I'm Home

Well after 2 weeks of slow fishing the Capt decided to head 200 miles north to Hoonah. That would have taken 3 days out of my allowed time and I opted to come home from Craig, Ak via Ketchikan. The last couple days were so dismal we tried to catch a few Halibut for me to bring home and we could not even get a Halibut to bite.
Like Ken told me before I left, "Joe You have seen the good the bad and the ugly." No matter what kind of luck we had this was one of the greatest experiences I have ever had. I have found something in life I would like to have a chance to experience again. Someday I hope to own my own Troller and explore all of Southeast Alaska.
The last week we travelled back to Sea Otter Sound and caught a few but not enough to keep Ken there. So We headed back south of Craig and fished off of Dall Island and had even less success. That was all Ken could handle and he decided to head north to Cross Sound and then on to Yakutat in August.
I wish him and Scruffy the best and thank them for the Fantastic time I had. Someday I hope Ken is my runnin buddy in the Troll Fleet. His knowledge of the Ocean and Fishery helped me see that this was a life and occupation I would enjoy doing 3 or 4 months a year. His runnin buddy Dave said it best to me one night on the dock. He said Joe "It's like waking up every morning on vacation, you are excited at what you might see and may experience." And he was right, I know it sounds crazy but I really did enjoy going to bed early and getting up at 3:30 or 4 every morning, because I was excited about what i might see, catch or experience that day. I felt completely at home living on the boat no matter how cramped it seemed. Hopefully someday I will be able to return.
Kenny showed me his journal from the year before and the Coho fishing was off the charts in mid July in 2009 and this year was an utter disappointment, but that's why they call it fishing.
When I left the float plane dock in Craig it was 49 degrees, when I got to Denver and Janet and my parents picked me up it was 101 degrees. That's when reality hit that my dream was surely over. I was ready to be home but I definitely could have spent the rest of the season up there.
Well if I ever do get a troller I would love to have some of my friends come up and spend sometime with me and see what this lifestyle is all about.
Thanks for reading and hope I did not bore you to death.
Thanks
Joe

I added a few pics

the bottom left picture looks like we are on a river and that is a 6 knot tide rip coming through a narrows area, we had boat running 1500 rpm which usually means you are going 7-9 kph and we were only creeping along at 1 knot per hour. Had to watch tress on bank to make sure you were even moving. The big King Salmon on pit table with Gaff behind is a big King, that gaff is 30 inches long and the fish is at least a foot longer. Then there is my buddy Scruffy, best fishing dog in S.E. Alaska. The 2 fish I am holding is a 20 and a 30 pounder loading the tote at Cannery. ANd the other pick is Rocky Pt. where Sea Otter Sound meets the Open Ocean. And a beautiful RARE (for this summer) sunrise, the float dragging behind the boat is called your float bag and there is a 50 pound cannonball under that float. That is how they keep all the 4 lines from tangling. They trail the boat 40-60 ft and off to the side 20-30 ft. And the picture of the fish on the deck was after a 15 minute flurry. I got to where I could clean a King in 1 minute and a Coho in 45 seconds.

only a few days left

Well 3 or 4 more days of fishing and its back to reality and hot summer weather. Although I am a little sick of this Liquid Sunshine and highs in the low 60's I am not ready for the heat.

Well the fishing the last four days has been sporatic. We had one great day and one decent evening and 2 days that were horrible. We ended up in 3 and a half days with just a few over 100 Cohos. Ken showed me his daily log from last year and he had 337 in 2 and a half days last year. One of the problems is the weather, the ocean where the big schools of cohos still are is windy and the seas have been 10-15 ft and Ken does not want to subject me to that which I do appreciate in some ways. Hopefully the weather will clear a little bit on my last 4 day trip out. But according to the weather report it does not look good, so we will be fishing inside I am sure. There has been some huge minus tides and Ken hopes it starts sucking some more Cohos into the inside bays.

