Homer - Fishing

Well, here it is Monday and we have been here a week already!  Time sure flies when you are having FUN!!

We met up with Dan and Nora Berkery (the couple that we preiously met that also have a Hitchhiker trailer) at the Alaskan Islands and Ocean Visitor Center and learned alot about the work that is going on out on the Aleutian Islands.  They send researchers out to these islands to study the bird and mammal life there.  We watched a couple of films that were very interesting.

Notice anything different about these pictures???





NO JACKETS!!  This was probably one of two days that we have been in Alaska that we haven't worn jackets!



We drove out to the Spit and found the dock where our fishing boat would be, and, it was just coming in for the day.  So we watched them unload their fish and talked with the crew.  They said to be sure and wear rain gear and bring a lunch.  So after we left there, we found a sporting goods store and got some gear for our trip.

We were scheduled to go fishing on Friday so we got up at 5:30 AM, got dressed in layers, ate breakfast, and drove out the Spit to the Deep Water Marina where we were to find our boat.  When we got out of the car, one of the crewmen came up to us and said that there would be no fishing today as the water was already rough and was predicted to get worse.  Their were 6 ft waves in the bay already.  So, we came back to the school and took a nap!
Later in the morning, we called and got scheduled for our trip the next day (Saturday).

Saturday we got up early (again!!) and this time it was partly sunny already and the bay looked calm.  So we headed out to the Spit again.  Just before we got there, I realized that we no longer had valid fishing licenses since we only purchased a 1-day license for Friday!  So we made a fast U-turn to drive back to Safeway to get another license.  However, their Customer Service Counter doesn't open until 8AM and we are there at 6:30 AM.  Fortunately, there was someone there who said that one of the shops on the Spit sold them and they opened early.  So we raced back out there - had we gone a little farther the first time, we would have seen it.  Anyway, we got our licenses and made it to the boat in plenty of time.

It took 1 1/2 hours to get out to the fishing area and it was quite nice out there.  We had some tide swells but nothing serious.  Everyone caught alot of halibut and threw back many until we caught the larger ones, but I don't think anyone caught anything over 20 lbs.  Judy and I had ours in about 3 hours.  Everyone was catching alot of cod - some nice size - but they said that they were wormy so they either used them for bait or threw them back.

Here are ours:

They went to the fish processor, cut up into 1 lb portions, fast-freezed, and will be FEDEXed home on Tuesday. 

It was a good day even though I fought sea-sickness almost the entire day.  I had taken only 1 Dramamine and should have taken 2.  The captain had said at the beginning of the trip that if anyone got sick, don't use the head - heave over the side of the boat, and, if it goes 5 ft, he would pay $20!!  (I did not heave at all).  The crew was very nice because they kept asking me how I was doing.

Enough of that...