Homer–the Halibut Capitol

On the way to Homer, we stopped at a woodcarver’s shop and looked at some of the most unique carvings.  Very clever.

We pulled into Homer on Thursday, July 26 and after we got all set up in the park, those of us that were going halibut fishing drove down to the “Spit” to get our fishing license.  The charter had already been arranged while we were on the road a week before.

Next morning, early early, we got to the marina and the fishing boat (big enough for 20 people to fish from) at 5:30 a.m.  Yep, Connie the fishing champ, too!  We loaded up and in one hour and a half, we were at our spot in the upper Cook Inlet with our huge hooks baited with herring and 2 pound weights.  The fish gods were smiling on Connie and I both because we were among the first to catch our 2-fish limit and then we got to watch everyone else catch their fish.  All except the ones that were throwing up over the railing.  And it was a calm sea.  We were fishing about 200 feet down with the weight about 3-4 feet above the hook.  We let line out until we felt the weight hit bottom and then just waited.  When halibut bite, it is just a nibble.  The second nibble, you don’t set the hook, just start reeling in, and reeling, and reeling, and reeling.  Our arms felt like jelly when we finally got the fish to the surface.  What an absolute blast!  The fish wasn’t the only one hooked!  Connie and I had an awesome time.

The scenery up the Cook Inlet was so beautiful!  There are so many little isolated villages we could see from the boat.  Some only accessible by air or by sea.  There is such a Russian influence in this area and when Alaska came under US jurisdiction, the Russians living in this area were given a choice:  become a citizen of the U.S. or return to Russia.  Very few returned to Russia so there are Russian names, houses, churches, dress, customs, restaurants and all things Russian on the Kenai Peninsula and north.  The day was sunny – SHOCK! and it was beautiful!!  Up the inlet we could see volcanoes that were among the “Ring of Fire”.  The only name I can remember is Mount Redoubt but at one point, with it being so clear and no rain, we could see 4-5 volcanoes with steam coming out of one.

See the steam below?

The Ring of Fire is an arc of active and dormant volcanoes stretching from New Zealand along the east edge of Asia, north across the Aleutian Islands of Alaska and south along the coasts of North and South America.  The large volcano above is Mount Redoubt and it erupted in March of 2009 and ended it’s activity in May of 2009.  Look closely at the first picture above, and you can see the steam coming out near the top.

We picked up our frozen, vacuum-packed halibut the next morning and then off to our last stop – Kenai, where we will spend the last two nights of our tour.

At the Kenai rv park, we could walk to the very edge of the bluff and look down where the Kenai River flowed into Cook Inlet and watched as hundreds of Alaska residents  dip netted on the river’s edge for salmon.  We weren’t brave enough to go down there and try to fish among them with a rod and reel.  These folks were filling their freezers for the winter.

We had our final potluck dinner with poems and skits done by those of us who couldn’t figure a way out of it.  Good byes were said; addresses were exchanged and we were so excited to have this part of our trip over so we can be on our own and go fishing.  And fishing, we did go.  But both of us had to stop and remember how much we have learned about British Columbia, the Yukon and wonderful Alaska.  Spike is sooooo knowledgeable about so many things and places we never would have learned or seen on our own.  We are so grateful for this experience. We drove the next morning to Ninilchik to our charter with Chihuly’s for more halibut.  What a wonderful family and what a wonderful day we had.  Again, Connie and I aced it and caught our fish early on.  We weren’t taking any chances of getting skunked.  We are really going to have to be resourceful and figure out where to put more fish.  We don’t have any salmon or trout or grayling or any other than halibut and the chest freezer is over 2/3 full.  But like someone told me;  halibut is like gold.

The fishing charter outfits in Ninilchik “beach launch” their fishing boats instead of keeping them in a harbor.  They pull up on the beach, unhook the boat and trailer and this weird piece of equipment grabs the boat and trailer and backs it into the ocean.  Really different and fun to watch.

What a wonderful day!!  Tomorrow, we will head back up to Kenai and clean up after 2 days/nights of dry camping and then work our way north to Copper River fish camp and high mountain lake fly-fishing.  Yahoooooo!!

Connie’s lesson for this day is:  “If you are out fishing and want to take a nap, catch your fish first”…..