We awake to
a very cool morning, 40 degrees, but had the heat on during the night so the RV
is very cozy. After some coffee and
pastry, we head to the Charter Office to find out which boat we are going on.
When we get to our assigned boat, we find out that one of the engines is down,
so they take us to another boat.
Seth and I
are the first two on, so are assigned numbers for fishing at 2 & 3. Since
the current fishing regulations say you can only catch 2 halibut per day, with
one of them shorter than 28” one of the two clips you are given is specially
marked. The Deckhand checks that we all
have valid fishing licenses. There are 20 people on the boat, including a
family with 3 small children.
Just after
10:00 am we are off and cruising for about 2 hours till we reach the fishing
ground. On the way we see otters, multiple sea birds and in the far distance
water spots from whales. After a
short safety lecture by the deck hand, we commence fishing. The safety lecture
was need since , we are fishing with 2 lb. weights. Seth and I go to the upper
side of the boat to fish in an attempt to avoid tangle lines, though we were
not spared but we only dealt with it a few times compared to the issues they
are having on the back of the boat.
Fishing is
slow for Seth and I, we are getting bites, losing bait while some of the others
are catching small halibut.
Then my line gets a mighty pull and I battle a
larger Halibut in the 25-30 pound class. It is the biggest fish caught so far,
and only later does somebody catch a slightly bigger one. After I few
more casts I catch my other Halibut, the one that has to be smaller than 28”,
so I am done for the day. Only 1 of the kids for the family has limited out
before me. So I watch and encourage Seth
on till he catches his fist Halibut which is the small fish.
He finally
catches a second halibut which we decide to throw back as it again was under 28”,
and there is still about 45 minutes of fishing left.
After about
10-15 minutes he catches another Halibut, this one definitely over 28” so he is
limited out as well. By this time there
are only about 5 other people still fishing, and when the crew calls it a day, only
1 woman has not caught any fish, with several others only catching 1.
On the way
back to shore the deckhand flays the fish and places them in plastic bags for
us. When we get to the dock the fish processor meets the boat and takes away
our fish for processing, freezing and shipping home.
We stop at
the Salty Dog, which is right at the top of our boat ramp, for refreshments and
reflect back on the day. Several other people who were on the boat also stop
in, and just before we leave the deckhand shows up as well.
We head back
to the RV, and make dinner, watching more RVs pull into the campground as it is
the start of the weekend. We listen to the final part of the Indians game, and
head to bed.
We start
heading back towards Anchorage tomorrow as we have to meet Brenna, Dean and
Zach in Whittier on Sunday night for our fishing trip on Monday morning. To get
to Whittier we have to g through the train tunnel which is only opened on the ½
hour, but can be delayed as trains have priority
Wildlife
seen today included sea otters, seals, several Bald eagles, multiple sea birds,
seals, and spots from whales in the distance. Still no moose.
Tomorrow
will be another adventure.
Nighty night
Miles driven
today: ZERO, just walking
