The following is the flyer the cruise line gave us about the city of Sitka: page1 page2 page3 page4
After he was well medicated, we walked around the town and browsed in the shops. We found an ornament for Sitka. We also saw some interesting masks and jewelry, but did not purchase anything. Nothing jumped out at us and said "buy me".
The town of Sitka is nestled in the foothills with the ocean on the other side. The only way in or out is by boat or plane. This was once the capital of Alaska. Because the city was settled by the russians and the fact that they are pretty isolated from the rest of the country, they are able to maintain their culture and history. Everywhere you looked you could see the signs of their history.
We stopped in at their local grocery store and purchased some fruit and sandwiches. We wanted to make sure we had food in case we got hungry later. It was nearing Steve's tour time so he headed back to the landing to meet his fishing boat. Angie hung around in town until her tour started. Steve boarded a shuttle to the boat dock, which was ironically the same place he was when he turned around to go meet the tour. There were about 14 people on the fishing tour. They split us up onto four boats. Steve's boat only had three people, so it was not as crowded.
On the way out we saw an alaska air airline plane take off right over us. It was a pretty cool site to see. It took us about 30 minutes to get to the fishing site. We were going to be fishing in about 150 feet of water.
We dropped three lines in the water. This was quite different than shore fishing. In this case, they take a 50lb weight and attach it to the line. When the ball is attached to the fishing line, it is let out from the boat that has a depth gauge. This allows you to control the depth of the line. When the fish strikes the line, the weight is released and the pole snaps up. This is the opposite of lake fishing.
After we dropped our lines we trolled around for about five minutes and then we hooked a fish. This was a 22lb King Salmon. It took about 40 minutes before we caught the second fish. This time it was not a Salmon, but a Halibut. It was a 25lb'er. Boy halibut is an ugly fish.
It took about another 15 minutes and then it was Steve's turn to catch one. This time it was another Halibut. It seemed to take forever to reel this one in. Once the fish reached the surface, the skipper told me to hold on, because he could not take it out of the water, it was too BIG. He had to shoot it three times with a gun. Not sure what sort of gun, but it did the trick and then he took it out of the water.
The fish was HUGE. Estimated at 45lbs. It sure felt heavier. The fish took a lot out of me plus I was also starting to get a little sea-sick. I went inside the cabin to try and relax, to no avail. A few minutes later, I was giving a little bit back to the ocean :-( But I started feeling better.
Just as I was looking over the side of the boat, another fish was hooked. This time it was a 26lb salmon. It was a beauty. Shortly we caught a third salmon. That was our limit. The limit is 2 Halibut and 1 King Salmon per person. It's a good thing we caught the halibut first or we would have to come back in after the third salmon.
After the last fish was onboard, we headed back into port. It was about an hour early, but there was no reason to hang out in the ocean since we could not catch anymore fish. When we reached the dock we were met by the company that processes the fish. I decided to have the salmon smoked and shipped with the halibut filets.
Because Angie had the camera, I had the people from Buffalo that where with me on the boat take my picture so they could send me a copy. The Halibut was very heavy. I could not lift it very long with one hand. I finally had to use two hands. Another person with a camera took my picture. Don't know if she was with the cruise ship or just a local photo hound. I guess I will find out when I look at the wall of photos tonight.
I didn't get a picture with the salmon though. I asked the other people to send me a copy of the photo I took of them with the three salmon. Hopefully it came out. The fish should be shipped to me after I return on my vacation.
The skipper had an australian shepherd on board. It was the cutest dog. I wish I had my camera to take some pictures. The camera was with Angie so that she could take pictures on her tour. The dog was nine months old. It just loved being on the ship. I was amazed at how well it worked with the skipper to stay out of everyone's way. It knew before we did when a fish was hooked. It would start barking as soon as the line was struck.
So all in all it was a good trip and Steve now has his fish story.
We walked back to the ships tenders and returned to the ship. Steve went and grabbed lunch, because he was now starving. Having nothing in his stomach :-) After filling up on food, Steve went up to the top deck and chatted with friends about the days events. It was a gorgeous view and we saw several eagles flying.
At dinner we had some problems. They brought Steve the wrong soup and his rare meat was cooked medium again. This will be the last time he orders steak.
After dinner? Angies day?
