Monday was spent mostly getting everybody on board, the boat situated and Tuesday was the first day of fishing. Over night the harbor emptied out of about half of the commercial fishing boats as there was work to be done and fish to be caught by those that live and work here. Those of us that are fishing for pleasure were leaving the harbor in dribs and drabs but we were getting out.

Fog covered most of everything in the channel betweenthe harbor and open water Chris has been in and out of the harbor enough times to navigate the Emerald Rose out into the open ocean. The new GPS navigation toy was doing its job and about an hour later we were on the top of the fishing grounds that Chris had decided on before coming to AK. A few quick lessons on how to work the rod and reel and we were fishing. The technique we were using is jigging which is letting the lead head jigs ( lure for those non fishers out there ) drop to the bottom and back them off just a little. Bouncing the rod in short jerks makes the jig come to life and hopefully look like lunch for a large fish.

Chris caught the first fish, I caught the second and third and it was off to the races after that. The picture posted is of me holding a Yellow Eye Rock Fish that Art estimated it to be 90+ years old and it came in at 27lbs. Everybody pulled at least one fish onto the boat and some caught multiple. Many hours and a couple of dozen fish later we were done. The 50 gallon trash can we were using to hold the fish was full with Lingcod, Yellow eye rock fish and Halibut all caught with jigs and a small amount of “butt juice”. To add insult to injury we nearly filled the 150 quart cooler as well. By the end of the day most of us tired out and the fishing finally ended at about around 4:00. Chris drove the boat home and we were back in the harbor after about an hour of motoring back.

Next was the cleaning, and we cleaned everything, the boat, rods, reels, fish, cooler, our gear, you name it we cleaned it. With the fish cleaned, and the boat back to order we headed to the dock for dinner at a local restaurant called Henry’s. Last trip of the night was the walk back to the boat and then it was light out.

That is all for Tuesday, I’m not sure what Wednesday will bring. More to come on Wednesday.

Right on.

J

Doug’s plug: www.cameralndny.com

By the way majority of the pictures I'm posting were taken with an Olympus Stylus 850 which has been a great camera. Waterproof as you can take pic's under water, shock and shatter proof. I might be upgrading around Christmas. Call 212 753 5128, ask for Woj and tell him Alaska sent you. He'll know what that means. Good luck.

July 19 (Day 1)
What a monster of a trip. I left Knoxville at noon on Sunday for a 6 pm flight to Phoenix out of Atlanta. The next leg was Phoenix to Anchorage and then after 6 hours of layover it was Anchorage to Kodiak.
Once on Kodiak I needed to track down Art, who I’d recognize by the sweatshirt that Doug had made up for all of us. Finding Art was pretty easy as the airport terminal gate is about the size of a small gas station mini mart. I’d been up for approx 24 hours with limited sleep sprinkled in so the first order of the day was to get coffee and then some breakfast. Art and I made a side trip in their blue, 9 passenger van to gather our gear that had been delivered days earlier and then it was back to the boat. After a short nap and change of clothes we were headed off to do some inland fishing.
My firs fishing experience on Kodiak was fly fishing and I have to say throwing the line was much easier than I thought. I think it had something to do with how they had my line setup but I wasn’t going to argue, I was actually casting a fly rod. I didn’t catch anything but managed to enjoy myself any way. Our first interaction with the Kodiak wildlife was a huge deposit from a local brown bear. It looked like something a horse would have left, it was so huge. Later in the day the bear decided to make another appearance while we were walking upstream to head home for the day. Yes, we were walking (in our waders) up the stream and the bear was walking downstream. We went to one side, the bear to the other and that was about it, we did take pictures taken and I’ll get those posted as quickly as possible. So our score from the fishing trip was Riley (Art’s son) caught one fish that was worth keeping and we saw a bear. Not bad for the first day in my book.
After a quick drink and some fries at a local restaurant, we hit the airport to pick up the other trip participants, Doug, Chris and Vinny. Then it was back to the boat to start the unpacking process and get some organization to our mess now that our gear has multiplied. Last chore for the day was to visit Wal Mart for fishing licenses and some groceries with the remainder of the groceries to be picked up at the local Safeway.
We’re all pretty beat so that’s all for now as it has been a long day for everybody. I’ll get some pictures of the bear up tomorrow. If the weather permits we should be on the open ocean fishing most of the day on Tuesday.

