Halibut Fishing

32' Charter Boat

The Anglers in action (or is that 'inaction')

Yay - his first Halibut

Today's catch

These were filleted in no time: 15 lbs of fish left after filleting

Halibut is the largest of the flat fish species (ie flounder & sole) and it is found in the North Pacific and North Atlantic oceans. It is grey on one side, and white on the other. The flesh is mild, flaky & white. According to my research, the nicest tasting halibut weigh about 10 lbs.

When we first starting talking of doing an Alaska trip, Murray's first thought was that he just had to have a go at Halibut fishing. At 9.30am today he finally got to achieve his dream and go out on a halibut charter. There were 4 other anglers plus the Captain. Each angler can only catch 2 Halibut per day. They went out 15 miles from land and fished in 180' water where the first halibut were caught. For the fishermen among you, they then moved 3 miles closer to shore in 140' of water where the most fish were caught with 120 lb line, 4lb sinker using herring, cod & red salmon bait and 16/0 circle hooks. The fish ranged from 15 - 30 lb. Murray caught 9 Halibut all up, but could only keep 2 x 15 pounders - they were about 2.5' long and 14" wide. The charter returned to base around 4.30pm and we turned up in time to see the catch and watch the staff deftly fillet the fish for the anglers. Within an hour of getting back to the campground we were serving up a delicious halibut dinner with Marie & Eric. We waited for you Clairie, but you didn't show up! I prepared the fish with olive oil and lemon pepper in alfoil, and Murray cooked it on the BBQ. I also prepared some Mexican rice, and Marie bought over a colourful and tasty salad. It doesn't get much fresher than that - just like our fish dinners in North Dakota. Tomorrow is another day, and we plan to drive 40 miles south to Homer.