Day 4: Going deep in Alaska

Posted by Chris:

The day started out as per usual with a hearty breakfast – this time breakfast burritos.

We boarded the Otter and headed off for Geographic Harbor on the ocean side of Alaska for a day of deep-sea fishing.

Our expectations were very high after we had heard mythical stories of 6 foot long Halibut as well as the fact that we were coming off a sub-par (relatively) day of weather the day before.   Geographic Harbor didn’t disappoint to say the least.

We took off from camp for the hour long flight to the fishing site and were treated to mystical views as we skirted through the mountain tops of “10 Thousand Smokes” while flying at 1500 feet.

Upon arrival at Geographic Harbor, we put our first cast in the water and “Hawk Eyes” (aka Trevor) spotted dolphins in the distance which gradually made their way closer to the boat and greeted us by circling the boat and jumping out of the water.  What a sight.

A few hours later, Hawk Eyes again saw something off in the distance which looked like whales, so we decided to go investigate it a little more.   Lucky for us… a pod of whales also decided to greet us by circling the boat and giving us our own private show.

We were so close to the whales that we could smell the nastiness of their breath.   Mark thought our guide had broke wind.

Now to the most important part of the day.  The fishing…  we had a fantastic day of fish catching.   We caught 300 pounds of fish and that only included the ones we kept.  

It wasn’t just about quantity though.  We also got some serious quality and caught nearly every type of fish in the Alaskan seas.   From Halibut to Ling Cod to Silver Salmon to Rockfish, all five of us were seriously drained after fighting with those beasts.   There were some great catches as you can see below.

 

We also happened to catch another set of animals as well… two members of the Backstreet Boys…is Backstreet Back tonight?

 

One of the things that we kept commenting on all day was the beauty of Alaska.   It is rare that you are surrounded by so much amazing scenery when you are out deep sea fishing since normally you are miles away at sea.   In Alaska, not surprisingly, everywhere we looked we were surrounded by awe-inspiring landscapes.

From the front of the boat:

 

From inside the boat looking out:

And finally the family portraits with the same amazing backdrop.

 

All in all, an epic day.  Never to be forgotten.  

Until tomorrow…just another float plane trip away.