- May 12 – 15
Hi All,
May 12: Happy Birthday John-Boy…..another BD spent in a remote location….we are sure used to that by now!! I did receive a few BD wishes from some family and friends which were much appreciated…felt the love!! And as our good friend JoJo tells us….at our age, if it doesn’t have a “5” or “0” in the #, then we don’t celebrate it too much, just enjoy seeing another BD….amen to that!!! So, how did you celebrate….well, just another day doing things we like in remote Alaska…..woke up when we wanted, coffee, emails, weather, a few texts, went to pick up prawn pots….Alex used the pot puller which helped him as well…he is using the anchor puller like I used to use….picked up our prawn traps….well, better, 7 in one and 11 spotted prawns in the other….picked up crab pots….only 1 keeper, no bait left in either pot…ugh!!!
Fitzgibbon total: 40 prawns (better but it took 6 pot pulls, so avg 6.6/pot….ugh), 8 crab keepers, gazillion small guys. Theories are it is too early in the season….prawns might be deeper and the crabs haven’t grown into keepers yet…..or someone has crabbed out this area….or, keep practicing….hmmmmm!!
We left Fitzgibbon Cove at 10am for the 26nm run to Yes Bay, arrived around 1:30pm, anchor down, 2 crab pots set and passage beers opened by 2:30pm!! We did stop by Bell Island Hot Springs….well, what is left of it. I was so hoping for a BD hot soak but not meant to be. Our good friend Mark did some research and Bell Island Hot Springs was the “thing” back in the 60’s to 80’s. It was rumored to be John Wayne’s favorite. Well it fell to ruins in the 90’s but some guy bought it a few years back with plans to renovate….hmmm, I don’t think so….looks like he bought it for private use….the old wharf and docks are in ruins as well as several other buildings but there is a pretty new house for the owner….no one was there and “private” posted everywhere….and the spot is unanchorable…like in 200+’…..we took pictures and said it must have been nice back in the day!!
Birthday continued…..nap, then put on tunes, Moody Blues, Vivaldi, then Eric Clapton, poured several wee drams of Glenlivet 18 year old single malt scotch, and a big Romeo Julieta Churchill cigar, opened up the FB enclosure and watched the Alaska nature show and drank/puffed away!! Then dinner: prime steak (New York for John and filet for Kathy) covered with fresh crab and hollandaise sauce with fresh prawns on the side w/baker and salad….ODG a culinary orgasm:)))) Then one of our favorite Star Trek movies….and that is how to have a special BD in remote Alaska when you are all to yourselves!!!
May 13: ok…moving a bit slow:)))) Picked up crab traps….got 6 large keepers, close to 7″….now that is what I’ve been waiting for, our first time limiting so far this trip…..yea!!!! Tried to bottom fish a bit with no joy…..hmmmm…..what are the crab eating?? Reset crab traps in the afternoon and will pick up in the morning. Early afternoon we heard from Wild Blue on the VHF after they spent the night in Klu Bay, where we are going next!! Successful with crabs and prawns….good news!! They decided to keep going towards Ketchikan as their guests need to be there on Friday. We were all going to meet in Yes Bay with dinner at the fishing lodge located here (in 1st basin, we are all the way back in 3rd basin, maybe 2 miles away). But alas, as we went by the Lodge yesterday, it is still closed, just too early in the season. We did see the caretaker working on the GEN, he waved as we went by!!
BTW, Yes Bay is named for the Tlingit name for Mussels (yas)….hmmm, haven’t seen any mussels????
May 14: Woke early….crap, it started raining last evening and is now raining harder….rain gear and crabbing/prawning in the rain…ah, gotta luv Alaska:))) Pulled the crab pots….got 5 keepers, almost our limit again!!!! We left for Klu Bay in Gedney Pass at ~7:45am for the 16nm run. Anhcor down, prawn pots set, passage beer opened all by 10:30am…LIG!!! I started fishing for bottom fish off Mystic and bam, bam, bam……caught a fish every try, sweet as, unfortunately they were Quillback rockfish…..can’t keep them as on the endangered list…..arghhhhhh….but, we were in 80′ of water so used the release mechanism and it worked….these fish have bladders that bloat out when brought up but by using this device you send the fish back to depth and release it unharmed. Set crab pots later in the afternoon and checked prawn traps after a 6 hours soak….23 big ones….better but not the home run pot yet…..but we have dinner so LIG, from trap to our mouths in <1.5 hours
….ODG another culinary orgasm!!!!
May 15: Woke up when I woke up but it was early….crap, hate it when you can’t sleep…but my reward was a large male Brown bear show grazing on grass near the mud flats….ok, awake now. Coffee, weather (which sucks, rained hard again last night and still going, cold, damp….arghhhhhh:((((!! Put on every rain gear item I own…look like the kid in Christmas Story…..and out to do the pots by 7am…..only 1 keeper crab and all bait gone…so, more small ones, ugh….relocated pots so shall see this afternoon. Got 27 prawns…21 in one pot, 6 in the other…slightly better but not where we want to be…ugh!!!
WOLF, cries out John…I’ve been looking for bears on the mud flat but see a Grey wolf….a big one….Kathy locates him as well…good 5 min showing….eventually crosses the stream and comes out shaking….that’s 50*F water…..brrrrr!!!
Checked the pots later in the afternoon….ZERO on prawns…..whaaaaaaa…looks like one pot landed in mud and the other dragged a good distance but finally settled and no damage. I am putting the prawn pots in front of some huge waterfalls (maybe 2-300 yards away) and there is some current. I’ll need to be more careful!! Just 1 crab keeper….hmmmmm…..add another theory, the locals with Covid and no work have been fishing the area hard….hmmmm!!
Weather: still sucks, rained or misted most of the day, quite foggy at times as well, temps in the high 40’s to low 50’s with high humidity…..you know, that bone chilling kind of weather!!!
The Plan: On Sunday May 16 we will head to Marguerite Bay in Traitor’s Cove….more on the name later!!
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: 5 (4 Brown, 1 Black)
– 3 Brown (Grizzlies) in Fitzgibbon, maybe small females or 3 year old’s males that have left the den, somewhat skinny
– 1 large Brown male, eating grass in Klu, good 20 min showing
Wolves: 1 (big male Grey on the mud flat in Klu Bay)
Dungeness Crabs: 26 (5 in Manzanita, 0 Punchbowl, 8 Fitzgibbon, 11 in Yes Bay, limited 1st day, 2 in Klu)
Prawns: 97, 93 Spotted (7 Punchbowl, 36 Fitzgibbon, 50 Shrimp Bay), 4 Reds, small size (Fitzgibbon)
Marten: 1 (1 Punchbowl)
Stellar Sea Lions: ~20, Sucia Bay
Position: 55 50’34.54 N, 131 27’19.13 W
Course: Anchored
Position: 21-05-16 06:11:59 -0800
http://maps.google.com/maps?&ll=55.84293,-131.4553&q=55.84293,-131.4553&z=16
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