As I was eating Grape Nuts yesterday morning, Eric called and said he’d be here in 15 minutes to leave for fishing…I scurried to finish eating, pack, and take a quick shower before we left. Can’t keep the fish waiting! What a beautiful day to be out on the water in Safari. We left Shoemaker Bay at 9:15 a.m. and had a very enjoyable trip out to the fishing spot. Along the way, there was a small rain shower and a beautiful rainbow appeared right above the shore. I’ve never seen one that low. The water was very calm and the sky…well, once again, it was beautiful.
After eating an early lunch, we were ready for fishing action. Rods were set and we began trolling for Coho salmon. The first fish was fun to reel in, but unfortunately we couldn’t keep it--it was a King salmon and the minimum size is 28 inches. Glistening in the sunlight, it was almost an iridescent color. We didn’t have to wait much longer for more excitement, because soon we found some Cohos. Man, were they fun to catch! They had some fight in them. Getting closer to the boat, they must have known there were bad things coming, so they’d make one last attempt to get away, but eventually I got them close enough and Eric had the net ready. At the end of the day, I had caught 4 Coho and 4 Kings (which we couldn’t keep). It was great fun.
Fishing wasn’t the only excitement of the day. We had 3 Dall porpoises chasing the boat. They are curious creatures and were coming to check us out, but eventually they got bored with us because we weren’t going fast enough. They did return later in the day, but didn’t stick around long.
As we headed to our anchorage for the night, it was turning into a beautiful evening. The reflections in Quiet Harbor were tremendous. Quiet Harbor…this place was appropriately named because the only sounds I could hear were occasional seagulls and the small ripples of water bumping against the boat. As I was reading, Eric pointed out a sea lion. I grabbed my camera and headed outside. Diving down deep, he’d grab a fish, then head to the surface to thrash his head as he tore the fish to pieces with his powerful jaws. He put on a show for about an hour while the seagulls were hovering over the water to catch the leftovers from the sea lion’s dinner. As the sun made it’s slow descent behind the trees, I enjoyed the coolness of the evening. A couple jellyfish floated by and a seal popped his head out of the water to greet me. After a beautiful day outside, it felt good to lie down and be gently rocked to sleep by the motion of Safari.
This morning we woke early, with dense fog to greet us. Once we left Quiet Harbor, blue sky broke through the fog and I could tell we were in for another wonderful day of sunshine. After motoring for a couple hours, we trolled for Cohos around a reef. The tide was going out, and as we circled the reef, we could see seals claiming their spots on the rocks for their time of sun-bathing.
After trolling for a while and not getting any strikes, Eric put down the anchor and halibut fishing began. I sat out on the cooler (half full of Cohos) and watched the rods, waiting for any sign of halibut catching an early morning snack of herring. The seals were great entertainment as I waited. They were making all kinds of racket, probably fighting for the best spot to catch the most rays. I didn’t wait long before I heard the whirr of the reel and knew this was going to be fun. After Eric set the hook, he handed the rod to me and I began hauling the halibut up from the ocean floor, about 85 feet down. At first, it didn’t fight at all, just came up slowly as I reeled it in. But once it got closer to the surface, he made a run for it and I had to hold on tight. Once he was finally in the boat, after getting a big thump on the head, he went into the cooler with the Cohos. Misery loves company, right? The ten-pounder was not a record-winning halibut by any means, but my mouth watered as I thought how good it would taste! Doesn’t get any better than halibut. Joan got the next one, another small one, so it was a good spot. Throw in a couple dogfish (looks like a small shark), a small halibut we threw back, and one that got away…we had our limit of 4 halibut in an hour and a half--3 ten-pounders and a 14-pounder.
After that excitement, we headed back to the place we caught Cohos yesterday. We trolled for quite a while and didn’t have any strikes but eventually ran into some Kings, but once again, they were too small. Lost one Coho and after a few more Kings, both lines were tugging at the same time. They were fighters, so Joan and I ended up with lines crossed. Once we got the lines separated, Joan and I were reeling them in, and after getting Joan’s in the net, there wasn’t enough time to get it out, so Eric left it in and netted mine also. Then came the fun of untangling two Cohos, lines, and lures. Fifteen minutes later, we had two more on, only this time they were kings. Mine was hooked really good, so he didn’t survive. I spotted an eagle watching us from the tree, his eyes on the king salmon, now floating on the water. His eyes kept moving from us to the fish and back again, and once we were far enough away, he swooped down, grabbed the fish, and flew back to the tree to enjoy a free lunch. Not something you get to see very often. Very neat! Fishing ended with one last Coho, and he was probably the biggest fighter of all. Took a while to get him into the boat, but what fun! I can’t imagine fighting a 50-pound King salmon! This one was the biggest of all…almost 8 pounds and over 30 inches! A great way to end the fishing trip. On the return trip to Wrangell, we saw two porpoises, different from the ones we saw yesterday. We docked around 6:45 p.m. and after unloading everything, we went to Eric & Joan’s to photograph the catch of fish. It was enough to fill a wheelbarrow, and I know they will taste great when they fill our stomachs
After eating an early lunch, we were ready for fishing action. Rods were set and we began trolling for Coho salmon. The first fish was fun to reel in, but unfortunately we couldn’t keep it--it was a King salmon and the minimum size is 28 inches. Glistening in the sunlight, it was almost an iridescent color. We didn’t have to wait much longer for more excitement, because soon we found some Cohos. Man, were they fun to catch! They had some fight in them. Getting closer to the boat, they must have known there were bad things coming, so they’d make one last attempt to get away, but eventually I got them close enough and Eric had the net ready. At the end of the day, I had caught 4 Coho and 4 Kings (which we couldn’t keep). It was great fun.
