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August 9, 2013 Friday
Day 33
Got up at 4am, so early, but so excited. Big Blue Fishing Charters is handling everything except pulling in the fish. G. Loomis rods and Shimano reels, Gamagatszu hooks and Izorline - whatever all that means, but it sure worked!
They provided breakfast for us, got our fishing licenses, rain gear and boots all squared away. At 6ish we set off on the boat out to the Pacific Ocean to catch us some fish!
Our captain, Ben was a bit grumpy at first; he told us he had spent the last two days dealing with the same group of very drunk and sloppy guys who lost more fish than they caught. Besides Michael and I, on today's trip we had three really nice guys, a dentist, a doctor and a lawyer; none of us were drinking and Ben soon warmed up to us. The poor doctor was seasick the entire and I mean THE entire time. He had taken dramamine but it apparently didn't work for him. He had such a good attitude, even kept smiling, throughout the day. Frequently he would hastily hand his pole to Ben, saying can you get this? Then he'd hang over the side of the boat and well, you know . . . We all felt so bad for him, but it didn't keep us from fishing.
Our captain told us what depths to let our lines go to to catch certain types of fish. And he was so right!
We caught Salmon-king, coho & dog/keta salmon, pinks, too but we threw them back, because coho is so much better. Michael caught a big ling cod, too. After we caught the limit for salmon, we went to a different area to fish for rockfish-red rockfish and black sea bass, as well as halibut. We all caught our limits by 2:30pm. Michael and I caught what amounted to 80 pounds of processed fish. They blast freeze it and store it for us until we ask them to ship it to our home, sometime in October, once we return. What a fantastic experience, the fresh air, beautiful ocean, mountains, all the fish, we had an awesome time!
After a much needed nap, we took an evening drive to Starrigavan National Forest looking for wildlife. We hiked a little and I cut a small amount of devil's club to dry and take home to place somewhere in our house to ward off any potential evil spirits. While we didn't see bear, we did see fresh bear scat and a half eaten salmon, on the trail, next to a blueberry bush and a stream full of salmon. Ok, close enough for me . . . We drove some around the forest, along the salmon-filled stream noticing salmon bodies with their heads bitten off, scattered here and there along the way. Bears eat the most nutrient rich parts of spawning salmon, the eggs, eyes and brain.
We parked and spent a nice long time watching thousands of salmon in Starrigavan Creek. They are so determined - swimming upstream, overcoming obstacles, resting, then swimming some more. Fascinating to watch.
At this stage in the salmon's life, the females, filled with eggs are making their way upstream to spawn, the males, also swimming upstream, fertilize the eggs, then the adults die. Once the eggs are laid and fertilized in fine gravel beds they will hatch into fish called fry. They make their way to the ocean and after 3 years, they will return to the exact same stream of their birth to spawn like their parents before them.
Dinner in Sitka at the Dockside - halibut fish and chips; beers -Alaskan - Amber for me, Summer for Michael. Great beer!
Wildlife Sightings
Whales
Sea Otters
Bald Eagles
Puffins
Fish, Fish, Fish
- comments
Leah David and I would love to visit you in October....just let us know when all that fish will be arriving! ;)
Carol We would love for you to come visit, I miss you both so much. Not sure when we'll be back in October, (or when the fish will arrive after we get back, haha!) how does November look to you?