The jellyfish have been just absolutely terrible in some places and everytime I wipe my face I inadvertently wipe a little bit of jelly slime off and get that wonderful burning sensation for 20-30 minutes. Saturday I was scrubbing some of the jellyfish off of the spoons and the wind hit and got a nice little shot right into my right eye. Wow what a great feeling that was. But Ken said all u can do is just wait it out.

Since King Salmon season ended we have not been getting up until 430 or 5, Ken calls it bankers hours. Spend a couple hours a night reading and writing in my journal.
Today Ken wants to try and get me to a spot so we can catch a few Halibut for me to take home. Since the fishing is so slow I guess it is ok, but I would rather fish for salmon.

While in Sea Otter Sound this past week there were a lot of whales and bunches of Sea Otters. I need a camera with a bigger zoom, as they are boat shy and when you get within 50 yards of them they dive and go off another 50 yards and just watch you. Saw one Dolphin this week and thats about it besides the birds. Lots and Lots of Bald Eagles and Divers and Sea Hawks and other waterbirds.

Life on the boat is kinda cramped but I love it. Its kinda like Camping.
This Coffeeshop is rocking like the ocean, its funny while your on the boat its just fine and you have your sea legs and when you get on land everything is moving like the ocean. Wierd!

Talk to you all soon, thanks to everyone again for making this possible for me.

Well I need to go get propane and a couple Halibut Jigs and get ready to head out. I will be back in less than a week. Anxious to see everyone.

Sopme pics before I leave. The "Mary" Kens running buddies boat tied up in Craig at the fish dock.

A sunrise where you could actually see the sun. 5 days so far I have seen the sun.

Passing a Coast Guard Cutter. They called us on the radio wanting to know our passing plans. Was kinda cool, Ken was worried they wanted to board and inspect. Thank Goodness that did not happen.

Look at these goofy looking fish, a Idio and some other kind of Rock Bass. The eagles love them.
Sorting and grading fish at the SPC Fish buying terminal.

Gotta Go Ken just called

Slow Week

Well it's tyhe 9th of July and King Salmon season was closed last night at midnight, they are on a quota system for summer Kings. Once the allotment is caught they close the season and give u one days notice. So we had to come to town and sell the fish we had caught the last 4 days. The first 2 days were pretty good but the last 2 were terrible. Once again the forecast for 10-15mph winds was way off and both days we tried fishing the ocean only to get beat up by the rough water. We tried some different inside waters but did no good.
Now Cohos will be our only target and we will be fishing calmer waters on the inside as not many Cohos have moved in close to the beach on the ocean. Will be nice to fish some calmer water that is for sure. I have all the white knuckles I want to have for awhile.

Saw a couple Killer Whales this week and not nearly as many Humpback Whales. There are not many Puffins where we have been fishing. 2 days ago we got into a nice school of Cohos and a couple SeaLions came in and spoiled our fun. They plucked a half a dozen off of our lines and Kenny got frustrated and pulled the gear. In the rough water its hard to tell when the fish hit and when a Sea Lion takes on it rattles the wire like a bow string getting released. Usually when you pull up the gear your missing the lure and sometimes they even bust the flashers off. When the get a fish they come to the surface and rip them apart. They fling them up in the air, shaking thier heads taking chunks of the fish till they have them where they can eat them. We tried Seal Bombs and other tactics but we could not shake them.

I caught another BIG King on Tuesday right before we quit for the day, probably 38-40 inches long and it had to wiegh close to 50 pounds. It was definitely a knee knocker, gets your adrenaline flowing.

Well the Capt just called and it is time to eat and get busy, heading back out for 5 days at least. Thanks again to everyone at home for taking up the slack while I am gone. I will pay all of you back somehow. I love this life and never tire of the beauty and in awe of the power of the ocean. The work is not that hard but the hours are long and I think I have lost another 10 pounds, I will be done to fightin wieght by the time I get home.
Hey Hunter I heard you were a STUD in the Kiddie Parade!! I miss u and Breckie andall my friends and family.

