Category Archives: From the Fishing Grounds

Port Edward

20110624_12-35-07.jpgWelcome to Port Edward, a small community just ten miles to the south of Prince Rupert; we’re here to drop off Otto’s chum net and pick up his sockeye net; hopefully, while we’re here we’ll also manage to get some ice for his fish holds and arrange for transportation for this week’s catch down to Vancouver. It seems that the guys that Otto used last year for both ice and transport either aren’t in business this year or haven’t set up shop yet, so Otto and Terry reached out through their fishing friends for leads and suggestions. Fortunately we’ve managed to find both, so our catch in a few days will be shipped down promptly assuming we’re able to get from the fishing grounds to Port Edward by 10:00AM on Wednesday morning. 20110628_20-39-30.jpg Eminently doable, if we leave around 4:00AM.

(I thought salmon boats ran on diesel, but it turns out they actually run on coffee.)

The real highlight of Port Edward, however, are the shower facilities that we have the opportunity to take advantage of here; they might be drafty, scummy and coin-operated, but it’ll be a heck of a lot easier than trying to wash my armpits in a sink. The showers take loonies, of which we’ve each managed to scrounge a few. Unfortunately, when your time runs out, there’s no advance warning. Suddenly, the hot water shuts off leaving you with a sudden burst of cold to try and a frantic rush through rinsing the rest of the soap off. Why can’t every shower have this associated sense of adventure?

20110624_13-30-33.jpgWith no need to hurry as the fishing doesn’t start until Monday, we’ll be spending tonight here before heading to Prince Rupert tomorrow to get fuel and spend a couple of town days to renew our food supply.

During the trip, you can either check this blog for the latest entries, or you can go to this interactive map of all the blog posts related to this trip. You can also find photos from the trip on Flickr.

Coffee, please!

20110624_09-12-56.jpg Terry had his way; it’s now about 6:30AM and we’ve already been underway for ninety minutes heading out from Hartley Bay. A strong pot of coffee was brewed and we’re now starting passage up the last long channel on our way to Rupert; this one gets particularly narrow in a few places. It’s hard to imagine squeezing by a giant cruise ship or ferry in the narrowest parts of the channel.

I’m sad to see our big travel days come to an end; we’ve managed to travel almost exactly 100 nautical miles each day and that’s given me the opportunity to see more of the south and mid coast of BC than most people get the chance to.

20110624_09-15-28.jpgI’d write more but I still can’t think straight yet, let along make my fingers type; good thing Otto’s doing the navigating. Now where’s the darned coffee?

During the trip, you can either check this blog for the latest entries, or you can go to this interactive map of all the blog posts related to this trip. You can also find photos from the trip on Flickr.

Hartley Bay

20110623_18-57-45.jpgWe’ve just arrived for the evening in a little Native village (population: about 200) named Hartley Bay; we’re now only 80 nautical miles from Prince Rupert and are planning to get away early in the morning to make it to Port Edward (just south of Prince Rupert) by early afternoon so that Otto can drop off his Chum net and pick up his Sockeye net and take care of a few errands before continuing on to Rupert.

(Sockeye and Chum are different sized salmon and so require a different sized gillnet. Also, the sockeye fishery is earlier and so Otto was able to store that net up north before continuing to fish with his chum net further south at the end of last season.)

20110623_22-21-23.jpgHartley Bay’s big claim to fame is that it was the community that came out to help the survivors from the sinking of the Queen of the North, the BC Ferry that hit nearby Gil Island and sank. In this tiny community there’s a longhouse, a school, a community centre, a fish hatchery and fifty or so houses to go along with the small wharf. All of these are connected by a series of raised wooden boardwalks that go right to each building’s front door. Also, there’s no need for cars in a place like this; instead, everyone drives ATVs around.

Much smaller than Bella Bella or Klemtu, this community is unexpectedly central to Otto and his fishing companions. On the dock, we met up with old friends Juggie and Charlie and there was a quick exchange of information often called “dock talk”.

