Alaska Fishing Fun!

So, I've been home from Alaska for just about a week now.  I have to tell you, as usual, it was amazingly fun!  No matter what the weather is like, we have a great time.  My brother recorded some video that I will share with you.

We go to Yakutat, Alaska, in mid-August, for salmon fishing.  Our targeted species is the Coho, aka Silver Salmon.  For those who don't know the difference between varieties of salmon, Coho are frequently referred to as Silvers because of their chrome-bright silver color.  They are a beautiful, and quite acrobatic, type of fish.  This year, we caught our limits of Silvers, a few Pink salmon, some Black Rockfish, and 4 Halibut.

On our first day of fishing, we caught 2 Halibut....in 32 feet of water!  Mine weighed in at 72 lbs and was 53 inches from tip to tail.  It was a lot of fun reeling that big thing in!  About 15 minutes after we landed my fish, Jeremy caught one.  It took quite a while to subdue the fish, and when it was weighed  at the dock, it was 155 lbs!!  Some years we catch the halibut, others we get skunked.

We experienced both good and bad weather while there.  It was raining a bit when we arrived and continued to drizzle for most of the evening.  The first day of fishing was WET!  It rained pretty much all day, with breaks in the afternoon.  Rain gear, and good rain gear at that, is an absolute must-have for Alaska.

The 2nd and 3rd days of fishing we absolutely gorgeous.  Hardly a cloud to be had.  At times it was so warm that we were stripping off all the layers and just fishing in shirt-sleeves.  Even if the fish aren't biting, sitting in a boat on Yakutat Bay, in the sunshine, with the beautiful Wrangell - St. Elias Mountain Range to view, is a good way to spend a relaxing day.

On our 3rd day of fishing, we caught 2 more Halibut.  One weighed 65 lbs, the other was 100 lbs.  Needless to say, we had a LOT of fish to bring home at the end of this trip!  The photo and video below show part of what we caught and how we handle the Halibut since we are fishing out of 16 foot aluminum boats.  You have to make sure the Halibut are fairly well subdued before even attempting to bring them in the boat.  Even a small one can do a lot of damage to a boat the size of ours.  As soon as we get them in the boat, they are tied up so they cannot thrash around.

We had an amazing time, in a beautiful area, and can't wait to go back.
Thanks for stopping by and listening to my fish stories :)

Kasey

North To Alaska....

It's FINALLY that time of year....time to head to Alaska and catch some fish!!!  Sunday morning, the 14th, I will be heading north, to Yakutat, Alaska, for a week of salmon and halibut fishing.  This will be my fourth trip since 2007 and I am still as excited as I was for the first trip.

Alaska is a stunningly beautiful state.  I love the days when it isn't raining and we can see the mountains across Yakutat Bay.  They seem to magically rise straight out of the sea.  Occasionally you can look way up in the sky and catch a glimpse of the triangular peak of Mt. St. Elias.  Most days, no matter what the weather, we see multiple cruise ships entering the Bay on their way to view Hubbard Glacier.  I haven't seen the glacier up close, but we do see it from the air as we are arriving/departing.  We also see the HUGE Melaspina Glacier.  When I saw it for the first time, I thought it was just a large landmass.  Nope....all ice, on it's way to the sea.

There are many days that it does nothing but rain.  Alaska rain is different than Washington rain!  Quantity is the difference.  A heavy rain in Washington is "just another day" in Alaska.  But we have had days where we were fishing in t-shirts and jeans.  On those days, the sun was out and the water was as calm as any lake I've been on.  Since we fish at the mouth of Yakutat Bay, where it meets the Gulf of Alaska, we have to be prepared for bad weather to roll in fast.  The plus to that is that the bad weather can roll out just as quickly as it arrived!  Many evenings, the rain will stop and we are able to enjoy a beautiful sunset.  The photo below was taken by me, from the deck of our cabin.  I don't think I will ever get bored of looking at this view.

Most times we have caught full limits of the Coho salmon that we are after.  Silvers are a delight to catch.  When they hit the bait, you know they are there!  They are a species of fish that will put up a fight, with lots of out-of-the-water acrobatics.  One year I even had a Coho that managed to get himself in the boat...no net needed.  With all the leaping it was doing, it just launched itself into the air, landing IN the boat.  We are also able to catch some halibut in the area, without going out to open ocean, deep water.  We have caught numerous halibut in 50 feet of water or less.  The photo below is of a typical days catch.

