May 16-19
Hi All,
May 16: Crab and prawn pots all pulled and underway for Marguerite Bay in Traitor’s Cove by 8am. But, a frustrated Hunter…..ZERO, NADA, ZILCH on both crab and prawns this morning. OK, crab I get….I tried some different places as the other spots were just full of bait eating small crabs so why not try and find the big ones, but struck out. But zero on prawns, oh wow….the last 4 pots all nothing…..something changed….weather, pressure, current (it has rained maybe 1-2″ the last day or so and these waterfalls are hammering creating current and some waves….or even this new pail of prawn pellets could be bad, how would one know???, it smells fishy even if it is good….oh the mystery of prawning….ugh, ugh, ugh!!!!
Klu Bay final count: 2 crab, 50 prawns (3 pulls, 2 traps, 8.3 prawn/pull avg…..which sucks:((((
On the way to Traitors Cove in Behm Canal, we suddenly got cell service….3 bar 1X…..enough to download some texts, a few BD videos of the grandkids/family, and emails….well, the teaser kind, just the subject line, but no content, we’ll have to wait until we get closer to Ketchikan and a stronger signal before getting any content. I see I have a few more BD email wishes just can’t view them yet. Some good friends wrote supposedly belated BD wishes but I told them they are not late….Kathy promoted me….I now get a BD week:))))….she still gets a BD month:)))
Traitors Cove was named after Vancouver had a skirmish with the natives in 1793….I wonder who betrayed who??? Marguerite Cove is lovely…many good bear viewing areas and surrounded by 2-3’k snow capped mountains….very picturesque. But, we are not alone….2 buddy boats rafted together are also in the cove….nice folks, up from Seattle, did the BC transit in 8 days, but they did take their dinghy over to see a big Black bear closer and get the money shot….the bear gave them stink eye and them showed them his moon shot and took off…..arghhhhhh!!!!
May 17: Well….after being skunked on crabs and prawns yesterday, we did better today. The morning pull yielded 2 hog size crab…..one 7″ and one way over 7″. I had hunted yesterday for crab, catching 30+ small guys and eventually set the pots way out in deeper water(75-90′). All the bait was gone indicating still many bait eating small ones but loved the hogs:))) Prawning yielded 33….my biggest catch yet….25 in one and 8 in the other trap!!
We did what was supposed to be a short hike to the bear viewing platform along the stream flowing from Marguerite Lake to the mud flats…..hmmmmm….it was a 2+ hour hike….longer going as it is uphill but still they said it was 2 miles rt, but no way we walk that slow….has to be closer to 2 to 2.5 miles each way so a total of 4-5 miles. It was a lovely hike though, through the rainforest on a well preserved old logging road and along some old growth forest cedar tress….whoa, some really big ones in there. And, we didn’t meet any bears along the way and no bears in the stream as the salmon are probably a month away!!!!!
The evening pull yielded no crabs and 16 prawns.
But, some hunters came in and spotted a black bear that had been grazing in the meadow for hours. Yep, they got out all the gear and took a shot. We actually did not hear or see the shot, but we did see 3 guys going across the stream in their dinghy to the meadow. They then searched for hours, looked like trying to find a blood trail, went into the forest for several hours and then came back empty handed. We don’t know if the bear was wounded or it was just a bad shot and the bear escaped. We still do not see the sport in killing a grazing animal. Yes, it is legal and a big business, but how does that satisfy a hunters sense of accomplishment to hit a non-moving animal…there is no tracking, no giving the animal a chance….just for the trophy….arghhhhhh!!!!
Weather: Much improved….we actually woke up to blue skies today….but cold…..low 40’s and ice crystals on the dinghy!!! Forecast is for partly sunny but colder for the next few days….we will take the sun!!!!
May 18: Up at 5am (well, it is light at 4am:))))…..and out to pull the traps at 5:45am…..1 keeper crab, 16 prawns!! We raised the dinghy which is still an ongoing learning experience since we installed the FB enclosure. We can now only lower the dingy on the starboard side and because of the mast and enclosure I’m having difficulties getting the boom aligned properly as I have no room to maneuver….might have to reposition our guides….JOMT…ugh!!!
