Fishing Trip, Part 2

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After leaving the sea lions we continued on to the sweet fishing spot. The water was beautifully clear along the pristine shores. By the time we arrived, it was fairly cool and windy yet sunny and beautiful. The seas were relatively calm and the outlook was promising. Paul set us up and it was a race to see who would land the first fish. We fished and fished and fished without any luck. On the plus side, Paul knew another spot where they always caught smaller halibut (in the 30 pound range). We figured a few smaller fish were better than nothing. So went to the new spot and fished and fished and fished. It was about at this point we decided begrudgingly to give it up. We did see a bald eagle and several porpoises as well as the sea otters and sea lions we had seen earlier. In a state of disbelief we headed for home. We stopped at the Visitor's Center at Portage Glacier. It is a nice facility with several exhibits, gift shop, and movie area. While driving home along the Seward Highway, a few miles outside of Anchorage, we spotted several beluga whales swimming along the Turnagain Arm. We didn't get that great picture we wanted, but it was rewarding just to see these beautiful animals. The Cook Inlet belugas' population has decreased over the last 20 years from a few thousand to about 350. Even though we didn't catch any fish, we had another great Alaskan day thanks to Mindy and Paul.