On Monday June 24 we headed out in the dinghy from our anchorage in Herring Bay with halibut gear to fish the slack, and I caught another 2 rockfish. We moved fishing sites and I got nothing. We spent the night again in Herring Bay then on Tuesday headed to Scow Bay where we had a rainy evening.
The forecast for the seas were for nice conditions on the outer coast for several days so on Wednesday we headed south in exposed waters. We put our stabilizers out and that made a very nice difference in the boat's ride. We went to Still Harbor, just inside Whale Bay, and a stones throw from the wild coast of Baranof Island. There were lots of whales and once anchored we kayaked to the beach and attempted to get to the outer beach, but the brush was too thick and we were dodging lots of bear poop, constantly calling "Hey bear bear", "Hey bear bear". You never want to surprise them, and certainly we didn't want them to surprise us!
On Thursday we headed further south on the outside (there is no inside route on the SW side of Baranof Island) and saw 5 AIS targets in the anchorage we wanted to go to, and it seemed they were getting ready to head out. We had a good hunch as to who they were, the Grand Banks mothership charter group from Bellingham NW Explorations. We had run into them in 2011. We called and asked if they were leaving, and they said yes, and we said we would wait until they had all cleared the narrow entrance before entering a lovely spot known as Reanne's Relief (also has been named Cat Head Cove because of the shape). The entrance is OK, but surf breaks on the rocks on the sides of it and white foam often covers the entrance so it is thrilling but safe in most conditions. We had a lovely day and went kayaking, and it was delightful.
On Friday we headed north back towards Sitka and while underway had a nice chat with our m/v Passages friends, who were having great success fishing. They were in Whale Bay but in a different anchorage than we had used two days earlier. We headed up to Baidarka Cove (First Narrows Cove) which has a narrow entrance with a rock that extends out over half way into the channel. We did it at low tide, so we could see the hazard. This was another lovely place to kayak. The next day, Saturday we waited for low tide to exit and headed back to spend the night in Herring Bay where another vessel, Prime Time came in and after anchoring began to clean fish, salmon and several of them. I had seen the boat in Sitka and knew that the owners were skilled fisherpeople.
On Sunday we went to Samsing Cove via Viskari rocks and sightseeing the St Lazaria Island for birds etc. I had been trying to fish for several days, Friday, Saturday and today. I caught a large rockfish, and decided to keep it. So I made rockfish for dinner.
The forecast for the seas were for nice conditions on the outer coast for several days so on Wednesday we headed south in exposed waters. We put our stabilizers out and that made a very nice difference in the boat's ride. We went to Still Harbor, just inside Whale Bay, and a stones throw from the wild coast of Baranof Island. There were lots of whales and once anchored we kayaked to the beach and attempted to get to the outer beach, but the brush was too thick and we were dodging lots of bear poop, constantly calling "Hey bear bear", "Hey bear bear". You never want to surprise them, and certainly we didn't want them to surprise us! 
On Thursday we headed further south on the outside (there is no inside route on the SW side of Baranof Island) and saw 5 AIS targets in the anchorage we wanted to go to, and it seemed they were getting ready to head out. We had a good hunch as to who they were, the Grand Banks mothership charter group from Bellingham NW Explorations. We had run into them in 2011. We called and asked if they were leaving, and they said yes, and we said we would wait until they had all cleared the narrow entrance before entering a lovely spot known as Reanne's Relief (also has been named Cat Head Cove because of the shape). The entrance is OK, but surf breaks on the rocks on the sides of it and white foam often covers the entrance so it is thrilling but safe in most conditions. We had a lovely day and went kayaking, and it was delightful. 
On Friday we headed north back towards Sitka and while underway had a nice chat with our m/v Passages friends, who were having great success fishing. They were in Whale Bay but in a different anchorage than we had used two days earlier. We headed up to Baidarka Cove (First Narrows Cove) which has a narrow entrance with a rock that extends out over half way into the channel. We did it at low tide, so we could see the hazard. This was another lovely place to kayak. The next day, Saturday we waited for low tide to exit and headed back to spend the night in Herring Bay where another vessel, Prime Time came in and after anchoring began to clean fish, salmon and several of them. I had seen the boat in Sitka and knew that the owners were skilled fisherpeople. 
On Sunday we went to Samsing Cove via Viskari rocks and sightseeing the St Lazaria Island for birds etc. I had been trying to fish for several days, Friday, Saturday and today. I caught a large rockfish, and decided to keep it. So I made rockfish for dinner.
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