Fishing

Nice views as you fish!

They're fishing on both sides of the river.

We take an hour drive to Soldatna so we can watch the last day of dip net salmon fishing (or as my parents call it, combat fishing, because they're standing shoulder to shoulder in the water).  We stop at several viewpoints overlooking the river and take a walk down onto the beach to get a close-up peek of the action.  The nets are huge, 3-4 feet in diameter.

We reach the beach just as one woman catches a salmon.  She's lived in Alaska for awhile, but this is her first season salmon fishing.  

Dinner!

As we watch the fishing, we also find time for some scenic photos, too!

One of my favorite photos

After lunch we stopped at a quilt store in Soldatna - Bearly Threaded Quilting Too.  There's a nice amount of fabric (about 3000 bolts) and patterns (not just quilt patterns but also lots of different types of bags/purses - and many of the bag patterns have completed items on display) but it doesn't have as many kits as The Quilted Raven in Anchorage. 

We find another quilt store - thank goodness,
because I've been suffering from withdrawal since
it's been two days since I've stopped at one!

Cute sign in the window - you can
buy your own version inside the store.

When we drive back to Homer we go down to the Spit, the main tourist area, to check out the gift shops, etc.  At an oyster bar we stop for a snack, but we have bad service so it isn't really pleasant.  So on our way home we stop at a Safeway and pick up a fresh pizza for Steve to cook on the grill and I get my favorite frozen "pasta veggies" for dinner - which I haven't eaten in almost two years. 

Finally cooking on the grill!

We take some Dramamine in preparation for our fishing trip tomorrow, but I stay up late enough to see the sun start to set and the moon come up.  It makes another pretty picture.
 

Maybe this one is my favorite...

The Dramamine knocks you out - we both sleep 9-10 hours. It's better than a sleeping pill!  When we finally wake up we go to my parents' trailer.  Each time we arrive their dogs act like it's been months since we've come over, even though we've now been here for several days.

Where's Tie-Dye to protect me??

heading out from the dock

After visiting for a bit we leave for our halibut fishing trip.  I'm the newbie - I've never been deep sea fishing before.  Luckily it's a beautiful, calm day, so there's no worries about seasickness.  We also have my parents' friend, Dennis, joining us.  Dennis and his wife Kathy also own a camper, and have spent the last few months "caravanning" around Alaska and Canada with my parents.

During the 90-minute trip to the fishing spot we entertain ourselves by taking photos.

Not a selfie

Mom and Dad

Trying to take a scenic shot with the fishing poles...

Dennis, Mom, and Dad all ready at their fishing poles!

Our captain finds a great spot - as soon as you set your line you have a bite.  Steve says it makes it more fun than when he did it six years ago.  At that time he participated in an excursion on our Alaskan cruise, and it took 5-10 minutes to get a bite.  Today, your arm gets tired since you're constantly reeling up a fish hundreds of feet.

The crew helps by baiting our hook (about a 4 inch piece of fish), pulling the fish on board and checking the length.  I'm glad when I reach my two fish limit - one is right at the small limit, 28 inches, and the other is a few inches longer.  I find it interesting that you have to catch a smaller fish.  Apparently they're worried about overfishing the larger ones. 

Mom and Steve trying to catch fish #2.

Since I finish first I help spell the other members of our group, to help reel in their fish.  You can catch and release if you want or if the size is wrong, so it's a good workout.  Everyone on board catches their two halibut maximum.  Steve has the best story though - one time he was pulling up his hook, and right as it reaches the surface we see two fish swim away.  One of the crew explains what happened - Steve had actually hooked a salmon, but a halibut was also caught in the line, so he was reeling in two fish.  At the surface, there was some slack, and both fish were able to get away.  Steve would have been able to keep the salmon if he'd brought it in (bonus fish!).

Dad with one of his fish.

Dennis' fish is fighting back!

They dress the fish for us while we motor back to the dock (removing the head, tail, guts, and slime).  Another interesting fact - they throw off the bigger fish carcasses, but keep the smaller ones (28 inches or less). They have to prove to the authorities we caught the smaller fish as one of our items. 

our (no longer secret) fishing spot

Halibut are heavy!

We bring the fillets and cheeks to a fish processing plant, that skins the fish (if you want), cuts it into 1 lb pieces (if you want), flash freezes and vacuum seals it (if you want). We take a few pounds with us so we can cook it (Steve wants to use the grill again!), but freeze the rest. 

The amount of fish pays for our trip!

For dinner we stop at McDonalds (not for fish like you might think) so I can have a cheeseburger "my way" versus "Japan way."  It's great, but I'm surprised to see a 30 cent surcharge for mayonnaise. They tell me it's been like that for at least 7 years. Maybe it's an Alaska thing?
 

Still the best way to eat a cheeseburger, even with the surcharge!