Spent the last week on a Disney Cruise up to Alaska! My girls loved it - they got to meet the princesses. The food and service was outstanding (had a bit of a piggy fest on lobster on Friday!).
At our stop in Ketchican last Saturday (July 12), I was able to do an afternoon halibut trip with a guided service. I never tried fishing for halibut before, so I wasn't sure what to expect. We got to the dock and was introduced to our guide who advised that "on paper" it was going to be a tough day. Apparently we were in the middle of a big tide change and halibut are not great biters during a tide change. I'm sure some members here will know more about that than me. Also, there was a "slot limit" in place, meaning we had to release any hali's between 44 - 76 inches. Non-residents were allowed a limit of one hali. Oh well, when you're at the mercy of the cruise ship schedule, there's not much you can do!
Our group of four included two gentlemen from Seattle - a father and son team. I could tell both were good rods, as they were in Alaska specifically to fish. In fact, they had just finished a morning trip with a different guide fishing for salmon. The other guy was from Wyoming, and was from the Disney ship. They were a great group of guys which made for excellent company on the boat.
OK - to the fishing. After a 40 min boat ride, we dropped our lines and started fishing. We fished for about 10 minutes when our guide instructed us to "pick up" and try another spot. 15 minutes later we were in another spot with the same results. So we hit our third spot when the dad from Seattle sets-up and hooks a hali. After a good battle, a 40 lb hali is on board and we have two very happy guys from Seattle. The fish measured just under the 44 inch limit, so that fish was just about "as good as it gets" if you wanted to keep a fish.
We moved on after about 15 minutes of no action and ended up at another spot. This time, the guide baited our hooks with "turbot" meat. We all ended up hooking and landing several flounders which the guide referred to as "turbot". He said the locals call these fish turbot, and are not suitable for eating so back they all went. I can't remember the exact species of flounder, but maybe Rodney has an idea? They had large teeth on them. After hooking several "turbot", we moved on to another spot.
After several hours of no action, and the time to re-board my ship approaching, we hit a spot during the slack tide. On my first cast, I had a bite but no hook-up. Hmm. Then the "son" from Seattle hooks a fish and lands what turned out to be a small 12-15 lb hali. OK - so we now have two very happy guys from Seattle on our boat. The father gets the next hook-up and hands me his rod. At the same time, our buddy from Wyoming gets a fish on and we have a double header. Unfortunately, both fish are lost. But my confidence is building.
On my next cast (or should I say drop), I have a nibble. I set the hook and the battle is on. I end up landing a small hali of around 12 - 15 lbs. The guy from Wyoming is now getting a bit anxious, but we re-assure him that between four of us, we'll likely get a fish. On my next cast down - fish on! I handed my rod over, and another small hali of 12 - 15 lbs. is landed. So we now each have our limit of hali's with time to make it back to the ship!
All in all, it was a beautiful day with great guys. In fact, I couldn't even believe I was out fishing while my "princesses" were on the ship with mom and their grandparents! My arms were exhausted though - as even brining up the weight and lure alone was a work out when you drop 200+ feet down! Anyway, I decided to arrange for the guide to process my fish and ship it back to my wife's work which has a freezer. Hopefully I'll get it back without costing too much! Now it's time to focus on the salmon season which now lies before us...
Here are some photos for the members to enjoy!
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Topic: Ketchikan, July 12th 2014: Halibut (Read 2351 times)