omer, we saw all the fisherman casting lines into the famous Kenai River/Russian River confluence for red salmon. Not too surprising . . . but none the less exciting, Bryant saw bears from the road side. We pulled into the first turnout and scrambled down a path to the river's edge. Across the river, Mama and her two cubs ate salmon carcasses from the bank, while nearby fisherman fished, rafters floated by, and tourists, like ourselves in this case snapped pictures. People often ask me if I've seen bears in Alaska and while I have seen them on occasion, I have never really cared to see them because of the potential danger that exists. However in this case with a fairly wide fast flowing river separating us from the bears, I was drawn in to this particular scene, and thoroughly enjoyed watching them.Earlier this w
eek we decided that this weekend was a fill the freezer with halibut weekend. Being the fair weather fisherman that we are, we kept on sleeping Friday morning when we heard the steady drip of rain on the boat cabin roof. Fortunately in the summer months when the weather is cloudy and rainy, the day breeze in Kachemak Bay doesn't kick in, so we could start fishing on our "crack of noon" schedule and still have calm waters. On our way to the fuel dock, we saw the popular crab boat the "Time Bandit," from the Discovery's Channel's Deadliest Catch, taking up all the space. Luckily, the other fuel dock float was open and we didn't have to wait at all to fill our little fuel tank and be underway.
eek we decided that this weekend was a fill the freezer with halibut weekend. Being the fair weather fisherman that we are, we kept on sleeping Friday morning when we heard the steady drip of rain on the boat cabin roof. Fortunately in the summer months when the weather is cloudy and rainy, the day breeze in Kachemak Bay doesn't kick in, so we could start fishing on our "crack of noon" schedule and still have calm waters. On our way to the fuel dock, we saw the popular crab boat the "Time Bandit," from the Discovery's Channel's Deadliest Catch, taking up all the space. Luckily, the other fuel dock float was open and we didn't have to wait at all to fill our little fuel tank and be underway. This time 
of the year, there is usually a large area right outside of Seldovia where the halibut bite is steady. We dropped lines in the water and it wasn't long before Bryant reeled in a keeper. At first he was having all the luck, and he definitely caught more fish that me that day. At one point even Gus came up on deck to start hooking some fish. When the fishing is steady, he's interested in fishing, and up to that point, he was proud to have caught the largest fish aboard the boat. To his dislike, the 52 lb halibut I hauled in late Friday afternoon became the new record holder for the boat. The MacGregor isn't a fishing boat, but we're in the process of making it work for fishing. The biggest problems are there isn't much deck space to fish, and it sits high off the water making it difficult to gaff big fish without loosing them. After Bryant landed my big fish, it made such a mess and it took up most of the fishing space so we decided to call it a day.
of the year, there is usually a large area right outside of Seldovia where the halibut bite is steady. We dropped lines in the water and it wasn't long before Bryant reeled in a keeper. At first he was having all the luck, and he definitely caught more fish that me that day. At one point even Gus came up on deck to start hooking some fish. When the fishing is steady, he's interested in fishing, and up to that point, he was proud to have caught the largest fish aboard the boat. To his dislike, the 52 lb halibut I hauled in late Friday afternoon became the new record holder for the boat. The MacGregor isn't a fishing boat, but we're in the process of making it work for fishing. The biggest problems are there isn't much deck space to fish, and it sits high off the water making it difficult to gaff big fish without loosing them. After Bryant landed my big fish, it made such a mess and it took up most of the fishing space so we decided to call it a day. 
The next morning/afternoon we headed back out to our same spot. Gus must have decided he needed his record back, because he didn't stop fishing until the very end of the day. I became bait girl and kept herring on Bryant's and Gus's line. I also help Gus reel in fish when he gets tired, and he had lots of reason to be tired as he kept hooking fish, some were keepers others we threw back. He ended up with the largest fish of the day. While we were fishing, the "Time Bandit" nearly ran us over (not really), but the kids were excited to see the boat and waved frantically. We regularly watch that show on TV, so the boys are familiar with its popularity and thought it was pretty neat to see it in person. About midday, Bryant handed me his pole while he used the bathroom and I managed to catch the largest skate any of us had seen. Although I wished it into being the world rec
ord halibut, I knew by the way it didn't spool the reel and shake that it was a skate. I reeled it in until Bryant's zipper was up and then handed him the pole to finish it off. When the skate surfaced and all dreams of record halibut faded, he handed the pole back to me. By swinging it around to the transom, he managed to wiggle his way down closer to the skate and unhook it. As the day progressed, fishing slowed down. Gus handed his pole over to me. Eventually, Bryant and I used up the rest of our bait up on the nibblers 125 feet down and ended up calling it a day. We had four decent fish in the box, and a good run yesterday, so overall our goal to fill the freezer was successful. We ended up spending another nice evening in Seldovia. On Sunday after we pulled into the Homer harbor and started loading gear into the car to return home, we saw a lucky fisherman weighing in a 295 lb. halibut. The halibut must have been at least 6 1/2 feet tall. The unfortunate event here was that he didn't have a Homer Halibut Derby Ticket. Each year someone, who has purchased a derby ticket, and catches the largest fish wins around $25,000 that number depends upon the amount of tickets purchased each year. The winning halibut is anywhere from 250 lbs -350 lbs. Even private boats can participate in the fishing derby, maybe we need to think about that next time we go fishing to fill the freezer?!
For more pictures, including the 295 lb. halibut click: http://picasaweb.google.com/jillcaho/BigWildLifeWeekend
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