July 15, ( T-3 days)

The big day is getting closer and closer and now it feels like this trip is actually going to happen. It has been kind of this thing that was going to happen but other than a lot of talk ( and writing ) there wasn't much else going on. Now it's quite the opposite with lots of stuff going on and I'm ready to get this show on the road.

Here's where we are at the moment, my stuff has arrived in Kodiak, Art (the boat owner) is on the island and getting the Emerald Rose ready for our trip. What that means I don't know and can only speculate as I've been told one year it was still in dry dock when the guys arrived. A day was spent installing the drive shaft and putting the boat back int he water. Nice story or the truth, not sure and I won't be able to confirm it until I'm on the island in a few days. Doug and the guys should be heading to JFK or La Guardia on Sunday to fly all the way to Alaska. While they're flying I'm driving to Atlanta to start my hop, skip and plane jump or two to finally arrive in Kodiak.


In one of my earlier entries I talked about bringing my GPS for some entertainment on the boat. I thought it would be kind of cool to see how it navigated in the middle of the ocean. I guess I've been trumped by Doug's bigger and better GPS with Ocean charts, maps of the entire world, a XM radio and small inflatable boat if we really need help. I'll have to share how cool the toy really is but if the fact that it was about three times the cost of mine has anything to do with its capabilities I'm expecting it to make breakfast if asked.

I'm also experimenting with the picture posting capabilities of this blog so I'm adding a picture for the first time. The picture of the embroidered fish is on the shirt, sweatshirt, hat and denim shirt Doug had made up. Let me know what you think.

That's all for now. I'm running out of ideas on what to type so if you've got questions or ideas for topics, please use the "add comment button' on the bottom of the page to send me a note.

July 9Th (T-9 Days)

Stuff to take and stuff not to take, that is the question. Obviously I'll need jeans, t-shirts, sweatshirts, socks and all that junk one needs to get dressed and stay warm when on a boat. The question I have is what about the toys I need to bring. The GPS, a cell phone, binoculars, a leather man tool, Ipod and any other thing I could need or not need. This is an opportunity to use all the cool tools I've been collecting over the years, thinking I'd go camping or something similar. Now I've got a chance to actually use all that stuff. Who knows maybe the Loran (GPS for boats) breaks and my lowly Garmin will save the day. The engine could blow a head gasket and I could use the Letatherman tool to make a new one out of a wetsuit. There is huge potential here for me to bring the right tool to do the right thing to save the day..... Yeah right, who am I kidding.

Here is some of the swag I'll bring and maybe I'll use it or maybe it will just be dead weight. The blackberry is coming as it will do double or triple duty as a phone, quick camera, game boy, Ipod, or send the odd email during the insanely long flights. I've got a couple of knives to bring, one straight edge and one serrated. I don't know two different blades but now is the chance to find out if there really is a reason for each to exist. A small flashlight as I've got a feeling I don't want to wander the dock at night without knowing where the edge is and where the water begins. I'll be bringing a digital camera (Nikon Cool Pix) so I can snap a quick shot of our daily mistake or triumph. Lastly a waterproof digital watch that has a light or is back lit. This is actually the one item that was suggested to me by a friend who has been on a trip of this sort to Alaska. My buddy Bernie mentioned there will be a time when everybody is asleep and I'll need to check the time or use a small light to find my way around the boat (bathroom break) where a flashlight will be too much. The suggestion was to get a cheap watch at Wal_Mart that I won't worry about if it gets trashed, but has a good light to it.

That's it for this posting, I really need to get to packing my clothes, all my toys and ship the goods off.

Right on.
J

don't forget, www.CameraLandNJ.com

July 6 ( T - 12 days )

The 4th of July weekend has passed and it is time to get ready for the big trip. I spoke with Doug today about shipping our gear and junk to AK and I need to get on the ball. I guess the fog can roll in pretty quick and prevent deliveries so the farther ahead I can send my stuff the better. I hope to ship most of my clothing so all I've got to travel with is my laptop and an extra pair of boxers. The weather links have it cooler than I thought so it is going to be more jeans and sweatshirts (thanks to Doug I'm covered on that subject) than shorts and t-shirts. A current low of 41 and high of 51 degrees is not anywhere near the current 94 degrees it is in Knoxville so its going to be cold.

I've found out that in past years the boat needed some work to get it sea worthy so I might pack the trusty leatherman tool, not like that is going to do much but it makes my inner MacGyver feel better. Fishing gear and tackle is being provided by those on the trip that have more than me and some to share. I'm also borrowing a set of foul weather gear so I can try to stay dry while fishing. I don't think we're talking massive waves like on the "Deadliest Catch" tv show but who knows...... I certainly don't have a clue.

