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Huge Alaskan Halibut
By Captain Ray Kelly

I am sure many of you have dreamed of fishing for huge halibut in Alaska.   On this particular adventure we will take you to Alaska and we will be fishing for those HUGE Alaskan Halibut.  

Walking the docks in Key West, Florida, I observed a man wearing a Black Rock Charters, Gustavus, Alaska baseball hat.  I approached the man and said “I guess you have fished in Alaska.”  He introduced himself as Tim and said he was a captain in Alaska and worked for Capt. Josh Cozby of Black Rock Charters in Gustavus, Alaska.  I explained that I produce a television show, Adventures In Fishing.  I asked him to mention to his boss that we would travel to Gustavus if he wanted us to produce an episode of Adventures In Fishing featuring Black Rock Charters and the fantastic halibut fishing.

Three weeks later, I received a telephone call from Capt. Josh who said he would love to be featured on our television show.  He also said that Mike Olney, the owner of The Bear Track Inn would also like to be featured on our show.  Arrangements were made to film the show in late June, as the Halibut fishing would be red hot at that time of year.

My son, Christopher Kelly, said he would be the cameraman for this particular shoot.  Chris is also the Associate Producer of the show and designs and maintains the Adventures In Fishing website.  After flying from New York to Washington and then to Juneau, we flew the last leg of our flights and landed in Gustuvas, Alaska.  Krista, a driver for The Bear Track Inn picked us up at the airport and drove us to the inn.  She made us feel so welcome as did the rest of the staff at The Bear Track Inn.  We checked in.  Our accommodations were great.  The Bear Track Inn is a family owned resort with 14 guest rooms with two beds and private baths.  The inn’s dining room served the most delicious meals including caribou, musk ox, salmon, halibut, steak and Dungeness Crab.  All of  which were excellent.   The inn’s desserts are to die for.

From The Bear Track Inn you could see snow capped mountains, forests, meadows, streams and the sea.  The inn’s large lobby has a cozy fireplace and makes for an enjoyable way to meet the other guests and share those fish stories with.   I met Capt. Josh the next evening in the lobby.  He explained that the halibut fishing was in full swing and every day his charters were catching their limit of halibut with at least one fish always weighing more than 100 pounds.  He said we would meet at the town dock the following morning at 7:00 am.  He also said the following day, we would try and catch salmon, lingcod and rockfish.  I have always wanted to experience Alaskan Fishing.  I could wait for 7:00 am to arrive.

The Bear Track Inn offers a feast for breakfast.  Chris and I ate eggs, bacon and pancakes which were made to order.  Krista drove us and other guests to the Town Dock.  I met Capt. Josh aboard his boat, Quicksilver, a 30’ custom-made aluminum boat.  After meeting, Tanya Tate and Mark Wascher, the two anglers who would be fishing with us, we left the dock.  Capt. Josh said The Quicksilver was a fish catching boat.  I told Josh that was because it had a great captain.  He laughed.  I could tell just by talking with Capt. Josh that he knew what he was doing.  I knew we were going to have a great day.  I also knew we would be producing an excellent episode for Adventures In Fishing.

Scenery and wildlife in Alaska is amazing.  On the way to the fishing grounds, we passed whales.  Josh cruised up close we could film them.   The size of the Humpback Whales amazed Chris and I.  The scenery was spectacular.  This is all part of the adventure.

Capt. Josh checked his sounder for baitfish and saw a large school.  He instructed Tanya and Mark to drop the Sabiki rigs down.  Herring was the bait of choice and both Tanya and Mark caught enough to last the day.

Capt. Josh checked the first area in Icy Strait but the current was moving to fast so he went to another area close by.  Capt. Josh baited Tanya and Mark up and within 5 minutes Tanya was hooked up.  Tanya is an excellent angler.  She said it was a halibut. True to her word when the fish surfaced, it was a small halibut.  Josh estimated it to be 15-20 pounds.  The fish was released.

Minutes later, Mark’s line went tight and he was battling a halibut.  This halibut was bigger.  The fish was about 25 pounds.  Mark said he was to keep it and Josh gave it a couple a whacks with the gaff handle to calm the halibut and then gaffed it.  I could see Mark was happy when the fish went into the fish box.

