and started smoothly descending . The pontoons gently kissed the saltwater and we were skiing in toward the cabin . Tom slowed the plane and idled into the dock in front of the cabin , timing it perfectly , and turning so the pontoons barely kissed the dock as he jumped out and tied the plane securely to the dock . Obviously , he had done this many times before ! We unloaded our gear and bid Tom goodbye as he untied the plane and moved out to the main bay and took off . The cabin was very handsome , with all the comforts of home including 2 large bedrooms , big kitchen with refrigerator / freezer and a comfortable bathroom with shower . The cabin was 12 volt powered , with solar panels on the roof , and the water provided by a rain water system that collected in large containers on each side of the cabin . Our fishing fleet consisted of two sturdy Livingston twin hull skiffs powered by 15 hp Honda outboards that were tied to each side of the dock . In addition to the skiffs , there was also a pair of seaworthy ocean kayaks for us to play with . There was also several complete halibut outfits with 5 foot Okuma and Penn heavy rods , and Penn reels loaded with 100 pound test line . The middle of July is not the prime time for fishing in this area of Alaska . The king salmon runs were past , and the silver salmon runs usually start in August . There are normally large runs of sockeye , pink and chum salmon in between , but they all seemed to be running late . So , we concentrated on fishing for halibut and rockfish . Before flying out to the cabin , Katie |
A feathered visitor on the dock of our floating cabin ! Photo by Paul Kneeland , Fish Sniffer staff
had given us a detailed map of the area and highlighted the best spots for halibut and salmon fishing . The first day John and Hellen grabbed a boat , and Bridget and I boarded the other one and headed out to the bay . We headed to one of the spots that Katie suggested and separated on each side of a small island to try to find a halibut . The boats did not have depth finders , so we used our rockfish rods to find the depth of the bottom beneath us . I was using a light action Lamiglas Titanium 8 ’ 6 ” steelhead rod with an Okuma Coldwater Linecounter reel loaded with 20 pound test Okuma Soft Steel braid . I had a 3 ounce Gibbs minnow that I would drop straight down to determine the depth where we were fishing . John had a similar outfit in his boat . Then we got out the heavy halibut rods and baited the huge 10 X circle hooks with large pieces of herring and dropped it to the bottom – and waited for a bite . Most times you could feel the bottomfish nibbling on the bait , and unable to get the large hook in their mouth , after a few minutes we would reel up
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John and Hellen Brassfield arriving back at the cabin after halibut fishing . Photo by Paul Kneeland , Fish Sniffer staff
the outfit to find bare hooks . Katie has instructed us to be very patient . She said not to move around , but keep bait on the bottom in the same spot , and he halibut would find the scent and come to the bait . We tried to do that , but John and I are not the type to just sit , we like to troll and jig and cast , so we never stayed in one spot as long as we should have ! We finally decided to head back to the floating cabin to have drinks and dinner . After we arrived john told us about a nice halibut that Hellen had on for a while . He said she did a great job of fighting the fish and finally getting it up to the boat , where he attempted to gaff it and missed and the aroused fish violently took off and threw the hook ! Bridget had hooked and landed a small halibut of about 10 pounds that we kept for dinner . Back at the cabin , we took off our rain gear and placed it near the propane woodstove in the front room to dry . We had a great dinner of fresh halibut and then John and I retired to the front deck , under the awning ,
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where we enjoyed a nice dessert of a cigar and delicious bourbon while looking out at the glass calm bay as the evening progressed . It never really got dark , may be between 2 and 4 am you couldn ’ t read a newspaper , but you could see enough to move around ! One of the highlights of the floating cabin happened the second morning as we were lounging and drinking coffee . The sun had come out for the first time for us that week , and it was shining directly on the shoreline right behind the cabin . Bridget went into the bedroom for something and whispered – loudly – come look at this ! John , Hellen and I went into the room and looked out the huge windows on the back of the cabin . 2 fat brown bears had appeared out of the brush at waterline and moved down the sandy beach , not 50 yards from the back of the cabin . Then both bears shook off their fur , dug shallow depressions in the sand , and lay down and went to sleep in the sun , looking just like 2 oversize Labrador retrievers taking a nap ! Our third day we decided to head to the stream coming in at the southeast corner of Simpson Bay . As we arrived , the tide was going out , but we could see several fish breaking the surface right where the creek opened into the bay . Pink Salmon ! We finally found some ! John piloted the boat in to within casting range , and we started casting and catching fish ! They were all fairly small , from 12 to 18 inches , but they fought like much bigger fish . John was doing well on a pink Roostertail spinner , and I caught several fish
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