I went ashore alone in Ketchikan and took a crab fishing tour.
Before the Aleutian Ballad was transformed into a tour boat, she had become famous, featured several times on the reality TV program " The Deadliest Catch."
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=A2KqofR05TE
Until recently, there was nothing like a crab fisherman tour, and the owner thought, now that his boat was famous, that he would have an easier time catching the "crabs" walking off a cruise ship than those walking the bottom of the Bering Sea.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=A2KqofR05TE
Until recently, there was nothing like a crab fisherman tour, and the owner thought, now that his boat was famous, that he would have an easier time catching the "crabs" walking off a cruise ship than those walking the bottom of the Bering Sea.
He budgeted $200 thousand dollars to turn the Aleutian Ballad into a crab-fishing tour boat with stadium seating. The actual cost came to $2 million.
Now that it's a tour boat, the Aleutian Ballad doesn't go offshore and into the treacherous Bering Sea. We landlubbers would get seasick. Instead, special arrangements have been made with a native tribe to fish in their protected waters. So, in effect, it wasn't a REAL fishing trip. If it were, everything we saw would be happening in high seas with crashing waves, and not just one trap at a time, but many, many of the several different kinds would be lowered and hauled up.
Now that it's a tour boat, the Aleutian Ballad doesn't go offshore and into the treacherous Bering Sea. We landlubbers would get seasick. Instead, special arrangements have been made with a native tribe to fish in their protected waters. So, in effect, it wasn't a REAL fishing trip. If it were, everything we saw would be happening in high seas with crashing waves, and not just one trap at a time, but many, many of the several different kinds would be lowered and hauled up.
The two seasoned fishermen aboard, Paul and Andy, were friendly, funny, and yet very serious as they explained and demonstrated the work and dangers aboard while "catching"...a better description, they said, than "fishing." They related stories of their near-death experiences and other catastrophes, yet each one said they loved their life at sea.
I'm attaching a few of my photos--most of them screen shots from my videos. I'm also giving you links to several YouTube videos that capture the whole process. (Mine never did.) Watch them if you're interested because it will be like actually taking the tour.
Andy is baiting the hooks for long-line fishing. To see what we saw about long-line fishing, go here: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DeD7k3OFWNk
Dungeness crab were hauled up in these baskets. To see the men at work, click here:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8WlJzWmRYUQ
Next, catching prawn in a smaller kind of basket:
Tsk. Tsk. My prawn was pooping:
Next hauling (fake) King crab in the memorial basket:
Because these giants must be caught in the deep waters of the Bering Sea, and not in the quiet waters we were in. The memorial tags represent donations to the families of fishermen lost at sea.
A real King crab with Paul.
And two with Andy.
Now, what could be in that barrel trap they're hauling in?
Now, what could be in that barrel trap they're hauling in?
An octopus!
The biggest surprise, and the most incredible (and memorable!) experience, was watching 20 or more bald eagles swoop down and catch the fish Andy would throw in. I took some awesome slow-motion videos of these "fishermen." Too bad those videos won't work on the blog,
All in all, the tour was great! No wonder it is rated Ketchikan's #1 tour (out of 96) by Trip Advisor.
Yum!
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