Fishing-Day 1

I think some people expected me to be sad that I wasn't going to be up at the crack of dawn this morning, eager to ride. I assure you, it wasn't the case. I was pretty happy to get up at the crack of dawn and head out with Mike, Jerilue's husband, to go halibut fishing on the Cook Inlet. I borrowed rain gear and some extra fleece and climbed into the boat with 6 guys, an excellent lunch that Jerilue had packed, and my fingers crossed. We sped west about 12 miles, I think, and then dropped anchor.








I had never been halibut fishing, but I was determined to learn quickly. A 4 lb. weight was put on the line, maybe 3' from the hook, and a piece of bait was loaded onto the hook. The line is dropped over the side of the boat and the idea is to get that 4 lb. weight to bounce lightly along the bottom where the halibut were waiting for breakfast. It took me awhile to be able to feel the weight on the bottom. The current is so strong with the tide, that if you don't get the weight to the bottom, your line will just drift along with the current, no where near the bottom, and the fish will never see it, let alone take it.

Several fish were taken by the other guys. I watched. I learned. One poor guy named Monte caught one and then retreated to a place on the boat where he could be sick with some sense of dignity. I'm kidding here...there IS no such place. One fellow from Oklahoma got a bite and his pole was severely doubled over. He thought he had a 100 pound halibut at the other end...he struggled to reel it in and after awhile, Mike took his pole to give him some help. Mike knew it wasn't a halibut but rather an undesirable skate...a large, flat fish that looks somewhat like a manta ray. Because of its size and surface resistance to the water, it took a tremendous amount of effort to reel it in. We also got into some seaweed. It drifted onto our lines and got tangled, so we had to reel in, cutting the seaweed from the line and then redropping the tackle.

As the day wore on, the winds picked up and so did the swells. I was having a hard time watching the water go up and down, up and down. We looked like a bunch of drunks trying to move about the boat. Mike works very hard to captain the boat, baiting hooks, putting the caught fish below, helping to reel in fish if need be, untangling lines, and a million other things. But...I had a bite...and reeled in a nice halibut. Woohoo! I was woozy, but that was fun! Did I want some lunch? Ummmm...no. More bait was put on the hook, the line was dropped over the side, and within 5 minutes, I had another fish on. I reeled the second halibut in and was feeling downright nauseous. I told Mike I might need a break and went to the front of the boat. Would that be fore? Fortunately for me...and everyone else, there was a barf bag right in front of me...and I used it...repeatedly. After 30 more minutes of fishing in which John caught a nice 40 pounder, we had our limit. He too, went to the bow and retched over the side. The water was rough. Everything was put away and we made the 45 minute run back to shore. The ride was so bumpy that Mike joked that he could refer us to a good chiropractor in Soldotna. The boats are launched by large tractors that run the trailers out into the surf and when we came in, the tractor was waiting for Mike to drive the boat right onto the trailer. It is really very efficient. I was feeling fine...the fish were weighed and sent to the processing plant and we headed back to the house.


maybe you can't...because you won't...