Halibut fishing in Homer

Yesterday was one of the nicest day’s we have had in Homer, or anywhere in Alaska. Today I scheduled a halibut fishing trip and so we woke to one of the worst. It was 50 degrees, rain, low clouds and fog.

I dressed in all the warmest wet weather gear I could and set out. I had on a sweatshirt, my down jacket and my rain suit over that. I wore my insulated rubber boots. Thank goodness for my cold and wet weather motorcycle gear.

The boat was called the Spirit and only held 25 passengers. We motored out of Kachemak Bay and into the ocean about 25 miles from Homer which took about an hour and a half. Although it was rainy and cold, there was little wind and the seas were quite calm. We arrived at the fishing hole and they gave us each deep sea tackle that was baited with herring. It had a three pound weight on it and you just dropped it straight down to the bottom, 400 feet below. Halibut are bottom feeders.

Immediately we were pulling in fish. Sure, there were some tangled lines because people did not do what they were told, but the ocean floor must have been covered in halibut. In only 45 minutes, all but 3 people had caught their limit of two. It took them a little longer, but we were on our way back in an hour. Halibut are not sport fish. They do not fight much and the only work is reeling them up 400 feet from the bottom. My arms got tired quickly.

My two fish were of average size. They were each between 10 and 15 pounds; easily the largest fish I have ever caught. On the way back in, the crew filleted and bagged all the fish. When I got home I weighed it. I had 11 ½ pounds of pure fillet. Guess what we had for dinner. Halibut is considered the filet mignon of fish. It is tender white, boneless meat with absolutely no fish taste. It was good but we baked it and over cooked it. Still, it was very nice.

Considering all the cost the halibut was about $10 a pound which is about $7 a pound less than you can buy it off the docks here for. It probably sells for less down south, but I just couldn’t go to Alaska and not do some deep sea fishing. We’ll see about salmon later.

Dianna had a peaceful day by herself, playing games, working cross stitch and reading.