Fishing at Last

Holy Smokes! I thought I would never get out fishing. I finally made it though last Wednsday. I had a little problem with the port side gurdies not wanting to turn around on Tuesday. I was all set to go fishing and when I turned on the gurdies at the dock to check that they would work, the port side didn't budge. I was fortunate enough to be able to engage the sevices of Dave Austin at Tideland Tackle. He manages the store there and also does all the hydraulic work, so he was good enough to come down and look at the situation and determined that the love joy coupling was frozen and rubbing against the mounting bracket. It took me all day to fix the problem and replace the coupling, but I got it. Love joy coupling. I love the name of that. I'll have to get a picture of one so anyone who isn't familiar with them will know what I'm talking about. It sounds almost sensual doesn't it? Love joy. What a great name. Anyway, onward and upwards.
I got out fishing on the 17th. I just went in the bay- Port Frederick. I wasn't sure what to expect so I was pleasantly surprized when I started catching some dog salmon. I ended up with four and two pinks or humpies as they are known here. They don't pay much for either species so I cut them up and put them into gallon size freezer bags and put a lable on them and sold them to Tideland Tackle. They are marketed under the lable Tom's Halibaits. It's hard to beat salmon for halibut bait. I got back out fishing again last Saturday and caught a coho and two King Salmon. I took a picture of them. You can see the kings, but the coho is hidden by the ice. The kings weren't real big- together they weighed 23lbs dressed, but they were nice to catch. I had a big halibut on also, but it didn't stick around for the grand finale. The other picture is of Icy Straits, looking towards Homeshore. I was going to go out that way, but ended up turning around and fishing in the bay again. I took the picture from the front window of the boat, so you're seeing what I saw that day. Scraggy Island is immediately to the left and further left is Hoonah Island. It was a nice day but it got lumpy later like it so often does on sunny days here.
Hopefully I'll get a chance to go out later today. I need some more humpies and dogs for the Halibaits. I've got a bait freezer now and I want to fill it up so I'll be ready in case the orders come flowing in.



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