My big fish tale!!!

I hope you all had a wonderful day.  I have had another great adventure to check off another item from my bucket list.  I had the opportunity to ride in an 18 wheel truck in Anchorage.  I have always heard stories about an 18 wheel truck and now I can let you all know all the facts.  This is the Lilac Lady and I rode in her as she went to her weekend parking space.

 The seats are on a suspension system so they don't feel the bumps.  It was weird being so high up you can look down at all cars or trucks.  Be careful what you are doing as a drive!

The inside had a double bed above and double bed below.  The cab had a refrigerator, microwave, VCR, and about 20 cubbies holes all around the cabin of the truck.  This is the gear shift which does not require a clutch.  There are three different positions so all 18 gears are easily maneuvered.  When his rig is fulled loaded the truck weighs 18,000 pounds.  The gas tank holds 300 gallons and gets 4 miles to a gallon loaded.  If the rig doesn't have a trailer it is called a bobcat.  The bobcat gets 7 miles a gallon.  This rig has 475 horsepower.  That is even more than David's car!

The weekend of September 17 we headed to Homer, Alaska.  Homer is a 5 hour drive down the Kenai Peninsula.  It was a bit wet but the fall colors were starting to show.  We were to go Halibut fishing on Saturday and Salmon fishing on the Kiselof River on Sunday.

We headed to the fishing docks early (6 am) and met Captain Mike on the boat called Beau Soleil.  It was a bit chilly but we had our fishing gear on.  I love my Healy Hanson fishing gear! 

We started our fishing adventure very very early - 6:30 pm.  The sun rise was fabulous but the whales that escorted us out to the ocean was even better.  There was a few puffins and sea lions with their pups.

 The ferry going from Homer to Soldotna cruised by our boat.  The ferry ride is about 2 hours.

We caught a glimpse of the Deadliest Catch boat "Time Bandit" getting a few repairs before it heads back to the cold Bering Sea.

Niki caught the first halibut. It was a gig one!  Way to go Niki.

 Next Beth caught another big one!  Way to go Beth.

 I caught one and it was fighting me all the way.

 At one point I had to ask for help to keep me from going over the side of the boat.  Beth lent a helping hand to keep me inside the boat versus being fish bait in the freezing cold water!

 25 minutes later this is what I brought in the boat.  It was a lot of work. My arm was so sore.  The captain and ship mate gave me all sort of advice but all I wanted was help reeling in this fish.  I was told if the captain touched my reel I would be DQ from the Halibut Derby.  At one point I said, I don't care my arm was so tired.  I kept with it and we brought a 178 pound halibut to the boat.When Captain Mike went and got his gun and shot my big fish I was scared it would get away.  Then he told me to have faith in him - since he has been doing this for a career.    While I was bringing in the big halibut Beth's father was bringing in a huge King Salmon. 

We purchased our ticket for the Halibut Derby and hopefully one of us will win something.  Beth caught a 98 pound halibut and the last catch of the day I caught the 178 pound halibut and Beth's father brought in the KING salmon at 38 pounds.  Yum,  All I can think about is the yummy fish we will feast on for a while.

 This is a halibut gun.  It makes a really loud "bang" when shooting something only a few feet below the deck.  I asked the Captain if he ever missed and shot the boat.  He looked at me with a look of "Are you kidding me?"  He replied, I might have missed the fish early on my career because it kept fighting but I don't shoot my boat!

So when our boat was full - 12 halibut and 1 King salmon it was time to head back to the dock to weight our two large halibut and show off our king!  The female anglers completing another fun adventure.

 The funny part was bringing all the fish up to the slaughter area.  It is a very steep ramp.  The men loaded the large fish on a low dolly and tied a rope to the tail up to the truck.  It kind of kept the fish on the dolly.  This is both of the large fish coming to the Halibut Derby scales hoping to win some money.

Filleting of the big fish.  YUMMMMM

So as one day closed and lots of smiling faces on the four of us, we followed the fish to the cleaning, freezing shipping processing plant. We had 280 pounds of halibut and salmon.  We had to go and purchase another cooler because it didn't fit in the ones we brought along.  PLUS we are going salmon fishing tomorrow and will probably catch some more fish.  Boy we were so optimistic and positive after this wonderful day at sea.

We stayed at a lodge in which the owner built the log cabin. It was very nice.  Had a lot of nice personal touches.

This wood burning stove was what interested me most.  I watched intently as he cooked us bacon and eggs and pancakes.  I was thinking this would be great at my house.  Then I realized we don't have the abundance of trees like they do in AK.

Boarding the boat on  the Kiselof River and we weren't sure what we saw in the river at the dock.  Upon closer look we found this!  There was a family reunion at the campground and they must have roasted a pig.  What the funny item to see early in the morning.

This is the beautiful Kiselof River and we are fishing for salmon today.

More wildlife greeted us along the River.

Beth caught the first silver of the day.  She worked hard for this one.  He gave her a good fight.  I had to turn my head when he was clubbed.  As human as it is for the fish, I think it looks mean.

A mouth full of teeth.

 Beth's father caught the second silver of the day.  Doesn't he just look like a fishing pro?  He was so much fun to have along on our fishing adventure.

 Another wonderful photo of the Kiselof River.

Then I caught my glove!  Today we only caught two wonderful silvers.  Add these two our fish catch and we have a lot of fish to eat this winter.  Yahoo!!!

Sunday was the end of our great fishing adventure.  It was a blast, fun, exciting and challenging.  I enjoyed every minute of it.  Watching these gentlemen fillet the fish was amazing.  I appreciate the fish we buy in the store so much more since we don't have bones in the fish.
I hope you all are doing well.  David informs me that Memphis is having the best fall ever.  I hope you are taking part in the wonderful fall.  Next weekend I will meet up with my entire family to attend my nephew's wedding. I can hardly wait to see everyone and see the beautiful fall at Starve Rock, IL. 
Until then.  Enjoy life.
Nanuq of the North
Sheryl