BUILT FOR ALL

A Day In The Life In Bristol Bay

I’m often asked what life is like on the boat, and while the same things are done every day, the hours in which we do them are not.

Change of Season, Change of Shoes

XTRATUFs are the foundation, and with the change of season - from fishing to gear work and spring to winter - the Insulated Legacy Lace Boot and Legacy Clog are the perfect footings to take me from chilly predawn mornings - frosty nets and frozen fingers- to the warm golden midday sun that has you question whether it’s the same day you woke up to.

Wintertime in Alaska

When the dock ramp is a sheet of ice and it’s pitched at 45* degrees it's reassuring not having to worry about your footing. My go to for the wintertime in Alaska is the Men’s Swingsaw with the Glacier Trek sole. They’re warm boots so they end up being the first thing I grab before going out the door in most months. They’re comfortable to wear standing for long periods of time at the rail longlining and can handle whatever you throw at them off the boat and out in the wilderness.

The Home Pack

One of the many perks of spending the summer harvesting wild salmon in Alaska is the home pack —the fish that we bring home to feed our families. We make sure to smoke a good portion of the salmon that we bring home, creating a sweet and smoky treat that can be shared at family dinners or munched on for a quick healthy snack.

Giving Tuesday

This year XTRATUF is donating 10% of our sales today (Up to $5,000) to the Seattle Fishermen’s Memorial Fund.

An Ode to the Crew of the F/V Arctic Lady

Words from the Ernest Henley poem “Invictus” which speaks to showing courage in the face of death.

I am XTRATUF AK Shellfish Farms

"If this place doesn't bring you to your knees crying...you're not working hard enough."

Toughing It Out

It’s still dark outside and my hands are already black with grease. I feel a bead of sweat make its way down my spine and I wipe my brow with the back of my hand. “It’s always something,” I mutter to myself at least fifty times a day. The old stapling machine has shit the bed again and I haven’t quite mastered all its ins and outs. It’s getting late. We haven’t had a designated box-maker in years since we’re short-handed and if we have fish today, I’ll need all hands on deck to pack them when we get in. So here I am.

Catching up with The Salmon Sisters

Winter and slower season has given us the opportunity to turn in, tune up, and prepare for what's looking like a busy summer season. The past year, we have focused on getting wild fish onto people's plates – through our online direct to door sales and through our Give Fish Project, which donates wild salmon to our community through the Food Bank of Alaska. It feels good to provide people with healthy wild food nationwide as demand for Wild Alaska Seafood grows.

•Gnarly Bay•
To The Surface

TO THE SURFACE. from gnarly bay on Vimeo. Producers - Aaron Schurman, Dana Saint, Dan RiordanDP / Photos / Audio / VO - Tyler MurgoAdditional footage - Jack Ieronimo, Rúni DjurhuusPost Production - Jack Ieronimo & Jordan IngramSound Design - Jared Blizzard Like most things, Covid-19 wreaked havoc on the...

•Corey Forrest•
Her?

My family has been making a living on the water and commercial fishing for hundreds of years, so I suppose it is in our blood. But, unlike my brothers who seemed inclined to be part of it from a young age, there were never any women working on my family's dock or coming off one of the fishing boats, so it hadn't crossed my mind or interested me that I could or would be a fisherman.

•Matchstick Productions•
McKenna Peterson Bonafide Badass

Besides being an absolute shredder on snow, she is also Captain McKenna of her families fishing boat. Winters atop giant mountain peaks and summers catching Alaska salmon with her siblings teach a permanent lesson of hard work makes you a better skier.

•McKenna Peterson•
Resilience

Fishermen are expert story tellers. The more salty the fishermen, the better the story.

•Corey Forrest•
A Familiar Wave of Exhaustion & Satisfaction

It's 3:30 am, the third time waking up since I went to bed at 8:30, tossing and turning for who-knows-how-long. I have another 40 minutes before my alarm goes off. I roll over to face my husband and listen to his steady breathing. I close my eyes and wish I could fall asleep straight away as he does, or sleep through the night just once, but it's fishing season and my brain laughs at me...

•Nelly Hand•
From the waters of Prince William Sound

This summer, I've been working my gear and learning the waters of Alaska's Prince William Sound through June, July, and now into August. Chasing the sockeye, keta, and pink salmon runs swimming their way through the bays, islands, and fjords that surround this wild place. Together, my partner Michael and...

•Allan Mathisen•
Southeast Dungeness Crab

Setting your alarm for a 4:30 AM wake-up can make for a long day working on the water. But for Pro Team Member Allan Mathisen, Dungeness crab fishing season is underway in Southeast Alaska. Last year was marked by a record price and harvest level, but this year with the market uncertainty, the price is about half of what it was last year. Here's hoping hard work pays off this season.

The Last Trap Family

Learn how Rhode Island Trap Fisherman and XTRATUF Pro-Team member, Corey Forest and her family work together off the coast of our country's smallest state.

Eenie, meenie, minie, mo

We've taken the guessing out of it.

Where the Magic Happens
The Hatchery

The farm tour at Island Creek Oysters will take you through The Hatchery. If you've ever seen an episode of MTV Cribs, this is the part where the celebrity host would say, "this is where the magic happens." And yes, we are also referring to reproductive magic...

Mother & Fisherman

I wasn't sure how I was going to balance motherhood with fishing, but parting from either did not seem to be an option or a thought I could bear.

Capt. Sean Dwyer

I was an eager young 14 year old innocently arriving to a beautifully-treacherous place where I would learn to love the simplicity of a cup of black coffee and a granola bar.