July 31 – Swanson Harbor

We left yesterday, July 30, for Glacier Bay National Park.  We have a six day permit for entry on August 1.  As an intermediate spot between Juneau and Glacier Bay we went to Swanson Harbor. The state of Alaska has two floats in Swanson Bay and we managed to get a spot on one.

We did a layover day today and went fishing in our dinghy just outside the entry to Swanson Harbor.  Marcia applied all that she learned from talking to a serious sport fisherman in Ketchikan to selecting the fishing location, the type of bait and the method of fishing.  She must have listened well because about 10 minutes after putting her hook down in the chosen site, she hooked a halibut.

Marcia brought it close to the boat, I gaffed it then Marcia put a couple of shark hooks in it to keep it from getting away.  From hearing warning tales about not putting a live halibut in the dinghy, we tied the shark hooks off to the side of the boat and slowly motored back to our boat.  We brought the fish on the dock and measured it at 31 inches. Based on the table of standard halibuts, the fish weighed about 11-13 pounds.

Besides the halibut which Marcia cleaned and trimmed up, we managed to get three keeper crabs in the two times we dropped the crab pot in Swanson Harbor. Marcia then cleaned, cooked, picked and froze the crabs’ meat.

All in all, it was a very productive stop.