Fishing wasn’t the only excitement of the day. We had 3 Dall porpoises chasing the boat. They are curious creatures and were coming to check us out, but eventually they got bored with us because we weren’t going fast enough. They did return later in the day, but didn’t stick around long.
As we headed to our anchorage for the night, it was turning into a beautiful evening. The reflections in Quiet Harbor were tremendous. Quiet Harbor…this place was appropriately named because the only sounds I could hear were occasional seagulls and the small ripples of water bumping against the boat. As I was reading, Eric pointed out a sea lion. I grabbed my camera and headed outside. Diving down deep, he’d grab a fish, then head to the surface to thrash his head as he tore the fish to pieces with his powerful jaws. He put on a show for about an hour while the seagulls were hovering over the water to catch the leftovers from the sea lion’s dinner. As the sun made it’s slow descent behind the trees, I enjoyed the coolness of the evening. A couple jellyfish floated by and a seal popped his head out of the water to greet me. After a beautiful day outside, it felt good to lie down and be gently rocked to sleep by the motion of Safari.
This morning we woke early, with dense fog to greet us. Once we left Quiet Harbor, blue sky broke through the fog and I could tell we were in for another wonderful day of sunshine. After motoring for a couple hours, we trolled for Cohos around a reef. The tide was going out, and as we circled the reef, we could see seals claiming their spots on the rocks for their time of sun-bathing.
After trolling for a while and not getting any strikes, Eric put down the anchor and halibut fishing began. I sat out on the cooler (half full of Cohos) and watched the rods, waiting for any sign of halibut catching an early morning snack of herring. The seals were great entertainment as I waited. They were making all kinds of racket, probably fighting for the best spot to catch the most rays. I didn’t wait long before I heard the whirr of the reel and knew this was going to be fun. After Eric set the hook, he handed the rod to me and I began hauling the halibut up from the ocean floor, about 85 feet down. At first, it didn’t fight at all, just came up slowly as I reeled it in. But once it got closer to the surface, he made a run for it and I had to hold on tight. Once he was finally in the boat, after getting a big thump on the head, he went into the cooler with the Cohos. Misery loves company, right? The ten-pounder was not a record-winning halibut by any means, but my mouth watered as I thought how good it would taste! Doesn’t get any better than halibut. Joan got the next one, another small one, so it was a good spot. Throw in a couple dogfish (looks like a small shark), a small halibut we threw back, and one that got away…we had our limit of 4 halibut in an hour and a half--3 ten-pounders and a 14-pounder.
After that excitement, we headed back to the place we caught Cohos yesterday. We trolled for quite a while and didn’t have any strikes but eventually ran into some Kings, but once again, they were too small. Lost one Coho and after a few more Kings, both lines were tugging at the same time. They were fighters, so Joan and I ended up with lines crossed. Once we got the lines separated, Joan and I were reeling them in, and after getting Joan’s in the net, there wasn’t enough time to get it out, so Eric left it in and netted mine also. Then came the fun of untangling two Cohos, lines, and lures. Fifteen minutes later, we had two more on, only this time they were kings. Mine was hooked really good, so he didn’t survive. I spotted an eagle watching us from the tree, his eyes on the king salmon, now floating on the water. His eyes kept moving from us to the fish and back again, and once we were far enough away, he swooped down, grabbed the fish, and flew back to the tree to enjoy a free lunch. Not something you get to see very often. Very neat! Fishing ended with one last Coho, and he was probably the biggest fighter of all. Took a while to get him into the boat, but what fun! I can’t imagine fighting a 50-pound King salmon! This one was the biggest of all…almost 8 pounds and over 30 inches! A great way to end the fishing trip. On the return trip to Wrangell, we saw two porpoises, different from the ones we saw yesterday. We docked around 6:45 p.m. and after unloading everything, we went to Eric & Joan’s to photograph the catch of fish. It was enough to fill a wheelbarrow, and I know they will taste great when they fill our stomachs
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