Our Story

The man behind the fish

Forrest Johnson "Fish Johnson" first found his way to Bristol Bay, Alaska in 1981. He’d been living near Fairbanks and caught the bug to try fishing the world’s largest wild sockeye salmon run in weather at the head of the Bering Sea that is both sublime and ridiculous. His first fishing experience was as a crew member on a drift boat in the Egegik District, fishing the sockeye run. After the season he then headed to Bethel, Alaska to fish the chum salmon run with Kemp-Paulucci Seafoods out of Duluth, Minnesota. He was hooked. He has been both a drift and set net fisherman but over the years came to love the experience of set net fishing with the Phelps and Mitchell families from Naknek. He’s been a captain of the set net crew for the last 15 years and each year brings a new challenge. From many round hauls to taking a nap on the boat, his summers are consumed with sleepless nights and big rewards. For several summers his daughter Christy Jones joined him and we will call her the co-captain and business partner along with son-in-law Sean. Forrest has been selling to local customers of Northern Minnesota and Wisconsin from his home in Knife River, Minnesota for almost 20 years. Thank you for supporting our small business and we look forward to hearing from you!
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