Back to Civilization (Darn)

Great upload speed at Gorge Harbor on Cortez Island so I will add a few more photos.  We spotted some Orca Whales on Monday but only got video which I will upload when we get home.  We did a little Salmon fishing the last two days but only got a few hits.  We did feed a Bald Eagle a small rockfish but I was a little slow with the shutter.  Gorge Harbor is still in Desolation sound but a pretty busy place.  We will be headed south tomorrow on the slow boat to home.  We should be back to Red Bluff in a week.

 Group photo at Echo Bay 

 The beginning of a great Crab Dinner.

 Ready, Set,  Go

Good Crab, notice the drink wasn't touched.

Bald Eagle off Cortez Island with a small rockfish.

Our view out the back door of our bungalow at Gorge Harbor.

Dalls, Dolls and Dinner

2 Dall Porpoises 

2 Dolls next to Lacy Falls

Dinner, we caught 66, 28 about this size.

It only rained for a few minutes this morning. Wahoooooooo.   Thursday we docked at Kawatsi Bay which is the most beautiful place on earth.  Surrounded by snow covered peaks and multiple water falls, the bay was smooth as glass and happy hour just made it heaven. We anchored at Wahkana Bay on Friday night and the fishing was great.  Dinner included shrimp, shrimp and shrimp. On the cruise to Echo Bay we met about a hundred Porpoises heading up the channel chasing a ferry boat.  Echo Bay is hosting a pig roast tonight along with happy hour and a chance to mingle with all the other boaters.  Today is the warmest day so far and the perfect timing for the pig roast.  No loosing weight on this cruise.  Tomorrow we head south on the return trip towards home, really slow I hope.  

Sunny Skies, Orange Fish

Check out Michele's Red Snapper.  It's going to taste as good as it looks, along with the crab we caught last night.  After a night at Lagoon Cove we spent two nights anchored in coves too cool to describe.  Since the internet is so slow up here I will post a slide show when we get home.  We are at Sullivan's Bay tonight and will start the slow trip south tomorrow.  Rain is in the forecast so we restocked the whiskey today.  Too much fun. Stay tuned.

Slower than dialup at Blind Channel

Here is the deal.  I've just spent the last hour and a half trying to upload 13 photos and it's just not right to be this frustrated on vacation.  But then again, it's incredible that we are miles from any road and we still have cell service and wifi (snail-fi).

We left Comox early headed for Desolation Sound,  passing the town of Lund which is the starting point of Hwy 1 and the last road we will see for a while.  We anchored in Tenodos Bay and caught the first fish, a spiny rockfish about 10 inches long.  We gathered a bucket full of oysters the next morning, pulled anchor and headed for Refuge Cove and a big hamburger for lunch.  Funny thing, the Health department shut down the grill so we settled for ham and turkey sandwiches in the boat. (saved a few $$).  The next destination was Teakerne Arm and we anchored for the evening at Talbot Cove.  It was Trudy's Birthday so we all got drunk and went skinny dipping, just kidding of course.  Michele cooked a great dinner and we had birthday cake for dessert.

Today was a fun day, rain and all, because we took a few photos of a whale, ran three rapids and stopped for just a few minutes and caught a 10 lb Ling Cod for dinner.  I was behind the wheel when we passed through a swirl and the boat pitched sideways, dumping Trudy's cake on the floor.  We saved the upside down cake and slipped into Blind Channel for the evening.  Hot Showers, clean laundry, a fish dinner to die for and more ice to get us through to Lagoon Cove, which is the beginning of the Broughton Islands.

Stay tuned

Made it to British Columbia

Michele and I finally made it to Canada.  On Saturday morning we cranked up the motor on Mike and Trudy's boat ( HopScotch)

Saturday included checking in customs at Bedwell Marinia and anchoring for the night at Port Browning.
Sunday morning we motored north heading towards Desolation Sound.  It was fun going through Dodd Narrows and watching seals, harbor porpoises and bald eagles.

 We anchored at Port Browning and indulged in steaks for dinner.  Tonight we are spending the night at Schooner Cove Marina and we will have a 5 hr. cruise tomorrow ending up at the local shoe store in  Comox where Trudy will shop her heart out.  No fishing, crabbing or clamming yet.  Stay tuned.

Good day on the Lake

We finally had a good day, no rain, no snow or wind so we hit the lake about 9:00am.  We found a ton of fish in the shallows and they were hot and ready for a fight.  As you can see by the photos, I think we won this trip.  The lake was like glass most of the morning and we boated about 25 bass so we kept a few for the pan.

