Sunday, June 24, 2012

Sitka Interlude Part 3


June 20, 2012

0500 came all too early as we headed for Biorka Island to fish.  Alex Benson was with us to try his rigs out also.  The day started slow, with a mixture of sun and rain showers, but no fish.  Finally we hooked a coho, then two pink salmon, which the locals don’t keep, and two sea bass.  We decided to move to the outside of Biorka Island and we picked up one king salmon and a few more nibbles before calling it quits and heading back to Sitka.  The fisheries inspectors were on the dock when we arrived and took the head of the king salmon since it was marked as a hatchery fish.  If it has a chip imbedded, they will tell us where the salmon originated.  That evening we all went to the Larkspur Café for dinner, along with Jan and Jerry Woodall from “Cosmo Place”.  We now have only one king salmon left to catch on our annual licenses for Alaska.
Miriam showing off her last king salmon of the season.

June 21, 2012

After the early wakeup the day before we took a day off and cleaned the boat, did laundry, and picked up mail, which included new components for the TV satellite dish.  The components were installed after the rain stopped, and although the signal strength improved, it was not enough to get a picture.

June 22, 2012

0600 was our new departure time for fishing with Alex Benson as we searched for the last king salmon on our licenses.  Departing under sunny skies, this time we headed out to Cape Edgecumbe.  As we headed past the cape the wind and seas increased quickly, with winds to 28 knots and seas big enough to take a lot of spray and we were unable to slow down to trolling speeds and still maintain heading.  We did not want to anchor in 250 feet of water like many of the charter vessels in the area, so retreated behind the cape.  Sometime during the morning the TV system started working, with both HD and standard definition pictures.

The fishing strategy of moving back inside the cape turned out OK, as we captured our last king, three sea bass (all nice sized), and Alex hooked up to a salmon which snapped his line about 50 feet from the boat as we were getting the net out.  He later hooked what we think was a halibut which got near the surface before it broke the leader.  We finally called it quits about 1300 and headed back to Sitka, a 2 hour run.

The sea bass were converted to fish tacos that evening, served with homemade coleslaw and freshly made pico de gallo as we relaxed in the sunshine.  The evening remained warm as we sat on the back deck in shorts until nearly 2300 as the sun finally set and evening twilight started.

June 23, 2012

Today was a lazy day as we woke up to brilliant sunshine.  It would have been better if sunrise was later than 0400!  Morning twilight was even earlier at 0300.  Even at 0500 the temperature was warm enough for just shorts and polo shirts.  Shortly before noon we left the dock to see if we could repeat the satellite dish success on the other two receivers, but no luck.  Returning to the dock at 1430 we relaxed in the sun as the temperature soared to 80 in the harbor.   We later had cheese, crackers, smoked salmon and wine with Alex Benson out in Spirit’s cockpit and chatted with people walking by on the dock as the sun gradually lowered under totally clear skies.

June 24, 2012

Sunday morning dawned clear and warm in the harbor, but there were patches of fog visible.  The aroma from the seine net on the boat across the dock has intensified due to the three days of sun.  The forecast promised fog sometime during the day, so we will enjoy the sun while we can, but are actually looking forward to rain so we can quench the stench. 

We have had a continuing problem with the anchor roller assembly bolts loosening, so the assembly was taken apart, cleaned and red Loctite was again applied.  There is a lot of force on the rollers and this is the third time we have had to retighten the bolts.  Another project for the fall will be to revise the design so the bolts will not loosen.

We are glad we got a dock space early.  There is now a waiting list for boats over 60 feet and several are anchored out in the harbor.  We can stay in our slip until Liljegren’s arrive on Thursday and we depart Sitka for the last time this season Friday morning and begin the trip South.

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