say this; entry level people usually get 7-10% of the total catch. This isn't just the profit but the total amount of the fish sold. A realistic range for money in a season is 10K-25K. It would have to be catastrophic to be less than 10K. I try not to give out many figures because I want people to want the job for reasons besides just money. Sometimes young people can think that is a lot when in reality you work tremendously hard to get that money. There are certainly easier ways to make money than commercial fishing, you have to get some enjoyment out of it for it to be worthwhile. I have found in the past people to caught up in the money don't usually work out. The first tough time when things turn bad they are the first to quit instead of grinding it out and lasting the season and actually walking away with good money. If all you want is the money you will fail. If you want an adventure and a physical/mental test of yourself to accomplish a meaningful goal you will then succeed and the money is a motivator. You need to be up for a challenge. Completing a season is like completing a thru-hike, so many people wash out in the first month. The people that stick it out through good times and bad get the satisfaction at the end.

Having known people who have worked on fishing boats, this rings true.

A percentage of the catch is standard.

[rickb]

Having known people who have worked on fishing boats, this rings true.

A percentage of the catch is standard.

Yea, but don't they get paid at the end of each trip? Or are deck hands in Alaska also paid at the end of the season?

[Malto]

Very cool idea to post this. I'm also surprised there hasn't been more interest. Maybe we could post this link to all the folks on gofundme and other sites seeking money to hike. This would get someone in pretty good shape to boot. Good luck filling this.

[JahReid]

Yea, but don't they get paid at the end of each trip? Or are deck hands in Alaska also paid at the end of the season?

The rule of thumb is always end of season; at least it is in Alaska. Exceptions are certainly made on an individual basis (need money for bills etc) but that is the standard across the whole industry. It makes no sense any other way. People don't get hired for one trip fishing salmon. You are hired for the season and sign a contract to do so. This is very serious business and captains count on you. There are no days off, no reason to even get paid early. You need to be committed or not do it all. Good luck even getting paid if you quit on someone after 'one trip', this is way more hardcore than that. On some of the bigger boats I have heard people don't get their settlement until December as the owners like to let it collect interest as long as possible. When an owner owns a whole fleet of big fishing boats that interest can be substantial and these paychecks are the kind that are worth the wait.