States – Page 59 – Wandering Dawgs

Day 70: A little sightseeing and a lot of Beach

July 26, 2013June 19, 2015Posted in Alaska, Birds, Sunset, WildlifeTagged Bald Eagle, Deep Creek Beach, Deep Creek State Park, Kenai Peninsula2 Comments

Day 70: Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Our friends Ted and Ruth Ann moved from the RV park to the site next to us on the beach at the state park. While Henry took the truck to the mechanic I rode with Ruth Ann and Ted to Homer to check it out.

The last few miles into Homer are down a hill with a spectacular view of the bay and mountains with glaciers across the bay. We stopped at a couple of the city of Homer campgrounds on the famous Homer Spit and looked at the private parks there also. Ted and Ruth Ann needed to pick up their mail at the Homer Post Office and while Ted went inside I managed to get a few pictures of a mama Bald Eagle and one of her babies on their nest across the street.

Mama and baby eagles across from the Homer Post Office

Mama and Baby Eagles in Homer

We stopped on the way out of town to get gas and discovered an RV park sitting on the bluff with a spectacular view. We liked it the best of all the ones we saw.

Back at Deep Creek State Park we cooked hot dogs over a fire and took a late night walk on the beach. Life is good.

Going for a walk on the beach at 10:00 at night

This is at 10:00 at night with a while to go before sunset

Day 69: Moving to the beach

July 26, 2013February 9, 2015Posted in Alaska, Birds, State Parks, WildlifeTagged Bald Eagle, Deep Creek State Park, Ninilchik1 Comment

Day 69: Tuesday, July 23, 2013. Alaskan Angler RV Park to Deep Creek Beach State Park, Ninilchik, Alaska. About 3 miles traveled.

We broke camp and moved to Deep Creek Beach State Park on the beach in Ninilchik. From our campsite we can see volcanoes, the ocean, and hear the waves crashing on the beach at high tide. I think I’m in heaven!

Our campsite at Deep Creek State Park

View of Mount Redoubt from our campsite

Camping at Deer Creek Beach, Ninilchik, Alaska

Mount Redoubt erupted in 2009

The campground is located a short walk down the beach from the boat launch area in one direction and Deep Creek in the other direction. We spotted an eagle in a tree on the bluff across from Deep Creek so I headed down there to get a few pictures. He did a great job of posing for me.

Bald Eagle on Ninilchik Beach

This eagle was perched in a tree on the side of the bluff overlooking Deep Creek

Same eagle

Another pose

After I got my fill of watching the eagle we noticed the fishing boats were starting to come in so we walked down to the launch area for a few photos and videos.

We watched them bringing in the boats

Skidders were bringing in the boats non stop

Here is a video of the skidder taking a boat out of the water.

Right after we got back to the campsite I got a call from Ruth Ann that Ted was going out on an afternoon charter so I walked back down to the launch area to see him off.

Ted waiting to board for his Halibut fishing trip

Ted boarding for his fishing trip. He caught his limit of 2 Halibut

Heading out to the fishing grounds

Day 68: Enjoying Ninilchik Beach

July 25, 2013March 7, 2015Posted in Alaska, BirdsTagged Bald Eagle, Kenai Peninsula, Ninilchik Beach4 Comments

Day 68: Monday, July 22, 2013

After our exciting day of fishing we decided to take it easy and go for a walk on the beach where our boat was launched. We went at low tide in hopes of seeing some eagles feasting on the fish carcasses the fishermen throw into the water. There were plenty of gulls but the only eagles were soaring overhead.

Each of the skidders has a different Alaskan animal on the front

Beautiful day for a walk on the beach

Blondie goes for a walk on Ninilchik Beach

Blondie swimming in Ninilchik, Alaska

Vehicles can drive on the beach here so we took off down the beach in our truck. Not a good idea. The sand was very soft and with our heavy truck and over inflated tires our truck had trouble engaging the four wheel drive. It started making strange noises so we got out of there quick. Henry took the truck to a mechanic later where we found out the four wheel drive is toast with a blown transfer case. We will stay in Ninilchik until the work is done on Friday.

Day 67: Halibut Fishing in Ninilchik

July 23, 2013June 19, 2015Posted in AlaskaTagged A Fish Hunt Charters, Cook Inlet, Halibut fishing, Kenai Peninsula, Ninilchik3 Comments

Day 67: Sunday, July 21, 2013

A beautiful, sunny day to fish! Our fishing charter with A Fish Hunt Charters left from here in our RV park. We walked to the office at 6:45 to purchase fishing licenses and then traveled to the beach in a passenger van pulling our boat the Afishhunt II. Karen and Mike from Minnesota rode with us. Jonathan and Kelly met us at the beach. We would be fishing through the slack tide.

