Fish Story
I have been fortunate enough in my life to travel to special places to go fishing. I took a road trip to Alaska once. Two weeks to get there and three weeks in Alaska to fish and explore. While I was there, I fished for and caught Rainbow, Dolly Varden, and Cutthroat trout, Arctic grayling, Northern pike, Red and King salmon, and Pacific Halibut. This is a story about the big flatties.
I was one of five guys that chartered a Halibut boat out of Homer, Alaska. It was an interesting trip right from the start. The boat was a 35-foot, all-welded aluminum sportfisher powered by twin outboards. We followed the guide as he trailered his vessel to the local beach where a farm tractor was to take over launch operations. We all got in the boat while on the beach. The tractor then backed us in and we got launched into the surf. That was a new one for me, but I understood why they did it. The Gulf of Alaska has the largest tidal range in the United States. In certain areas, there is a 40-foot vertical difference between high tide and low tides. On beaches with a gradual slope there is a lot of sand to cover before reaching the surf at the lowest tides This is why they use four-wheel drive tractors to launch.
We ran for about an hour before anchoring up. There was a dropoff from 50 to 80 feet and that is where we fished. The water in the Gulf of Alaska was screaming out fast. We used heavy weight boat rods rods and conventional reels spooled with 50-pound mono. Terminal tackle was a thick white cord holding a one- to two-pound sash weight and a 100-pound dropper with a 14/0 circle hook.
The captain barked specific instructions. "If you want to catch a fish you have to hit bottom. If you want to hit bottom, you have to stop every five seconds and let your line straighten up. Keep doing this until you hit bottom." I listened to what he said and hooked up to a nice fish on the first drop. I was hooking up every time I dropped a bait. It was almost always a nice Pacific halibut or a Ling cod. I did catch a few rockfish as well. The other fellows were not doing the same. They would release the weighted line and watch it go sideways faster than downwards. They didn’t listen.
After a lot more yelling from Cappy, they caught on. After that everybody caught a few fish. We all had been using cut herring for bait but right at the end of the trip, the mate brought out one Red salmon that weighed about five pounds. He pretty much just cut the tail off of it and put it on the next empty hook. The guy using it was rewarded with a long, hard halibut fight. When the fish first saw the boat it made a strong run back to the bottom but not before we caught a glimpse. We had already landed a few fish weighing 45 pounds but the one on the line dwarfed them all.
When it started getting close again the captain told the mate to get the gun. Huh? He ran in the cabin and came back with a rusty-barreled, 20-gauge single shot. The captain pointed the shotgun at the fish's head from above the waterline. The mate was ready with a gaff. When the fish was in position, the mate positioned the gaff under the fish’s mouth at the same time as the captain pulled the trigger. Bang! Loud noise, a giant splash, and then an 85-pound halibut is lying dead on the deck. It was like a coordinated dance move that had been practiced over and over — very impressive fish handling. It was also the craziest thing that ever happened to me while on a fishing trip. We ended the day with a limit of 15 halibut with several in the 30- and 40-pound range in addition to the big one. On the way in we checked a couple crab pots and pulled out some Dungeness crabs. Sea otters were everywhere. We had a nice calm boat ride to end a spectacular day of fishing. If you like fishing, hunting, wildlife, mountains, and gorgeous scenery, please go to Alaska. It will not disappoint!
Contact me if you are interested in booking a charter and hearing more fish stories!❞