Crab Eggs, Giant Fish, and a Picnic
November 2nd, 3rd, and 4th (Saturday, Sunday, and Monday)
I didn't write much for a couple of these days because there wasn't that much to tell.
I didn't write much for a couple of these days because there wasn't that much to tell.
On Saturday it was raining and we decided to stay home. We had a lovely day of reading, writing, guitar, Spanish, and baking.
On Sunday the weather was nicer, and we pulled up anchor and headed out of Mouat Cove. We motored out Seaforth Channel, past Ivory Island and out towards Susan Rock. We went out and around Susan Rock before turning north so as to keep the swells on a good angle to our boat. We headed up into Higgins Passage at the north end of Price Island, and anchored in one of the bays on the eastern end of the passage.
We went out in Kiki before sunset to set our traps. We put out one prawn trap and one crab trap in deep water, and our other round crab trap in shallower water within our bay area. We were hopeful that maybe here we would get lucky and get some crabs.
Monday was a more eventful day. It remained cloudy all day, but the wind was calm, so we headed out in Kiki. The first thing that we did was check our round crab trap, and we were stoked to have one large 8" Dungeness crab and one large Rock crab, as well as several smaller ones. Yay! We also had a female Dungeness that was carrying eggs. This was something we had read about, but had never seen.
On Sunday the weather was nicer, and we pulled up anchor and headed out of Mouat Cove. We motored out Seaforth Channel, past Ivory Island and out towards Susan Rock. We went out and around Susan Rock before turning north so as to keep the swells on a good angle to our boat. We headed up into Higgins Passage at the north end of Price Island, and anchored in one of the bays on the eastern end of the passage.
We went out in Kiki before sunset to set our traps. We put out one prawn trap and one crab trap in deep water, and our other round crab trap in shallower water within our bay area. We were hopeful that maybe here we would get lucky and get some crabs.
Monday was a more eventful day. It remained cloudy all day, but the wind was calm, so we headed out in Kiki. The first thing that we did was check our round crab trap, and we were stoked to have one large 8" Dungeness crab and one large Rock crab, as well as several smaller ones. Yay! We also had a female Dungeness that was carrying eggs. This was something we had read about, but had never seen.
Her bottom flap, or abdomen, was held open close to 1.5" by a large ball of bright orange eggs that overflowed and formed a large circular mass that hung from the bottom of her body. It was amazing that she was able to move around without knocking the eggs off against rocks or other things on the sea floor. We were especially gentle with her, and released her right away. Very neat to see. We reset the trap with encouraged optimism for getting crabs here.
We motored out through Higgins Passage and out towards the outer shore, and then motored through the smaller islands and out to Jaffrey Rock. The swells were smooth-topped and there was no wind. The fog buoy marking the reef was rocking in the swells and making its constant moaning sound; it was perfect weather for fishing. When we started jigging we found that the drift speed and direction was also perfect, and we were able to maintain a good line without having to row.
At first we tried some jigging out in a deeper area where the bottom type was marked on the chart as gravel. We thought we might catch some different types of fish there so we were surprised when the first two were Quillback Rockfish. The third fish that Jason caught was a big one; it fought its way up, pulling out line from time to time in bursts of energy. Our thoughts went to two fish that we hoped to catch some day, halibut and cod. It turned out to be a giant Yelloweye Rockfish. It was the biggest Rockfish we had ever caught, and it was about 30" long. So amazing to see.
Unfortunately we are not allowed to keep Yelloweyes at all on the coast of BC, so we had to let it go. The hard part was that its swim bladder was fully inflated and so large that it made the poor fish unable to leave the surface. For fish like this we have a setup with a weight and a clip to take them back down, and they are then able to free themselves and swim away, and then we pull the weight-line back up. This had worked for us in the past, but we had never had a fish this big with an inflated swim bladder before, and unfortunately our weight was not heavy enough. The only other weights that we carry with us while fishing are jigs, so we really had no choice; we clipped on one large jig, and it still wasn't heavy enough. We added another large jig, still not heavy enough. We added a small jig, then another small jig, and finally it was just enough weight to start to take the fish down. It was a good thing too, because that was all that we had with us.
The fish went down, down, down, and we gave it some time at the bottom. Just as we started to pull it back up the line suddenly went loose; we had lost all of our jigs and weight – four jigs and a round weight all gone just like that. The clip that we used was supposed to be good up to a couple hundred pounds, but we imagine that having the multiple jigs clipped on must have shifted the position and made it open. When the line came up all that we had was the swivel on the end; so disappointing and frustrating. We had come out four nautical miles on a perfect fishing day, in a new area that we were excited to fish in, only to lose all four jigs that we had carried with us, while releasing a fish we couldn't keep.
Luckily we were able to scrounge through our tackle box and put together a buzz bomb setup that ended up working. At least we could keep fishing and the trip out wasn't a waste. The variety of types of fish that we were catching was the most that we had had in a long time. We caught and kept some nice-sized fish.
