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alaska family history
Our Alaska story began three generations ago, when Caleb's paternal grandfather Harold left the family farm in Kansas, and went north to Alaska: in search of adventure, industry, and a new life.
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Harold spent years working as an ice machine engineer at fish plants across Southeast Alaska, living in the rural villages of Sitka, Pelican, and Yakutat. He was known for making the best ice: the flakiest, coldest, most resilient.
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His greatest accomplishment and adventure of all: hand building a log cabin along the Alsek River, in a rugged area of the Tongass wilderness known as Dry Bay. From there, he and his wife Betty raised their two children, started a fish processing and direct marketing business, flew bush planes, harvested salmon, and lived off the land.
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Caleb's parent's carried on the legacy, raising Caleb and his two sisters in cabins on the banks of the Alsek and East Alsek rivers. Living off pilot bread, sockeye salmon, and powdered milk. Kids driving four wheelers as soon as they were heavy enough to fire off the kick start, and reach the shift pedal. Bush planes were the only way in and out, and news came via the VHF radio.
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In today's Amazon Prime and Starlink world, it's difficult to convey what an accomplishment this was. They were true pioneers; maybe the last generation in America to be able to do so. It took a certain grit and resilience that I don't think we'll ever know or experience, but we are thankful they paved the way for our life today.
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The early years
In the late 90's, Dry Bay experienced what we now call "The Crash". Dry Bay had been a thriving fish camp community through the 80's and early 90's, but two things happened in the late 90's: the local salmon run experienced a temporary down turn, and farmed salmon took off and began ruling the marketplace. Families that were accustomed to being paid upwards of $3.00/lb for their wild salmon were now being offered $0.25/lb. Most families left Dry Bay, out of necessity. Caleb's family stayed though, and his father took jobs in through the winter to essentially subsidize their time in Dry Bay, as well as operating a fly fishing camp in the fall (which they still run today, shoutout to Italio River Adventures!)
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Through their childhood and adolescence, Caleb and his sisters spent their summers in the wilderness of Dry Bay, but schooling months down in Idaho. Jess was raised in Caldwell, Idaho; and had the perfect quintessential Idaho childhood. Summers spent playing on hay stacks, splashing in streams, and eating snow cones. During the school year, Caleb and Jess were in the same small class from sixth grade through high school, and began dating the winter after high school graduation.
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At that time, Jess was a freshman at Boise State, and Caleb was about to embark on his own Great Adventure; captaining an open ocean power troller.
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After The Crash in the 90's, Caleb's dad knew one thing for sure: we cannot depend on one fishery, or one region for our livelihood. Diversity is key. So, he purchased a small, 32' live-aboard troller called the Blu-Fin with a proposition for barely-18-year-old Caleb: for the next five years, you fish the Blu-Fin during the summer, and I'll fish it during the winter. Young and eager to see more of Alaska than Dry Bay, Caleb accepted.
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Open ocean trolling a 32' boat is nothing like river fishing a small boat with an outboard, but Caleb jumped all in. Those first few seasons were incredibly tough: full of lessons, learning curves, and disappointment. During Caleb's third season on the water, unable to hold down a steady deckhand, Jess hopped aboard during college summer break. Her first time in Alaska, on a small fishing boat, and harvesting a salmon. A fish completely out of water.
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That was over a decade ago, and we haven't looked back.
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our Fairweather era
Since that first summer together, we've had twelve more. Over the course of those seasons, Jess graduated college, and Caleb fufilled his contract on the Blu-Fin. We got married, got a dog. Bought our first home, and bought our first boat. Sold our first boat, and purchased the Fairweather. Lost a parent, then lost Harold, and then gained our son, Monti. And ultimately, committed to living a wild and unpredictable life in Alaska. Just like the generations before us, and if we're very lucky... Carving a path for the generations after us.
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Thanks to the generational knowledge passed down to us, we have our own first-generation family business: Fairweather Fish Co. We are proud to share 100% of the catch from our family's boat, F/V Fairweather, with individual families, restaurants, retailers, and brokers. Seeing our carefully harvested fish through from ocean to plate has been one of the greatest joys of our young lives.
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Thank you coming along for our journey, we are so thankful you're here.
