Fourth generation pipefitter Kevin McDonough of St. Louis, Missouri, is on a quest for a salmon slam in the wilds of Alaska when the Union Sportsmen’s Alliance’s Brotherhood Outdoors airs on the Sportsman Channel the week of July 12.
McDonough, a member of UA Plumbers & Pipefitters Local 562, embarked on a fly-in trip to spend three memorable days in Alaska’s backcountry drifting for chum, pink, silver and king salmon.
“At home, I mainly fish for bass and some catfish,” he says. “These salmon…they’re incredible. Just when you think you’re getting them tired, they get that second wind, and it’s on again.”
Though steady rains turned the rivers muddy and cut visibility to nearly zero, the sheer abundance of fish—and perhaps McDonough’s lucky hat—maintained the bite at a non-stop pace, keeping the veteran pipefitter almost as busy as he is on the job.
Besides working a full week making service calls in his home state, McDonough spends three nights a week working with apprentice pipefitters at the local’s new state-of-the art training facility. USA Conservation Programs Manager Sam Phipps caught up with McDonough at the facility to give Brotherhood Outdoors’ viewers the chance to see how veteran union members pass along their knowledge and skills to the younger generation.
You can catch all the salmon fishing action as McDonough plies remote Alaska rivers when Brotherhood Outdoors airs on the Sportsman Channel Tuesday, July 13 at 4 p.m. Eastern with re-airings on Friday at 11:30 a.m., Saturday at 1:30 a.m. and Sunday, July 18 at 11 a.m.
For a complete list of upcoming episodes, visit www.brotherhoodoutdoors.tv. To watch episodes from past seasons, visit www.myoutdoortv.com.
Brotherhood Outdoors is sponsored by the following unions, contractors and corporate partners: Carhartt, International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers, International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, National Electrical Contractors Association, Thorogood, and United Association/International Training Fund’s Veterans in Piping Program.
