"You've got king!" Those are the three words you want to hear when fishing in Alaska, and three words I'll never forget hearing for the first time from my expert fishing guide, Dennis.
When Dennis yelled those words, I knew it was time to go to work. A few minutes later when he said, "Oh, it's a big one," the pressure was really on.
I had just gotten the hang of reeling in halibut and lingcod, but salmon is a completely different type of catch. Salmon make you work a little harder and don't give up without a fight. For me, that fight lasted for more than 20 minutes and by the end, I thought my left arm was going to fall off. I used my entire body to keep my rod tip up and the salmon on the line. The closer I got to catching him, the more petrified I was of losing him.
It's hard to put into words the thrill that comes with hooking your first salmon - there's the pressure to keep the fish on the line, the excitement of the chase, and the anticipation of seeing exactly what you've reeled in and just how big it is. Thankfully, I had captain Dennis there to coach me through it and my pals Chuck, Paul, and Norma cheering me on and yelling, "Tip up, tip up!" and "You've got this! This is your catch!" when I didn't think I had enough strength to keep going.
Once I finally had the salmon close to the boat and thought the long fight was coming to an end, it ran out once again. This time, it had gone under the boat. According to Dennis, "the big ones always hide under the boat." Lucky for me (and my left arm), Dennis was ready with a big net when it swam out and the fight was finally over - I had caught my first salmon, a whopping 31.8 lb ivory* king (as of July 2, my catch was the 6th biggest salmon of the entire season).
I'll never forget the adrenaline that rushed through my body after or the proud feeling of accomplishing something I had worked so hard for, reeling in a fish a fourth the size of me. Not everyone who catches a salmon is lucky enough to snag one more than 30 lbs and the next day, I was awarded a "30 lb King Club" patch (which will be going on my travel backpack so I can cherish it forever and think of this amazing adventure often). Next up: joining the "40 lb King Club" like my friend Paul (story to come).
Needless to say, I'm hooked on salmon fishing and I'm hooked on Alaska. Adventures like this are what I live for and why I love traveling so much. Going to new places, meeting and learning from wonderful people like Dennis, trying new things, and getting out of your comfort zone is so enriching. I’d call it a once in a lifetime experience if I didn’t have plans to return to Waterfall Resort year after year.
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There's another fun story behind my catch, which you can read about here. For more photos and videos, follow @emmydoestravel on instagram. If you have any questions about Alaska or Waterfall Resort, send me a message on Instagram.
*Fun fact: Not all salmon are salmon colored. According to Savory Alaska, "Ivory Kings have a recessive gene that prevents the carotenoids from being processed into the flesh, leaving the flesh an ivory white color. Since these fish are the same exact species as orange fleshed King Salmon, both fish look the same on the outside. [Most] fishermen don’t know they have landed an Ivory King until they cut it open and see the flesh. That’s when they discover they’ve landed some white gold!" Being the expert, salty guide that he is, Dennis made the correct assumption that my salmon would be ivory on the inside when we were still on the boat.