Stories of Alaska
Thank You Fish Gods
- AJ Slagle
- 2021-04-22 10:00:00
- Fishing Stories
- Ketchikan, Alaska
Back in the early days of Baranof fishing, we were fishing from 20-foot Lund Alaskan model skiffs; they lacked some of the comforts of our current vessels but served to function and provided many charters and wonderful memories...
One of those memories was a day that I had three clients fishing with me on a beautiful late spring day; the weather was warm with no wind, and the clients were excited to be here. We dropped down the baits about a 1/4 of a mile from another one of our vessels that had a couple fishing together with one of our guides...
I could see, from where we were, the husband of the couple in the bow of their boat with a steady arc to his rod from what looked to be a fair size fish, so I said to the clients, "Hey! It looks like they have a large fish on over there, would you like to watch it get landed?" They said "Yes, we would like to!" So we reeled our lines in and motored closer to the other skiff; I yelled to the captain as we approached, "Aaron what do you have on?" He replied, "it's about a 50-pound halibut! AJ!" Then I said, "Do you have anything to land it?" and he held up the gaff hook, "just this!" he said...
Landing a halibut can be dangerous with the larger ones, and a 50-pounder is enough to raise chaos on board the deck and even wrench a shoulder or cause other injuries as it is lifted onboard; so I asked, "Do you want me to deal with it?" He said, "Come on over!" So we tied alongside and I got into the other boat next to the client while he was fighting the fish; his wife was filming the whole event and eventually the halibut appeared, and I swung the gaff as the head started to break the surface...
To this day, I don't think I have made a smoother landing of a fish that size, the gaff went deep and solid and I swung him onboard in one smooth continued motion, and the placement was perfect because as I cranked the gaff backwards, it restricted the halibut's movement... Aaron handed me the club to my other hand as soon as I asked for it and a few strokes to its nose ceased any struggling, while in the background, I could hear the wife saying as she filmed, " It's so violent!"
I apologized for any discomfort with the situation and congratulated the husband on a great catch. As I went back to my boat and clients, Aaron shook my hand and said "AJ, it's a pleasure to watch you work!"
The clients and I were able to find limits of rockfish to eat at the camp meal, and they got to see that halibut landed; other than some seals and bald eagles, nothing more extraordinary happened and we had a wonderful time...
I have landed hundreds of halibut over the years, the size having a lot to do with the method I chose; 40 pounds or less, I gaffed them. Any over that, I used the harpoon with a buoy or a shark hook on a rope tied to a cleat... I also shot them at times; the harpoon is my preferred method, especially with the larger fish. Halibut over a hundred pounds are strong enough to break bones and damage gear and should be treated with a certain amount of caution for safety and to keep the fish from struggling and damaging the flesh. Personally, I feel the smaller ones are better eating anyways...
Another issue, is the larger fish are breeders which perpetuate the resource and, if it can be released after some pictures in the water, that is an option as well. One of the most memorable releases of a large halibut I have done with Baranof was with a family of 5. Even though it was blowing and raining hard, they still wanted to give it a try, and so we did. I found a spot above a reef that promised good rockfish and possibly some Ling cod or halibut, and we anchored above it...
It went well; all three children and their parents caught numerous rockfish and kept occupied and interested throughout the windy, rainy excursion, hanging on that anchor... then it came time to get ready to go back to the marina and have a wonderful cook your catch meal of the fish they had caught... The mother of the group had wanted to catch a halibut pretty badly and asked me, "Can I drop down one more time?" And I said, "Alright, go ahead!" The fishing gods can be rather fickle, but they were hearing her pleas, the weight touched the bottom, she reeled up a few cranks, and the rod immediately bent double... a halibut! A big one, and much bigger than the slot limit would allow us to keep... she finally brought it to the surface, and I broke the bad news: "it's too big; we have to release it..." a look of resignation came over her face, and then she reached down and grabbed the weight... as she lifted the surprised halibut's head out of the water, she turned to her husband and said above the wind and rain, "If I have to let it go, then we're going to get a picture of it!"
After he got the picture, she let it back down, and I reached over to the fish and dislodged the hooks, and watched it fade back to the depths... thank you fish gods!
Corona Virus Update 2.3.2023
Even in the remote islands of Southeast Alaska, COVID-19 poses risks. The health and safety of our guests, employees, and community are our top priorities. We have put special measures in place to keep people safe on excursions:
The safety of our customers is paramount, so we’re also not going to walk away from common sense guidelines such as:
- Vaccination – We believe vaccines provide safe and effective protection against COVID-19. We strongly encourage vaccination and boosters for all employees, and the vast majority are currently vaccinated against COVID 19
- Social distance – We strive to keep groups separated as much as possible during the licensing and outfitting process, but our real strength in social distancing is based on the size of our boats. With only six passengers per vessel and one captain they spend time with, the risks of exposure are limited.
- Masking – We abide by the federal mandate for passenger vessels, masks are required for the duration of the tour while in enclosed cabins. That being said, there is quite a lot of airflow even on our hardtops which are typically open to the back deck. Masking may be required at times for vulnerable guests on a case-by-case basis.
- Stringent Cleaning – We’ve increased the frequency of disinfecting surfaces and high traffic areas such as the Alaska Fish House restaurant, bathrooms, the outfitting room, the dock, and our boats. Hand sanitizer will be available to all guests on every boat.
- Wellness Checks:
- Employees receive daily wellness checks to ensure they are healthy and symptom-free.
- Employees are empowered to call in sick if they show symptoms.
- If you or anyone in your group is experiencing symptoms, we will work directly with you to cancel or reschedule your tour free of charge.
These protocols have enabled Baranof Fishing Excursions to operate safely and successfully throughout 2020, 2021 and 2022. With your help, we intend to continue fishing safely in 2023!
