Resurrection Bay, No Way, What a Day!

Today I went Halibut fishing outside of Seward, AK. We had to leave Anchorage at 4:15 am. Ouch. We hopped on the boat in Seward around 7:30 under cold, cloudy skies, and started heading out to sea. After taking a few pictures of some pretty sweet mountains and sea lions, I took a nap and woke up when we finally hit our fishing spot a little after 10. By this time, the sky was completely clear and we had an awesome sunny day for fishing. We cast out (basically dropping a weighted bait straight down from the boat) and the Halibut started biting immediately. I had the first one on the line and brought it in within the first 10 minutes. It was an average size fish so I decided to keep it, since it was my first ever Halibut. Great start to my first Alaskan fishing experience! We (well, the rest of the group at least) kept reeling in the Halibut all day, as well as some “skates” (like sting rays) and even a shark. It finally slowed down in the afternoon when either the fish swam away or weren’t hungry anymore. They stopped biting and lo and behold I was the only one left without the max of 2 fish for the day. (Aside – “lo and behold” instantly makes any story more exciting and or intriguing!) I kept catching skates and other fish out of season. With just a few minutes left before we had to leave I had a fish on the line. I didn’t have my hopes too high because it felt a lot like the skates, but it turned out to be a decent sized Halibut. The first and last fish of the day. It was all in the fishing pants…

After fishing we took the 3 hour tour back to Seward. The boat ride was through what I now consider to be the most amazing place I have ever experienced – the coast of the Kenai Peninsula, especially Resurrection Bay. I have heard people talk before about how beautiful it is, but no spoken description, no matter how vivid, can do it justice. I took a few pictures and then realized even the best photos by a professional with an outstanding camera couldn’t even come close to capturing it. It was an experience brought to life by the sights, sounds, smells, feel, even the taste, of the coast. There were mountains and glaciers and rock cliffs and whales and otters and swarms of birds and herds of sunbathing sea lions and wind whipping in my face and water spraying over the side of the boat and sounds of waves and birds and the smell of fish and the taste of salt water and just the feeling of bliss and blessedness to be able to just take in such an incredible place. My words and photos are lame compared to the real thing, but this is all I can give you. The words that kept coming to mind as we cruised through Resurrection Bay were Grandeur, Splendor, Majesty, Awe, Life, Beauty… but these are inadequate. I was blown away today by God’s glory reflected through creation. This is part of why I came to Alaska, hoping to see some of the world’s most beautiful places. Today I saw one, and much more than that, I fully experienced it. It brought me great joy and great reverence at the same time, and for today, I am very thankful.