SITKA, Alaska — The sun hangs high over beautiful Sitka Sound, despite the late hour. Bald eagles soar overhead. A lone trawler plods north across the channel.
And Big Halibut Don, relaxing on the deck of Kingfisher Lodge, is getting an earful of big-halibut lore from a couple of newly arrived guests, all fired up about their prospects.
One says he heard of a man who, long ago, set out on a fishing trip alone in a small skiff. The man failed to return, and a search was launched. The skiff was found, but no fisherman; only a 350-pound halibut the man somehow managed to get into the boat, which apparently wasn't big enough for the both of them.
Another shares the story about a large halibut that flew into such rage after coming over the rail that the passengers and crew jumped into the 50-degree water, where it was safer, until the thumping on the deck let up.
A tale is told of an angry halibut that reduced a large wooden tackle box to splinters with one swat of its tail; of one that snapped a heavy-duty fishing rod as though it were a toothpick; of one that swept a deckhand off his feet, causing him to fall and break a leg.
Finally, Big Halibut Don decides he has heard enough. He gets up, shakes his head and laughs, and then lets the guests in on a little secret.
"Those people were just careless," he says. "I've never had a problem. I mean, I've heard those stories too, but I've never had them happen to me. I've had 80-pounders flopping on my deck, and all I do is go over and jump on them."
Laughter fills the air as Big Halibut Don, who stands 6 feet 3, weighs 240 pounds and has hands the size of frying pans, heads down the stairs, inviting anyone who is interested for a beer at the pub down the street.
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So the summer days go for Don Orrell, 33, an easygoing sort who moved here from Marysville, Wash., two years ago hoping to carve a niche for himself as a sportfishing captain in this historic island community of about 8,000.
He has done all right, working first as a deckhand and now as a captain with Kingfisher Charters, living in a manner that suits him: spending 10 hours at sea seven days a week and spending his evenings at the local watering holes, where just about everyone knows him as Big Halibut Don.
Life is simple in Sitka, a town with only one traffic light. Everyone knows everyone else. There isn't much competition for fishing business because there aren't that many businesses seeking customers. They are mostly independents with long-standing clientele.
