Going Fishing… Just For The Halibut

What a beautiful day it is going to be today. It rains a lot in Seward. It is just the was it is here. It’s on the northern edge of a temperate rain forest. So the clear days are really extra nice. We are going on the Jack Pot today. There are 13 of us fishing, 2 mates, and the Capt. She will take us 3 hours out to our first fishing hole and then proceed from there. The ride out was a bit choppy    but I love the water and I was missing being on our boats on the Chesapeake Bay, so between yesterday and today, I am getting my water fix.     We had a ball watching the porpoises again today. With the weather being nice today the water was blue, so you can see these beautiful creators better. Fishing was good. The youngest of the fisherman was 11 and he caught the first fish, a Yellow Eye. What fish stories he will be able to tell. I caught the 3rd, a Ling Cod.     A beauty. Today is June 30, Ling Cod fishing doesn’t start until tomorrow. Bummer! A throw back. Broke my heart! We are fishing for Halibut, bottom dwellers. The bottom here is 150 to 200 feet down. The poles are short, thick with a 2 lb weight. You let your bait drop to the bottom then bring the bait back up 4 to 6 feet. You wait for the nibbles. Once you feel a good pull on the hook, you start to reel. You don’t set the hook as you do with most fish (pull hard up on the pole) because the hooks are so big and sharp, you could rip the hook right out of the fishes mouth. When you know you have the fish, start reeling him in, reeling when he lets you, stopping while he fights. You can reel in about 3- 6 feet then rest for a few seconds, then reel again 3-6 feet. It’s a long time reeling in 150 – 200 feet of line. But when you get that beauty close to the surface and see color, your heart starts beating fast. You don’t want it to get away. Yeah dinner tonight. It may not be a giant Halibut but it is a nice one and it’s my first one. Tommy and I still just look at each other and shake our heads, we still can’t believe we are doing this trip. That is what I was feeling pulling that fish up. I can’t believe I am Halibut fishing in Alaska! Tommy was next to get a fish. He decided to send this one back since it was on the smaller size. He got another one a short time later,    much better.         Our friends, Kelly and Troy, both got their 2 halibut, the limit, and I was next. This is so fun. Nice fish. Tommy, again, right behind me. We started to fish with regular spinner rods hoping to catch a salmon. No luck. The boat was ready to pack up since all 13 of us got our 2 halibut. A few others caught a yellow eye as well. On our way back to the harbor we saw Humpbacks and then… this was a treat, the picture isn’t much, but it was just there, out of the blue.  I saw it passing under our boat and snapped this shot. It was gone, it never surfaced.  Wow an Orca! A Killer Whale. The Capt, well she was tickled to death.   A few more seals, a fantastic view of Bear Glacier from a distance, and we were back to port. Off to the fish house to have our fish filleted after a few photo opts.      We will vacuum pack it, freeze it, and Fed Ex it home for later sumptuous dinning. This was a great day!

I learned from a deck hand the first day we arrived in Seward that inside the fishes head are otolith bones that are ivory. All are paired up and pretty equal in size. They look like feathers to me.   The deckhand has been able to get some for me. The best are from the Yellow Eye. He said scientist look at these bones and can tell how old they are, what their health was, and where they come from.     I see …jewelry. I am gathering enough of them (hopefully) to make all of my girls ivory feather earring. Hope I can get enough of them. A little bonus on a great sunny warm day of fishing.