While Mark and Dad rode the tram up Mt. Roberts, Emily and I went up to the library to pass some time. While inside, I read an article - "How to catch big 'buts." Apparently, big baits are the key to catching big halibut. I decided to experiment and came up with this cocktail bait that included 4 pieces of salmon belly soaked in herring oil, one hooligan, a twelve inch whole herring and two sharp stainless steel hooks.

This 65 lb. halibut took the bait! Mark taught us how all how to gaff with his sweet gaffing skills. He also has other talents including nunchuck skills, bowhunting skills and computer hacking skills.

I also caught this ling cod which is somewhat of a rarity for Juneau's waters.

We got up early the next morning and hooked into some chums at Amalga Harbor.

Mark's chum.

A few photos...

This is a small sampling of the photos we have taken during Gary and Mark's visit.

4 fish for 4 weary fisherman. We got to the fishing hole at 4:30am and didn't leave until 12:30pm

The money crab...this was the biggest dungeness crab we have seen. Gary and Mark pulled the crab pot that held it. They are feasting on it as I type this post.

Mark fly-fishing on Windfall lake

We spent the night at Windfall cabin before fishing. We had a tasty meal of kielbasa, bratwurst and s'mores.

This is a juvenile eagle feasting on a halibut carcass on the beach in front of our house. The guys have taken to leaving carcasses on the beach in order to bring in the eagles. We will post better eagle footage soon.

Fishing...

Sockeye fishing at Windfall creek...Dave was the only angler to land a fish.

The results from a day spent halibut fishing...

Sunday Bike Ride

We thought we would take advantage of a partly sunny Sunday so I could try out my new bike. Dave and I purchased a used bike to replace my old bike that was stolen. I ended up with another GT, which is just as nice (or better) than my old one.

Dave likes to jump off curbs as evidenced by this action shot. I think he and Christian should take a trip and find some better jumps together.

Big orange thing in the sky

We're finally getting rid of our cabin fever since the sun is back from its long vacation. We supplement our time with walks on our beach.............

.......picnicking with friends........

......crabbing.......

----and canoing.

Emily wanted to include a photo of this Boston Terrier we encountered on the beach the other day. Some day we'll have one.....

Berners Bay

Our annual Hooligan Camp ended a few weeks ago and I returned from my brief stint in Berners Bay with a few photos to share.

Don't be fooled! Although extremely cute, this little Pine Marten (Martes martes) chewed his way into our Weatherport and drug out an entire loaf of pumpkin bread that was twice his size. He sat in this tree squawking at us while we photographed him. For the next week, he would show up at 4:30 am every morning and scratch at the duct tape-covered hole where he had gotten in before. I finally caught him using a shrimp pot baited with peanuts. I gave him enough of a razzing that he never returned after that incident.
When the hooligan are running, the gull activity is phenomenal. This year's run was particularly small but the gulls still showed up in large quantities.
When we arrive, these flats are covered in snow. You can follow a variety of animal tracks throught the snow and see who's been wandering through. By the time we leave Berners Bay, these flays are green with the fresh growth of spring.We counted over two hundred eagles from the deck of our Weatherport one morning.
A daily encounter, his eyes were fixed on the waters below to pick off hooligans that had been stranded in small pools by the tide.

Haircut...

I got my haircut today but Dave is out of town so I had to take this picture of myself to share my new 'do with friends and family. Self-portraits are never the best so please excuse my bad set-up but I was excited to show off my new look!

Baby Dino!

We finally decided to hatch Emily's baby dino egg that she found on Easter morning. We filled the sink with hot water (which probably cost us a fortune at $0.50 per kilowatt hour). The baby dino egg did not disappoint! We apologize for the quality of the video but we only had one chance to film the hatching dinosaur. We promise not to let the baby T-Rex loose so as to not have another Jurassic Park incident.

March Madness

Emily shed a tear tonight as I presented her with the Annual Tournament Cup. The Kansas win vaulted her even further above the competition!

There is nothing in the cup but pure joy................

.....and of course, she had to rub it in as this is the second year in a row that her bracket has outscored mine!

I hope everyone plays next year!

Treasure!

Emily and I have been taking care of Kuma and Cricket this week and we decided to bring them back to our house for the weekend. Well, we don't have a doggy door so I was nominated to take them outside at 6:00 on Saturday morning. It was a beautiful, crisp morning and we hung out in the yard and played on the beach for a while. Every time I go down to the yard, I am drawn to the windows on the lower level of the house. This level is mainly used for storage by the owner as it is full of antiques, mementos and ancient relics. I couldn't resist taking a photo of the window this morning as the mountains reflected in the glass. I wish this photo could pull you in as the window does to me every time I walk down to the beach......

The dogs were able to play with Abbie and Annie on Saturday. It took Kuma a while to make friends but he promised to be friendly so he was unleashed.

As you can see, it is still a little chilly in Juneau. In fact, we are still getting snow on occasion although it never hangs around very long.

As the morning faded, we gave the dogs a choice. They could either watch March Madness on television or lay in the sun and recover from an exciting morning. Cricket chose the latter.

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter everyone! Here are some photos of Emily and I painting our eggs. Tomorrow, they will be eaten. The painting process........this year we remembered to use vinegar to darken the color.

We couldn't leave out our favorite March Madness teams. Go UNC! (David)

Go Kansas! (Emily)

Go EM!

Archery Range

This is Juneau's famous archery range. It has several targets at just about every distance. Walk lightly or you will punch through the snow and fill your boots!
Chad drawing back on an angry bear.

These shots were taken at 40 yards. My bow is dead on!

Update

The Legislative shoot-out was a success. Emily's scores were as follows:

Trap: 12/20 (She's a natural behind a shotgun.)
.22 Rifle: 4/10 (She claims her arms were rubber at that point.)
.44 Mag. Pistol: 28/100 (Too much heat for her.)
Bow and Arrow: 90/100 (Wow! She claims to be Native American.)

Meanwhile, I was busy busy taking two Praxis II exams for Math and Science.

Buck Fever

Emily has been recruited for a legislative shooting team this weekend so we went out prepare for the big day. The competition will include pistols, rifles, shotguns and bow shooting. As you can see from the targets, she's well-prepared.

How will we tell our shots apart? Well, mine are the head shots. Emily chose the more humane shot through the heart/lung/cardboard.

Not a bad group for a hundred yards........

I tried to convince her of the best way to go about the pistol
competition but she wouldn't go for it.

This week was parent-teacher conferences so I was unemployed for a few days. I decided to change a leaky water pump in the Rodeo instead of finding something fun to do. Unfortunately, the pump is located behind the timing belt and it proved to be a lengthy project. In the end, it cost about $100 in parts and $50 in tools and miscellaneous supplies as opposed to a $670 mechanic bill. The best part is that it was a good excuse to buy some new tools.

Sorry the photos aren't very exciting......

The water pump is driven by that pulley in the very center.

Most of my time was actually spent on the floor sorting through manuals and diagrams.

I took pictures of EVERYTHING so I could remember how to put it back together. Instead of cranking my head to uncomfortable angles, I just took a picture of whatever I wanted to see. After putting it all back together, it started right up. Now........what should we do with all the money I saved?