Capt. Pete, Erica, andf Capt. Ron with a limit of king salmon

On a recent January day, the weather was warm and the fish were biting. My friends, Don Flynn, Ron Hurley, and his neighbor, Erica joined me in a fun day of fishing near Seldovia. We snacked on king salmon and king crab sandwiches in between taking turns reeling n king salmon from nine pounds to one white king that went over twnety pounds. Here’s a photo of the catch with Ron, Erica, and me. Also, fishing with us that day was Boop, aka Don Flynn, who used to own and run the Diamond Cape. Boop is now back to salmon seining in Prince William Sound, which is what he did before the Exxon Valdez disaster. Erica enjoyed the experience of fishing with three captains, and with the fish cooperating, there was plenty to do between snacks.

Boop reels in a king while Ron cranks the downrigger

It’s not often that I get to take two kings home in a day, but this trip was very rewarding. Erica and her Dad smoked some of the king that they took home and a few days ago, Dr. Bill brought me some all smoked and packaged up. I have sampled some and it was delicious.

The Julia Lynn will be out of the shop and back in the water in a few days and I can hardly wait to get out there and see if we can’t get them to bite again!

Greetings:

We lucked out here and we are enjoying the tail-end of a two week weather window that is not especially unusual this time of year, but most welcome. That cold snap that hit us after Christmas lasted two solid weeks and left us froze solid in the harbor. The stash of king salmon was getting dangerously low and the arms began to atrophize. We finally got free of the harbor and the wind died down on Saturday the 17th and I and three friends went salmon fishing. Caught eight nice fish, 8 to 20# and enjoyed a nice, sunny day. Sunday we took Ericka Roberts and her neighbor, Capt. Ron Hurley, and my friend Don Flynn fishing and we actually did better than Saturday. Eight kings landed and maybe a bit larger than the day before and we got in earlier. Although I am just learning to post on YouTube, I will attempt to include a quick clip here from Saturday’s trip. Luke is on the rod and Tom is handling the net.

We are also back to crabbing until the 15th of March. We’ve been three times since Tuesday and it has been great. The crab are very full of sweet meat. What a treat to enjoy in the winter! It was 36 degrees this morning when we got up, but we are expecting the temps to fall and along with it, some snow. It is time for the “Julia Lynn’s” annual trip to the shop, so we will be out of action for a couple of weeks, but we’ll return all polished up and ready for the ’09 season. We’ll post photos here as they become available.  Take care.  Pete

I don’t know about you, but the arrival of 2009 was a welcome event. As we in Homer are in the grips of an extended cold snap and all of us are experiencing the most uncertain financial prospects of our lives, there are many reasons to celebrate a new year. Just as the weather man assures us that the temperature will rise and the ice will melt, I believe there is just as much hope for the American economy. We at Capt. Pete’s wish you all the very best in 2009.

We were unable to go fishing this last week due to heavy ice in the harbor caused by temperatures near zero. We are hoping that with the forecast higher temps next week, we can get the folks that are waiting to go fishing out there. I thought you would enjoy these photos of the ice in the Homer harbor. Hopefully, next weeks post will feature some king salmon!

Hi Friends:

We are in the midst of our winter season here at Capt. Pete’s and that means King Salmon! Had a nice break with a trip to Washington, D.C. to visit our son and he and his wife agreed to accompany Mom and Dad to Florida. Have never been there, myself, so it was pretty cool (actually warm!) We spent a week at Key Largo in a very clean and comfortable two bedroom, two bath condo owned by Jim Bendick. If you could use a break in the Keys, e-mail him at jbendick3@nycap.rr.com and be sure to say that Capt. Pete sent you. I tell you, for a blind shot in the dark, the place was perfect.

