Arnold Elmer Bakke was born October 25, 1930. He died on August 20, 2022.
Arnold started his fishing at the young age of 13. He had the opportunity to work on a few of Wrangell's finest seiners, the F/V Blue Fin and F/V Mary Lou. This is where he received his nickname "Cappy", from being captain of the seine skiff.
He always loved sharing stories of fishing on these boats, as he was able to learn from the best skippers how to catch salmon. When Arnold's seine career ended, he started gillnetting out of a wooden skiff with linen nets and wooden corks, hauling in his catch by hand. Arnold realized how much he loved catching fish gillnetting, and decided to purchase his first wooden gillnetter. He named it after his sister, Seena.
Arnold volunteered for the army and after returning to Wrangell, resumed fishing for salmon. Arnold met and married Alice Camenzind and adopted her son David. Cappy and Alice had another son, Arnold and three years later, David died of a brain tumor. A year later, Helen was born.
Gillnetting then became a family affair, and Cappy started to share his fishing experience and knowledge with his children. Cappy sold his wooden boat and had a fiberglass Robert's boat built and he passed on the name Seena. With the larger boat, he took on another fishery, commercial halibut fishing.
He was able to move on to an even larger boat, a 42' Delta boat, named Seena. The larger boat allowed him to buy black cod shares, and fish halibut on the ocean. He purchased a herring skiff and rigged it with the only hairpin shaker (his design), for herring gillnet. On this boat, he hired his son Arnold and daughter Helen as his crew.
He sold that boat and purchased a flopper style herring gillnetter with a cabin. Herring gillnetting started to decline, and Arnold decided to have a new salmon gillnetter built, a 42' Little Hoquim, named Seena. During the building of this boat, the company went bankrupt and the boat was held up with the litigation, so he purchased a 42' Rawson to fish on for the interim.
He took delivery of the Little Hoquim, and fished that boat until around 2015. He turned the Seena over to his daughter, Helen, and continued to fish halibut with Helen and her husband Steve for two more years.
Arnold loved his life of fishing and to no surprise he was good at it. It was said if you lifted up his shirt, he would have scales on his back. Arnold will always be missed by the fishing fleet, his family, and those who knew him.
Submitted by daughter, Helen Keller
Arnold started his fishing at the young age of 13. He had the opportunity to work on a few of Wrangell's finest seiners, the F/V Blue Fin and F/V Mary Lou. This is where he received his nickname "Cappy", from being captain of the seine skiff.
He always loved sharing stories of fishing on these boats, as he was able to learn from the best skippers how to catch salmon. When Arnold's seine career ended, he started gillnetting out of a wooden skiff with linen nets and wooden corks, hauling in his catch by hand. Arnold realized how much he loved catching fish gillnetting, and decided to purchase his first wooden gillnetter. He named it after his sister, Seena.
Arnold volunteered for the army and after returning to Wrangell, resumed fishing for salmon. Arnold met and married Alice Camenzind and adopted her son David. Cappy and Alice had another son, Arnold and three years later, David died of a brain tumor. A year later, Helen was born.
Gillnetting then became a family affair, and Cappy started to share his fishing experience and knowledge with his children. Cappy sold his wooden boat and had a fiberglass Robert's boat built and he passed on the name Seena. With the larger boat, he took on another fishery, commercial halibut fishing.
He was able to move on to an even larger boat, a 42' Delta boat, named Seena. The larger boat allowed him to buy black cod shares, and fish halibut on the ocean. He purchased a herring skiff and rigged it with the only hairpin shaker (his design), for herring gillnet. On this boat, he hired his son Arnold and daughter Helen as his crew.
He sold that boat and purchased a flopper style herring gillnetter with a cabin. Herring gillnetting started to decline, and Arnold decided to have a new salmon gillnetter built, a 42' Little Hoquim, named Seena. During the building of this boat, the company went bankrupt and the boat was held up with the litigation, so he purchased a 42' Rawson to fish on for the interim.
He took delivery of the Little Hoquim, and fished that boat until around 2015. He turned the Seena over to his daughter, Helen, and continued to fish halibut with Helen and her husband Steve for two more years.
Arnold loved his life of fishing and to no surprise he was good at it. It was said if you lifted up his shirt, he would have scales on his back. Arnold will always be missed by the fishing fleet, his family, and those who knew him.
Submitted by daughter, Helen Keller