Tuesday 24 December 2019

Estero Peak moods



 Over Quadra Island and beyond the jig-saw pieces of islands and passages is Estero Peak , with  the fishin' hole of Denham Bay at it's foot , and on the other side of the peak is Bute Inlet . 

I take a lot of photos showing the various moods of Estero Peak.  Photos taken from a wide view point at the end of my block .

Saturday 19 October 2019

deer around the house



 When I moved over to Campbell River town from Quadra Island , I didn't expect to still see deer so regularly living right around us in the neighbourhood.  This is neighbourhood is home for this doe and her family.  These photos are from the back door. 
Destination Campbell River is making a point of noting that this town , with all it's comforts and conveniences , is on the edge of the wild .  So , I thought I'd add these photos .





Saturday 21 September 2019

super island stars


Peter and Paul sure brought back dinner for everyone at Super Island , in short order.  Both fellows enjoyed learning about the whole picture of where we are, and how it relates to the salmon . It is late September and we are found a bunch of chinooks that will mature a year from now . Nice sizes ,considering they have lots more growing to do . These ones are the tastiest .  This is such a good sign for fishing for 2020.





Sunday 15 September 2019

rowing notes


This year was an exceptionally good year for action in the rowboats .  However , the fish were mostly of the average sizes .  Bites are extra exciting when you are holding the rod in a rowboat  , but it didn't make for a big count on the Tyee Club roster , for which the minimum to register is 30 pounds .

Chinook mature primarily at a range of ages from 3 to 5 . So, the optimistic fisherman in me projects that we should have a great return next year of sibling chinooks that stayed at sea a year longer and will return bigger .




I got in on some more rowboat fishing in a personal way , in addition to guiding . 
Shamra has been rowing me because she wants to row me to a Tyee.  It is a rare and good experience for me to be holding the rod for a change.  We mostly got out in evenings after both of us had finished our day jobs. 


We had some good action at times , and released a few .  One of them was big enough to take a really good look at before deciding it was certainly less than 30 pounds, and then releasing it. 


One of my short fish stories of the season was rowing with Scott .  He struck the fish immediately and we had the fish on the line for a short time before it came free. The brazed ring holding the hook had broken .  Rats !  That never happens . 






 A couple of highlights of the season were the fun rowing days with Dave , who makes the trek annually from California , and fishing as buddy boats with Toby and Rich .



 And we are all happy for the success of our pals with Trevor rowing Scott into the Tyee club . 


 And this beauty below is 26 pounds , such a great sport experience with grand fish, even when they don't get a trip to the Tyee Club scales . 






Tuesday 10 September 2019

David C brings friends


David has been out with me several times and this time he has brought some friends.  I love how the Chinese traditional cooking makes use of more of the fish . Enjoy . 



Friday 6 September 2019

Visiting from the other side of the world


Yin lined up fishing for her relatives from Singapore and Australia .  Teik and Chet , Dale and Leanne all loved the whole trip. 




Tuesday 3 September 2019

ol' buds


 Old buddies Ken, Doug and Bob .  The fellows got together from around the country for a great chat session interrupted by fish biting . 





Monday 2 September 2019

bring the family and a friend


David brought his family and a friend of the family out to share the fishing experience .






Sunday 1 September 2019

Trevor rows Scott into the THE CLUB


Congratulations Scott and Trevor  !    These buddies have been working at this, and what a beautiful Tyee to put Scott into the Club.  That Tyee Pin looks good on you , pal . 




Super Start for September


 Picking up on one island and delivering to another is an unusual trip .  Eiji joined as the other guide as we moved this social bunch through some fishing on route .  




Saturday 31 August 2019

Times change




 
 This is the umpteenth trip for the core originals from California.  Every year from way back in the early 1980s.  Now the next generation numbers as many as the old crew.  And the fishing for this trip was as busy as it ever was .  And the fun was as fun as ever.


 We are three boats , with guides Dave and Hugh , and then Eiji subbing in at the end.  The fishing was very , very good , with many fish released , with care .  

  




   What are you guys doing ? 


Sea lions are common now ,  but they were not so regular a few years ago .



Tuesday 27 August 2019

Some extra fun


  Anthony and Jen rented a summer spot on Cortes to have some quality time with kids Leo and
Sam .  Nothing better than a family day fishing.  

 There were humpbacks nearby on our trip in and different ones on the way out . 





Sunday 25 August 2019

Thomas takes a fishing trip from his cruise


 Thomas was cruising around Desolation Sound in his sailboat, away from his home in Seattle .  I picked him up at Gorge Harbour and we fished nearby.  It was a beautiful morning , complete with a fine salmon for him to share with friends.



 There are lovely old First Nations pictographs on the rock walls along the narrow entrance into Gorge Harbour .




Saturday 24 August 2019

Dave and Noah


Dave and son Noah had another fun annual fishing trip .  One day south and one north . 


  We see more sea lions every year , and they are spread over wider areas .  This one was fishing the same area as a little bunch of boats .  Sea lions often bring bigger fish to the surface and thrash them around to break them into bite size pieces , but big pieces .  We could recognize one meal was a dogfish shark , and another a juvenile chinook . 



On the way back we were crossing the passage almost home again and saw an Orca fin , and then another .    There were a couple of boats watching them .  More Orcas ahead became apparent . We need to give them room to live their lives and this year the requirement by law is to leave a distance of 200 metres.   We angled across the passage  and I had the idea of crossing and coming up the shoreline to get home , but more showed , following behind the others.  It is nice to see them and they are an important attraction for tourism , so I stopped .  Two hundred metres is about the length of two football fields ,  so with the Orcas spread out there wasn't much room for safe passage.  I've had this situation a couple of times in Nodales Channel as well , when the Orcas are numerous enough and spread out such that it is hard to travel .  A couple came close enough for a real good look .  With the long lens on my camera I can get a better photo than seen by eye . 

Here is the regulation about viewing Orcas , or call them Killer Whales .