The Two That Didn't Get Away

There are many areas in which I am quite naive. Fishing is one of them. My understanding was that basically you put your hook in the water and, when the fish took the bait, you reeled it in. End of story. Our trip to Alaska dissuaded me of such naivete.

My daughter and son-in-law caught a couple of halibut while we were at their cabin. One weighed 95 pounds, the other 206. Again, I thought that when you went deep-sea fishing you did the same thing as fresh-water fishing, the fish may be bigger, the effort greater, but still a fairly basic task. Hooking the fish was the easy part (I'm sure Victoria and Jedd would disagree.) It was everything that came after that was an education for me.

After the fish was on the line and Victoria was trying to reel it in, Jedd started moving the boat in very tiny increments to help with the reeling in. After about 45 minutes in which my daughter is working with this fish that is taller than she is and outweighs her by 75 pounds or more, the fish can be seen as it comes out of the water.

Getting the fish in the boat was the first step in my education in the 'art' of fishing. Jedd ties a harpoon to a buoy and throws the harpoon into the fish's mouth. The smaller fish didn't exactly like having a sharp implement thrown down its gullet so it dives and tries to get rid of it and the hook; the larger fish, I guess, was too old to fight anymore. Eventually, the fish gives up. Now begins the task of getting the fish in the boat. Neither Jedd nor Victoria weighs 200 pounds so getting the fish in is not easy. Fortunately, there is a door in the boat so that they don't have to lift the fish as high as others might. Using a gaff or two they get the fish in the boat.

The fish is bleeding and blood is spattered over the boat and the fishers. But the fish is still alive. Apparently, some people shoot the fish either just before or after it is brought into the boat. Jedd kills it by stabbing it. Now the real work begins.

The fish is cut into pieces. With the larger fish this takes 3 hours. Then, Jedd being fastidious, the boat needs to be cleaned ("a clean boat is a happy boat"). Another couple of hours of work. They're still not finished.

What do you do with the carcass? Well, you use it as bait for your crab pots, which are a 15-minute boat ride away - and another 15 - 30 minutes to pull up the pot, cut and load the carcass into the pot and lower the pot again.

Of course, the fish needs to be brought home to the Northeast. Ergo, it must be frozen and packed. Another hour or so is spent washing and drying the fish, vacuum packing and then freezing it. This work only gets the fish ready to be flown home. Three large coolers have to be taken to the airport and checked in with the airline. Jedd carries the coolers in and then out when they arrive at their destination. Finally, the fish goes in their home freezer, ready to be eaten over the next several months.

Of course, as the naive father-in-law, I get to enjoy the fish without lifting a finger, as Jedd and Victoria will be giving us a cooler full of fish when we visit next.