Captain’s Log: End of Summer Cruise in Hoonah Sound; Salmon, Crab but no Bears

August 20 – 27

8/20-21: Crabbing….ODG, pulled 14 total out of Saook….many were 8-10″….2 the evening we arrived, 6 each the next 2 days….I had been fishing off of Mystic and caught some small flounder….yeppa, the crabs went crazy over the fresh bait!!!

We moved today to Fick Cove, in Hoonah Sound, just south of Moser Island….another DDG anchorage…large meadow surrounded by 1-2k’ mountains…..all lush green except for some yellow cedar kill. 24nm, left ~8:30am, anchor down, crab pots set all by noon!!! I still had some fresh bait left from Saook so down went the crab traps….yeppa….5 the next morning….that’s 17 in 3 days….a new record for Mystic….the Admiral said no mas…..no more crabbing, we have enough…..arghhhhhh!!!!

But I did go fishing out of the dinghy….2 nice size Coho….6 & 9 lbs….fresh salmon for dinner…yummers….along w/the crab the freezer is once again full:))) It started out cloudy from a marine layer but soon burnt off to a glorious sun and blue sky….wow, what a sight and to be fishing….LIG…yeppa, this is indeed livin’ the dream!!!!

Boat Issues: Hmmmm….2 bothersome incidents but both with simple solutions. 1) While Kathy was rinsing some crabs the fresh water pump went off. Quickly I determined no power to the pumps….hmmm…maybe the switch….so took apart switch box and determined no power to switch….hmmm….must be circuit breaker. I have never changed a circuit breaker on the electrical panel and after taking the panel guard off the back of the panel and then the load wire off the breaker I realized that all 24 circuit breakers in this column are serviced power via a 12 volt buss bar….really….the buss bar prevents taking the circuit breaker out…..ODG, then you have to disconnect all 24 breakers from buss….that will be quite a job plus these are small connector bolts and I’m sure to drop a few…..now what to do!!!! Well….light bulb time….yep, the memory does work, it just takes a bit longer….I remember when we switched to the Headhunter xCaliber fresh water pumps in 2005 the technicians had to run heavier wires as these pumps use more power….a quick check in the switch box confirmed the heavier wires…..then tracing the cables I found the heavier circuit breaker on the aft wall in the ER and it was tripped….reset it and voila, we have fresh water again!!!!

#2….I set off to go fishing in the dinghy….about a mile out from Mystic the Tohatsu dinghy outboard dies….yikers…it’s a long row back to Mystic…gulp….the engine starts but then dies….hmmm…fuel issue….I check all the fuel connections and same issue…maybe plugged filters…ok….back to Mystic, get the oars out….but wait, there is another fishing boat….I wave the guy down and he agrees to tow me back to Mystic…oh what a relief…get to Mystic, take fuel filter out…looks clean….take water/fuel separator out and it looks clean…..hmmmmm…..start over checking all connections and sure enough the gas line connection to the fuel tank looks connected…it’s a quick disconnect but screws in as well….it was in but not screwed down….screwed it tight and voila the engine starts and keeps on going!!!!

8/22: Well darn….our sunny, blue skies days are over….party sunny this am but by noon, 100% cloudy and of course, a brief rain shower….we still had things out drying so wet again….arghhhhhh!!! We moved today…6nm to Patterson Bay…another DDG anchorage….yeppa, another large meadow with big mountains all around….gorgeous!!! But again, no bears….all in the cool forest eating berries we guess???

Took the day off…..did more cleaning, putting everything back together and then tackled rebedding port bow drain….it had been leaking some into the forward stateroom closet….ODG…what a job….I used an old tube of 4200 and it just would not flow….so had to open a new tube of 5200….what a mess….the drain cover is connected to drain pipe and only lifts about a quarter inch….not sure if I did a better job than what was there before. I remember the professionals at Platypus Marine in 2019 had issues getting these drains rebedded properly….well, their job looks professional…mine looks like the amateur that I am….arghhhhhh!!!

8/23: Fished out of dinghy again….caught 3 Coho….one may have been a Pink, still having some difficulty telling species….the freezer is full so all catch and release. Still trying for my last King!!! Conditions were semi rough, winds 10-15kts against tide so a bit bumpy, cloudy and some mist…lost 2 lures, one with a fish on and it broke near the lure…didn’t count that fish as didn’t land….arghhhhhh!!!

8/24-25: Moved to Ushk Bay….about 15 nm, left at 8am, anchor down, passage beers opened, John out fishing in the dinghy all by 11am:)))) I was fishing but not catching….where did the salmon go….this place was hot when we fished it with Dave & Dana about a month ago.

But, I went back out on the 25th, our last day of this summer cruise….lousy conditions….15kts wind against tide….very bumpy….BUT success…caught 1 Coho and 1 King….but I didn’t land the King. It was a fighter, spooled some line, took my time getting it to the dinghy trying to tire it out, but it was strong….tried to net 6-7 times (which is not easy with 1 hand on the net and the other arm holding the rod), each time it spun out, dove hard, splashed a bunch, the fish was wearing me out!!!! On the last try to net, it broke out and was free….I was a bit annoyed but I gave the fish a mighty salute and said you won that round buddy, nice job….but I’ll be back someday:)))

8/26: The party is over….made the passage to Sitka…left ~9am, arrived at fuel dock 2:30pmish….took on 536 gallons….$5.72/gal with tax….oweeeeeeee….that’s the 2nd highest price we have ever paid….the most expensive was in Tonga at $6.43 in 2013. This year we paid $4.49/gal with tax in April, $5.11 in May, $5.48 in June and now $5.72 in August…..hmmmmm, obviously the prices are not getting any lower…..arghhhhhh!!