When we arrived in the beach the tide was going out and the sea was calm. A big relief to me! We boarded the boat by climbing up a ladder and sat in the cabin while the skidder backed us into the water. Captain Seth headed into Cook Inlet for our 45 minute ride to the fishing spot. We spotted a few sea otters on our way out and enjoyed the view of the volcanoes on the other side of the inlet. The sea was like glass. I couldn’t believe our luck!

After arriving at our fishing spot first mate Joey dropped anchor and gave us a lesson in Halibut fishing 101. The Halibut lie on the bottom of the sea floor so you catch them by bottom fishing. With a huge 5 lb. weight on the line and a baited circle hook, you let out the line until it hits bottom and wait for a nibble. In about 120 feet of water we had to let out a lot of line.

The limit on Halibut is two fish per person per day. If someone catches a fish that is too small, they can throw it back and continue fishing. When you keep a fish, it counts toward your limit. When you reach two, you give up your reel. The average size is around 20 pounds although some were much smaller and some were bigger. They all looked huge to me!

It didn’t take long before people started reeling in fish. Mike was enjoying the sport of catching the fish and also was going for a really big fish so he threw back about 12 before he kept his two. Everyone else threw back a couple before reaching their limit. Except me.

I caught my first fish before Henry caught his first!! It was a pretty good size so I kept it. It takes a while to reel in a big fish with 5 lb weight 120 feet from the bottom! It was hard. Joey was there to grab the line to pull it into the boat and get it off the hook. No question. I was keeping it!

I caught my second fish and turned in my reel before Henry caught his first fish! I grabbed my camera and my sandwich and enjoyed watching the action the rest of the trip. Kelly was hoping for a really big fish and threw back a pretty big one to continue fishing. After throwing back several small ones she was the last one fishing. She kept on going until she got a nice one. By then it was time to head back to the beach.

Our view while we fished was one of the volcanoes across Cook Inlet

Mate Joey bringing in one of the fish

My first Halibut!

Captain Seth takes a break while Jonathan fishes

One of Henry’s fish

Karen and Jonathon realing them in

Halibut at the surface before bringing him in the boat

Captain Seth holding one of Henry’s fish

Getting out of the water is the reverse of being launched. The skidder backs the trailer into the water and the captain drives onto the trailer. The skidder pulls up to the beach, unhooks the trailer and goes off to get the next boat. It all happens really fast. We climbed down the ladder to the beach where our friends Ted and Ruth Ann were waiting to greet us. The excited fishermen piled into the van to go back to the campground for pictures and the cleaning of the fish.

Back on the beach after a great day of fishing

Four of these fish are ours!

With our fellow fishermen Mike, Jonothan, Kelly, and Karen

Mate Joey and a helper working on the fish

Captain Seth cleaning one of the fish in the front while mate Joey works on another one

A perfect day! Beautiful weather, calm seas, excellent crew, fun fellow fisherman. It was great.

Henry and I had 24.2 lbs of filets between us. We kept some and had the rest vacuum sealed, frozen and shipped home.

Ted and Ruth joined us for dinner. We followed Seth’s recommendation of dipping the fish in butter, wrapping it in foil with lemon and garlic and seasoning, and cooking it on the grill. Henry cooked it to perfection and I made some more red rice for Ted. A delicious feast to end the day.

Day 66: It’s all about the fishing

July 23, 2013June 19, 2015Posted in AlaskaTagged A Fish Hunt Charters, Halibut fishing, Kenai Peninsula, Ninilchik, salmon fishing

Day 66: Saturday, July 20, 2013. Seward to Ninilchik, Alaaska. Alaskan Angler RV Park Site EW7. 132 miles traveled

We left the city park in Seward to continue our journey through the Kenai Peninsula. We traveled up the Seward highway and then down the Sterling Highway which ends in Homer, Alaska. This part of the Kenai Penisula has many more villages and people than the area going to Seward. Our drive took us near the Kenai River where fishermen flock to fish for salmon. There was more traffic than we have seen for a while and we found out later the red salmon were running and it was the first day the limit went from 3 per day to 6 per day per person because of the high number of fish. We passed by the Fred Myer Store (similar to Walmart) in Soldotna where the parking lot was overflowing with cars and RV’s.

After setting up camp we drove to the beach at Ninilchik to see where the boats were launched into the water. A log skidder (huge John Deere Tractor) backs the boat and trailer into the water and then quickly pulls forward leaving the boat in the water. The captain fires up the engines, turns the boat around and heads out into Cook Inlet. The tide was just past high tide and the sea looked pretty rough. I was a little worried about rough seas for our fishing trip the next morning. The tides in this area are the second highest tidal change in the North America, about 22 feet while we were here.

When we returned to camp we watched our friend Ted clean his catch of red salmon. He has been fishing every day and caught so many he and his wife bought a chest freezer to take them all home in their motorhome!

Ted and Ruth Ann fixed a grilled salmon feast at their motorhome which was delicious. Nothing like fresh fish right from the water. I brought over some Savannah Red Rice which Ted loved. It was a great evening.