Last month, many of our WAC teammates had the chance to experience the exhilaration of reeling in their own Pacific halibut dinner, straight from the sea. Lined up on the perimeter of a fishing charter on Kachemak Bay, our group of recreational fisherfolk (including several who’d never been fishing before!) dropped heavily-weighted lines over the edge of the boat, sinking baited hooks to just above the ocean floor where our favorite side-eyed flatfish lurks.
I say side-eyed because, as a type of flatfish, Pacific halibut literally have both eyes on one side of their head (usually the right side), on the side of the body that faces skyward. This set of eyes scans the seafloor for prey, peering up from the camouflage of its skin — a camouflage that looks remarkably like the seafloor itself when observed from above by both prey and predator.
But if you’ve got a little luck on your side, a little morsel of bait is enough to draw Pacific halibut from the safety of its hiding spot. A tug at your line is your cue to set the hook and begin reeling in your catch. This experience is a full body commitment, for both you and the fish: the former, leveraging multiple limbs against the side of the boat to keep a grip on the rod while furiously cranking the reel; the latter, fighting tooth and fin to escape.
Once you’ve been reeling in your line for so long that you think your arm is about to crank right out of its socket, it’s just at this moment that you see the fish rising from the murky depths of the sea, floating up like a kite to greet the sky. It’s a breathtaking testament to what nature can provide us when we’re willing to put in the work. And fishing, as the WAC team experienced firsthand, is hard work, even at the recreational level.
If you enjoy cooking and eating Pacific halibut as much as we do, I hope this newsletter took your appreciation to new depths, whether you're partial to a classic fillet, have a sweet spot for sweet Pacific halibut cheeks, crave a meaty bone-in Pacific halibut steak, or love the salty pop of flavor that you get from a slice of cold-smoked Pacific halibut.
Live Wild,
Monica
Pictured above: A shot off the deck of a halibut charter, lined with Wild Alaskan team members working hard to reel in Pacific halibut from Kachemak Bay.
