HALIBUT TRIP 2000
(A fishing trip so good it deserves it's own whole page)
When my nephew Michael came up to visit us from Utah, my brother-in-law and I went out with him out on a halibut charter with Sorry Charlie Charters (remember the Starkist Tuna) from Homer, Alaska. The good ship and crew are on the left - my nephew and I are on the right (still groggy from not sleeping the night before). As this page will show, we were in for a fantastic day of halibut fishing ...
Once the fishing got started, it was clear that we were in for a treat. I'd never played catch-and-release with halibut before, but we hooked into so many fish so fast that it became quickly apparent that we were going to be able to pick and choose which ones we wanted to keep. On the right, my brother-in-law Didier hauls in a keeper (halibut poles are very, very thick - and to see one bend like that you know that there's something big at the other end of the line). On the left, Michael tries to smile for the camera while gritting his teeth with the effort of hanging on to the fish tugging away at his line.
Obviously, we had a great time. From these pictures it's pretty easy to see that the halibut were large and plentiful, the fishermen were all smiling and very worn out, and at least one of us (namely me) got a good sunburn also. Michael's (left) got a little work to do on his technique of holding a big fish for a picture, Didier (left-center) seemingly has it down (although it was a struggle to hold the fish up while I kept telling him the shot wasn't quite right yet), and I (right-center) apparently have some work to do at the gym because I could only get about two thirds of the fish off the deck of the boat!! On the right, Michael seems pretty happy posing with the day's catch strewn all over the back deck of the boat.
There's no better way to end a wonderful day's fishing than to see an absolutely astounding sunset. While on the ride back to Anchorage, Didier (who's a professional wildlife photographer and can spot the right settings for a perfect shot way before it ever happens) stopped and had Michael pose in front of the sun highlighting the mist coming off the mountains near Turnagain Arm. At the time, he said it looked like it was going to be a beautiful sunset, and boy was he ever right!! Just look at the colors in the picture on the right!! Sunsets over Mount Susitna (a.k.a. The Sleeping Lady) and the reflection of the glow on the tidal mud flats can be breathtaking at times, and this was indeed on of those times.
Now does anyone wonder why I love living up here in Alaska?!?!?!?