Military turns out for Seward hook-and-line combat

Anchorage Daily News ^ | 05/23/2009 | By CRAIG MEDRED

[Wycowboy]

SEWARD -- The biggest winner in the Armed Services Combat Fishing Tournament staged out of this Alaska port on Thursday was Master Sgt. Brent Johnson from Elmendorf Air Base, but there were no losers.

[Wycowboy]

Alaska says "Thank you" to the servicemen and women stationed in the last frontier.

[smokingfrog]

183-pound halibut. That’s a good fishing story!

[Al B.]

Todd Palin showed up as a celebrity, goes out with the guys and hooks a 147-lb. halibut. Good thing he only got 2nd place. If he had won the cash prize, there would have been a lawsuit filed by some ankle-biter. LOL.

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

Alaska is beautiful, but I would wait until July for it to be at its very best.

There are direct flights to Anchorage, even from Phoenix, and it is a very clean, modern city. That time of year all the plants and flowers are growing at a tremendous clip, and the city does a flower theme. Temperatures are very pleasant, and wildlife is everywhere.

Do book accommodations months in advance, especially if you plan to visit Seward. Take the wonderful, classic 1940s luxury train there from Anchorage and bring lots of film.

Seward is more classically Alaskan, limited to a small area on the sheltered harbor, surrounded by tall mountains. Cruise ships and small boats are everywhere, and the fishing is extraordinary. They have a trolley in town.

However, a word of warning about going fishing—it has the most unpredictable waters around. One minute, calm as glass, and ten minutes later, eight to ten foot swells. But if you risk it, you have a chance at some of the best fishing in the world.

Enormous fish, and lots of them. Leg sized salmon jumping out of the water. 50-75-100 pound fish are common.

I liked the inland coastal paradise. In the lower 48 we have pigeons, they have bald and golden eagles. And moose, wolves, bears, and various and sundry other creatures.

One unexpected bit is the 20-hour days in Summer. You never want to sleep, yet are never tired, and you want to walk everywhere. At 10:30 at night you will feel like 4:30 in the afternoon.

An unforgettable trip for the family.

[jeltz25]

Well, he’s probably prouder of something he hooked that’s 25 or so pounds less than 147.

I wonder if the President has ever actually caught a fish? Or even gone fishing? Probably not.

[Al B.]

I wonder if the President has ever actually caught a fish? Or even gone fishing?

LOL, yeah right. But there's hope for the future.

[tubebender]

Wife and I flew to Fairbanks in August about 10 years ago and spent a couple of days at her brother and wife's home. We had the use of his pickup while he finished some repairs on his Peterbilt then we caravanned out to Valdez for some fishing. He drove his motor home towing his boat and we drove the PU and took some side trips. He had the MH set up when we got there and we fished for 5 days and then flew out of Valdez to Anchorage and home. My knuckles are still WHITE after that takeoff straight toward a mountain and at the last minute he turned right over the sound.

Shipped home 100# of Salmon steaks and fillets. There were photos of 400# Halibut at the weight stations...