Three generations experience the thrills of Alaska

Displaying a fine string of halibut in Valdez, Alaska are: Left to right Authur Autry, guide, Greg Boid, Mickey Autry, Michael Autry and Mark Hurst. Contributed photo We will never forget our trip to Alaska. My father, Mickey Autry, my grandfather, Arthur Autry, from Buffalo, Texas and I took the trip of a lifetime this summer. Arriving at Anchorage, we met with Captain Mark Hurst, my grandfather’s neighbor. Mark is an airplane pilot for UPS and is in Anchorage, Alaska one to three weeks each month throughout the year. The excitement was on. All three Autrys and Mr. Hurst were more than excited to hook into a water slashing, humongous halibut or king salmon. Our first fishing experience, fishing for halibut, took place in the magnificently delightful Prince William Sound’s area, located in the Gulf of Alaska.

This unique place holds many exclusive kinds of wildlife, including many types of bear, moose, sea lions, and bald eagles. It was amazing to fish for halibut in an area with powdery snow blowing off of the mountain peaks. Although, battling a sixty-pound halibut was way more intense than I expected. Whenever I thought the battle was over the massive fish escaped my grip and dove back to the bottom of the menacing dark sea. At its end, our halibut fishing trip turned out to be an outstanding experience, we caught many halibut weighing in at around sixty pounds. After our first trip, I couldn’t imagine how amazing our next trip would be.

Michael Autry displays a fine salmon with guide Greg Boid in the background. Contributed photo Awaiting our salmon expedition, my grandfather had approximately 100 pounds of halibut shipped to Buffalo, Texas by Fed X. It is amazing that this halibut left Valdez, Alaska on Wednesday and arrive in Buffalo, Thursday, still frozen (no dry ice).

The second fishing experience, fishing for king salmon, started out on the raging Klutina River. This river is rugged and moves as fast as a whip. Fishing for king salmon in the Klutina River absolutely blew our minds away. We fought many King Salmon and we will never forget the battles that these incredible fish fought against us. The largest and most ferocious King Salmon we caught weighed forty-five pounds. I cannot put into words the magnificence of catching a fish that mighty, the feeling can only be felt by experiencing it firsthand.

After our fishing trips, we visited Sarah Palin’s hot dog picnic and took a few pictures of the inspirational post governor. This trip was truly a trip of a lifetime. Fishing is my passion and I couldn’t have asked for a better way to celebrate my hobby. Yet, thinking back to the trip the best part was spending time with my Grandpa and Dad, two people that I love with all of my heart. Alaska is truly the last frontier and my Grandpa, my Dad, and I were lucky enough to explore that amazing state.