Salmon Fishing USA

Spring salmon season has arrived and with it, the sticker shock over the price of those first fish from the Copper River in Alaska. Paying upwards of $20 a pound can take a bit of the joy out of eating the fish famous for its rich flavor and sky-high levels of omega 3, but those soaring prices will likely come down to earth soon.

Trollers are ticked off that the arrival of fish to Copper River always makes headlines claiming "it's the start of Alaska's salmon fishery" and "the first fresh fish of the season."

It's hard to believe, but Alaska's 2010 salmon season officially begins in less than two weeks with the May 13 opener for kings and reds at Copper River.

Picture an Alaskan fisherman. Now wipe the slate clean. Thea Thomas is a 52-year-old blonde who wears lip gloss and earrings when she heads out on her boat, a fiberglass vessel called the Myrmidon, named after Achilles’ warriors. She holds a Master’s degree in biology and has been fishing commercially for the past 23 years. She’s also one of the “highliners” of the 540-person Copper River fleet, meaning the volume of her catch is among the highest of her peers, all but four of whom are men.