Bontragers & Salmon Fishing//Alaska

While in Alaska we had the opportunity to spend some time fishing.

We met Jay Yoder in Delaware at one of our concerts earlier this year. When he heard we were going to Alaska he offered to fly up and be our "guide", as he used to live there and knew all about the good fishing places, techniques, etc etc. 

We are so grateful to him and we would've been lost trying to do it all without a guide!

getting geared up to go salmon fishing in Soldotna

Our boys were in their element. 

One night they stayed out t fishing till 1am, came into the bus, got a few hours of sleep, and went at it again. =)

poor Taylor tried and tried but never did get a fish.

(the lighting for these photos is so different because there were different ones of us running the camera and everyone seemed to be using totally different settings...resulting in some interesting light. =))

Liz & Hudson watching the fishing from the walkway on the hill

 Allison made delicious hot sandwiches for lunch. She made half with some salmon we had caught, and the other half she made with leftover moose steak that some friends had given us the previous week. 

They were SO good!! Definitely a new "Alaska favorite"! 

enjoying lunch outside

One night Mr. Jay took us down to a "fishing camp" along the ocean. 

We spend the evening there grilling fish and enjoying the gorgeous view of the ocean at sunset, with the glaciers behind the ocean.

the littles had a grand time sliding down the sand dunes.

During our time in Alaska, Carson became a master at grilling salmon.

Butter & Cajun seasoning are the recipe to success. =)

The following day we went back to the camp to experience a different kind of fishing.

Carson, Allison, & Taylor went out to fish in the first boatload. 

Unfortunately, the water was pretty rough and Allison & Taylor didn't think they could make it so they came back to shore before the boat went further out.

Taylor...all tuckered out. =)

Carson was tough and stayed....and lost his lunch about 20 minutes later. =)

Not a bad catch, eh?

We also spent a little time in the town of Homer.

Homer is a very unique town. The above is along the street of the "Homer Spit",which is a peninsula of land about 2miles long and a quarter of a mile wide. It is surrounded by ocean on three sides, with the glaciers towering beyond the ocean and several points. 

The Homer Spit is the tourist attraction of the area and is lined with shops & restaurants.

view of the Homer Spit (from far away, obviously...)

The wharf is on one side, filled with more boats than you can imagine.

(we went out to eat once while we were there, to experience the fresh seafood. This place had the worlds BEST clam chowder EVER. incredible)

a morning by the ocean. 

Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of the fishing in Homer...

because all the fishing trips were a bust. =(

The first day the guys were going to go out on a charter boat to go halibut fishing.

I got up at 6:30am to drive them all to the wharf. 

On our way, I noticed that the ocean was covered with little boats.

As we got closer...I realized that the "boats" were actually white caps!

So the charter decided not to go out since it was too rough.

Upon that development, Mr. Jay & some the boys went back to Soldotna to do more salmon fishing. 

And Dad, Mitchell, & Taylor tried the halibut fishing again.

This time the boat did go out as scheduled but it was so rough that half of the passengers got sick.

Dad was among the worst...he said he pretty much hung over the side of the boat the entire time they were out. =(

And he was sick for the rest of the day after they came back.

Oh. and nobody caught any halibut. =(

But I guess it's all in the experience! 

And a pastor we met made some for us, so we did get to taste some.

We ended the time in that area of Alaska with two concerts on Sunday. 

The second one was in the little town of Kasilof. 

We didn't have supper made before the service and weren't sure what we were going to be able to fix it afterwards for the hungry boys. =)

Following the concert, a lady came up to mom and gave her some money and said "this is for you to get supper for your family". What a blessing!

Right next door to the church we found a pizza & ice-cream cafe.

just the thing.

So long, Alaska! 

We loved our stay. =)

Bontragers & Salmon Fishing//Alaska
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