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!

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”.

The Kachemak Bay Combo is the perfect choice for families with younger children. Yesterdays came out near-perfect. No rain, but not too hot, and the King salmon cooperated allowing us to catch three kings and release one before heading out to the halibut grounds. When we have young arms aboard, we try to fish in a place that will be easier and more fun for them. We chose 120′ in the middle of the Bay, just on the edge of Cook Inlet. There we were happy to find instant gratification and lots of action throughout the two hours we fished for halibut. After releasing twenty halibut in the 10-20# range, we were able to put ten in the box in the 15-30# range. At some point, the halibut decided to check out the weather, as they came to the surface and were begging for bait. It is not something we see every day, but when we do, it is always a treat. Homer, Alaska fishing sometimes includes ice cream, so when we had our fill of halibut, we headed to Seldovia where the Smith family was able to tour around for an hour and a half while Capt. Pete filleted their fish for them.

I fished with Gary and Debbie Cannon today in the kelp beds off Anchor Point. Let’s see, the sun was shining, it was likely the warmest day of the year so far, and we were fishing with light weights in 24 feet of water. With alot of coaxing, we caught six nice halibut up to 65# and one large octopus. The Cannons took home a tote full of beautiful fillets and allowed their captain to retain the octopus, which will be made into poke this summer. Fishing in Homer, Alaska is always a new experience. I am including a couple of photos of our feathered friends that frequent our view in front of the house here on Kachemak Bay.