It was a Whale of a Day

We were told by one of the Elders “that the early bird gets the worm” and so we were up and going at 6:00 a.m.  It was a beautiful morning.  The ocean was calm.

There are lots of obstacles in the ocean with tides changing and run offs.  Today there was a whole tree in the ocean!  

Seagulls sometimes try to mark the logs by making them their landing point.

As we crossed the water, Ron noticed a mist rising and then there was another.  Finally the tail of a whale was spotted.  Our day was already a success story.  You will have to take our word for it because I didn’t get a picture.

Kylie was the first to land something.  A Starfish was interesting to look at but was not on our lists of things to bring home.  

Next, she pulled out two rockfish..both a little too small to keep. At 10:43, Kylie got a big salmon.  What is all this talk about the early bird…it is almost noon!  

Fifteen minutes later, Stephen pulled in an even bigger coho salmon.  

At 11:13, Ron reeled another one in.

Not quite a half hour later, another salmon found its way into the cooler.

Shortly after, they switched to bottom fishing and a rockfish was caught; and at the same time Kylie saw a bear on shore.  

Copper Rockfish

Our fishing adventure was checking off so many boxes.

At 12:48, Kylie brought another rockfish into the boat.  

Quillback Rockfish

Two more were caught and the fishing day was coming to an end.  At one point Kylie handed me her fishing Rod but thankfully nothing was biting at that time.  I did net a couple though!

We saw some eagles around and managed to get a picture of one.

We made our way back across the channel and towards the dock.  The wind had picked up a bit but it was still a beautiful day.  Stephen and Kylie loaded the boat and we stopped for specialty drinks on the way home.  Kylie says that good fishing is rewarded with frappes! 

Once home, the work began.  Cleaning, deboning and all that fun stuff.  Of course, I couldn’t help because I was documenting the fish stories.

What a whale of a day…a sighting of a whale, a bear and eagles and lots of catches and bringing home 4 salmon and 4 rockfish and of course, the frappes!

And if you haven’t guessed it… we had fish and chips for supper!

Meanwhile back in Ontario…my dad turned 90!  I’m sure he would have loved to be fishing today but he got to hear the stories and will enjoy watching the videos and seeing the pictures.

Happy Birthday Dad!

Purgatory and Rambleonrufus

We had a relaxing start to the day and knew that before we did any more adventures we had to take the dogs for a “W.”. The dogs know the word walk but apparently have not figured out what “W” means.  They do know that if Stephen or Kylie puts socks on things may happen.  Princess again joined us when she heard Murphy and Beemer bark their walking song.

Once the pooches were exercised, we went for lunch.  Stephen and Kylie have been treating us to lots of great meals and this time it was our treat.  We headed to the Split Rock Restaurant which is part of the Tweedsmuir Park Lodge.  We saw a bear on the road but he scooted into the woods before I could get a picture.

Framed by the peaks of the Coast Mountains and the lush expanse of the Great Bear Rainforest, Tweedsmuir Park Lodge is a remote retreat where fjords, forests, and stillness meet. It’s a place defined by the grand scale of its surroundings, but grounded in care, connection, and heartfelt hospitality.

Since 1931, the lodge has drawn those who look further in search of rare wildlife, expansive beauty, and a place where genuine hospitality meets luxury. It’s a place built for the wild, and shaped by it too.

https://www.tweedsmuirparklodge.com/about-us/

Lunch was very tasty and views were pretty nice too.  We had another beautiful day to enjoy our meal on the patio.

After lunch, we stopped at the Fisheries Pool Campground and Day Area.  We saw lots of salmon in the water.

When we got back to the house, we got ready to head to the Purgatory Glacier.  

We were a little caravan.  Stephen and Malcolm (work partner, neighbour and friend) rode dirt bikes, Kylie was on the quad/ATV/4 wheeler and Ron and I drove the side by side.

We went over lots of little bridges with pretty mountain streams.

At one point, Stephen and Ron switched and Ron got to pretend he was in his 30’s again flying up the trail.  Stephen and I settled in behind Kylie carrying on a conversation over the roar.  

At another stop, drivers changed again.  Ron took the quad. Stephen was back on his bike and Kylie and I drove the little Flinstone mobile.  The views were pretty nice all along the way and then we arrived at the top.  It was 32 km to that point.

There was a couple from Washington there.  We discovered that they have an Instagram page to follow.  https://www.instagram.com/rambleonrufus.  It was interesting when we got back to the house to see how they built their camper and are now traveling to different places.  Happy trails Cooper and Logan!

On the way back down, Kylie and I stayed in the side by side and the others rushed ahead and then would stop and wait, only to leave us in the dust again.

Ìt was another really nice day….seeing more sights, enjoying time together and eating good food!

The Biggest Fish I Never Caught

We were all up early and ready to go.  We were trying to beat low tide. It’s a little trickier dealing with tide schedules and different wind patterns.  There was water at the dock so we were able to launch the boat.  

The predicted winds looked good.  The temperature was really nice and so, we were off.  Stephen had promised that this tour would include 6 things:

1. A waterfall
   
2. An eagle (no picture available)
3. A ranger
   
4. A seal
   
5. A hot spring 
   
6. A salmon
   

We were able to cross everything off the list.

We stopped first at a fishing place where they had some previous success.  The wind started to come up a bit so it was decided that we would go to the hot springs.  They had never seen the tide so low.  Natural hot springs are so interesting.  There was a plug in the one end to stop the hot water and when Ron removed it the water warmed up a lot.  It was a very relaxing time.  By the time we were ready to leave the tide had come up a bit and we didn’t have to walk as far in the mud.

The winds had definitely picked up even in this sheltered area.  Stephen told us that we should put our life jackets on before we rounded the corner.  The waves rocked us around in a painful way.  I moved to a cushioned area and was able to handle the ups and downs of the boat.  Somehow, the wind prediction was a little off.  Stephen directed the boat back towards the way we had come.  

We found a calmer spot on the ocean and Stephen and Kylie fished.  

Stephen got a tug on his pole and started to pull in a fish.  He said that it was giving him more of a fight than usual.  He was thinking it must be a Halibut.  Just before he got it to the boat, the fish got off.  There was a little disappointment expressed.

Along the way, Kylie got a Little Rock fish.  It was pretty small and was returned to its home below the sea.  

Stephen got another bite.  He reeled it towards the boat.  Ron had the net.  This fish was not wanting to be caught.  It faught going in the net and finally the line broke.  Another fish gone.

After quite awhile in this area with no luck, we moved to an area called Flag Pole.

They dropped their lines and we moved slowly across the bay, the salmon were playing hard to get.  After a warm afternoon and no more fish, the lines were reeled in and we headed towards the dock.  It was a bit of a disappointment due to no fish but it was a good day, even with a bumpy ride at one point.  How can you not enjoy the beautiful scenery.

Stephen came up with the title for this blog…two big fish on the line, fighting and both not brought into the boat.  They were the two biggest fish that he never caught.