Out of the Wilderness

Yep, it's over. The Fishing Trip is complete. And for a change... I Scored!!! The first evening, in the lodge eating smoked salmon chowder, I told the guides that I was somewhat of a fishing legend. Their looks begged me to explain, so I did. I told them that in 2005 over a total of 9 fishing trips I did not catch one single fish. It became their responsibility to put me on the catch and they did. This photo is the end of our first day out. I'm in the background on the right standing above the 54 pound halibut. I limited on halibut every day, but Thursday, when the winds and the 8 foot seas made us cut our day short. I still landed a 25 pounder that day. On Friday we joined the throngs wading near the banks on the Kenai River in Soldotna where I limited on Reds (Sockeye Salmon), a great tasting fish. In a couple of weeks we'll be hosting a fish fry, or something like it, to try and reduce the the current inventory of nearly 125 pounds of fillets! The place we stayed was Casa de Kings, in Anchor Point, about 30 miles north of Homer. Captains, and brothers, Phil and James Mertzweiller run a great camp. Up early for a good breakfast, on the water around 6 am, fish for about 8 hours, come back, clean and pack the catch and then eat a great supper. I would highly recommend their camp if you want to go to Alaska and fish. Nothing much else to do around Anchor Point so it is truly for fishing. Stay a couple of extra days in Homer if you want something more coastal in feel. It's a neat little community. Or stay in Anchorage if you want that citified feeling. You can contact the fishing camp at www.casadekings.com for more information. Tell them I sent you. Now it's time for halibut ceviche.