have to hope the sun comes out today so i can get a good picture.
Where we parked is where they launch the boats. There is no dock so they take the big boats down on a trailer then send them off into the water (with us on the boat) - definitely something different than what we've ever done. It is also where they throw the remainings of the halibut caught so that the seagulls can pick the bones. The bald eagles come in to eat also - definitely not the view you want to see of the majestic symbol of our country.
We looked around the area a bit - including going to the general store to pick up some gloves. Then back to the cabin to pack our snacks so we could meet at 12 to go fishing. We got there at 12 and discovered that my information actually said 1:15 for halibut - the noon time was for salmon fishing. The wife's owner (who runs the place while he's out on the boat) said that the waters were extremely rough and they were discussing whether they should send out the afternoon boats or not. She asked that we come back at 12:45 because by then they would make a decision.
At 12:45, she told us that they had decided due to the rough waters, instead of halibut fishing - she was going to swap us up and we'd go salmon fishing Saturday. That was fine. So we were to meet our fishing guide at the Kasilof (ka-see-lof) River bridge at 1:30. We got in the truck and drove 25 miles north.
The water was a nice milky blue and running quite fast.
We would be fishing from a drift boat. No motor. Just a boat with 4 seats for the fishermen and a bench in the back for the guide. He would be rowing the boat as needed to get us down the 7 miles of the river we would be fishing. At the end, he would pull the boat out of the water and we would drive the 10 miles back to our vehicles.
It was cold and rainy so we were wearing rain gear and rubber boots. I caught the first fish of the day:
It was pretty funny. Especially since I had asked our guide just moments before how big a fish had to be to keep it and he had said "there is no minimum length". Needless to say, we turned this fish loose.
It was quite a while before the next fish was caught. JW caught a 12 pound silver salmon (cohoe).
He was pretty happy.
Shortly after this, I hooked a big silver. He took off running - my line started out at just 8 feet but within seconds it had run out to about 250. I reeled in and then he took off again. Back and forth we went until he finally got close to the surface, then he jumped and broke the 25 lb line to freedom.
The other two people on the boat - the Reimer's (a very nice young couple from Anchorage) caught 1 fish and also lost 1. Then he caught a fish even smaller than the one I had caught.
The next fish caught was by me. This one didn't fight and wasn't so much fun. When I pulled him in, we found he was a pink salmon (a lumpy, this is the kind of fish that they can).
Due to the large hump on his back, the guide could tell that the fish had been in fresh water quite a while. He also told us that once they leave salt water, their meat starts to deteriorate. So, this fish got turned loose to live another day.
It was quite a while longer before anyone else caught anything. Then the guy from Anchorage hooked a king salmon. It headed out into the river very quickly. He fought it quite a while and finally got it over to the boat. It was about 4 foot long. He had to turn it loose beause it is illegal to keep king salmon at this time of year.
Less than 2 minutes after they turned that king loose, I got a bite. I saw him break the water as he took off and said "I caught a king". I fought with him for what seemed like an eternity to get him over to the boat. The guide got a glimpse of him and said he had to weigh at least 40 pounds. He broke the line and took off.
Next to catch a king was JW. Another long fight and a lot of fun pulling in a fish that we knew we would have to turn loose. Really made us want to come back next summer during king season.
It was time for us to have to head for the landing dock. The guide had to row the boat for about 40 minutes to get us back to his truck. We got to where there were a lot of commercial boats parked in the water - they are still net fishing at the mouth of the river and that is one reason our fishing wasn't so great. Possibly in a couple of weeks, the silvers will be running more and we'd catch more fish.
JW's fish in the one on the right. The guy from Anchorage talked about his friend who scoops out the salmon eggs when butchering and eats them. So, he decided to eat a handful. Being brave, I went ahead and ate one egg - it was absolutely gross.
SUSHI ANYONE
By the time he got the boat loaded and the fish cleaned, it was almost 10:00 No place to eat dinner that time of night so we headed back to the cabin and ate our left over halibut from Grabbie's. Midnight by the time we got to bed and woke this morning to sunny skies. We're happy with our one fish and hope to have a great afternoon of halibut fishing.
No comments:
Post a Comment