Fish Story and Fish in the Boat

Notes from early July – posted weeks later at the Petersburg Public Library. Town visits are popular for fresh produce and wi-fi access (plus I enjoy our visits with local residents and other boaters at the docks).

Guest Laci joined us in Sitka as we set out for Kalinin Bay. Ron & Laci fished The Shark Hole with Jerry (m/v Jericho) hoping to land some big king salmon. One big fish ran out the line on Laci’s pole, escaping with all of the gear trailing behind.  No salmon caught that day, but what a great fish-that-got-away story. Later in the week Laci did land a 25-pound halibut, 3 nice coho to freeze and take home, plus a smaller halibut for Tanya to prepare one of her fabulous fish fry dinners.

We didn't see any grizzly bear in Kalinin this week, not even one peekaboo sighting. Where were all of the grizzlies?! None in the estuary, none along the shoreline, none checking out the skiffs and kayaks on shore near the trailhead. No bear anywhere. Several Sitka black-tailed deer and an occasional sea otter accounted for all of our wildlife viewing. Who forgot to invite the brown bear, or the spawning pink salmon that lure them to the river mouth?

Baranof Warm Springs

For an Almost Wordless Wednesday: a fish tote boat at Baranof Warm Springs.

A Sneaky Eagle in Seaforth Channel

Salmon fishing at Idol Point was slow and a little uncomfortable as we rocked and rolled in choppy water. The first hour produced one hit that didn’t set the hook and one scrappy rock fish. Ron reeled in the smallish fish, planning to release it when whoosh! An eagle performed an extreme power dive, swooping down to the water right in front of Ron. Still moving, it grabbed the fish and flew away, speeding skyward with fish, fishing line, lure and 15-inch metal flasher still attached. The reel screamed as line flew out, stripping off rapidly despite having the drag set. Ron grabbed the knuckle-buster reel, ouch!, tightened the drag and jerked the pole, stopping the bird’s escape and jerking him out of the sky. Splashdown! The eagle released the fish and flew away but continued to circle overhead while Ron reeled the fish up to the dinghy again. Once released the fish sank and that opportunistic eagle lost interest and flew away. No more fish, no more eagle, no more drama. No problem. We do have quite a memorable fish story.

Fishing Action at the Dock

The fish cleaning station on neighboring F-dock has hosted occasional activity during the past week. While not as busy as it will be during the peak salmon run season, we have seen some nice sized fish arrive, one or two per day. Seals and sea gulls instantly appear at the same time, ready to snap up the discarded bits. Do they have scouts that keep watch and sound an alarm?!

Unexpectedly a large loon showed off his fishing skills as he cruised along our fairway, disappearing for long minutes before surfacing with a big-for-him little fish. Loons typically keep their distance from the boat, almost as if they know the reach of my camera lens. This bird was all about fishing, disregarding proximity to people and vessels alike. He dove and surfaced repeatedly, following wherever the small fish traveled, occasionally popping into camera range just long enough for me to grab a shot.  

This afternoon a local boat returned with seven fishermen, an empty case or two of beer and two very heavy fish coolers. How heavy? it took two men to carry each one. The biggest cooler was lifted into a dock cart and rolled ashore. I wonder what it held. The second cooler, carted over to the cleaning station, produced 13 large Dungeness crab. It took mere minutes after the first crab was cleaned for a seal and a swirl of seagulls to arrive. Who set off the first alert? 

  

Petersburg Harbor and the Fleet

Petersburg, reported to be one of SE Alaska’s most productive fishing ports, is very active and D Dock in Petersburg’s South Harbor vividly illustrates this fact. D dock is packed with seine boats and fish tenders - when they are in port on the days in between openings.

This same dock looks deserted when the commercial fishing boats are away, busy fishing or traveling on days when there is a scheduled opening..

Other docks in Petersburg's South, Middle and North Harbors hold more of the fishing fleet, and their routine comings and goings vary. Seiners, Longliners, Gill-netters, Trollers, Crabbers and Dive fisheries (sea urchin harvesters, etc.) fish different openings - for different species - on different schedules - or according to IQRs (individually regulated quotas). It sounds complicated.

Charter boats, cruise boats and larger visiting yachts often fill some of the empty D Dock slots for a night or two on a temporary basis, but it’s evident that Petersburg's working harbors are homeport to a large, successful and varied fishing fleet. 

The local visitor’s guide notes the following fish-related factoids for Petersburg Borough's population of 3,273:

• Petersburg is home port to 591 commercial fishing vessels.
• Petersburg fishermen hold over 1000 fishing permits for a variety of fisheries conducted statewide.
• Fishing is the economic force that drove the creation of Petersburg and continues to be a driving force in today’s economy.
• According to a 2012 survey, Petersburg generated $50,000,000 in fish landings, the 20^th most in the nation.
• The community is ranked 24^th in millions of pounds landed with 52 million pounds landed.
• The town’s seafood processors employ a total of about 1,100 people during a busy summer season.

Lots of interesting Petersburg facts, but we enjoy the town for the setting and the wonderful welcoming people.

The First Salmon of the 2014 Trip

Nothing, absolutely nothing, can rival the taste of the year’s first, just-caught-the-same-day, grilled salmon, cooked to perfection and basted with the “secret sauce”. It might have tasted all the more delicious for us having been skunked on a couple of fishing outings earlier in the month. I had grown cranky about fishing and not catching, so late one rainy morning the Capt. set out solo, armed with a positive attitude and hot cup of coffee. The bite was on. He hooked a fish in the first hour and returned with a big, beautiful bright king salmon. We don’t have a scale onboard, so stating a weight would only be a guestimate, but that beauty was 31.5 inches long, almost 8 inches from back to belly and 4 inches thick. Oh my, that’s a lot of good eats!

RL was super busy that day; catching the fish, cleaning the fish, cleaning up the skiff, cleaning the fish-cleaning station, grilling a small, thick chunk from one fillet, and finally cleaning up the grill. The man grinned through it all. Me? I prepared a small tail section for lox, and then later that day was an appreciative audience/dinner companion. (I won – he grilled another chunk of salmon the next day.)

(Sorry Mike, you left a few days too soon and missed a couple of great dinners.)

Petersburg

Day 23         Moored in Petersburg's new North Harbor 

Petersburg can proudly boast of its long history of connection with the fishing industry. Generation after generation of townspeople continue to stay involved, some directly as fishermen/women and others through related industries and support services.

Resident or visitor, everyone loves jigging for herring off the dock... or inside the harbor in a small skiffs... or in the main channel from runabouts and fishing boats. It's a Petersburg tradition. Yah sure, you betcha. Today we caught a glimpse of a new generation’s introduction to the fun of fishing. 

Links to some older CruiseNews posts from Petersburg:

The Great Herring Experiment
Wind, Rain, Fog an More Rain
A Sudden Eagle Flyby
Petersburg Celebration and Provisioning
Petersburg: Around the Harbor
One More Day in Town