THE PATH

You just might be wondering why this picture is on the blog. It is not a fishing boat, this is the USS Tarawa. Captain Sky Leman (as a Corporal in the Marine Corps) was deployed to Iraq on this LHA (Landing Helicopter Assault) and I worked at Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Mississippi (where I met Sheila), the builder of this boat from 1975 to 1976 when it was commissioned as a Navy vessel. Small world huh? I built several hydraulic systems on the boat over 30 years ago, Sky is deployed to Iraq around 2004 and on Wednesday August 5th we are out on Cook Inlet fishing and talking about our experiences on the same boat. Now that was cool. If you interested in learning more about LHA-1 you can go here and find out more.

Let me introduce you to Captain Sky Leman. I had the privilege of fishing on Sky's boat on the salt water of Cook's Inlet three days. Sky is 29 years old, married and the father of 2 little girls. Sky is a Marine, he served our country two tours in Iraq from 2003 to 2007. If I ever got into a mess I (and you) would want Sky Leman on hand. This is the last Halibut of the day on Monday, our first day. I was fortunate to get the "bite" and it took me about 20 minutes to reel the fish in. This fish weighs right at 100 pounds. My thanks to Sky as he worked hard all day to make for a grand day on the water for all of us on the boat. The picture on the right is of Sky and me on the last evening at the lodge where he was all dressed up as his cousin was getting married the next day and I assume he was going to the rehearsal dinner. Sky lives in Oregon and for the past two years he has worked for Deep Creek as a Captain and guide during the summer. It is a long hard day. It is...

This is the 13 pound Silver Salmon that I mentioned in the previous post. There will be plenty of fish dinners to come at the Uselton house in the upcoming weeks and months, that is for sure.

This is a 59 pound Ling Cod that Jordan caught on Friday our last day on the water. I have not been able to post anything until now due to travel and Internet access. We were on separate boats Friday and the boat that I was on got in to a school of Silver Salmon of which I caught 8 in about an hour and a half's time. My largest fish was a 13 pounder which is a very good size for Silver Salmon. Saturday morning we packed up and headed for Anchorage. It is roughly a 4 hour or so ride and the scenery is beautiful. Our plane left at 5pm and we flew to Seattle where we stopped for a layover and then on to the Newark, NJ airport where we arrived at 6am. Needless to say we spent Sunday recuperating and our bodies were trying to figure out what to do when and where etc. After a good night's sleep I think that I am close to being back on track. We will see how today goes! Later today I fly back to Nashville, can't say that I am looking forward to another 2 hours plus on an airplane....

We were back on the Kasilof River today. It is still slow fishing but we didn't get skunked this time. Jordan caught a nice Silver Salmon as you can see above. I managed to catch a King Salmon which we have no picture of. Reason why? King's are now officially out of season, yet they are in the same river and you will catch them. The rule is that should you bring the King in to the net that you are to unhook the fish and then release the fish from the net. So that is what we did. Catching fish in the river is a lot of fun and even though we only caught 2 we saw Bald Eagles, a young Moose and some incredible scenery. It was a full day and Jordan and I had a great time together. Couldn't ask for anything more. Later I will post another picture of our hosts and tell you some things about them and others that are here with us. It is a very enjoyable group of people to fish with, eat with, and have lots of fun with.

There is no picture to post today. We caught 10 Halibut and a few Silver Kings and it was nothing spectacular. BUT, it was very much a lesson as to how life works and what life is all about. As you see from a previous post and picture, Monday was a spectacular day. We caught lots of large fish and had a wonderful time at it. The water was calm and we stayed in the same place all day and caught the last big one just at closing time. What a day. Today? We did catch our limit - BUT - it was more like what we all experience on a day to day basis, real life in other words. We moved around a lot, we spent a lot of time catching junk fish and then moving to another location (takes time) and setting back up and going at it again only to see marginal results. Sound familiar? And when we did get on the "bite" we were catching small fish. You know how it works, eventually you run out of time (although it doesn't get dark until mid-night but when you have been out there for over 11 h...

Today we went up the river fishing for Silver Salmon. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. So, what does this picture tell you? Quite a different story from yesterday's fishing. This is why they call it fishing - not catching. Even though the Silver Salmon beat us really bad and down right skunked us, we still had a grand time together, floating down the river with our guide Todd Malone and spending over 6 hours fishing in the pouring rain. No complaints. As they say, a bad day fishing is better than a good day at the office. Yes, this is a tried, true and trustworthy saying. We will talk more soon.

