There are a lot of things to learn when you decide you want to work on a boat and netting salmon is one of the more difficult. There are so many things that can go wrong between hooking them and getting them into the boat. This one was a nice one and although I cannot say it was a textbook landing, the fish made it into the boat and the result is a large smile from our deckhand, Jona. There will be many more salmon to net this season.

I know this is getting a bit repetitive, but we caught another octopus Wednesday. Tom Jordan, who would have preferred a large halibut caught it on the East/West ridge while we were ducked in there hiding from a strong wind. Seems like I was hiding from the wind, along with the rest of the fleet, most of last week. Thank goodness there was a good bite of fish around Flat Island, so a least we all got our limits. The octopus went to Henry Baldauf who will brine and smoke it….yum!

Pete caught an octopus – here is a photo Steve sent him of their fishing trip!

Here are the Sauers with their halibut and octopus!

Yesterday I promised one of my clients, Jennifer, that I would post a photo of the day’s catch and a quote from her. Now, I have heard just about everything in the book exclaimed when hooking a halibut, especially for the first time, but Jennifer caught me off guard. She simply stated that “this is bulls__t! Well, it wasn’t, it was real and she successfully landed her halibut and put it in the box. It was a funny note to what became a fun day of fishing. We didn’t kill any monsters, maybe 40# at the upper end of the string, but we landed sixteen (yes, the crew gets to keep halibut, too) and released many more than that. We did not have alot of bycatch yesterday, but a friendly octopus did get hooked and a strong man named Steve reeled it in against the tide. This is always a fun event on the Julia Lynn and not uncommon while fishing for halibut out of Homer, Alaska. Unfortunately, my camera malfunctioned and I did not get a group shot of fishermen and fish this day. Fortunately, our new deckhand, Jona, got a chance to hold the animal and I think she was amazed at how slimy they are. Slimy, yes, but delicious to eat, certainly. I LOVE octopus. Speaking of love, we returned to port a few days ago to be serenaded dockside by our neighbors in the Homer Harbor on the “Shadowline” a commercial combination vessel that fishes for halibut, cod, salmon, and even sometimes sports a hot tub on the back deck. Captain Tom plays a concertina and his friend, Guido, (the furry one on his shoulder) sings along…..that’s amore! Working and fishing in Homer can be alot of fun.

Our friend Calvin “Slim” Sorrows passed away last week and today, his friends and family celebrated his life. Slim was first a gentleman and he could relate to you whether you were two years old or eighty-two. He always had a smile and a story for you. My grand-daughters knew him as Ol’ Slim and and since they were old enough to realize what it meant, they knew he was one of the best fishermen they would ever know. They love to look through the album and pick out the photos of Slim. For me, he was a joy to take fishing….no matter what it was he caught, it was a wiggle on the end of his pole and he made it fun. There was a look on his face when he would hook up that I will never forget. I will always cherish our time on the water and I already miss him badly. He exemplified the motto “Attitude Makes the Difference”.