Here in Cordova, we kind of have a language all our own. Every day, I learn new expressions and  colloqualisms. Recently, I came across this prime example and couldn’t pass it up:

“We went out in my bowpicker to try and catch some humpie and we were really in em on the opener on the flats but we got corked so we just went back and went out the road. Guess we won’t be highliners this season.”

There are several interesting Cordova vocab words and phrases in here.

For example…

• Bowpicker – A bowpicker is a fishing boat used on the Copper River and Prince William Sound for the salmon gillnet fishery, called such because the net is dragged in over the bow, at which place fish are “picked” from it.
• Humpie – Another name for pink salmon, called such because they develop a large hump near the head while spawning. Humpies, although not thought of as such a delicacy for dinner, are often a very valuable salmon catch because of their plenitude and the abundance of buyers. Continue reading →