Well kids, we have lived in Alaska a year now, which allows us resident status. I felt by spending the year researching and preparing for various activities here, it would help in our transition of becoming residents. I have bought books, magazines, and read news articles about fishing in Alaska for four years now. I have bought poles, reels, lures, and scents. I bought wading gear for expected "combat fishing " trips. This past month since I started fishing as a resident, I have applied my knowledge and skill to lakes, river banks, inlets, outlets, glacier water and creeks. The elusive salmon, and all fish, have caused me to read more literature, buy more special tackle, spend more time at the river banks, with no reward. I have not appeased the "fishing gods" yet.

Your mom has stayed with me, encouraged me, sometimes goading me to carry on. She expects results! This is a person who claims a dislike of fish our whole marriage. Who wouldn't even cook some of it, as the smell was even disagreeable. She has found the salmon, halibut, and yes, even clams cooked in certain ways are wonderful. I think her transformation on becoming a fishing partner has progressed well, until this week.

We decided to share an anniversary gift to ourselves by chartering a halibut fishing trip. Wow, I'm thinking! Great fun! Everything was working to perfection. We got a date, which was to go out at low tide. This allowed us to drive from Palmer to Ninilchik the morning of our trip and we would be ready at the 11:30 a.m. departure time. I might add, I had to talk your mother into buying a license. She said she just wanted to watch me catch a "big fish". (Right!) We packed sandwiches, water and weather clothes, as it had been raining steady for only about 20 days straight. Well, hurrah! The weather broke as we arrived and everything was still super.

We loaded our gear into a bobber of a boat with two other clients and were off. The water, the captain said, was choppy but he didn't feel we would have to abort the trip as the previous day's charter had to do. We skipped and plowed for almost 1.5 hrs. getting to the "fishing hole" ? Captain said we were about 20 miles out in about 300' of water at low tide. The tide was still moving out where we anchored off and the current was too strong for the 4 lb. weight we would be using until the tide went to "slack tide", which would require only a 2 lb. weight until the next tide moved in which would signal our fishing for halibut was done. This is about a 6 hour period. (Isn't this fishing research and knowledge neat! Not bad for us Colorado greenhorns.)

The captain said we might as well eat something, as we needed to wait about another fifteen minutes before the tide current would even allow the 4 lb. weight to keep our bait on the ocean floor. We all scarfed down a half a sandwich and made ready for intensive fishing. Your mom played coy about even fishing, thinking she didn't know how to operate the pole and bait rigging. She sure learned fast. I dropped a 4 lb weight first to test current strength and your mom opted to wait until the tide ebbed to the 3 lb. weight. (It is a lot of work even cranking the weights back up from 300'. )

My lure hit the bottom and I had a strike almost immediately. I started dragging up my line, commenting to all how the study and skill were finally paying off, and that they should all take lessons. The captain was not so quick to bestow his agreement on my obvious prowess as an expert fisherman. He commented that he wasn't sure I had anything on but the lead weight, and if it was halibut, it would be small. It turned out being a spiney dogfish shark, which was immediately unhooked and thrown back. I, of course concluded that if all would follow my lead we would soon be dragging up fish in large numbers. The captain didn't think we should feed the bottom feeding sharks. I think he was more worried about running out of herring before we did catch our limits. Not to worry, as your mother soon took care of the sea bounty and any problems of bait with her natural ability.

I found that with the bobbing of our boat and me concentrating on line, I soon became nauseated. I informed the captain that I would soon be adding chum to the sea. He gave me a bucket instead; I think he thought I might tumble overboard. I soon learned to deal with my new ailment. I would fish awhile, barf awhile, bail, chum, and clean my bucket, then do it all over again. Meanwhile, another client pulled up the first halibut which was between 20 and 25 lbs. nice fish. Our captain said this was expected size for the area and we could try for larger, but this was the average for the hole. It was true as all in the boat started catching that size range, along with the occasional shark.

Then my wife hooked the monster. These twenty-pound fish kill your arms after dragging them up 300', its brutal. Well, your mom hadn't even got a rest from her last catch, a shark, when she hooked a big one. She was starting to whimper a little wanting me to take over the cranking. (I don't think so!) I figured it was just another average one and she was just tiring. Anyway, the captain shot this one before loading it. Turned out weighting 95 lbs., great fish. It was the largest of the day counting the six or so other boats fishing in the area. Another on our boat landed a 40 lber, which was another nice fish.

We continued the day keeping the 20+ lb fish and releasing lesser ones. We are allowed 2 each so were not long in filling out our quota. The other two clients took longer to fill. Irene also caught a Pacific cod, which is what the captain resupplied our bait supply with. While waiting for the other party to fill, the captain rigged a pole for your mom to fish salmon.

After all this time and effort of me chasing salmon, I get to watch this lady catch our first recorded silver salmon in Alaska. I was still chumming the sea for all. When the tide started returning, we pulled anchor and all rigged for salmon and began trolling ahead of the rip tide. Guess what? Your mother nailed a sockeye (red) salmon, also our first recorded catch in Alaska. That was it. She kicked butyt. Out fished me on firsts, biggest, and most. I chummed.

Anyway, we really did have a good time and plan to do it at least once a year. If we can find boat buddies we may be able to indulge more often. I may have to find a way to suppress my chumming urges. It was a long day. We drove the four hours plus home and butchered, packaged. And froze our catch. They say you get about 60% live weight of the catch. I'm guessing we have close to 100 lbs in fish. Don't have much freezer space left to continue my other efforts of bringing home the meat. Guess there is a new master fisherwoman in the house. Hope she will take me with her when she goes out, I could use the lessons.

Love,

Dad

Dan Taylor, 2001