Sept 22-25
Hi All,
We left Hoonah on Saturday, Sept 22 around 9am. We were headed for Tenakee Springs but enroute we elected for Crab Bay about 5nm further up the Tenakee Inlet. We had just been in a town so we decided on some peace and quiet and possibly some crab and prawns….I mean it is named Crab Bay:))) It was 52nm in pretty much trawler conditions but we did fight a 1kt tidal current quite a bit….sped up to 1700rpm’s!!
We are now traveling along some of the route we took in 2006…..Craig & Jeanette were with us!! And just like 12 years ago this was Humpback whale central….22 sightings for the day….and a bubble net feeding off in the distance….we were running late so we did not go the 2.5nm out of our way to investigate but still a sight to see via the binoculars!!!!
We got to the anchorage around 3:30pm…..beautiful….anchor down, dinghy down, passage beers opened and crab & prawn traps set all by 5pm…..LIG!!!!
Weather: Just as I finished setting the traps it started to rain…..oh good…..after learning the suffering of the salmon, bears, berries and fisherman in Hoonah all due to lack of rain this summer we said let it rain, let it rain, let it rain!!!! In fact I think the delightful Indian Summer conditions are over and we are back into the fall/winter storm/LO scenarios. It is forecasted to rain for the next few days, then a break for a few days then rain most of next week….yikes!!!!
Sunday, the 23: WE HAVE CRAB…..ODG!!!!! We have not seen any sea otters in this bay so we were very hopeful the Bay lived up to its name…..checked the pot this am….5 large male crabs…..2 small males and 1 female we let go…..so decision made…..we were going to move today but since we caught some crab we are going to stay today and try for some more….so tomorrow to Warm Springs and a good soak for a day or so!!! Not so good on the prawn trap…..5 Coonstripe or Dock prawns…..about 5″ long…..hmmm…..I had set in 200′ so reset in 150′. Prawning is definitely much harder to be successful….we are trying to find a rocky bottom with not too much current in the 150-350′ range…..we shall keep trying!!!
Monday, the 24th: Rained continued for almost 24 hours until Sunday night. Prawn trap yielded the same….6 small Coonstripe prawns…..the hunt for the larger Spot Prawns continues…..but, we got another HUGE crab…..over 7.5″…..wow…..so just 6 total for the 2 days plus 4 smaller ones we let go!!
We left at 0730 for Baranof Warm Springs….and again Humpback whale central…over 17 sightings…..that’s 39 sightings since we left Hoonah….wow!!! As we came out of Crab Bay into Tenakee Inlet we had a SHOW….a mom and a juvenile fin slapping and breeching….watched for ~15 min…..they would lay on their backs and flap both fins…..you could hear the loud splash from the fins. We think they were attempting to stun the herring bait fish….both by slapping and breeching….we need to confirm that and will try to find a whale expert!!!
We arrived at the Hot Springs at 3:30pm…..61nm, fought a 1-2kt tidal current the whole way, 5-18kt head winds, 1-2′ wind chop with some spray….sped up to 1800 rpm…avg speed 7.5kts!! The Hot Springs are rather infamous in these parts. There is a 200′ new dock built by Sitka…..when we got here there were two large fishing vessels on the dock but just enough room in front for us. We were a bit late to wander up to the hot springs so we opted for a soak in the public bath house….they have tubs setup with a gorgeous view of the Bay and waterfall….you can regulate the water temp with hot and cold water….it was a very relaxing soak….minerals doing their thing on our aches and pains….Kathy said she had not felt that good in a long, long time.
The fishing season continues as a tender came into the bay and ~5 fishing vessels offloaded salmon for a good 6+hours so they must have done good. When we woke up Tuesday am they had all left at daybreak to go back out!!!
Tuesday, the 25th: Woke up to more rain and it rained hard all day….joy:)))) We made it to the hot springs…..ODG…..the trail seemed harder than 12 years ago….ugh. But, what a gorgeous setting….3 pools have been created with some rocks along a turbulent, raging waterfall…..hot, hotter, and hottest…..we chose the “hot” and sat and relaxed and soothed the aches away….well, the Gloria Ferrer bottle of Sonoma champagne certainly added to the atmosphere. After a while a crew of young professionals from the Coast Guard cutter anchored in the Bay came in for a soak….but just as they got settled they got called away….a fishing boat had broken down….darn, duty calls!!!
OBTW: Sunrise is now 6:50am and sunset is 6:50pm…..getting dark faster now!!!!
The Plan: On Wednesday, the 26th, we will leave the Hot Springs and head for Appleton Bay in Peril Strait…about 40nm!!!!
Whale count on passage: 39 total
Total Whale Count since Japan: 147; 67 Humpbacks, 34 Orcas, 3 Sperms, 3 Blue, 12 Fin, 1 Minke, 8 Unknown
Total Bear Count: 223: 147 Alaska Brown; 57 Kodiak Brown; 19 Black
Crab Count: 6
Total Dungeness Crab Count: 41
Prawn Count: 11: 11 Coonstripe
Mountain Goat Count: 32 total; 5 N. Sandy Cove, 20 Mt Wright, East Arm; 7 at Gloomy Knob, Glacier Bay
Wolves: 2; 1 Geikie Inlet, 1 Kukak Bay
Bear Count: 5 Crab Bay, 5 East Arm Excursion Bay, 4 North Sandy Cove (Black), 2 Shag Cove (Black), 2 Geikie Inlet (Browns), 1 Skag Bay (black), 1 Reid Inlet, 4 Russell Island, 1 Shag cove, 2 Jade Harbor, 5 Humpback Cove, 1 Otter Cove, 1 Hoggs Head, 10 Silver Salmon Creek; 40+ by seaplane; 17 Kukak Bay, 43 Geographic Harbor, 44 Kitoi, 12 Alpine Cove, 1 Three Saints, 22 Volcano Bay
Hope all is well!!!
John
Mystic Moon
GO MYSTIC GO!!!!