Fishing Update

We packed up and headed out of town about 5:00 on Saturday morning. It was a nice, albeit overcast morning as we headed South towards Anchorage. We got just South of Delta Junction and came upon this bull moose. You can see the start of his rack coming back. He just went about his munching. As we cruised along we saw hundreds of hares, a porcupine and 2 more moose. A pretty good time of day for wildlife viewing I guess.

Bull Moose

This is a picture of the Alaska Range on Saturday morning. The mountains were looking particularly majestic and I just couldn't help sneaking a shot. I just never tire of this view.

Summit Lake

Misty Mountains just outside of Glen Allen

Winding Mountain Road- a little scary but the scenery was worth it!

The drive from Delta Junction to Ninilchik was long, but beautiful. I am most definitely looking forward to doing it again. Everyone should see the Kenai Peninsula at least once. It's breathtaking! We hope to plan another get away, most likely next summer, just to explore the peninsula. Hopefully we can do some clam digging in Clam Gulch, visit the Salty Dawg in Homer, and take some pictures of the scenic highways, byways, and out-of-ways on the peninsula.

Sunday morning we got up bright and early to get to the charter office by 5:30 a.m. Once we got situated with paperwork, license info, etc we were on our way. We piled in a van, towing a very large boat, to Cook Inlet waters. As we stood watching the tractors drop other boats in the water a bald eagle swooped low over the inlet hoping to catch a leaping sockeye.

They have a pretty handy system. The above tractor hooks up to each trailer. It backs you in and simultaneously shoves the boat off the trailer. Passengers barely feel the movement at all, and suddenly you are off.

We started the morning trolling for King Salmon. We soon found out, via our captain, that there were very few Kings to be caught. It was disappointing, but at the end of the troll Brent caught the Sockeye below. The captain speculates that it took a chomp of the bare hook as Sockeyes aren't meat eaters, and we were using frosty herring for bait.

Sockeye Salmon

Once we left the trolling behind we headed into deeper waters in search of halibut. They are strictly bottom feeders so we had to put on 4 lb. lead weights in order to get our line to the bottom, 220 ft. down. There was a riptide on Sunday, so we had to time it just right, but once they started to bite, we managed to reel in a few.

The largest halibut caught that day was hooked by me, and reeled in by Brent. A real team effort! The captain said that he was about 45 pounds, I don't know if that's accurate or not, it's just a guessing game out there.

We were slightly disappointed in our captain. Okay, more than slightly. He rushed us, was rude, and just all around made the trip miserable. We didn't get to take our fish back to shore in one piece as he had the deckhand fillet them on deck.

The trip was well worth it, but I can safely say we'll be using a different charter next time.

The trip home was sunny and beautiful, but long. We were hoping to see some more sights, but we had no idea how exhausted we would be from the sun, wind and sheer exhileration of the fishing trip. Unfortunately we didn't get to see much of Ninilchik, not that there's much to see, but we also didn't make it Homer, which I was really hoping to do. Next time. I guess.

Along the way we saw many beautiful sights, but the only wildlife we managed to sneak a peek at were much closer to home. As we came into the Donnelly flats area we saw this caribou and the moose below out for their evening meals.

It was a really great trip, despite the disappointments. The drive is one that I couldn't do everyday but it is well worth it. I am looking forward to seeing more of Alaska in the days, months and years (?) to come!

Gloomy and Rainy

I'm homebound. Well, more homebound than usual, I guess. I have no pictures to post. We have been nowhere exciting. The past three days have been gloomy, or partly gloomy. It's amazing how used to the sun you can get in such a short time. We got rain onWednesday, managed to miss the rain yesterday, and it appears that we are getting more rain as I write. But, to be honest, we really needed the moisture. And I'm sure those with newly planted yards and gardens are very happy right about now. Right Susan? LOL.

Wednesday, before the rain started, we had a horrendous dust storm here. I literally have to go over everything. Washing and dusting as I go. It's bummer, but at least my house will be sparkling clean at the end of the day.

Summer is definitely coming though. We are forecasted 80's for the weekend. I don't know if that will actually happen, but it's a nice thought. A very nice thought. A little warmth will hopefully rid me of my wool socks. Yes, I have resorted back to wool socks to keep my tootsies warm, in the middle of the day. It's really pathetic.

We were invited on a camping/rafting trip with a group from Brent's work. However, since we have neither a raft or a tent, we declined. And well, we probably could have lined up what we needed but we just didn't have enough time, and seeing that I've never met most of these people before, two days in the woods communing with nature is not how I envisioned meeting my new friends for the first time. And besides, we really need to get things lined up for our fishing charter next weekend!! WOOT! I. AM. SO. EXCITED.

It's a crazy thought seeing that about 5 months ago I ate virtually no fish. None. Nada. And certainly not salmon or halibut. But we now eat salmon at least once and sometimes twice a week. Ooh, I cannot wait to bring home lots and lots of fish. They, once again I have no idea who they are, say that we will likely bring home about 100 pounds of fish. 100 pounds of fish. And I heard someone say that the figure is per person. Oy. I will be growing fins and swimming myself. Lots of fish tacos, and Brent's been dying for some salmon cakes.

Anyway, so we will be traveling to Ninilchik next weekend. It's about a 12 hour drive from Delta and since I've never been further than Paxson, about 75 miles from Delta, I'm uber excited!! I've heard that the drive is breathtaking. We are also planning to pop into Homer and see the sites, as we've heard it's close to Ninilchik. In addition to all of that we are hoping to see our friends, Adam and Jennifer, who live in Anchorage. So, it should be a fun-filled, sun-packed weekend!! Can you tell I'm excited?

When Brent booked the trip back in February it seemed like it would never happen, and here we are. I've been working out, pumping up my muscles in preparation for hoisting a monster halibut. There is a contest going on in the South and I believe the leader right now is at 170 pounds. 170 POUNDS. That's a human, not a fish. And I can guarantee that I wouldn't be able to get that beast onto the boat. Good thing I'm taking Brent with me. Ha!

So, I need to run. I have to call today and check all our plans just to make sure that everything is a go. Wouldn't want to arrive to find that something has gone awry and we are left sleeping in the back of the Envoy. That, my friends, would not be a good time. In my book anyway.

Have a happy, happy day!