Clifford “Mick” Johns, 69, died on the Copper River Flats May 25, doing what he loved to do

Cordova fisherman Clifford “Mick” Johns, lost his life May 25, while commercial fishing on the Copper River Flats. In this photo, taken in 2012, Johns and his son, Matt Johns, are shown drifting along Pete Dahl Bar. Photo by Bob Martinson/For The Cordova Times

Clifford “Mick” Johns, a well-known, well-respected Cordova fishing veteran, died March 25, while commercial gillnet fishing at Pete Dahl Slough on the Copper River Flats, just outside of Cordova. Johns was 69.

Johns had been fishing these same waters since 1971. He didn’t make it home that night. His body was found on Pete Dahl beach later that evening, according to reports.

The U.S. Coast Guard Command Center, Anchorage, first received a call regarding the missing mariner shortly before 9 p.m., said Petty Officer Jon-Paul Rios, at the Coast Guard’s public affairs office in Juneau.

“We received a call from a fisherman who had spotted the fishing vessel, F/V Dances With Clams, going in circles. The caller didn’t think there was anyone on board. We then received another call confirming that the vessel had been boarded, and (the owner) was not on board,” Rios said.

Rios said a search and rescue operation was immediately launched, and a helicopter from the Coast Guard Air Station at the Mile 13 airport in Cordova was sent to assist.

The Coast Guard continued to search for Johns alongside members of the Cordova fishing fleet. Concurrently, two Alaska Wildlife Troopers from the P/V Churchill responded to the scene and received assistance from area fishermen using a fishing vessel capable of navigating the area’s shallow waters.

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Johns was found face down, and unresponsive, in the surf at Pete Dahl Slough.

The Coast Guard transported the body back to Cordova.

Later, the deceased was identified at Clifford M. Johns, a local Cordova fisherman and resident of Bothell, Wash.

“There was no indication as to the cause of death,” Rios said. “The investigation will be conducted by local authorities.”

Johns’ body was sent to the state medical examiner’s office for autopsy, the Alaska State Troopers said on May 30. No foul play is suspected, troopers said.

Bob Martinson, a local fisherman and one of Johns’ close friends, tried to piece together the events of the evening.

Martinson called Johns “Mick,” as did most of the folks Johns was close to.

“Thursday night, just after the closure, I’d just come across the bar at Pete Dahl. I heard Matt, Mick’s son, calling his dad, saying, ‘It’s time to get your net up.’ Matt was going to follow his dad back. It must have happened right around 8 p.m.,” Martinson said.

Martinson said Johns’ son, Matt Johns, was following in his father’s footsteps as a commercial fisherman. The senior Johns had his net in the water and was about to pick fish, when his son last spoke to him that night.

What happened next, no one knows.

Commercial gillnet fishing on the Copper River District was open for nine hours that day, and closed at 8 p.m. That was when the fleet headed back home.

“Johns’ boat, the F/V Dances With Clams, was spotted driving in circles. There was no response from Johns on the radio. Johns wasn’t onboard the vessel, but his net and his dog were,” Martinson said.

When word went out over the radio that Johns wasn’t on his boat and was missing, the fleet immediately began a search.

“He could have been swept over by a fluke wave. We have no way of knowing at this point,” Martinson said.

Johns was an integral part of Cordova’s fishing fleet

Martinson, who owns the F/V Dirtwater Fox, said Johns was part of the original Morpac Gang, a group of fishermen who lived together in the Morpac Cannery bunkhouse, now Copper River Seafoods, and fished the Copper River Flats together, beginning in the early 70s. Johns was 10 years older than Martinson. The two got on well together and became friends.

Johns was not someone who took chances on the water, he said.

“Mick fished Pete Dahl Bar his whole career. He knew what he was doing. He knew it better than any of us. You could always count on him to be around if you were fishing Pete Dahl. If we were out there, we knew to check in with the mayor – that was Mick. Mick was like family to a whole bunch of fishermen who still fish here,” he said. “He was a real veteran.”

He was also a master carpenter, said his friends, a man who could build anything, anywhere, and beautifully finish whatever he was crafting.

“He was a phenomenal carpenter. He was a witty, funny guy, and always level headed … a calm guy with a great personality,” said Martinson. “I lost a wonderful friend – we all lost a wonderful friend. This is a sad time in Cordova.”

Johns spent his summers in Cordova, harvesting Alaska’s wild salmon, and raising his sons, Zachary and Matt Johns, alongside his wife, Karen, Martinson said.

The family spent their winters in Bothell, Wash., said Jim Lytle, who fishes on his boat, the F/V Risky Biz. Lytle and Johns were friends for more than 40 years.

“Mick was always a great friend to our family. Really, we were a second family in Cordova,” Lytle said. “We had homes here. We grew up together. Our kids grew up together. We had big get-togethers on the Fourth of July. We spent a lot of time together on the water and in town.

“His wife Karen used to go out fishing with him until they had kids. She always fished with him.  I’d always see them together. There was no doubt Karen was the love of his life, through thick and thin,” Lytle said.

“Mick was a tough fisherman and a careful fisherman. He was always there for everybody; he’d bend over backwards for anyone. He was as unselfish as they come,” Lytle said. “He’d be the very last guy out there fishing, right to the last second. He was cautious. He always wore his Stormy Seas (personal flotation) jacket. You could ask anyone – he was a cautious fisherman.”

“In all these years that we’ve been fishing together, Mick was the last one I would have expected this could happen to,” Martinson said.

Cordova District Fishermen United issued a public statement following the news of Johns’ passing.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of Clifford “Mick” Johns today. Mick was a close friend to many, an incredible husband and father, and a great fisherman. He started fishing out of Cordova in the 1970’s and his father fished here before that. Our thoughts are with Mick’s wife and sons who are also closely tied to this fishery, this community, and this fleet. Let’s do everything we can to support them and lift them up during this time. Our hearts are heavy, but Mick’s memory will live on with all of us. Rest in peace, friend,” CDFU wrote.

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Cinthia Gibbens-Stimson is a staff writer and photographer for The Cordova Times. She has been writing in one form or another for 30-plus years and has had a longstanding relationship with The Cordova Times starting in 1989. She's been an Alaskan since 1976 and first moved to Cordova in 1978. She's lived in various West Texas towns; in Denver, Colorado; in McGrath, Cordova, Galena, Kodiak, Wasilla, Anchorage and Fairbanks, Alaska and in Bangalore, India. She has two children and three grandchildren. She can be reached at cgibbens-stimson@thecordovatimes.com or follow her on Instagram @alaskatoindia.