Rest Day 1: Fish On!!!

Fishing day today!

We met our fishing guide (Fred) on the docks at 0600.  The day was dawning clear and a promising sunny day lay ahead with a slight southeasterly wind.  The stroll down to the docks was beautiful in the quiet of the morning.

Early morning, Campbell River

The marina

We met Fred and went over the rules of the trip (No Bananas!!!) and headed out to fish.  We had our lines down in about 20 minutes when we were about 2 km south of the southern point of Quadra Island.

Quadra Island lighthouse

Looking east toward Desolation Soun

Our first fish, a "spring" (Chinook)

Not bad, I think

We were fishing with “knuckle buster” reels, which resemble a large fly reel with a drag in the center and opposed handles – you use your palm to slow the fish’s runs and reel when the fish slows down.

We had a strike within the first ten minutes but the fish got off.  But just a few minutes later we hooked a good fish and after about 10 minutes of playing the fish I landed a 10 lb “spring” salmon (which is a Chinook).  A very nice fish.  

Not more than 10 minutes later we had another strike and Lorie expertly landed another 10 lb spring.  Almost on cue, things slowed down from there.  We had several strikes but they got off, until we landed a few 4 lb pink salmon and threw those in the fish hopper.

Lorie reeling in her first fish

The hopper

Toward Desolation Sound

Mill pond flat, hot, and georgeous

This rock is the hottest spot in BC, Fred says, and there are cactus growing on it

Reeling in the last pink salmon 

The day passed in glorious sunshine and even though we had just the four fish, we headed into the docks at about noon.

Back on the docks

It is really tough to carry 30 lbs of salmon on the bike, so Fred took us to a local fish processor that will (for a price, of course) ship your fish home.  They process it any way you like and will ship it to us in Camp Sherman.

Not a bad day.  Best to celebrate a bit at the local brewery, Beach Fire.

Here's to a great day of fishing

Campbell River is a nice town that seems to have it together pretty well.  It is very pleasant to walk around – the streets are lined with trees and flower pots everywhere downtown and flowers on every corner.  There are people all around, street musicians, and lots of activity, mostly around the three large marinas that dominate the seawall.  

Fred told us a story about how the Canadian government cleared the “ripple rock” in Seymour narrows, which runs between Vancouver Island at Campbell River and Quadra Island.  The treacherous narrows, where the tide runs at 10 knots over a couple of slightly submerged shoals had claimed many ships and many lives.  So what do you do?  Well, why not blow it up?  And that’s what they did. Here’s a photo and you can find a video on YouTube. Crazy!

Blowing up ripple rocks in Seymour Narrows

Tomorrow we’re north to Saward, about 45 miles.