ALASKA

Next adventure: salmon fishing steps from my room. Check out the pics and vids.

My outfitter told me to bring my catch to a local bistro where they’d cook it for me. That day’s prize? A gorgeous, deep-red sockeye. They served it up — raw roe included — this platter was Big, and I devoured every bite. The waiter was stunned.

Back to my room I was ready for bed but I ran into Mitch and Brent, locals I’d met the night before. We closed the bar, shared some legal Alaskan cannabis, and they loaded me up with insider tips for the rest of my trip. Brent gave me his contact information and assured me that I should contact him with every step for the rest of the way. Who needs a travel agent when you’ve got friends like this?

Before heading out, I gave them the rest of my salmon, figuring it wasn’t anything special here. Brent’s eyes lit up: “You don’t know what you have here, Rich! This is sockeye with Deep red color— the best of the best.” I just grinned. Oh, I knew. 😉

SEWARD ALASKA. Day 5

Many people come to ALASKA just for the fishing, and everyone I spoke with said, “Go to SEWARD!” Yesterday was rainy, so I turned it into a travel day—first hopping on a bus from TALKEETNA to ANCHORAGE, then switching gears and renting a car. Two hours later, I arrived in this bustling village of SEWARD. It was also Saturday night and hotels largely booked and expensive, I just threw up my tent.

I took the short walk into town and really enjoyed how vibrant things were. My friend Dylan Pasco said to go to “J” Dock and my timing was good as some boats were coming in. The workers were filleting all kinds of fish, but one really caught my eye who is filleting halibuts that were huge. I chatted with the fisherman that caught those fish and he got me excited. Now I really wanted to get out there! He advised me to take some Dramamine now and in the morning, which I did.

It’s now 4:30 AM, and I’m heading down to the docks to see if I can join a charter boat and finally give this Deep Sea Fishing thing a try! But chances are slim.