Captain’s Log: Fishing in Salisbury, then on to Sitka

April 14-16

Hi All

Well…as the saying goes….we went salmon fishing but no catching….whaaaaaaa!!! The conditions were just so so in Salisbury Sound the past 2 days. On the 14th there was a 2-4′ swell/chop coming in from the west which made it somewhat uncomfortable to fish at 1-2 kts on Mystic. We tried the Shark Bite (southwest corner) for over 3 hours (that was a lot of trolling with the Yanmar and hand steering for Kathy) but then said enough and went into the Kalinin anchorage. We dropped the dinghy and after a brief rest out John-boy went for 3+ hours. Party sunny day with 5-10kt winds and the small dinghy was able to navigate the swells much better than the big boat.

Oh…what is that….wow, I got something big on the line….ODG….I think it is a big King Salmon….the fish fights hard….yeah baby, this is what I’ve been waiting for….get the fish near the dinghy after ~5 min….it fights even harder as it sees I have dinner plans for it….ah, geez, he’s really big….it’s jumping out of the water like a tuna….how am I going to get it in the dinghy….so, I keep tension on the line while I grab the line to reach down and grab the fish and bam….one more ferocious wiggle waggle fight and spits out the hook….John-boy sits down and yells out a loud…..arghhhhhhhhhhh!!!!! But, that’s fishing and I just salute the fish, he fought hard and lives to fight another day….good job buddy, I’ll get you next time…..whaaaaaaa!!!

But to my consolation….2 whales at different times feeding along the shoreline….100-200 yards away….just a few blows, then back under, then up for a few more blows….I was actually outpacing them at 1.5 kts…..I waved, asked how they were doing but no answer this time…..I guess too busy eating …hmmmm!!!

We tried a place called Fortuna Strait the next day…..about 5nm across Salisbury Sound on the northwest side. We fish for 3.5 hours with nothing to show….it was much calmer as Klokochev Island gives the 2nm long strait great protection. There were 2 other boats fishing as well but no one was catching. This place was hot maybe 2-3 weeks ago and now it’s either been fished out or the fish have moved on….drats!!! We hear Sitka Sound is now the place to be…so close but yet so far away….like 30nm!!!

We did catch 5 rockfish and 3 small lingcod for the 2 days but threw them all back as too small…but the cockpit did get that fishy smell and now all the gear is broke in good!!!!

The weather turned a bit Alaskan the 2nd day….rain, cold, sometimes windy, misty, foggy….given those conditions I didn’t take the dinghy out the 2nd day….ugh!!!

June 16: We left around 8am after another mamma bear and 2 cub show for the 25nm run to Sitka. We went through 2 more narrows, Neva and Olga, neither do you have to time, but they are somewhat narrow and pretty shallow. On the way we saw our good friends Dan and Marsha, retired but now commercial fishing for the love of it, on their FV Solstice….wow….what a gorgeous sight. We did not realize it was opening day for commercial fishing in Salisbury Sound….we saw maybe 20+ trollers out and about….good luck guys!! We had a nice chat on the vhf with Dan and hope to see them in Sitka when they off load!!

We decided to get fuel before we went to our slip!! Took almost 564 gallons at $2.87/gal….pretty good price!! We made it to our permanent slip on dock 2…it’s a really good slip, amongst several other permanent cruisers we met in 2018 and a few fishing vessels. We did make it to town….found the electrical battery switch, fuse holder and fuse at LFS…..made it to the Power company to switch electrical power at our slip into our names….huge savings….and then a walk about town and to our favorite pub for a “cheeseburger in paradise” and some coldies!!

It is like Selene central here….we have met Rick and Pam on Jean Marie, Frank and Cathy on Rendezvous, Patrick and Miriam on Spirit and Alex and Pat on Wild Blue…wow!!!

The Plan: A few boat chores….lots of cleaning & provisioning….a few dinners…one night at the Sitka Music Festival….lots of internet stuff to get through et al. Darrell and Claudia come in on the 22nd so after opening ceremonies we will take off for an Alaskan cruise Mystic Moon style and be back on the 29th!!

Critter Stats:
Whales: 50, (12 Orcas, 34 Humpback, 4 Sei)
– 3 whales feeding in Kakul Narrows as we came into Salisbury Sound
– 2 whales feeding along the shoreline as John fished out of the dinghy
Bears: 137 (125 Brown, 12 Black)
– 7 bear in Kalinin
Wolves: 1 (big male Grey on the mud flat in Klu Bay)
Dungeness Crabs: 61 (5 in Manzanita, 0 Punchbowl, 8 Fitzgibbon, 11 in Yes Bay, limited 1st day, 2 in Klu, 3 in Marguerite, 0 Santa Anna; 0 Farragut, 8 West Gambier; 0 Snug, 6 Cannery Cove, 10 Kelp Bay(1 trap, limited 2nd day), 3 Hood Bay South Arm, 0 Sitkoh, 0 in Saook, 5 in Rodman, 0 Deep Bay)
Prawns: 237, (209 Spotted: 7 Punchbowl, 36 Fitzgibbon, 50 Shrimp Bay, 56 Marguerite, 48 Santa Anna; 12 Snug; 24 Kelp Bay), 4 Coon Stripes, small size (Fitzgibbon)
Marten: 1 (1 Punchbowl)
Stellar Sea Lions: ~30, (20 in Sucia Bay, 10 on buoys out of Wrangell)

Hope all is well!!

John
Mystic Moon

PS: Finally got some pictures posted on the website…..some good ones as well….Wrangell to Baranof Warm Springs. It’s a large gallery so grab a cold one:
http://mysticmoonvoyages.com/photo-gallery/nggallery/main-album/wrangell-to-baranof-warm-springs

Position: 57 20’14.34 N, 135 43’08.21 W
Course: Stopped.
Position: 21-06-16 08:29:11 -0800
http://maps.google.com/maps?&ll=57.33732,-135.7189&q=57.33732,-135.7189&z=16