Not Much of a Fish Story

During my time in Alaska I was able to enjoy many of the wonderful outdoor experiences. I loved the beautiful scenery that was everywhere I looked. I loved the wildlife that I would see each day like moose, bear, porcupine, bald eagles, moose, golden eagles, dolphins, killer whales, moose, sea lions, beluga whales, humpback whales, and of course moose. As you can now tell, there are a lot of moose in Alaska. The McDonald's where I lived actually had one place an order in the drive-thru!

 I loved everything about this country. My dad and I spent extensive time fishing and hunting and enjoying as much time outdoors as we could get away with. When we weren't playing in nature's wonderland, we were working, going to school or involved in something for church. Living in Anchor Point meant we spent a lot of time in our car traveling back and forth from Homer, which was the main town where everyone worked, shopped, etc. It was about a half-hour drive from our little home into town. I absolutely loved this drive everyday. So many things to see along the way. My favorite was right as we came over the last hill and into the turn that drops the highway into Homer. One of the most beautiful views I have ever seen.
As you looked south and east across the Kachemak Bay you would see the majestic mountains and glaciers of the Kenai Mountain Range. Everyone who has ever seen that view has come away with the same opinion, that it is breathtaking!

My best friend Tony Darling and I loved it so much that we would even volunteer to go with our dads when they had to cross the bay to do some church service in Seldovia. Tony's dad, Jim, had a nice 23ft boat that we often fished in together. One afternoon on one of these excursions, Tony and I decided to stay back in the boat and fish while they went to visit some of the church members around the little town.

We docked the boat and let Dad and Jim out. Then we took the boat away from the dock a bit and dropped the anchor. The water wasn't too deep so we would fish for some flounder or very small halibut. First we had to catch some bait. Flounder and Halibut are not to picky but we had found that there was a specific fish that they seemed to love, the Irish Lord.

The Irish Lord is one of the ugliest fish in the ocean. They don't hardly fight at all when you catch them. It's almost as though they know you wouldn't dare put them in your mouth so they are confident in their being released. When you hook one and begin to reel it in it is quite a site. As the fish slowly is dragged to the surface, all you see is this huge ugly head. I remember the first time I caught one of these and thought, wow! It was huge! But I was so wrong. Yes, the head was huge, but once I lifted the entire fish up over the side of the boat I realized that the fish was nearly the same length as the entire width of the head! It had spiny fins that were somewhat like a rockfish.

So Tony and I took a small hook and a little worm and dropped it over the side. In no time at all, Tony had a bite and reeled in a small Irish Lord. We quickly gutted the fish and filleted it on one side. We took the pieces we had cut from the fish and hooked it onto our larger hooks used for catching halibut. We cast our lines out a little ways and allowed the hooks to descend all the way to the bottom of the bay. We then began to wait.

We made ourselves comfortable as we sat there enjoying the slight up and down movement of the boat. We opened up our little lunches and ate as we talked about life, school, the Beach Boys and of course girls. It was very relaxing. Just two friends talking and fishing. What more could I ask for?

Our relaxing moment ended quite abruptly however. We had thought nothing of the Irish Lord that we had left mutilated on the side of the boat where we had cut it up for bait. All of a sudden we heard a slapping noise and we both turned to where the noise was coming from. What we saw was.....Let me just say that I am very happy that Tony was there with me. For one, I almost fainted at what I saw and Tony could have saved me had I injured myself falling in the boat, and two, because it is always good to have a witness when things like this happen!

What we saw was the most impossible thing ever. The Irish Lord, gutless and partially filleted to the point that you could see the bones, was flapping around on the side of the boat. Tony and I watched as it flapped itself over the edge and into the water. We both ran to the side of the boat and watched in awe as the fish floated for a second and then righted itself and swam away as though nothing were wrong.

Slowly I turned to Tony who was still looking overboard with his mouth agape. He turned towards me and we stared at each other. I don't know how long we were standing there just staring at each other before I asked Tony, "Did that just happen?"

"If you were not here right now, I would never tell anyone what I just saw." Tony replied.

"I don't know if we should tell anyone anyways" I said. "We might both be put away somewhere".

Tony nodded and we had decided that it would stay between us. And it did. Right up until our dads returned to the boat and we unloaded on them our amazing story. We could tell that they were trying to believe the story because we were two trustworthy boys, but I could also see in their eyes that they thought we were telling them a fantastic "Fish Story".

I've told this story to a lot of people over the years. Amazingly some believe. Most of them look at me the same way our dads did 28 years ago.

A short time ago I was able to reunite with my good friend Tony who now lives in Utah. His brother, Steve and their families and I had a nice dinner and were able to reminisce our childhood years in Alaska. I told lots of stories of Tony and I and his family loved hearing about him when he was a young man. When I told the story of the Irish Lord, I could see that Tony hadn't shared that one with his family. Once again, Tony and I were receiving the look our dads gave us the day that it happened.