Alaska Traveler
It seems a rare thing these days to find a charter where the captain and mate try their very hardest day in and day out to catch big fish, and lots of them. It’s human nature to have good and bad days. Clearly every day can’t be your best effort.
That’s just not the case with Will and Dusty of Glacier Fishing Charters, however. Each time we fish aboard the Noble Eagle, we get to fish with one of the hardest working teams on the salt. [emember_protected custom_msg=’This content is available for subscribers only.’]
Our day begins at 6 a.m. with a three-hour run from Seward to the halibut grounds. Building seas make the decision an easy one, and we head into protected water to start soaking bait for halibut. Joining me on the trip are lifelong friend Dave Calleja from Phoenix, AZ, Scott Miller, owner of Soldotna Trustworthy Hardware and Fishing, and his daughter Haley – who proved to be a better angler than most, Mark Colavecchio from KWHL 106.5 and KIMO Channel 13, and Fish Alaska magazine operations manager Wayne Norris.
Within 20 minutes of setting the anchor, we begin to catch halibut. Fish from 20- to 50 pounds find their way into the box. The action is steady and eventually we limit the boat on this species. One of the highlights is a keeper fish that Scott jigs. Another is watching Haley battle nice flatfish like she’s a pro.
Moving on we head to a prominent black rockfish locale. I’ve asked Will to help us get halibut, rockfish and salmon, and he is more than willing to oblige. Lingcod is closed; otherwise he’d find them for us, too.
Let me take a moment to point out that while catching rockfish can be easy, cleaning them is not so fun. Their scales and skin are like armor; their spines are razor sharp, and they take longer to clean than the other species. To compound matters, bag limits are liberal. So we fish until we’ve limited on black rockfish and catch many nice fish to 8 pounds. Will and Dusty do so with a smile, even though the work on the back end will be amplified.
Next we move to a silver salmon destination. It’s getting late in the day and we should probably be heading in. But Will and Dusty continue to go the extra mile and we troll until we find the fish and then spend the next two hours staying on top of them. In addition to a limit of silvers, we catch many pinks and finally hit a king. We should be back at the dock by now in order for Will and Dusty to get the fish cleaned, boat prepped and to get a few hours downtime and sleep before the next day begins.
As usual these guys have gone far and beyond the average charter. We’re just heading back and we’re at least 90 minutes out, while many charters would have long ago been back to the docks. These guys are a blast to fish with, and they seem to possess an almost endless energy and enthusiasm. The boat is loaded with many different species of fish, which will provide great meals for the entire year for many people. And as usual, we’re surrounded by people at the cleaning station admiring the scope of the catch, quite obviously wishful that they had been aboard this charter.
So if you want to really experience what it can be like to catch many of the species available in Prince William Sound and the Gulf of Alaska, look up Will and Dusty of Glacier Fishing Charters. Will’s dad, Dave, started the business and answers the phone when you call to book. He’s a first-class guy, a strong family man and a very positive influence on Will. You can reach him at 307-359-0495 or glacierfishingcharter@hotmail.com.
You can also see some of the monster fish hauled in on the Noble Eagle at www.glacierfishing.com.
– Marcus Weiner, Publisher [/emember_protected] [emember_protected scope=”not_logged_in_users_only”]
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