To: n0abe@qwest.net

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Subject: Ed and Edith Halibut fishing

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Ole, For the list

We were up at 4:30 am to be at the Silver Fox Charter boat the Ultimate by 5:30 am for check in for our Halibut charter.

We were underway by 6 am. We had rain gear, plenty of warm clothing, field glasses, cameras and food and water. It was

about a 50 foot boat however it could travel at about 25 mph. There were 16 people that were fishing and two deck hands

Ken and Adam and Captain Dave. It turns out we were the only new ones as all the rest had also been out yesterday. Edith

was the only gal. It is about a two hour ride out to where they fish so we were out about 50 miles and could look out at

the open ocean. I was surprised by the number of boats out there; and how small some of them were! We seen Soldavia, Port

Graham and English Bay. These communities are progressively isolated and in fact English Bay prides itself on being an

isolated place where the pace of life slows to a crawl! It was a beautiful ride out and as you looked out toward the

Aleutian Islands it was misty, stormy looking with the tops of the mountains in the clouds. Just like I pictured the

Aleutian Islands.

As we were going out I think more than anytime since I retired I thought about my friends still working and really felt

bad for you! I felt kind of guilty as this was absolutely so grand to be relaxed, seeing wonderful scenery, having great

visits with others on the boat and the excitement of catching some Halibut and I could picture each of you at your job!

I can see how sailing/boating can be addicting. Life is good! We pulled up and the captain was using GPS , had a display

of the ocean floor and a fish finder. We fished in about 100 foot of water. We tried it about and hour, moved a little

and caught one but that was it so in about 30 more minutes we left for where they had fished yesterday. There were all

kinds of boats there so the Captain chose a spot about mile away and we started catching them right away. A couple of

the fellows caught big ones which were weighed on the official derby scale when we got back and weighted 141 pounds! Edith

did great and caught her two Halibut before I caught any and she also caught an Orange Rock Bass. Others in the group

caught an octopus and a Link Cod as well. They were really only catching them off the back of the boat as there was a

ledge where they were really feeding. We all rotated the same way to cut down on getting tangled but with the current

it unfortunately still happens a lot. It seemed like I always got tangled before getting to the back and then had to start

up front again. Finally toward the end when most had caught their two I got to the back and caught my two right in a row.

I think my biggest one weighted about 30 pounds based on the weight of the dressed out filets. The rest were around 20

pounds. The average Halibut caught is 30-40 pounds and that is about what they did the day before. Today the group as

a whole did much better. It is really a matter of luck as once you set the hook it seemed that no one lost it. It is

hard work reeling them up! My arm really ached after cranking up two in a row. Jigging with a 2 lb. Weight and sometimes

catching on rocks also gives you sore muscles after awhile. We got some pictures and headed back about 1:30pm.

We seen 3 whales, sea otters and Sea Lions so it was a good wild life trip as well. They did the fileting on the boat

which was fun to watch and the Sea Gulls just went nuts following right over us and diving for the cleanings which is all

thrown over-board. We got in a little before 4 pm. Dressed out we ended up with over 40 pounds of Halibut, not as

much as I had hoped but it was great that Edith got her two before I did. Side note(Janet, Edith is really getting hooked

on this fishing!) The things you find out in retirement you never knew are amazing! We packed up and on the way back to

Sodotna took a side trip at Anchor Point to the most westerly road in North America that is part of the contiguous road

system We will can Halibut tomorrow, go to the hospital here to see the pictures of their worst hooks in the face cases

and do some more touring. On Friday we are eating dinner with the local ham radio operators and doing more touring and

Saturday we give it one last shot the catch a King Salmon with our guide Mike.

Next will be Seward. Ed and Edith feeling younger everyday!

[MID: 1075_W0SD Sent Via: KA6IQA Date: 2001/07/27 02:39:00]