On another note, this evening we took a short ride up R-Line and we spotted five deer and two bucks.  It looks like the deer have started to migrate into the Almanor basin but with all the feed at lower elevations I don't expect the main herd to show up until mid July.  Our trip to Canada next month will put a dent in the scouting but over the last few years I really think that scouting all summer is really a waste of time because everything changes after opening day.  Happy Fathers Day.

Warning: This post contains graphic bambi photos. Why we call it wildlife.

I ran across these photos tonight and thought I would share will all those people that think coyotes just eat mice, gofers and grasshoppers.  You won't see the last photo on any PITA ad.

Check this guy out. Where did he come from?

This is my hobby blog, but LTC Allen West got my attention this morning. Please take a minute and watch the following videos. Thanks Dawn for bringing my attention to Allen West.  Keep your eye on this guy.









Where is his teleprompter?  I like this guy.

101st Airborne Delivers Game Ball From Above

Brandon is headed home from Afghanistan and just posted on Facebook that he is at Leipzig/Halle Airport  in Germany.  Kristen is if Kentucky and will meet him when he arrives tomorrow.  As you know he is part of the 101st Airborne stationed at Fort Campbell.  I just received an email with a video you might find interesting.  

Delivering game balls to the official before a football game isn’t normally a big deal. Oh, maybe some famous former player will get to come and wave to the crowd before he hands the ball to the head ref, but it doesn’t often get creative.

Except, that is, during last weekend’s intrastate showdown between Michigan and Michigan State in Ann Arbor. For that, UM officials decided to look to the skies.

That’s how, after a year in the planning stages, Sgt. Adam Sniffen of the 101st Airborne Division from Fort Campbell, Kentucky, jumped from a Cessna several thousand feet above Michigan Stadium and parachuted into the largest football stadium in the country. Aside from the football and an American flag, Sniffen was also sporting a head-mounted videocam that contained a tongue switch in his mouth that would take still photos. More importantly, it recorded every nuance and maneuver that went into making such an insane leap.

Most fascinating perhaps is the tipping point where you can actually start to hear 109,933 crazed fansscreaming as this expert paratrooper — who hasn’t missed a target in more than 800 career jumps — comes in and sticks the landing at the 3-yard-line.

Headed North to the Umpqua

I just got a call from my bud tonight and the trip to the Umpqua is on for this weekend. The river flows are slowly coming down from the MLK day storms and should be running a pretty by Saturday. Since I have never fished the Umpqua for winter Steelhead I jumped on the net and searched for an hour or so trying to get a little info and when I ran across a Youtube video of a fella catching a nice one one a Green Butt Skunk I just had to get out the new tying station and whip out a few.

Green Butt Skunk

After a few Skunks I decided to get creative and add some color.

On this one I changed the red tail to hot pink, the black hackle to a mix of hot pink and hot orange and used white marabou for the wing instead of calf tail.  

With luck I'll post some pictures of big Steelhead next week.  Until then I'll just make some more sawdust and spray a little lacquer.  

Good bye 2010 and hello 2011. I know this is going to be a great year because it started off with a full septic tank and after a good pumping we will have plenty of room to store all the crap that has be coming at us. Sam injured his leg playing with the ball or running through the snow and he is on injured reserve the rest of Pheasant and Quail season. The vet said he may have a torn meniscus in his right knee and if it doesn't heal it's surgery or his hunting days are over. He is suffering from arthritis and his right front elbow is also acting up. He is getting spoiled sleeping in the house and I really think he always wanted to be a lap dog.

My last project in the workshop, excluding Christmas gifts was a Fly Tying Chest that I actually made for myself. Another hobby has resurfaced and I have been having a blast tying flies several nights a week. All of my supplies are finally organized and I can actually tie flies in the house instead of out in the cold shop. It is such a pleasure to tie now and I believe that my speed and quality have doubled in a very short time. The Chest is a prototype of an idea I have had for some time now and after using it for about a month, I have several changes to make to make it even better. The next one I build will be up for sale and I have decided to continue with the rustic theme. I'm looking at some Cedar tomorrow and hopefully I can get started soon.

The unique feature of my chests will be the Tying Station that is actually the bottom drawer in the chest. This chest will cater to the fly tiers that don't have room for a dedicated area in the house and having a chest that is on casters and can be moved anywhere is the "cats meow". I wheel mine over to the computer desk and pull the bottom drawer out, and place it right in front of my computer screen. I can even watch fly tying videos while I tie flies. Instead of looking at a book I can bring up a page that not only has the recipe for the fly, but a video or step by step instructions. Youtube is great the for new fly tier because I don't think there is a pattern out there that someone hasn't videoed. I love technology.

From fly tying

This is one of a dozen Stimulators that I tied tonight.

From Fly tying chest

From Fly tying chest

From Fly tying chest

Tomorrow night I'm going to tie a dozen Prince Nymphs. Then it is Steelhead time.