RV Alaska 2011: DAY 59: SALMON FISHING

Nancy and I got up early this morning and we were at the Small Boat Harbor at 6:30 a.m. to catch our salmon charter boat, the "Martie Kay." We chartered the boat with a very delightful couple from Candle Lake, Saskatchewan that we first met when we arrived in Valdez. The Captain took us out about 30 miles to fish for Silver Salmon; around August 10th the "silvers" will be close to Valdez and anglers will be able to catch them both from the shore and from boats, but of course we won't be here then. Today was our first experience fishing using "down riggers" which are used to keep the bait and a selected depth and today we fished at 25-35 feet. It was really a lot of fun trying to land the "silvers" as they put up a real fight when hooked, jumping out of the water, running out line against the reel's drag and darting and diving. Nancy got her limit of six and out fished everybody, however the four of us together caught 20 fish weighing 10-12 lbs. each. Nancy and my fish together netted us 46.5 lbs. of fillets. Ben and Bonnie had good success fishing from the shore at Alice Point and together they caught eight "Pink Salmon." It was really a beautiful day with bright sunshine and temperatures near 70 degrees which is very unusual for Valdez where it typically rains every day during the summer.