July 26-Aug 1
Hi All,
We had a rousing opening ceremony with Adam and Cindi on Thursday ending in a great dinner at the local Pub!! They are in the process for selling “old” Bravo in Australia and buying a high latitude boat being built in France, they call “New” Bravo, a Boreal 52….sweet as!!!. They have bought a camper truck and have been touring around Canada for a bit….what fun have they had!!!
We did leave Prince Rupert on Friday around 9:00am….first went to the fuel dock but found 4 boats already in line waiting and another 3-4 at the fuel dock….ODG….did not expect that….we do have enough diesel fuel to make Kitimat but will have to be conservative on the dinghy gas…all doable for sure!! And, it has started raining again….even some gale force wind warnings in Hecate Strait. We went south down Grenville channel and it was much calmer…..as we approached Watts Narrows heading into Baker Inlet, which we had to time for slack around 2:45pm, the winds picked up to 10-15G20kts but not much wave action. We timed Watts Narrows just right….but wow, it is very narrow…..anchor down, passage beers open by 3:30pmish, 41nm!! In 2006 we came into Baker Inlet there was a massive logging operation…..barges, helicopters, boats et al…..so much activity/noise we turned around and left. This year it is gorgeous with many signs all around of the logging operation b
ut the planted trees are now 5-10 years old so all is a brilliant green. We did see some of the tall surrounding mountains but much of the views were obscured by low clouds. And, almost no critter sightings…..didn’t get good vibes so we left after one night for Lowe Inlet and Nettle Basin.
Mark had reported salmon jumping in Verney Falls in Nettle Basin 3 days ago. So, we started to troll for salmon about 2nm north of Lowe Inlet….nada, no joy….but, as we rounded the point to go into Lowe Inlet bam…..that sweet sound of a spooling reel….Adam had the honors and fought for 10 mins what turned out to be a 48-lb Halibut…..ODG….the largest halibut we have caught on Mystic…..Adam gets him close to the surface and I have the netting honors….I get it netted then game on….hold on for dear life…..Kathy takes the rod and Adam jumps over to help haul it on the swim transom….the fish is fighting mad…..thrashing everywhere….but, Adam says no way and practically sits on it….we get some old rum and pour it in the gills, like we did with tuna….it calms down and then I bonk it about 5 hard times and we are then able to bring it into the cockpit and do the HAPPY DANCE!!!! Adam had the honors as well of cleaning the fish….we got over 25 pounds of mea
t, some >3″ thick….way too much meat for us so, we gave some away to 2 boats in the anchorage. Kathy and Cindi made a fabulous baked halibut dinner….ODG….fresh halibut….YUMMERS!!!!
We decided to stay 2 nights. We saw many salmon fish jump into the falls trying to get into Verney lake, as well as many eagles, seals and then two awesome Black bear sightings. One even tried to fish in the falls but the water was too fast and the fish too far away. We did check the crab traps we set after cleaning the halibut the following morning we had caught 11, 6 keepers, several >7″…fresh crab dinner!!!! We also did the short hike to the waterfalls, nice, but we could not find the trail to the Lake. The next day we checked the one trap we left out and nada…..only 100 yards from the one we had 9 in the day before….go figure:(((
July 29: Up early for the 48nm run to McMicking Inlet. We started with a 1-2kt foul ebb current and eventually made it to McCreight Point in Otter Channel and started fishing….beautiful location….fishing was slow but we did catch one nice Coho which we barbequed on an alder plank for dinner…..yummers!!! We also had some pretty good whale sightings!! McMicking Inlet is on Campania Island which is one of the barrier islands. Very rocky and small scrub like trees and plants. But, Mt Pender, 2-3’k high, is on the island and dominates the anchorage to the east. We loved the anchorage so decided to stay for 2 nights. Woke up the next day to a lot of rain…..seems like it has rained off/on since Adam and Cindi arrived…ugh!!! But, Adam and I took the dinghy out for a few hours trying to catch a lingcod…just got some nice rockfish instead!!!
July 31: Left around 9am in pretty grey skies….going to Cameron Cove on Princess Royal Island….25nm….and will fish along Campania Sound from Clarke Cove north…..ODG….did we have fun…..caught 5 salmon, 2 Kings, one 16-lbs, and 3 Coho’s!!!! And along the way we saw many whales….2 Minkes and 4 Humpbacks…..sweet as!!! When we came into the anchorage Phil and Leslie on Sagata were already there….let the games begin!!! We started around 5:30and made it well past 11….Adam made his famous Poke with some of the King salmon and Kathy made rotel dip….good times and glad to catch up with Sagata!!!
Cameron Cove is DDG so we stayed for the 2nd night. We did a nice beach walk, had coffee/tea on Sagata, heard a wolf howl, saw a wolf print in the mud on the beach…how cool is that…then went fishing in the dinghy….pretty slow but caught a 12-lb Coho….sweet as….Adam made a teriyaki marinade and we cooked the whole fish on the BBQ…..yummers. Phil caught one as well and came over to clean and of course we had more jocularity…it was another late night. While we were fishing in the dinghy the Mounties showed up for an inspection. They escorted us back to Mystic, checked all our fishing licenses, and then gave us a warning for not having the dinghy registered in Canada or USA….new law and news to us….ugh!!!! But, to take our minds off those guys, we had a great 1 hour black bear showing….mama and 3 cubs….awesome!!!
Critter Stats:
Dungeness Crab: 79 total; 6 large ones in Nettle Basin
Prawns: 95: 81 Spotted, 14 Coon Stripe; 27 in Necker Bay
Whales: 205 total; 184 Humpbacks; 11 Orcas; 10 Minke: 7 Humpbacks in Otter Channel, 4 Humpbacks and 2 Minkes in Campania Sound
Salmon: 10: 3 King, 7 Cohos: 1 Coho in Otter Channel at McCreight Point, 2 Kings (one 16-lbs) and 3 Cohos along Campania Sound Clarke Cove and north; 1, 12-lb Coho outside Cameron Cove
Halibut: 1; 48-lbs off Lowe Inlet entrance
Bears: 68 total: 57 Browns, 11 Black; 2 Blacks in Lowe Inlet; 4 Blacks in Cameron, Mama and 3 cubs….awesome
Wolves: 5
Otters: 980; None so far in British Columbia
Mountain Goats: 42 total
Dall’s Sheep: 3
Moose: 3
Alaskan Husky sled dogs: 60
Stellar Sea Lions: 900;
Hope all is well,
John
Mystic Moon
GO MYSTIC GO!!!
Position: 53 39’38.65 N, 128 49’58.05 W
Course: Stopped.
Position: 19-08-03 12:28:46 -0700
http://maps.google.com/maps?&ll=53.66074,-128.8328&q=53.66074,-128.8328&z=16
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