Gotta go Thanks everyone

Oh yeah ended up with about 80 fish last 4 days, Bad Bad bad

just a few pics

Ok a couple more things this is a pic of one of our anchorages in a cove on Noyes Island. A 30-35Pounder and a 15 pounder.

A mirrorlike cove with mountian and waterfall. The Gurdies on left are the hydraulic reels that bring up the gear.

A beautiful iceberg.

Scruffy and Capt. Kenny B.

Back to the boat I go check back in a week or so for more news.
This is Tom's favorite saying "I'm Livin The Dream"

The Opener

Well We fished 2 and a half days after the opener when a Big Southeaster blew in. Winds were supposed to blow 20-30 and have seas 10-12 ft. We got blown off about 10 yesterday morning (July3rd) Had a little bit of a scary situation happen 4 miles from shore, but nothing Capt. Ken could not handle, anyways lets just say my faith in God is stronger now than ever before. I will tell whole story later.
Since there was going to be no fishing for a day or two we have traveled to Craig, Ak to sell fish and resupply or fuel-water and fuel.

I am posting some pics of the fo'scle pronounced (folk sul which is really a forecastle) where my bunk and the galley is. It is not very modern or nice but it is sufficient and has produced many great meals and wonderful short nights of rest.

Our days now are starting at 3:30 a.m., at which time I wake up Ken and I start the coffee. He switches the batteries and starts the engine to get it warmed up. After the first pot of coffee is drank we head out to fish. Usually takes about 30 minutes to and hour from our anchorage to where we start fishing. Ken sets the gear the first thing, so things are going on in just the right order. We set out 4 wires that have anywhere from 6-12 spoons-hoochies or spoons on each wire. Then it is just a waiting game to watch for the springs (bobbers) Ken calls them to start bounce and shaking. Then we take turns running the gear. When you bring a Coho up up lift him on board and thump them in the head with a club right between the eyes to quiet them down. When you land a King you guide pull them to the side of the boat and knock them in the head with the backside of your gaff and then gaff them in the head and pull them aboard. Then when things are slow we dress them and put them in the slush bags in the hold and the monster tote on the deck. I just uploaded a pic of the springs that indicate you have a fish on, you see the bell hanging below it? When that thing is swinging erratically and bouncin you have a fish on. In rough seas it is sometimes hard to see them hit. And after staring at them for hours its easy to miss one, so we run the gear quite often anyway and at the same time we will clean off the jellyfish off the gear and lures.

Our days usually end around 7 p.m. so the days are long. And my neck and back ache but I am really enjoying myself. On the way to our anchorage in the evening I start supper and when we anchor its eat then crawl in your bunk and sleep. No trouble falling asleep thats for sure.

Hard to believe I am so confined and so far from the everyday conveniences and I feel at home and safe and secure. We listen to the radio alot but after you have heard fox news-cnn news and espn and fox sports 12 hrs a day it is just background noise. We listen to every Royals game as Ken is a Huge KC fan and KSU.

I am mad I just figured out I forgot to download pics of unloading fish this morning at the cannery. With the totes full of the beautiful fish. In the first 2 and a half days we caught 53 Kings and 120 Cohos.
Well maybe this evening I will get an hour and walk back up here to this little coffee shop and download some great pics of unloading the salmon.

Well I am sure I have bored you all enough.

I will add a couple more pics one is a HUGE Red Snapper I brought up, by the way we have caught a bunch of other kinds of fish like black bass-ling cod-bunches of Halibut and other species of rockfish I have never seen. We caught a Ling Cod so big that you could have easily put a gallon milk jug in his mouth without touching the sides, I should have got a pic of it but I am sure we will catch another one.

Once again a big thank you to all my family and crew at Myers for letting me live this dream adventure. I LOVE IT up here and someday hope to spend a bunch of time up here. Jodi can deckhand for me, and Dave Renken can come up and fix all the crap I will break.