(SitNews) Klawock, Alaska - Chris and Abe were talking about getting seasick as I emerged from the cabin with a sandwich and bag of pretzels. They weren’t going to get sick, but it was the first of maybe three conversations that could culminate in someone getting sick if they keep thinking about it, conditions don’t change or fish aren’t caught.

Chris is from California, and has been fishing for most of his life, but this was his first time fishing for king salmon in the ocean. Before his trip up, the last time we fished together was hardly an adventure. We rounded up a couple buddies after our high school’s football game one night and went night fishing for stripers in the brown, slow-moving San Joaquin River. We sat in lawn chairs and drank coffee to stay warm and awake.

There was no falling asleep that morning Abe took us out. You have to be focused up here. There are waves and the constant threat of fish-related activity. Chris and I coached together before I moved from California, so I equated staying in the boat to playing defense. I told him if you stay in a defensive stance, you’ll blow out a hamstring, groin or a knee. The legs have to be more shock absorbers than anything, and points of contact are important.

We talked and waited for rod tips to wave at us.

We got into fish, but it was taking time. Abe and I knew we were amidst a grind, one of those days you’ll probably get your fish, but you’ll have to spend some time doing it.

I was ecstatic, though, because despite the awful weather, my stomach had its act together. The last time I was out with Abe I puked. It’s the only time in my life I remember getting sick to the point of heaves. That includes riding the Aurora and LeConte through winter storms for basketball trips in high school. It made no sense. Too much coffee not enough water? A spot of the flu everyone else around the island had? Just one of those days? I don’t know, but it did get into my head a bit. Maybe that was my new normal. Maybe all of a sudden, starting in 2014 and from here on out, I’d get seasick. Like I said, made no sense.

So when I mowed down that sandwich I was happy. Kings were on ice, and I could ride these rollers all day. I didn’t want to, but I could.

The fog closed in and created a grey beauty that Stephen King would envision as a perfect setting for ill-tempered sea lions or other creatures with sinister intentions to thrive.

We motored up and down roughly the same line by ourselves. The wind was out of the southwest, so we figured everyone else was on the north end of the island staying out of the swell that hammered us.

That can be the payoff of enduring the weather, you can have everything to yourself, and as long as you keep the boat in the right line, and everything down in the stomach, things can work out nicely.

We hooked up again, and Chris finished his limit. A half hour later, Abe got his. Finally, after almost seven hours on the water, we bagged the last king. We were pretty excited, but at the same time relieved we could go home and not wonder if we’d had just stuck it out, if we’d have finished out fish.

We moved inside and tried for halibut but only managed a black cod. About that time is when the kicker got seasick, started coughing and wouldn’t idle.

Better it than us. Of course if it didn’t get better, it would probably take a lot of money to make it feel better.

Jeff Lund ©2014

Jeff Lund is a Teacher, Freelance Writer, & River fishing guide (Tranquil Charters) living in Klawock, Alaska
Contact Jeff at Email – aklund21@gmail.com

http://www.jlundoutdoors.com

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