Anyhow, back to fishing…..I and my friend, Ron Hurley, who is also a captain and owns the very nice “Sweet T” here in Homer took two gentlemen fishing on Thursday, Dec. 18th. Things started pretty well with a nice fat feeder king on before the second line was set. Now, the kings didn’t come hand over fist, but the last 45 minutes put the final three kings in the boat leaving us with eight nice salmon, total. I filleted the crew fish on the way to the crab pot, but saved the guys fish for a photo at the dock. It was a balmy 35 degrees Thursday and Roy and Art were a joy to spend the day with. Am only hoping to have as much luck tomorrow.

I’ll try to post some fishing reports more often here. Have a very Merry Christmas and I am hoping to see you all in the new year! Take care,

Pete

This article recently appeared in the Peninsula Clarion and is reprinted here with permission from Les Palmer.

“An Outdoor View,” Feb. 8, 2008

10-below king salmon
by
Les Palmer

On Sunday afternoon, I was in my easy chair watching the Super Bowl game when Pete Wedin called. He was on his way from Homer to Anchorage, he said, and wanted to give me a piece of king salmon he’d caught Saturday. We agreed to meet at Suzie’s Cafe, on the Sterling Highway.

Pete and his wife Debra live in Homer year-round and operate a fishing charter business, Captain Pete’s Alaska. Pete is a die-hard guy who fishes every chance he gets, whether he has customers or not. His 30-foot Chris Craft, the ‘Julia Lynn,’ is one of the few Homer boats that fishes during the winter months, when freezing spray and ice in the small-boat harbor sometimes present problems.

At Suzie’s, Pete grinned and handed me about two pounds of fresh feeder king. Getting out of the harbor to go fishing had been quite an adventure for him, his mate and a friend, he said. Recent cold temperatures had frozen the still water in the harbor. Backing away from the slip, he heard a loud ‘clunk,’ which caused some serious thought about not going. No fishing trip is worth damaging a boat. But with some careful pushing, he eventually moved enough ice aside to make it out of the harbor and into Kachemak Bay, which was ice-free.

The air was cold, but the fishing was hot. They hadn’t fished for ten minutes, when the first salmon bit. Two hours later, they were back in the harbor with limits of king salmon and a few small halibut.

‘When we weren’t reeling in fish, we were in the cabin, getting warm,’ Pete said.

I didn’t get around to cooking my fish until the next night, Monday. At 10 a.m. that morning, it had been 32 below at our place, but by 5 p.m., it had warmed up to a toasty 10 below. I decided to use my Weber charcoal grill, just as if it were summer and 70 above.

Actually, cooking at 10 below isn’t much different than 70 above. I used the same amount of charcoal – a two-pound coffee canful. One major difference was that there was no lollygagging around the grill with a spatula in one hand and a cold drink in the other.

Here’s my tried and true method of grilling salmon fillets, just in case you get an insane urge to dig your grill out of the snow. Cooking salmon this way doesn’t stink up the house, and there’s no mess to clean up afterward.

• Put the fillet skin-side down on a piece of aluminum foil. Fold the foil’s edges inward until they are about 1/2 inch from the fish.
• If it’s fresh salmon, season with a light sprinkle of Kosher salt and lemon pepper. If the fish has been in the freezer for six months, it will need whatever help you can give it.
• When the charcoal is uniformly glowing, spread it out. Put some alder chips and chunks in a small pan and place the pan on the coals. Don’t soak the chips in water.
• Put the salmon on the grill, and cook for about 20 minutes per inch of thickness. Check it often. As soon as it can be flaked with a fork, it’s done. Don’t overcook it, or it will be dry and chewy.
• Slide a spatula between the flesh and skin, and place the fish on a serving platter. Leave the foil and skin on the grill. The fish will have a golden color and a slightly smoky flavor.

It took 40 minutes to cook my salmon at 10 below. In June it would take about 20 minutes.

I’d forgotten how good fresh salmon can taste, especially when it’s a fresh king salmon, caught in the saltwater, in its prime. I can see why those Homer people will do just about anything to get out on the water and catch one.

Les Palmer lives in Sterling.