Catching Barn Doors on Kodiak

Aboard the Lana J and in search of Barn Doors in Alaska. Fishermen Jack Fortney, Greg Stephens, and Ellis Floyd.

Does July in the Ozarks with 92°F with 90% relative humidity make you long for the cool days and cooler nights of November, like it does me? Would the most majestic outdoor scenery on earth coupled with world class halibut and salmon fishing excite you to your very core? Would sailing through a cool, heavy mist, as you ventured along vast, timbered, and mountainous rocky coastlines provide you with a great thrill, reminiscent of primeval Viking explorers of old? If so, a fishing trip to Kodiak Island, Alaska might be the place for your next outdoor adventure.

Kodiak Island is just 25 miles off the southwestern coast of Alaska across the Shelikof Strait; however, to get there by water, due to the vastness and low population density of our largest state, it is a 130 mile, 10 hour ferry ride from the nearest port of Homer, Alaska. At 3,588 square miles, the island is the second largest island in the United States behind Hawaii (Missouri’s largest county, Texas County, is 1,179 square miles by comparison). The annual average precipitation is a little more on Kodiak than in Missouri – 75 inches per year verses just 43 inches. Yes, it’s cooler and wetter but there aren’t any barn doors to be found here in the Ozarks - monstrous swimming barn doors that is.

Around Kodiak Island, giant halibut, commonly known as barn doors, lurk in the depths. These giants have been known to reach 500+ pounds in the right places. And, you don’t just find the holes that hold these behemoths by accident. An experienced captain and crew could be worth their weight in gold if they put you on the right fish. Halibut fishing derbies pay many thousands of dollars for the largest catch of the year, but you have to purchase a derby ticket to qualify. The 2009 Homer Halibut Derby winner caught a 354 pound barn door and won $40,440.00! That would pay for a lot of fishing and hunting trips!

Alaskan fishing adventurer Jack Fortney with the third largest halibut of the trip.

Last year our friends, Captain Mel and Alana Roe, along with first mate Zach Miller, at Kodiak Island Adventures took us out away from the tourist-trap ‘chicken holes’ to the spots where the monsters swim. Before leaving the bay at Kodiak we dropped lines to catch our bait – herring the size of average trout from a Missouri trout park. In 15 minutes we had enough herring for 7 fishermen to fish all day. After a beautiful boat ride up the coast of Kodiak Island on the nicely furnished 40 foot Lana J we began fishing and immediately and consistently caught 40 to 60 pound halibut all day with the chance to hook a giant $40,000.00 fish with every cast. Captain Mel and Zach worked at a feverish pace retrieving our catch and keeping our lines baited and in the water. Fishing at approximately 90 feet we would drop our lines just above the bottom and let them bob up and down with the motion of the boat. It generally wasn’t more than a few minutes and sometimes just seconds before you had on another 50 pound fish! And let me tell you, after several hours of pulling up 50 pounders from 90 feet, one right after another, it’s almost agonizing to try to bring up another fish but you are always anticipating the jackpot. Of course, money-fish or not, we had hit the jackpot. We were fishing in Alaska, the Great Outdoor Shangri la.

Captain Mel and company was the conduit to an experience that would leave any true mountain man both spiritually and emotionally overwhelmed. Until you see it, it’s hard to imagine bald eagles and whales so plentiful that they become commonplace. It’s hard to imagine postcard scenes of majestic snow-capped mountains thrusting up from the emerald green ocean literally around every turn. It’s hard to imagine brown bears walking the coastline where the rivers let out into the ocean. And now, after living it for the past few years, it’s hard to imagine going through life without the experience.

Standing on the deck of a fishing boat, feeling the cool north breeze in your face, seeing the sites and hearing the sounds of the great North Country, you cannot help but be spiritually moved. Sharing a soul-moving experience with family and friends adds even more meaning. There are places where the Creator’s hand produced masterpieces that speak to the soul of mountain men everywhere. Two such places are the Missouri Ozarks and Alaska. If you’ve never been to Alaska I hope you get to see it some day. To find out more about this great adventure visit www.kodiakislandadventures.com If you are anything like me, you will never be able to get enough of it. So says the One-Eyed Hillbilly.

Greg Stephens is a 35-year veteran & life-time student of the great outdoors. His column appears weekly in print & online publications. You can email him at gregstephens@one-eyedhillbilly.com. For more columns go to www.one-eyedhillbilly.blogspot.com.