Mark caught another fish shortly thereafter.  This halibut was even bigger… about 30 pounds.  Josh said he would release this halibut, as bigger fish will definitely be caught.  Mark wanted to keep it but he also knew Josh was right.  It’s great to see that Capt. Josh practices catch and release.

Tanya started battling a fish.  She did not know it then but this battle would last over 30 minutes.  As she was battling her fish, Mark hooked up,   After Tanya and Mark changed their positions in the stern of the boat, the third rod was hit and Capt. Josh had a third fish on.  Mark reeled in his halibut which was even bigger than the prior two.  Capt. Josh put the rod in the holder, gaffed this halibut and into the fish box it went.  Mark finished reeling in that third rod.  Tanya as it turned out had a monster of a halibut on.  She lifted the rod and reeled on the way down. You could tell she caught a few halibut before and knew what she was doing.  Mark landed the next halibut.  The halibut were getting bigger.  Capt. Josh measured this halibut.  It measured 58 inches.  According to the book, it weighed 97 pounds.  Chris and I were amazed at the fishing as we were capturing it all of film.

Tanya finally got her giant halibut to the surface.  It was bigger than she was.  Capt. Josh calmed the fish, gaffed it and brought it into the boat.  It was so impressive.  This monster measured 62 inches weighing 120 pounds.  Tanya said it was the biggest halibut that she had ever caught.   She gave credit to Capt. Josh and her father for teaching her how to fish.   Tanya and Mark were catching one halibut after another.  

I decided to give it a try and catch the next halibut.  This halibut gave me a battle that I will never forget.  I knew it was a monster.  When the halibut finally reached the surface, Capt. Josh estimated it to be 120 pounds.  We released this fish for another angler to catch another day.  Chris battled the next fish, which was another halibut.  Chris had a fight he will not forget as well.   This fish was smaller (about 50 pounds).  The halibut was the biggest fish Chris had ever landed.  Capt Josh said he would keep it as his father had requested some fresh halibut.  Tanya was into another huge halibut.  This fish was even bigger than the one she caught earlier.  It was estimated to be about 175 pounds.  Capt. Josh said it was a female.  He released this halibut to allow it spawn again.  

This is how it is in Alaska, one halibut after another.  An angler has to come to Alaska to experience it.  This is an experience he or she will surely never forget.  The next day, Capt. Josh took us to the Pacific Ocean for some Ling Cod and Rockfishing.  On the way, he cruised the boat up to about 50 sea lions that were on the rocky shore on the way to the fishing grounds.  It was truly an amazing sight to see.  The sea lions growled at the us as we filmed them and took photos.  Some of them swam right  by the boat.  We also saw more whales.  We even saw an Orca Whale (Killer Whale) on this day.  Capt. Josh pointed to a bald eagle over looking us as we were fishing.  The eagle swooped down and grabbed a fish about 30 feet from the boat.  Needless to say, we filmed this also.  Enjoying the scenery and the wildlife is all part of the Alaskan adventure when fishing in Alaska.

Although the weather and seas could have been better, Capt. Josh, Tanya and Mark caught one ling cod and rock fish after another.  Rockfish have unique colors of orange and the eyes bulge out when brought up from the depths.  Some have horizontal striped of black where others have verticle stripes.  They also give an angler a nice fight.  The lingcod were released as the season was closed.  The rockfish were kept for dinner.  Rockfish are excellent tablefare.  On the way back to Gustavus, Capt. Josh gave us a tour of Elfin Cove, a unique small town in which boaters walk the town via a boardwalk which surrounds the shops and docks.  As we were docking a float plane was also dropping off passengers.  

There is only one thing I have to say about Alaskan Fishing;  YOU HAVE TO TRY IT.  

Alaska fishing is fishing that every angler has to experience at least once.   Capt. Josh of Black Rock Charters is definitely one of the best captains that I have ever worked with.  He is a true professional and definitely puts his anglers onto fish.  He can  be reached at 907-697-2786 or at www.blackrockcharters.com.  The Bear Track Inn is the place to stay.  Mike Olney can be reached at 907-697-3017 or at www.Beartrackinn.com.

You can watch this episode of Adventures In Fishing on our website at www.adventure-fishing.com.   And don’t forget…Let’s get kids hooked on Fishing…NOT on drugs!