At one point when I was fishing I got a really good bite. It fought and fought, pulling out line from time to time. When it came to the surface we didn't know what it was. As it rocketed away from the boat it looked quite prehistoric. The next time that I reeled it in close to the boat, J was able to scoop it up with the net, and it became obvious that it was some type of large Sculpin. Unfortunately we did not have our fish book with us, and we also probably did not have room for it in our freezer. It was 29" long and quite heavy. It looked massive, and so cool. We let it go. After getting home we looked it up, and it was a Cabezon (a type of Sculpin), which are apparently quite good to eat. It was so cool to catch it and see it.
We headed in from the outer area in the afternoon, and after coming back through Higgins Passage we went out to a beach that we had seen the day before, and we had our picnic lunch, although it was already 14:00. It was a lovely, sandy, shell beach tucked in between a shoreline of rocks. It had a tidal sand spit that went out to a set of rocks off shore. It was a lovely spot, with a line of three sets of wolf tracks going along it.
After lunch we went to check our traps. Our prawn trap had three prawns, two different types of fish, a hermit crab, and two prickly starfish, not nearly as good as out from Mouat Cove. We let everything go and reset the trap in a slightly different area just to see what we’d get.
When we pulled up our crab trap we had Dungeness. Yippee! We had two nice-sized male keepers. On our way back home the sky lit up in pink as the sun went down. It was beautiful.
The timing for getting crab was perfect. I had mixed up the dough for three loaves of bread the day before, and it was ready to be cooked. We had fresh bread and crab for dinner. It had been a long time; what a feast.
At first we tried some jigging out in a deeper area where the bottom type was marked on the chart as gravel. We thought we might catch some different types of fish there so we were surprised when the first two were Quillback Rockfish. The third fish that Jason caught was a big one; it fought its way up, pulling out line from time to time in bursts of energy. Our thoughts went to two fish that we hoped to catch some day, halibut and cod. It turned out to be a giant Yelloweye Rockfish. It was the biggest Rockfish we had ever caught, and it was about 30" long. So amazing to see.
Unfortunately we are not allowed to keep Yelloweyes at all on the coast of BC, so we had to let it go. The hard part was that its swim bladder was fully inflated and so large that it made the poor fish unable to leave the surface. For fish like this we have a setup with a weight and a clip to take them back down, and they are then able to free themselves and swim away, and then we pull the weight-line back up. This had worked for us in the past, but we had never had a fish this big with an inflated swim bladder before, and unfortunately our weight was not heavy enough. The only other weights that we carry with us while fishing are jigs, so we really had no choice; we clipped on one large jig, and it still wasn't heavy enough. We added another large jig, still not heavy enough. We added a small jig, then another small jig, and finally it was just enough weight to start to take the fish down. It was a good thing too, because that was all that we had with us.
The fish went down, down, down, and we gave it some time at the bottom. Just as we started to pull it back up the line suddenly went loose; we had lost all of our jigs and weight – four jigs and a round weight all gone just like that. The clip that we used was supposed to be good up to a couple hundred pounds, but we imagine that having the multiple jigs clipped on must have shifted the position and made it open. When the line came up all that we had was the swivel on the end; so disappointing and frustrating. We had come out four nautical miles on a perfect fishing day, in a new area that we were excited to fish in, only to lose all four jigs that we had carried with us, while releasing a fish we couldn't keep.
Luckily we were able to scrounge through our tackle box and put together a buzz bomb setup that ended up working. At least we could keep fishing and the trip out wasn't a waste. The variety of types of fish that we were catching was the most that we had had in a long time. We caught and kept some nice-sized fish.
At one point when I was fishing I got a really good bite. It fought and fought, pulling out line from time to time. When it came to the surface we didn't know what it was. As it rocketed away from the boat it looked quite prehistoric. The next time that I reeled it in close to the boat, J was able to scoop it up with the net, and it became obvious that it was some type of large Sculpin. Unfortunately we did not have our fish book with us, and we also probably did not have room for it in our freezer. It was 29" long and quite heavy. It looked massive, and so cool. We let it go. After getting home we looked it up, and it was a Cabezon (a type of Sculpin), which are apparently quite good to eat. It was so cool to catch it and see it.
We headed in from the outer area in the afternoon, and after coming back through Higgins Passage we went out to a beach that we had seen the day before, and we had our picnic lunch, although it was already 14:00. It was a lovely, sandy, shell beach tucked in between a shoreline of rocks. It had a tidal sand spit that went out to a set of rocks off shore. It was a lovely spot, with a line of three sets of wolf tracks going along it.
After lunch we went to check our traps. Our prawn trap had three prawns, two different types of fish, a hermit crab, and two prickly starfish, not nearly as good as out from Mouat Cove. We let everything go and reset the trap in a slightly different area just to see what we’d get.
When we pulled up our crab trap we had Dungeness. Yippee! We had two nice-sized male keepers. On our way back home the sky lit up in pink as the sun went down. It was beautiful.
The timing for getting crab was perfect. I had mixed up the dough for three loaves of bread the day before, and it was ready to be cooked. We had fresh bread and crab for dinner. It had been a long time; what a feast.
Sounds like a great fishing day. Sorry you lost some gear, but it was good of you to send the fish back home.
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