Hoochies, gumpuckies, whobblers, and snubbers

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Waiting on the ferry dock in Petersburg was a slim young woman and two little girls. We identified ourselves, hoisted our bags into her SUV and drove to the Nordic house B&B ( try to google them). Oh, it is so sweet! Beautifully decorated, with an enormous kitchen stocked with anything you might desire for breakfast. On the table was a plate full of homemade chocolate chip cookies( much better than the Doubletree Hotel), and a note book with all sorts of info about the town complete with menus from several restaurants. There was a comfy living room with two sofas and a well stocked library. The dining room table and the sofas looked out of large picture windows over a harbor. There are two telescopes for closer viewing of the eagles that soar all around. To use the word ‘spectacular’ would be an understatement.

Petersburg, while only a little over 3,000 in population, seems to be a thriving community that prides itself on the hard work of its residents. Fishing is the mainstay of their economy. It is ranked 16th in the nation by value of their catch and 18th by the poundage delivered. So they don’t think of themselves as small when they post those stats. In 2007, the catch totaled 75.4 million pounds and was valued at $41.8 million. They celebrated 100 years as a town last April. It is situated on Mitkof Island and is about 23 miles long and 16 miles wide. The only way to get here is by plane or ferry AND the big cruise ships don’t stop here because the harbor is too shallow. You have to love a town where the taxi has no meter and will take you anywhere for $6 bucks or a round trip for $10. Or lists under the ‘56 things to do in Petersburg’ such items as: #17 Check your e-mail, # 24 Eat lutefisk, or # 48 View the replica of a Viking ship in the Sons of Norway parking lot.

There is a delightful little museum that has a video telling how the town got started and has interviews with the now senior citizen aged grandchildren of some of the founders. And there is a lot if information about fishing in general but salmon in particular. I learned it has a language of its own. Do you know what a ‘hoochie’ is? No, not THAT kind of hoochie! In fisherman language it resembles an octopus or cuttlefish and is waved back and forth in the water to attract salmon. Apparently it drives them wild. Another item used is a ‘flasher’. No, not THAT kind of flasher. This is a shiny piece of metal about 8 inches long and 3 inches wide that is flipped back and forth to attract the salmon. Oh, grasshopper, there is more….. Any idea what a gumpuckie is? No, nothing to do with hockey, it is something that give the salmon something to bite so that the hoochies don’t tear. Are you following all this? Because you need to know about ‘snubbers’. It has nothing to do with snobby society types. They are pieces of rubber snapped to the troller lines and tied to the leader. OK, are you ready to try salmon fishing? By the way, the record for the largest King salmon is 126.5 pounds! So study up on your new vocabulary and maybe you’ll catch a bigger one.

We leave with lots of good karma for Petersburg- its great seafood, very nice and friendly people, and our gorgeous B&B.

More on the bag of items I lost in Sitka… I called the bus company yesterday morning and they told me the driver had turned in the bag. They agreed to mail them to me so I sent them a check for the postage and a donation to the Sitka Tribe of Alaska. Some little children are going to be very happy.

Carolyn

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