The Plan: Working dog time for the next week….engine room and outside cleaning for John-boy, inside cleaning for Kathy. We fly back to California on 9/2. I’ll post a final blog with pictures/videos in the next week or so!!

Critter Stats:
Salmon: 25 (7 Kings, 9 Coho, 9 Pink)
– 12 & 16-lb caught in Fortuna Strait on green/white hoochie
– Fishing w/Dave: 5 kings, 1 Coho, and 1 Pink and 1 which we think was a Coho got away at the swim transom
– Slocum Arm: 1 Coho, 8 Pinks, from Piehle passage to Deuce Island
– 2 Coho outside Fick Cove and Emmons Island
– 3 Coho outside Patterson Bay to Fick Cove
– 1 Coho, 1 King outside Ushk Bay….yes, I am counting this King as it was a great fight, and I don’t know if it was a keeper or not so might have had to let it go anyway.

Whales: 60 Total (54 Humpback, 5 Minke, 1 Stejneger’s)
– 2 in Hoonah Sound
– 4 by Moser/Emmons and as seen by John when fishing in dinghy
– 1 by Moser as seen from Fick anchorage
– 1 in Patterson Bay ASLEEP!!!
– 1 in South Arm Hoonah Sound

Bears: 143: (129 Brown, 14 Blacks)
– 129 Brown; 2 Brown Snug Cove; 3 Coots Cove in Funter Bay; 1 in Salt Lake Bay, 2 in Bells Island/port Frederick; 3 Russell Is; 4 Browns as entered Dundas; 1 in Upper Middle Arm Dundas; 2 Browns N. Chatham before Freshwater; 1 Brown along Tenakee inlet, sitting in front of a remote house; 13 in Crab Bay, 4 along Tenakee inlet, 6 Upper inlet anchorage; 1 on the way out of Upper Inlet, 6 in Long Bay; 7 Rodman; 8 Deep Bay; 1 Kalinin; With Dave: 1 in SJTB, 4 in Ushk; 4 in Falcon Arm/Slocum Arm; 1 Waterfall Cove/Slocum; 1 Flat Cove; 25+ Head of Slocum; 0 in Klag Bay; 0 in Kimshan; 7 in Pinta Bay; 6 in Baker Cove; 2 in Stag Cove; 1 in Port Althorp, 11 in Pavlof Harbor; 0 in Crab Bay, Saook, Fick Cove, Patterson Bay, Ushk Bay
– 14 Blacks: 2 on north side Geikie Inlet as entered and 3 at Shag Cove, 1 as entered Dundas, 8 at Dundas anchorage

Dungeness Crab: 49
– Red Bluff 2, Cannery Cove 2, Upper basin Good Island Inlet 3; Snug Cove 1; Crab Cove/Funter 2 (given to us by locals:))), 1 in Eight Fathom Port Frederick; 0 Swanson Harbor; 1 Pavlof; 0 Crab Bay; 9 in Upper Inlet Tenakee; 0 Long Bay, 6 Rodman, 2 Deep Bay; 0 St John the Baptist, 3 Ushk Bay, 1 Deep Bay, 0 Falcon Arm, 0 Waterfall Cove; 0 Flat Cove; 0 Head of Slocum; 2 in Crab Bay; 14 in Saook; 5 in Fick Cove

Prawns: 280 Spotted:
– 80 Red Bluff, 31 Pybus Bay; 19 Gambier Bay; 5 in Port Frederick; 0 Pavlof; 13 Upper Tenakee Inlet, near Long Bay; 12 in Falcon Arm/Slocum; 36 Waterfall Cove/Slocum; 9 Flat Cove; 0 Island Cove; 6 in Port Hadlock (but didn’t keep them, too small); 75 in Stag Bay!!!!

Otters: 440
-75 in Rocky Pass, 75 outside Pybus Bay; 20 coming into Bartlett Cove; 5 South Sandy cove; 5 Russell; 75+ Geikie Inlet; 50+ as left Glacier Bay; 25+ in Dundas Bay; 10+ Icy Strait; 5+ Swanson Harbor; 3 Salisbury Sound; 15 in Flacon Arm; 5 Waterfall; 1 Flat Cove; 5+ Ford Arm; 20+Klag Bay; 20+ Elbow and Ogden Passage; 1 in Kimshan; 10+ through Surveyor Passage into Didrickson Bay; 10+ on passage to Pinta Bay; 5 otters in Baker Cove; 5 in Stag Bay; 30+ in Port Althorp

Mountain Goats: 20+

Hope all is well!!

John
Mystic Moon

Position: 57 03’28.62 N, 135 21’24.90 W
Course: Stopped.
Position: 22-08-26 15:36:53 -0800
http://maps.google.com/maps?&ll=57.05795,-135.3569&q=57.05795,-135.3569&z=16