117 pounds, that is what the Halibut that Jordan caught today weighed in at. He is standing next to his 1st place fish. His was the top catch of the day and mine came in second (and I also caught another big Halibut at the last moment before heading back to the lodge, but that's another story, Jordan is THE MAN TODAY!!!) So we get to bed about 11, Sara comes and delivers coffee to our cabin at 5 am and we get up, make ready and have breakfast at 6, leaving at 6:30, on the water by 7 for what turns out to be a perfect day for saltwater fishing the Cook Inlet with Deep Creek Fishing Club . First we troll for Silver Salmon, it's Michael, Ted, Jordan and me - along with Captain Sky Leman and Roger Wiste his excellent deck hand. The two of them made for a fantastic day. Jordan hooks up with the first silver, then Ted, then Michael; everyone catches a silver salmon but me and I hook up but get flipped off by the fish at the boat. So, it's time to go to the Cemetery , the infamo...

The last two days have been long and hard. Over 4500 miles in the air yesterday, a very pleasant and enjoyable evening last night (which turned out to be a lousy night's sleep as my body could not figure out what was going on) and then a 4 hour drive down highway 1 from Anchorage to Ninilchick today with the ghost of Dale Earnhardt Sr. at the wheel (aka Jordan Uselton who lives in NYC and never drives). It was quite the experience. Once we arrived and got settled in it was literally an awesome wonder to behold. The view of the Alaskan range and the various views of the lodge and all if its surroundings are incredible. I cannot explain, I cannot give you an adequate description, but I will give you my very best over the next few days to hopefully detail the wonder of it all. We have yet to "wet a line" and we are absolutely thrilled and amazed. Pictures will be forthcoming and I am going to attempt to set up a picture album/slide show on the blog for you to peruse. But ...

This is what we did yesterday. We spent 10 hours in an airplane. From left to right is Jordan, and our hosts Mailise & Phil Widlanski (I promise I will post a better picture of you all very soon). Considering the amount of time we spent in the air we all arrived in pretty good shape. It was 7 pm Anchorage time when we landed. Getting baggage and rental cars, the whole group of us (11 total with one more yet to come) checked in to a hotel. We then made our way to "Club Paris", a 50 year old establishment in downtown Anchorage for a fantastic evening of food, drink and lively conversation. A very fine evening it was as we finished up around midnight and it was not yet completely dark. Remember, EDT we are 4 hours behind and 3 for CDT. This morning we pack up, pick up a few things (fishing licenses most notable) and head for the lodge in Ninilchick. Today is actually not a fishing day as we will journey 4-5 hours down the Kenai Peninsula where I am told an outstanding dinner...

I have arrived. This picture is of me sitting at my favorite place in NYC - Bello Giardino (as you will remember from a previous post!). You can't see all that well but Jordan is on my right and Megan our dear friend is on my left. Life is good, all is well and I have had an order of calamari and will be dining on wild mushroom ravioli a bit later in the evening. Tomorrow morning we leave at 9 am for the airport and will arrive in Anchorage at 5 pm (remember, 4 hours behind EDT, 3 CDT). Alaska, here we come...

Tomorrow I leave for NYC. You already know from a previous post what I'll be doing tomorrow night. So I decided to post a picture of the woman that I will leave behind, a real beauty, a great sport (she has not complained once that she's not going), and my wife of 32 years - the one and only Sheila. Maybe one day I will make a second trip and the two of us can go together, after all, she is the daughter of Henry Tippins - one of the world's greatest fishermen. She is the love of my life.

Hello, Hello! Watch out Alaska! So I just got off the phone with our fantastic host Phil and he said they pulled in a 210 lb. Halibut yesterday. I told him "my Father and I don't like to deal with small fish. We are ready for a nice size 350 lbs fish that will fight back." (Hey either go big or go home) My sarcasm couldn't have been any thicker. So my Father and I are SO very excited about our big trip. It is coming up and I can't wait. My Dad and I used to go fishing all the time growing up. Bass, Rainbow Trout, Crappie... you name it we fished it in Texas, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee...... all over Dixie! But never in my most wildest dreams did I think we would ever be deep sea fishing in the great state of Alaska. Now many people have said "Alaska? Are you going to hang out with Sarah Palin?" And my response has always been "Well heck yeah! I already called her. We are going to hang out on her back deck, drink white zinfandel...