The roster for this years trip is the following: Art, boat owner, captain and all around boss. If he says it then it's the law. It is his boat after all. Riley is Art's son and second in command as if he says it then his father probably told him to. Doug, mastermind behind the annual trip and the only person I could choose out of a police line up, not that we'll be in one but he's the only person I know. Chris, a friend of Doug's and I think he's been on this trip in the past. Year 2, 3 and 4, I've got no idea but not a rookie like myself. Vinny, fishing friend of Doug's and again I have no idea of how many other trips he's been on but it is more than me. Lastly there is me and if you can't figure it out by this paragraph, I've got no idea who these people are and how many times they've been on this trip. I'll let you know more when I get to Alaska and can't turn back.

That's it for today's posting. If you've got comments and want to add something, there should be a link at the bottom of the posting for you to use. I'm going to try to start adding pictures so you can see my stuff, such as the smoking sweatshirt I received as part of my experience. More to come....

Right on.
J

again my favorite link, www.cameralandny.com

July 4, 2010
(T-14 days)
It’s been about a week or so since my last post and not much has transpired on the trip. I’ve been a little busy with work travel so I have not had much extra time to post to the blog.

My trip to Kodiak Island is a bit here there and everywhere so I’ll attempt to bore you with my itinerary: Start in Knoxville on Sunday July 18th at approx noon and drive to Atlanta airport (4 hours).

Fly from Atlanta GA to Phoenix AZ, 4 hour flight with a 50 minute layover until next flight.

Fly from Phoenix AZ to Anchorage AK, 5 hour flight and arrive at Midnight on the 18th.

Fly from Anchorage AK to Kodiak Island AK, 1 hour jump (yeah for a short flight) and arrive as some insane early hour of the day on July 19th.

Once in Kodiak I’ll probably walk to the harbor and wander the docks until I find the boat I’m on. The name of the boat and length of walk escape me and by the time I get there I’ll be running on caffeine, sugar and airplane sleep, so the walk and search might do me some good. Of course the part of the trip from the Kodiak airport to the boat can be planned out by my buddy Doug but at this moment I’m not so sure so I’m expecting to walk. It’s either walk, more walking, or even more walking, or catch a taxi, if they exist on the island again not so sure of what to expect.

That’s all I’ve got for now, stay tuned for more rambling blog to come, when time permits.

Right on.
J

I can't forget a plug for my favorite camera shop: www.CameraLandNY.com

June 26 (T-21 Days)

So here's how this whole thing came about....

A long long time ago in a galaxy far far away called New York City, there is a camera shop called Camera Land. CL is located on Lexington Ave around 51st or 52nd street originally started by their father the store is now run by Doug, and his brother. Doug and I are buddies and one day he takes off on a vacation and returns a week or so later with stories about fishing with his friends. I don't think much of it until I get a couple of fish fillets from that turn out to be some of the best fish I've ever had. I'm hooked and when Doug takes off the following year I put in an order for more of that good fish. This time I get a two foot long box, packed with ice and fish. This thing had more fish than I knew what to do with, not that I was complaining because the stuff was fantastic, I think it was Lin Cod, Rock Fish and Salmon.

A couple years go by, I end up moving out of the New York area and now live in Knoxville TN, which unfortunately is not known for its fish. The BBQ second to none so I'm not complaining, and the fish is good but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know without any ocean front property in the state, its trucked or flown in. Thankfully I still keep in touch with Doug and put in a request for another grab bag (or box) of whatever fish he's catching that year on his annual fishing trip. The replenishment showed up like clock work and our freezer is packed with another years worth of fish straight from Alaska.

Now year after year Doug tells me that there's 3 extra spots on the boat and they're first come first served for anybody that wants to join the trip. For one reason or another I've never really been in a situation where I could join his gang of merry men and make the trip. This is the year that all that changed and I'm headed to Alaska to catch my own fish. What I'm in for, I'm not really sure. I do know that I'll be leaving my house on July 18th after a few stops, layovers and puddle jumper size airplanes I'll arrive in Kodiak on the 19th . We'll be living (more like camping) on a 35 foot boat and I was told that because I was the last to join the trip I get to sleep on the floor in galley.

So that's it for today's post. Questions, comments, concerns?

Right on.
J


Here's a shameless plug for Doug's store. Check them out at www.CameraLandNY.com