Category: My Photos

Wayne departed back for his home on Vancouver Island, today, leaving Arthur without an enthusiastic fishing companion. I have a hard time being enthusiastic about fishing. I am happy to go with Arthur out in the boat – and I even enjoy the time out on the water when I’m not feeling criticized, but I don’t have the passion for fishing that Arthur or Wayne do.
Here is Wayne, about to board the plane.

Here is Arthur, Wayneless, forlorn.

We went out fishing again today – Wayne, Arthur and I. It was Wayne’s last day here.
Actually it was a bit windy at the south end of San Ignacio – but the fish from yesterday had disappeared. There were quite a few boats around, but no one was catching.
We went over to Caldera Bay to try for halibut, instead. But as I’ve remarked before, Arthur seems to have little patience for halibut fishing. Halibut fishing is unlike fishing for salmon, where you troll with boat at a slow speed and maneuver the downriggers to depths in an effort to convince the fish to try for your hook. In halibut fishing, you just drop your hook and weight and bait to the bottom and wait. And wait.
And wait.
Arthur gets restless with this, after maybe 15 minutes. It can be heartbreakingly amusing in the way that so many ageing-related issues are tragicomic.
Here is a baited halibut hook, with its formerly frozen herring hoping to be a meal.

Here are the fishermen, driving the boat along.

Arthur and I went out fishing today. Wayne didn’t come along – he’s actually more of a river fisherman and I think maybe Wayne was burned out on dealing with Arthur and me and the tension on the boat that arises due to Arthur getting upset that I can’t read his mind but I’m nevertheless supposed to be effective as second-in-command.
But we have our rhythms, I guess. And we finally caught some fish. Maybe because finally it has been raining a bit, and finally the fish decided to taste the shores.
Here is a view of where the fish were, south side of San Ignacio – to the left, from here, is the open sea, but it’s a ways down. There were broad swells but it wasn’t too windy.

Here is a view of Sunnahae – the mountain that towers over Craig – on the way back.

Arthur and Wayne failed to catch fish up at the north end of the island, where they’d gone off to yesterday. So they came back early. I guess the fishing season just isn’t going well, this year. Wayne said some people were catching fish, but using a brute force “snagging” method that is illegal in most parts of North America, but which is allowed in libertarian Alaska. It made him uncomfortable. He remarked that fishing like that in British Columbia – his home – that method would land you in jail.
So they came back. We were sitting in the upstairs living room area after dinner, and I looked up out the front door window and saw a bear in the driveway. I went out and managed a low-quality photo of it as it ambled toward the water cistern.

…This here blog, now with more dumptruck than ever before.
I have been working with Richard while he installs the drain field for the new septic system. I spend a lot of time moving sand and gravel around in a big pit he made with his excavator. I also have developed some small degree of competency with connecting lengths of PVC pipe. Richard drives his dumptruck to fetch more gravel and returns.

Here is progress on the drainfield. It is now buried.

There is a neighbor down the road named Joe. He has been very helpful and friendly with Arthur at various times, and they have gone fishing together in the past. We had given him a standing invitation to come out fishing with us sometime, and finally he did yesterday. We went out early (departing before 7), and we had some luck at Port Estrella, southwest of here. We didn’t catch halibut, and the salmon remain nonexistant (probably due to drought), but we found a lot of bottom fish – rock fish and such. I think they are ugly fish but they make good soup.
Near Port Estrella there is a small island called Joe Island. Joe is of course pleased to have this island named as he is. Here is Joe in front of Joe Island.

Here is a view of Port Estrella as we were heading out again.

Arthur returned from his 36 hour sojourn in Anchorage, where he got fitted with his new hearing aids.
His first comment on the topic, was that the turn-signal blinker on the Tahoe was awfully loud. So I guess the hearing aids are working.
Here is his plane landing at Craig harbor, just as it first touched the water.