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Fishing in AlaskaBy Kathleen J. Ganster
I was in Alaska, the Glacier Bay area to be specific, and we were out for the day on Backer’s 32-foot boat, Reel Time, trying our luck for the day. The weather was damp and cloudy but our spirits high as I reeled in our first fish of the day. Soon my catch was brought over the side of the boat and indeed it was my biggest fish ever – about a 30-pound halibut. “That’s big enough to keep and the little ones make nice eating,” said Backer. Little? It looked mighty big to me and I was proud. And even though my arm did indeed ache, I was able to catch another one a little while later that weighed about 22 pounds plus a twelve-pound salmon.
My research said that halibut grow very slowly and it takes about five years to reach 20 inches, about the size of my fish. When halibut are caught, they are measured and according to the measurements, the weight is estimated. The male halibut can reach about four feet and 40 pounds but the female can be huge, growing up to 8 feet and weighing more than 500 pounds.
The meat of the halibut is a mild flavored white fish that is works well in all sorts of recipes. Since we had Branson’s filleted and flown home with us, we have plenty for many dishes including baked, fried, smoked and grilled. Like many white fish, it is low in fat and high in protein – a benefit for health conscious fisher folks. And fortunately for those of you not lucky enough to be able to go to Alaska fishing, it is easily purchased in most markets across the country. Kathleen Ganster is a food and travel writer based in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area. She is also the author of the cookbook “French Cooking…Cooking Aboard the Lewis R. French” based on food served on the historic Maine tallship. You may reach her at kganster@fyi.net or www.thetravelingbag.com. Images by Branson Dunn. For more information on fishing check out http://www.the-worlds-best-fishing.com and www.Bassinfashion.com. To order Kathleen’s book go to http://www.Amazon.com. |
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Around and
around and around. My arm was killing me but I kept going, kept reeling in
my fish. Even though my fishing experience was somewhat limited, I knew this
was a big fish – at least by my standards. “You’re doing great,” J.J.
Backer, the owner of the fishing boat and our fishing guide, assured me. I
felt like a wimp but I wasn’t about to complain. After all, I was the only
woman on our little fishing adventure and the men gallantly let me catch the
first fish. I couldn’t dare complain. 
Halibut
is a popular fish in Alaska and can actually be quite large. In fact, a
little while after my catch, my friend caught one that Backer estimated to
be close to 90 pounds. Backer told us that halibut under 100 pounds are best
for eating because the larger ones tend to be older and tougher. It isn’t
uncommon to catch halibut over two and three hundred pounds in Alaskan
waters although usually farther out than we were settled.
The
white fish is a member of the flounder family. Like the flounder, it
has both eyes on one side and is considered a flatfish, swimming on the
ocean bottom. Accordingly, one side is dark brown with spots so that it
blends into the ocean floor while the underside belly is very white. The
halibut in Alaskan waters is the Pacific halibut.
While many
tourists like to be photographed with the large halibuts – referred to as
“barn doors” – there is a movement to throw the larger fish back in. Like
Backer informed us, the larger fish are actually tougher and since they are
older female fish, they are better left for breeding purposes. The smaller
fisher are called “chickens’ or “Ping-Pong paddles.”