This is Jordan and Lydia, his fiance. I am his dad. We're going fishing. Jordan and Lydia are getting married very soon and Sheila, Tom & Memrie (Lydia's parents) and I are as happy as we can be. Now this is one good looking and obviously very happy couple. I am going to tell you a few things about Jordan. He is an actor, a singer, a dancer, a waiter, a basketball ball player (plays for the Chardonnays), a baseball player, a football player (one heck of a defensive end I must say), he once was a long distance runner, and he is an outdoors man - a fisherman. So, we're going fishing. That's what fishermen do. Jordan takes care of things. He is thoughtful, considerate, and for the most part compassionate. He is 26 years old. Jordan also does a very good Chris Farley imitation of the SNL motivational guy - Matt Foley - that "lives in a van down by the river". I could tell you so many things about this fellow but I have been selective as I don't want to emb...

This is a picture of two of our pets taken just over a week ago. They were the best of buddies. Draeger is our almost 10 years old German Shepherd. Smudge and Draeger are looking out the front door, guarding the premises as they often would do, enjoying one an other's company. Smudge passed away today. He was 9 years old and he looked like a miniature cougar. He will be sorely missed by us all. Smudge was Sheila's cat, he was her boy, and I feel so bad to lose him yet I feel worse knowing the sorrow and grief that Sheila feels tonight. Forgive my indulgence of writing about our loss but it really is all that is on my mind. We have been fortunate. Every pet that we have had has been smart and very much a part of what our lives are all about on a day to day basis. Smudge was one of us. Smudge was a hunter. If he set his mind on taking a squirrel the squirrel didn't have a chance. As you can see, Smudge was not camouflaged by any means. He was white as snow. As I said, that ...

Isn't work just great? Now there's a happy man if I ever did see one! Monday's at the office are just fantastic aren't they? I don't know much but I do know this, next Monday will be a different story (and I promise a completely different picture) all together. No bow-tie, no starched shirt, just one of the guys on the river or the bay fishing for monster fish in Alaska. Hangin' with my boy (who will start posting soon) and my countenance will be be remarkably different - GUARANTEED. Speaking of Monday apparel, I stopped by REI on the way home tonight to pick up the last few things that I need to handle all of the potential weather situations that may come our way. Should have gone to WalMart $$$... See you tomorrow!

Well today has been a busy day. I won't go in to all of the reasons but I will say that I have started pulling everything together for the trip. I just spent some time with Jordan on the phone getting some updates on the fishing and our host says that they have been catching 100 pound plus Halibut on a regular basis. I have done a lot of fishing in my 57 years and I have never caught a fish any where near 100 pounds. Do you realize that catching a 100 pound fish takes around 45 minutes? Do you (do I) realize that you are not going to be ready to "go catch another one" right away? Jordan says he's been doing push-ups and working out a bit to get ready. I told Jordan that our best bet would be to do some "tag teaming"! With each passing day I think about my dad and I think about Sheila's dad (my father in law). I learned how to fish following my dad around as a kid. He was a very good fisherman, never fished from a boat, had a series of ponds (all the prop...

Ninilchik is a small Russian fishing village. The lodge we will be fishing out of is nearby. The picture you see here is the Russian Orthodox Church located in the village and it was built around 1900. If you click the link you will discover its history. Overlooking Cook Inlet the saltwater fishing is primarily for Halibut. Halibut look like giant flounder for those of you that are used to the fish of the Gulf Coast. On one website I found a picture of a couple that had caught a 466 pound Halibut. The limit is two Halibut per person per day. A 466 pound fish is hard to imagine and it certainly is an unusual haul. For those of you that might be interested, the following are some interesting facts. Twilight is at 4:51 a.m. - Sunrise at 5:51 a.m. - Sunset is at 10:34 p.m. - and evening twilight is at 11:32 p.m. This equates to just over 5 hours of darkness and a whole lot of daylight for fishing. The tempe...

A week from today I will be flying to NYC where I will hook up with Jordan and make ready for a long day of flying to Anchorage on Saturday. There's no better way to prepare than to enjoy the evening at Bello Giardino where you'll find the best Italian food on the Upper West Side (this is where Jordan works). The picture you see is as you walk in the door. My favorite spot is at the corner of the bar located in the bottom right hand corner of the photo. I am quite certain that it will be a wonderful time that will include all of the usual suspects. If you have never been there you are missing something really special. Things are beginning to get a little hectic as I have several projects to complete at work, a few things to get done around the house, and a shopping trip to REI to pick up the final things needed in order to be well equipped on the water. I have been going to my chiropractor, Dr. Art Lensgraf, every other day to ensure that all of my past injuries will bother me...

Jordan and I will be heading for Alaska on August 1st. This will be the fishing trip of all fishing trips for us both and we will be updating this blog daily for those of you who are interested in keeping up with our adventures. We just might be sophisticated enough to figure out how to upload pictures as well. Any suggestions will more than likely be appreciated as I have never done this before. I am quite sure that many of you will know exactly what to tell me. More to come...