Highlights from 2003 Season

Opening the season!

Spur of the moment folks that they are, John and Karen brought the boys up and opened our season to a fun start.

Here is Brent's big King!

The Professor returned again this year to work over the halibut. This is the seventh year I've fished with Dave and it's been a pure joy every time. He creeks and groans and smokes like an old rock crusher but he gets the job done. Dave's been hauling fish over the rail near sixty years now and there's not much that gets by him. We're looking forward to round eight next year.

Dave brought his brother in law Glen. Glen brought along some good stories of The Professor as a young rascal. Some things only get better with time. Fishing with Dave and Glen is like that.

Tim, Tonya, Stacy and Scott cashed in on some enhancement Kings in mid June. Your just part of the family when you're around this crowd.

More enhancement Kings hang on the post as Doug and Judy go another round with the Reel News boys. Last year Terry made Doug famous (read infamous) throughout the Pacific Northwest in an article on fishing in the Juneau area. This year Doug didn't give Terry any chance for a repeat.

And here they are Terry and Jim the pros from The Reel News up to document the awesome Juneau Area Enhancement King Run. There's never a dead moment on the boat with these guys.

Here Justin pays careful attentions to his father's advise regarding the virtues of fishing over motorcycle racing. A trip to the Whales Eye can be a learning, bonding experience.

John's holding up a bag of halibut filets I guess we forgot to get a picture before we whacked 'em up. This is John and Sheri's 40th anniversary. Congratulations!

Bernhard and Ingrid are our first guests from Europe. They taught me to say all the salmon names in German. They got their first taste of American Root Beer on the boat. It was not at all what they thought it was when they read the can.

Who got a big 'but?

Tonya from Utah did. She almost can't hold it up for the photo. She wasn't about to give it up while she worked this big boy up from 400 feet. Her arms must still be a little noodle-y.

The noble Deck Slave comes to the rescue once again.

Sue got a big but. And Sue and Dave got that outstanding photo of the bubble netting whales just south of the lodge on the Whales page. In my years of guiding I have learned that female determination is a force so powerful that the halibut never have a chance.

What a blast we had. Jeff and Jess (the "party" from Pittsburgh) brought life long friend Dan up and John was here to fill the boat. Jeff and Jess are on the leading edge of Whale's Eye fashion as you can see.

Both long time Whales Eye regulars Blind Man John and Mr. Casual finally meet. And a good time was had by all...

but the fish.

Dan just had to get this shot. So many fish, so little time.

Our second guests from Europe, Sorin and Aurora got to listen to me repeat the salmon names in German.

This is why our Canadian neighbors call King Salmon smiles.

And here he is folks! World famous photographer and world-class buggy whipper (fly fisher) Dan Root holding a nice Coho. He and friends Scotty and Jeff picked one of the nicest days of the year to pay a second visit to the Reel Job.

Don't visit us thinking your going to relax and do a little fishing. No way this is a lot of work. These creatures don't just jump in the boat. Just ask Mike and Betsy or Linda and Bill.

Two girls one crab... No contest!

Speaking of fashion, there are some dazzling dressers in this one. Jim and Jan are back for the Derby. Neighbor Ron joined us for a day of flat ones after the Derby. Have you ever seen such a styling assemblage?

Barbara's big but and a rack of others. That's world traveler Jeremy in the middle. This young man and Tina, his mom, have kayaked in Glacier Bay, foraged in the jungles of South America and Africa. He is everything outdoors and a great hand on the boat. He cleaned all the fish while he was here.

Captain Ugly's big Coho

I finally got a chance to fish, and I actually hooked one, not bad for me. It was huge and very naughty. It streaked across the other two lines, each with a fish on, and circled back around for the choke. A typical shifty Coho maneuver, I thought, as the knobs on my knuckle-buster chattered like a machine-gun against my finger joints.
A voice in the back of my mined said, "Remove your knuckles from the buster, stupid." "I must have forgotten how to fish," I mused.
I am, if I do say so myself, quite practiced at sorting out tangled lines and we landed all three Cohoes including my 19 pounder.

This has got to be one of the motley-est gatherings of fish pirates in full regalia since Halloween in Frisco. Shelter neighbors Al, Ocey and Rodney gather with yours truly around a three-hour rack of Cohos in early September.

I really need to mention something about my son Jess. He is the somewhat grumpy fellow that does all the behind the scenes work and never gets his picture taken...or is that me.

You all know who he is but you have no idea how valuable he is to the whole operation. His are the skinned knuckles working on the boat engine in the spring. His are the cut fingers skinning halibut. He mixed the cement for the driveway. He hauled all those big flat rocks on the beach and walkways from a half-mile away. He'll reel up your halibut line for you if you get tired.
He risks his neck jumping in the skiff to tie us off to the mooring buoy. We've been in the roughest water I've ever lived through together and I've never seen him flinch in the teeth of it.

Thanks Jess, It's good to have you aboard.

And so another season draws to a close. This was one of the best Coho seasons in a while. They came in big in July and got bigger and more plentiful through September. The weather was beautiful all summer, the best in 5 years. It just don't get much better than that.
As I write this, the north wind is howling outside and snow is creeping down the mountains. As the days grow shorter and darker I will return to this page to remember what summer is like. It was a good time and I feel lucky to be able to share my part of the world with such fine folks. So till next time...
Tips up, tight lines.

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