We left at 7:45am for the 42nm run to Thorne Bay, on the east side of Prince of Wales Island. Hmmmm…..not trawler weanie weather….we had 15-20G25kts winds on the nose (forecast <15), with a 2-3′ windchop, crossing over Clarence Strait…..for the first time since Cape Caution, Mystic took on saltwater spray…ugh!!! We arrived ~1pm and decided to side tie to the dock since we will be here only one night. Cute town…fishing and logging…..once had the largest logging encampment in all of North America….we didn’t see it if it even still exists, but lots of active logging on POW!! We found our cheeseburger in paradise diner and ate outside…yes, outside in the marvelous warm sun, soaking up all the vitamin D…with snow capped mountains in the background….gorgeous. Then to the market for some more chicken thighs for the crabs, but the tackle store was closed so will have to make do with the prawn bait I have left until Wrangell. Up until 2 weeks ago decent Verizon cel
l service was here. But then, Verizon cut this town off….no reason given….so we have a 4 bar 1x signal…good enough to do voice and texts, and maybe download an AOL email every few minutes, but no websites…ugh!!!.
We were going to stay another day and potentially troll for king salmon near here but the forecast is to blow again tomorrow so it will be too rough to fish…darn. So we will cross the Clarence Strait again to Meyer’s Chuck!!
May 19: A leisurely morning waiting for emails to download on the phone…..took about 5 mins per email and then no attachments…looks like it will be Wrangell before we can get a decent cell signal…maybe a few days away. We left Thorne Bay at 8am for the 11nm run to Meyer’s Chuck…yep, Mystic barely got warm:))) Beautiful sunny day, calm seas (the wind did pick up later!!)….but no whales:)))) On our way in, you have to make a blind turn into the cove and out comes the mail float plane…whoa!!! There was room on the State dock so we took it!! Meyer’s Chuck is a cute town of maybe 15-20 cabins….currently maybe 10 people here, 2-4 permanent, the rest use as summer homes….maybe 20+ people in mid-summer. We talked with several residents today and the winters are just too harsh…storms, high winds, rain/snow. But today was bright sunshine and many were tending their gardens. Unfortunately, the cute gallery/store we remember in 2006 is closed….just no business last y
ear due to Covid and the owner is not sure if she will reopen. And, the school has closed and a couple from CA has bought it and did some excellent renovation, making it their home. We met a couple who live on their boat now while they are building their summer home here on the point….it’s taken >5 years so far….they live in Anchorage, summer here and then take the boat to Seattle for the winter!!
While I was napping 6 Grand Banks arrived….took about an hour for all to raft up together….looks pretty cool, but I guess with all the commotion a sailboat anchored near by took off….ugh!!!
Knock, knock, knock….it was the Postmistress and she had a few cinnamon rolls left for the day….we bought 3…..evidently she makes these periodically and the Grand Bank crew had called ahead and ordered a bunch….our lucky day!!!
Boat stuff: Changed the oil in the new Tohatsu 25hp dinghy outboard….not too bad, just a few drips:)))
The Plan: Tomorrow is our 45th wedding anniversary…who would have thought!!! (our real celebration….well, it lasts all year, but it’s the African Safari and the whole Alaskan cruise) We are going to Santa Anna in Ernest Sound….another lovely anchorage for more bear watching, prawning, crabbing and I might rig up the dinghy and troll for some salmon….at least get in some practice??
Hope all is well!!
John
Mystic Moon
Critter Stats:
Whales: 15, 12 Killer, 3 Humpback
– Saw one Humpback coming into Ketchikan and another one outside City Floats
Bears: 13 (4 Brown, 9 Black)
– 1 large Brown male, eating grass in Klu, good 20 min showing
– 8 fairly large Black bears in Marguerite
Wolves: 1 (big male Grey on the mud flat in Klu Bay)
Dungeness Crabs: 29 (5 in Manzanita, 0 Punchbowl, 8 Fitzgibbon, 11 in Yes Bay, limited 1st day, 2 in Klu, 3 in Marguerite)
Prawns: 153, 149 Spotted (7 Punchbowl, 36 Fitzgibbon, 50 Shrimp Bay, 56 Marguerite), 4 Reds, small size (Fitzgibbon)
Marten: 1 (1 Punchbowl)
Stellar Sea Lions: ~20, Sucia Bay
Position: 55 44’21.61 N, 132 15’28.73 W
Course: Stopped.
Position: 21-05-19 16:27:32 -0800
http://maps.google.com/maps?&ll=55.73933,-132.258&q=55.73933,-132.258&z=16
