Alaskan adventure

[J.A. Veil]

I just returned from a week in Alaska, including 4 days living aboard a 50 ft boat. We fished mainly deep water (100-230 ft) with ultra heavy bottom rigs and equally gigantic jig heads with mammoth twister tails. We picked up numerous halibut mostly ranging from 15 to 50 lbs, but one guy in our party landed a 67" halibut estimated to weigh more than 150 lbs.

We brought back more than 600 lbs of fillets (halibut, ling cod, black rockfish, yellow eye rockfish, silver salmon), vacuum packed and frozen. I personally brought 40 lbs that would fit in two soft sided coolers that I placed in my two pieces of checked luggage (each weighed 49 lbs -- just shy of the 50 lb limit).

I posted a detailed report with many photos on Tidalfish http://www.tidalfish.com/forums/show...skan-Adventure.

Here are a few photos to show the large fish we caught.

[Southerly]

WOW!!!

nice fish! i've never been up there and am truly envious. as it is, i probably won't go until my daughter's off in college, a long, long time from now. so thanks much for sharing.

[jffoley]

Awesome! Congrats on all that catching and different fish species. Alaska has been on my bucket list since high school!! Those that know me know that's a long time ago! I want to bucktail up a 150lb halibut! Best I ever did was a 19lber in San Francisco Bay. Can't even imagine 40lbs of fillets! Nicely done...

[mmanolis2001]

That's an awesome trip you had. I have always wanted to make a trip to Alaska. So many fishing opportunities and the best views on earth. Thanks for sharing. How do your forearms feel now?

[J.A. Veil]

How do your forearms feel now?

Surprisingly, my arms are not too bad. I have had some tendonitis in my left elbow for most of the spring and summer. Working those heavy jigs and winding in big fish did not help it any. At times, I switched arms, flipped the rod upside down, and wound the reel in the reverse direction to rest my left elbow.

My only malady from the trip is a cold I picked up on the way home. That is a small price to pay for the experience.

[T120]

I was up there last August near Ketchikan for 10 days. Almost didn't come back. The best fishing of my life...from a kayak.

[Redfish12]

That is a huge halibut! I can't wait to go back, probably next summer!

Here's our biggest (reeled in by my gf of course)

[J.A. Veil]

Nice batch of fish. It is good to see female anglers too (none in my family, though).

We ate our first vacuum sealed bag of halibut fillets last night. My wife, who was somewhat skeptical when I brought home 40 lbs of fillets, told me it was excellent (cut into three portions, marinated in teriyaki sauce, then cooked on the George Foreman grill with a light coating of olive oil to minimize sticking). The first night on the boat the captain coated halibut fillets with wasabi flavored mayonnaise from Trader Joe's then grilled them on a gas grill -- they were awesome too.

That is a relief -- otherwise it would have been a long winter until the freezer emptied out.