Alaska Fishing 2008

Opa was excited to take David to Ketchikan for, what has become, the annual Silver (Coho) fishing trip.

A quick night was spent at Dave and Bri's so that Opa could drop off come Holloween 'spiders' for the boys and then Dave and Opa were off the next morning.

David was cautiously excited about the first day, not knowing the routine or what to expect from the weather and rough seas. He soon found out that sea-sickness pills would have helped a great deal.

But, alas all was not lost when a couple of fish came calling and the pills started to take effect.

Opa caught his share, including the largest of the trip.

Tommy and his son-in-law (Jason)rounded out the foursome of fishermen. They live in Phoenix and Tommy (Judy) Wittman have become great traveling companions.

As one can imagine there was much to wonder the eyes while not in the midst of catching fish (and there was much time spent watching the end of the poles). An everchanging skyline was a fitting backdrop to forest that seemed painted with a full pallet of green tones. The water was full of kelp that served as a play ground for Dall Porpoise, whales, sea lions, seals, sea gulls (who loved following the boat to claim small morsels of herring that were thrown over board) and many other animals occasionally made their presence known.

Some brag about the fish they caught or the number of pounds of fish fillets they brought home. But for us it was the memories of early mornings where the gravitational pull of the warm bed was most apparent. It was the frequent check of the sky that hinted at the next gale was seeking out our location. Then there was the not-so-funny quips that Opa dropped on the group to see if they understood the double and triple meanings behind the comments (mostly missed it is sad to report). But for Opa, it was the evening sky that bid us good night and fare well to a land that only the hardy could endure year round. It was the feelings, smells, and memories that draw us to a land were are only infrequent guests. I hope it never changes.