Fishing

I like to fish. I married a fisherman so that works out well. For both of us. This summer we went out in the Prince William Sound and had pretty good luck with black bass and ling cod. We dip-netted on the Kenai River for reds (sockeye salmon). We cast for halibut in the Cook Inlet. It has been a bountiful harvest and we have freezer(s) full for the winter.

So, what do I like about fishing? You get to ride in a boat. Across water. In Alaska. Horizon is often framed by mountains. You sit. For long periods of time. Without talking (much). When is the last time you did that for four hours?

This has also been the summer I learned to drive the boat. Trolling. Flat-out hauling up river. Avoiding submerged rocks that make swirls, shallow water (because Greg is gesticulating wildly), cutting ACROSS wakes, driving intentionally so other boaters know what you are doing, avoiding the crazies. When we are out in the ocean, I’m one mean anchor puller.

Now I can tell the difference between the tapping my weight makes on the ocean floor and a fish nibbling at a hunk of bait the size of my fist. My arms don’t hurt (as much) reeling up a 24 oz weight or a 15 lb fish. I know the feel of a red bumping into the net and the rush of twist, lift, bringing it in the boat. I can hit that sweet spot that renders them dead and gone. OK. Maybe it takes a couple of bonks on the head…but I can do it.

I get to see cool animals on a regular basis. Sea otters floating on their backs, eating off their stomachs. Puffins tooling around or taking off and flapping fast and hard just above the current. I heard a whale day before yesterday before I saw it. Do you know what a whale sounds like breaking just above water? It is like a deep sigh. This one swam right up to the boat—was no more than 10 feet from the bow.

My hubby does the hard stuff. Preps the boat/equipment. Cleans (equipment and fish) after we get home. I think he is glad to have a partner in the boat.