20110623_22-11-55.jpgListening to their banter one could quickly get a sense of how the fishing season was going. The Barkley Sound openings (which CSF members have already recieved some fresh salmon from) were noted as being quite productive, with larger than usual fish coming in so far. Also, word from the north (where we’re headed) is that the Nass River fishery is also doing well; decent amounts of fish were being caught earlier in the week in the area’s first opening and the next opening (which will be Otto’s first of the season) has already been announced as a two-day opening. This is a good sign that this may be a productive year, since these openings are typically only a single day.Time to head to bed; we’ve got an early start in the morning… about 5:00AM if Terry has his way.

During the trip, you can either check this blog for the latest entries, or you can go to this interactive map of all the blog posts related to this trip. You can also find photos from the trip on Flickr.

Wildlife

If you’ve been to the Aquarium, you’re bound to be a little unimpressed, at first, with how little life there seems to be out here. Yes, there are more seagulls than you can shake a stick at, but otherwise the water, mountains and trees seem positively devoid of life. Until you look closer…

20110622_17-14-58.jpgThe first signs weren’t impressive, just a little wisp of mist a mile or two ahead of us on the water. And then another… and a third, followed by a big black tail and then… nothing. Twice more we’ve come across solitary or small groups of humpback whales. Unfortunately, as soon as we get within a half-mile or so, you get one flip of the tail and then those behemoths dive and they don’t surface again until we’re long past, it seems.

Even more elusive have been the famous orcas (formerly known as killer whales, before being thoughtfully rebranded by well-intentioned naturalists). I know it’s still early on Day Four of our trip, but I’ve still not seen a single orca, even in places like Alert Bay and Robson Bight (on day two) that are supposed to be home of some of the largest resident populations on the coast.

20110623_17-30-11.jpg Since then, by watching carefully I’ve seen sea otters, sealions, eagles, jumping salmon and of course dolphins. The dolphins we saw on our second day coming into Port Hardy were nothing compared to the ones we saw about an hour ago near Butedale. Those little white-sided torpedos were playing in our bow spray for almost ten minutes. I tried, in vain, to get a good picture of the frolicking, but those darned critters are just too spastic and unpredictable. Princess Royal Island is to our port side (left), and it’s known for having a particularly dense population of Kermode (Spirit) bears; despite the fancy name, they’re just black bears who happen to have a particular recessive gene that makes them ivory white. Unfortunately, I highly doubt that any of them will saunter down to the water’s edge to wave hello.

20110624_13-33-41.jpgSince we’re on the topic of wildlife, I should update you on the bar in Shearwater. No rum was consumed and no sea shantys were sung, just a couple pints of good beer in the company of a bunch of working fisherman. There was a ton of fishing memorabilia around, including flags representing many of the fish packing companies what were active on the coast. Also, above the bar was a framed piece of the hull of a fishing boat that had sunk with all hands lost. Definitely a sober (pardon the pun) reminder that for all its magestic beauty, this is still a danergous place that deserves respect.

During the trip, you can either check this blog for the latest entries, or you can go to this interactive map of all the blog posts related to this trip. You can also find photos from the trip on Flickr.

Klemtu

20110623_11-18-03.jpg We’ve just ducked quickly behind a small island so that Otto can show me the First Nations community of Klemtu; if you didn’t have a navigational chart to direct you, you could easily miss it given how well-protected it is. It’s not a large community, maybe 500-800 people, but is served by BC Ferries and so has an impressive ferry dock and a few roads. (Which must lead to nowhere, because there are no other communities on the island.)

20110623_11-30-30.jpgThere are a number of small communities like this one spread throughout the mid-coast; add in all the inhabited lighthouses, swanky fishing camps, logging operations and boat traffic and you quickly realize that this is a far less desolate place than it seems. As Namu showed us, though, there was once a great deal more activity on this coast than there is today. Improved engine and refrigeration technology means boats can travel a longer distance to a cannery or processing plant and that means less need for many of these small but interesting places.

20110623_11-31-08.jpgFor all that I’m getting to see on this trip; there’s so much more around the corner, hidden away. I could spend a lifetime just exploring this place.

During the trip, you can either check this blog for the latest entries, or you can go to this interactive map of all the blog posts related to this trip. You can also find photos from the trip on Flickr.