The first year we went, we caught a full limit of really nice fish on our first day.  The lodge manager at the time was impressed by our catch and took the photo below, which is still shown on the lodge's website.  Not bad for our first day out!  That day had US hooked and we intend to return as often as possible.

So, I guess I need to go finish organizing my stuff.  I have lots of things to do tomorrow since our plane leaves at 5:00 am Sunday.  I will miss my kiddo and animals while I am gone.  There is no cell phone service in Yakutat, so any calls home have to be made from the single pay-phone at the lodge.  That isn't a bad thing really....it is nice to leave "real life" behind for a few days.  If there was an emergency at home, we could always be reached via the lodge's business phone.

Thanks for stopping by!  I'll have stories and pictures to share when I get back home on the 20th/21st.

Sigma Brushes

Lately, a lot of the beauty gurus on YouTube have been talking about Sigma makeup brushes.  Some use nothing but Sigma brushes, and have actually sold their MAC ones.  So, I decided to give the line a try.  I purchased several, for both the face and eyes.  I have ended up with mixed results, so won't be getting rid of my other brushes anytime soon.  Here is a brush-by-brush run-down with my thoughts and experiences.

1.  F80 - Flat Top Synthetic Kabuki.  

This brush is my absolute favorite for liquid foundation application.  Fav-or-ite!  Since it has synthetic bristles, which are smooth and non-porous, it does not absorb a bunch of foundation during the application process.  This results in less wasted makeup.  The flat top and really dense bristles allow you to buff the makeup into the skin, which gives an even-looking finish.  I will definitely keep one of these in my kit.  And at $16, it is a GREAT buy!

2.  F30 - Large Powder Brush.

I just bought my F30, and am already disappointed by it.  It sheds....ALOT!  I really like the size of it.  You can powder your whole face fairly quickly and it applies just the right amount of product.  But it also leaves a ton of bristles/bristle pieces all over my face.  I'm hoping that I just got a bad one, and will be contacting Sigma about the problem.  If not for the extreme shedding issue, this would also be a must-have for me.  Based on the one F30 I have, I would not buy another one.  I will definitely let you know if this changes though!

3.  F05 - Small Contour Brush

This is a great brush!  It has a fairly dense bristle, with a slightly rounded dome.  I use this for perfect application and blending of blush, bronzer, and highlighter.  It IS a smaller brush, so it is best for layering the products.  This isn't a brush where you can apply one large swipe of color and not blend.  I prefer to apply cheek products lightly, blending well, and apply more layers to intensify the color.  I love this brush and take it everywhere with me.  

4.  F35 - Tapered Highlighter Brush.

This is another brush with a smaller sized head.  It is perfect for lightly applying highlighter to the tops of the cheeks.  With the tapered tip, you can get precise product placement.  Excellent for highlighting and contouring.  I don't use mine every day, but frequently enough that I will always have one in my kit.  I know that Sigma makes a larger version of this as well, the F25.

5.  E35 - Tapered Blending Brush.

This eye shadow brush has a nice fluffy head that makes for easy application in the crease.  Great for blending  too.  I will definitely purchase more of these!  These brushes are better than most I have found in drugstores, and as good as some of the high-end brushes I have.  And at $9, they are a very good buy.  

6.  E25 - Blending Brush.

This brush has an oval head with lightly chiseled sides that make for easy eye shadow blending.  They can be used for both powder and cream shadows.  You can also use them to apply shadow primer.  They are soft and fluffy enough for easy blending, yet dense enough to pack on cream products or pigment/glitter.  I have several MAC 217 brushes, which look almost identical to the E25.  I see almost no difference in performance between the 217 and E25.  And at $9, you can buy a couple of these for the price of one MAC 217.  Definitely will keep these in my kit!  When I recently made a Sigma purchase, I received a free travel size E25.  It has a shorter silver handle, which is perfect for putting in a purse or small travel bag.  I love both the full size and travel size E25's!

Other than the shedding issue with the F30, Large Powder Brush, I really like my Sigma brushes.  I think they are a great buy.  Good brush, good performance, good pricing.  I am going to send Sigma an email about the F30, and will post a follow-up with their response!  Overall, I would definitely recommend people give Sigma a try.  

Thanks for stopping by!!