"Stacy, who was that?"

"That was Kelsey, she asked if I wanted to go halibut fishing in the morning with her and her Dad and said they were leaving at 5:30. I told her that was too early for me."

I tried my best to persuade her to go fishing with them. There are many reasons to go, I told my daughter-in-law-to-be: we could use some fresh halibut; Paul is a riot to fish with and you have so much fun fishing with him you don't care if you catch any fish; being out on the bay in the morning on a nice day is an incredibly peaceful and special place to be; and it is so fun to catch fish.

I repeated this a couple times and let her know she can sleep anytime, but you don't always get an invitation to go fishing with your pals. I even offered to buy her fishing license and make her lunch. She agreed and called Kelsey back to let her know that yes, she would go. I sent her to town to get her fishing license. Fresh fish for dinner. I could already envision preparing it.

Later in the morning the day the girls are out fishing I get an e-mail with a photo attached. It is Kelsey with a big grin on her face and her dad holding up a 100-pound halibut. Stacy had caught her share of fish and got bragging rights to a 40-pounder and a big skate. I was so tickled for them that I immediately called the Other Fisherman to tell him the girls were having fun catching big halibut with our dear friend Paul. He was pleased to hear, and I knew he was thinking his daughter-in-law-to-be has the potential to acquire her Alaskan Wilderness Woman badge, the one his wife earned many early morning fishing trips ago.

Both tired but happy girls ended up in my kitchen that evening. Kelsey sat at the counter drooling over a Bon Appetit magazine while Stacy worked on making a cherry pie as their thank-you to Paul for taking them on such an enjoyable fishing trip. They couldn't quit talking about their great day on the bay and how fun it was to catch halibut.

This is what fishing is all about. You can bet the next time the girls get an invitation to go fishing they won't think it might be too early for them to get up.

My big fishing score was a phone call I received from Fish Alaska magazine last week congratulating me for being selected again as a finalist in their reader recipe contest to be held in September. I just love competing in this contest. Wish me luck.

I informed the girls that I would make them deep-fried halibut with homemade tartar sauce for dinner, if that was what they wanted. I didn't have to ask more than once. Even though this may not be the healthiest preparation for this prized Alaska white fish, it truly is one of the tastiest.

A friend of Japanese descent we knew while the Other Fisherman was stationed on Adak in the Navy many years ago taught me how to prepare the best fried halibut.

The secret is to roll it in panko breading (rice crunchies) after you coat it in a beer batter. Another secret is to pat the halibut very dry with paper towels so the batter adheres to the fish well.

Kay-Sans Beer Batter Deep-Fried Halibut

Serves 6-8

Beer Batter

1 1/2 cups Bisquick baking mix (you may need to add more depending on thickness of batter after you get it mixed with other ingredients)

1 bottle beer

1/4 teaspoon each dried dill, ground dry mustard, garlic salt and seasoned salt

Mix dry ingredients in a medium size bowl and add beer. Stir gently. Your batter should be a little thicker than pancake batter. Adjust liquid and Bisquick amounts to get correct consistency. Set aside.

Cut about 1 1/2 -2 pounds fresh halibut into chunks no larger than 1 1/2 inches square, or cut into individual fillet pieces. Dry halibut with well with paper towels.

In a shallow bowl or pie plate, empty contents of one package (about 2 cups) of Japanese panko bread crumbs. You can find panko in boxes in the grocery store and in bags in the big box stores.

Heat vegetable, canola or peanut oil to no less than 320 degrees and no more than 350.

Have a paper towel lined pan ready to place fish in once you remove it from the oil.

To prepare fish for frying: coat each piece of halibut in batter, shake off excess, then gently roll in panko to coat fish. Set in a cookie sheet in preparation for frying. Once you have enough fish breaded begin frying fish. If your oil is not hot enough, it will soak into the fish and not cook correctly. If it is too hot, it will cook the fish too quickly and the outside will get too brown while the inside will not be cooked done. To determine if your oil is the correct temperature, test fry one piece of fish. If it fries in about a minute or two and gets nice and golden brown, and the inside is nice and moist, your oil is ready. Only fry a few pieces at a time and do not crowd the pan or the oil will cool down too quickly once the fish is added and you will have greasy fish. It is important to let the oil get back to temperature between cooking batches, which only takes a minute or two. You want your oil hot enough for the next batch.

Serve with your favorite tartar sauce and tell fish stories about how you caught your dinner.