Day 14 – June 19, 2008
We got up at 0445 this morning to meet our fishing charter on the Homer Spit at 0600. En route, we saw a huge Bald Eagle sitting atop a gazebo. He looked at us as though he owned the Spit and we were trespassers in his domain. We boarded the “Spirit” and shoved off for the Halibut grounds about an hour and a half away. As we left the harbor, we noted wind waves and white caps, a bad omen for a calm fishing experience. An hour later we were experiencing six foot seas and a few green faces. We popped our Dramamine, dropped our lines, and hoped for the best.
Our first location literally netted no Halibut, so we moved about mile and hooked up immediately. Just about everyone caught their limit of two Halibut each. The two deck hands were scrambling along both sides of the boat untangling lines and landing fish for the twenty people fishing, make that eighteen people, two were bent over the side rails giving up their breakfasts to the unforgiving sea. It was so rough that it was all one could do to hold on to a fishing rod, land a fish, hold onto the boat, and try not to get thrown overboard by the never-ending onslaught of waves and big rollers. It was not the best fishing experience, but we did catch Halibut.
The Dramamine finally kicked in on the return trip to overcome some of our nausea. Tim and I nodded off in the cabin. Sylvia laid her head on the table for the trip back to the harbor and Lane sacked out on the upper deck. We’d had enough “fishing” for one day.
We had our catch frozen and we shipped 16 pounds of Halibut fillets home for $150. I think we should have”fished” at the market. It would have been a lot easier and cheaper. The half day boat was $105 per person.
At noon we departed Homer and headed back to Anchorage through the Chugach National Park along the Kenai River. It was a beautiful scenic ride. The Kenai Peninsula is premier Salmon fishing area. We passed the turn off for Whittier, AK, where the Anchorage cruise ships depart for the southbound cruise through the Inland Passage to Vancouver, BC. The road to Whitter is somewhat unique. It has a tunnel that is only one lane and is shared with rail road tracks in the car lane. Timing is everything.
Nearing Anchorage, one rides along the Turnagain Arm of the Cook Inlet for nearly thirty miles. The drive is punctuated with several small waterfalls cascading over tall granite cliffs. On occasion, one can see White Mountain Goats atop the cliffs.
We ended our evening with dinner of seafood chowder in Anchorage and turned in at the Howard Johnson Hotel again. Tomorrow, were headed to Palmer, AK, for the Alaska State Harley Owner’s Group (HOG) Rally and then back to Tok, AK, en route to Haines, AK. It’s hard to believe that we’re finally headed back toward home and we have already been on the road for two weeks.
Our mileage today was approximately 230 miles with some sight seeing side trips. The weather was good all day with the exception of the winds at sea. Temperatures were between 50 and 60 degrees, making for very comfortable riding.
We got up at 0445 this morning to meet our fishing charter on the Homer Spit at 0600. En route, we saw a huge Bald Eagle sitting atop a gazebo. He looked at us as though he owned the Spit and we were trespassers in his domain. We boarded the “Spirit” and shoved off for the Halibut grounds about an hour and a half away. As we left the harbor, we noted wind waves and white caps, a bad omen for a calm fishing experience. An hour later we were experiencing six foot seas and a few green faces. We popped our Dramamine, dropped our lines, and hoped for the best.
Our first location literally netted no Halibut, so we moved about mile and hooked up immediately. Just about everyone caught their limit of two Halibut each. The two deck hands were scrambling along both sides of the boat untangling lines and landing fish for the twenty people fishing, make that eighteen people, two were bent over the side rails giving up their breakfasts to the unforgiving sea. It was so rough that it was all one could do to hold on to a fishing rod, land a fish, hold onto the boat, and try not to get thrown overboard by the never-ending onslaught of waves and big rollers. It was not the best fishing experience, but we did catch Halibut.
The Dramamine finally kicked in on the return trip to overcome some of our nausea. Tim and I nodded off in the cabin. Sylvia laid her head on the table for the trip back to the harbor and Lane sacked out on the upper deck. We’d had enough “fishing” for one day.
We had our catch frozen and we shipped 16 pounds of Halibut fillets home for $150. I think we should have”fished” at the market. It would have been a lot easier and cheaper. The half day boat was $105 per person.
At noon we departed Homer and headed back to Anchorage through the Chugach National Park along the Kenai River. It was a beautiful scenic ride. The Kenai Peninsula is premier Salmon fishing area. We passed the turn off for Whittier, AK, where the Anchorage cruise ships depart for the southbound cruise through the Inland Passage to Vancouver, BC. The road to Whitter is somewhat unique. It has a tunnel that is only one lane and is shared with rail road tracks in the car lane. Timing is everything.
Nearing Anchorage, one rides along the Turnagain Arm of the Cook Inlet for nearly thirty miles. The drive is punctuated with several small waterfalls cascading over tall granite cliffs. On occasion, one can see White Mountain Goats atop the cliffs.
We ended our evening with dinner of seafood chowder in Anchorage and turned in at the Howard Johnson Hotel again. Tomorrow, were headed to Palmer, AK, for the Alaska State Harley Owner’s Group (HOG) Rally and then back to Tok, AK, en route to Haines, AK. It’s hard to believe that we’re finally headed back toward home and we have already been on the road for two weeks.
Our mileage today was approximately 230 miles with some sight seeing side trips. The weather was good all day with the exception of the winds at sea. Temperatures were between 50 and 60 degrees, making for very comfortable riding.
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