A Cabezon

July 2nd (Thursday) 

It was cloudy in the morning and when we listened to the VHF weather forecast they were calling for strong south and southeasterly winds.  We considered our options and how the wind might enter the anchorage, and we decided to stay put for the time being.  There was a dock, which we knew was secure, over in the southeast corner of the basin, so if the wind did pick up and became an issue for us where we were anchored then we could easily move over to the dock, which would be in a more protected area from the south.  

While the wind was still calm we headed out in Kiki to the outer reefs at the south end of the island for some fishing.  The swells, although jumbled from the chaos caused by the reefs, were calm; there was no wind yet.  In the distance there was a very large and dark looking cloud, which we figured would bring some rain and wind.  

We floated and fished for about 45 minutes and we caught and kept three nice-sized Lingcod and one Cabezon.  We also caught and released one female Kelp Greenling and several different Rockfish.  What great fishing!

I had been hoping that we would catch a Cabezon, as we had only ever caught one before and that was when we were fishing out from Higgins Passage last fall.  It was a big fish and since we did not have the freezer room for that much meat, we let it go, but it was super neat to see.  Such a cool looking fish.  This one was equally cool looking, but quite a bit smaller, although still a nice size.  It was a perfect size to try, since we had never eaten it before, although we had read that they are good eating. 

The large dark cloud was looming ever closer and as we planed our way in it was hard to tell whether it was going to pass right over top of us, or if we would just get the edge of it.  

We came in to one of the more inner beaches to clean the fish, and just as we were going to take our pictures with our fish, it started to rain. 

We figured that this was the start of a heavy rain, but several minutes later it stopped.  It had passed us by, with just a touch from its long stretching arm.

Cabezon are part of the sculpin family and they are a very prehistoric looking fish.  Their head and neck area remind me of an old cartoon toad character.  

I gutted the fish at the waters edge while Jason filleted them up on a large log.  When I got to the Cabezon I had a close look.  Its mouth was very interesting; instead of having rows of razor-sharp teeth like Lingcod do, it had patches of angled rasps.  

Circular or oval patches in different spots, both near its gums and further back in its mouth, presumably to stop prey from getting back out.  The rasps were angled backwards so that it would be very hard for prey to travel forward.  I had cut open the stomach of one of the Lingcod and it was full of Anchovies.  When I cut open the stomach of the Cabezon we were very surprised to find that it was full of little 1-2 inch crabs. 

I found it very interesting that two fish, a Lingcod and a Cabezon, caught in the same general area, and that both attacked the same jig, had such different food in their stomachs.  I would have thought that since there was clearly Anchovies down there, and that clearly Cabezon go after fish, since it attacked the jig, that there would have been at least a couple of fish in its tummy, and since there was not, I was surprised that it went after the jig, just as the Lingcod had.  Interesting!  

When Kiki had been cleaned out and the fish were filleted and skinned, we had our lunch.  We laid one of the carcasses out on the shore for the eagles, but although there were three that sat patiently and watched from the trees, none of them were brave enough to come down while we remained.  

We went home with our meat, but when we got home we found that our freezer was pulsing.  It had been running perfectly when we left in the morning, but now it seemed to be broken.  We turned it off and let it sit awhile before turning it back on, but it was still only pulsing, on and off, and it appeared that it was not getting cold.  

When we purchased our freezer we did quite a bit of research into which brand to get.  

The Engel brand was the best 12V freezer that we could find, and there were numerous reviews from people who had had them on their boats for many years and they wrote that the Engel freezer was great.  When we purchased our freezer and first installed it, it only worked for 8 months and then it broke.  In fact it pulsed, exactly like ours was now doing, and it didn’t get cold.  We were in touch with Engel and they sent us a series of tests to do before sending us a new compressor for the unit.  Since then, it had been running perfectly until today; that was a year and a half ago.  So frustrating and disappointing.  Now we had no freezer and we didn’t know if the Engel company would once again replace the compressor unit.  So much for a freezer that will last us for years, I wonder if they have in some way changed their production.  

We moved all of our frozen food, along with all of our new fish, and put it into our fridge, right next to the cold plate, and we turned down the temperature.  At least or food would be okay.  

As the wind from the south began to pick up, it became obvious that because we were stern tied we would be taking the wind right on the side.  The constant tension on our stern line was going to end up pulling us closer and closer to shore as the wind pushed us sideways.  We released our stern line, pulled up anchor, and moved over to the dock.  Normally, if we found a dock in a bay we would not trust that it was secure and we would not tie to it.  This one, however, was largely built and installed by Ken and Shelly from Ocean Falls.  They had been coming out to this location each summer for many years, and along with some friends of theirs they had brought out different pieces and built it over time.  When we had first arrived in this anchorage there was an 80-foot powerboat tied up to the dock, but they had left and the dock was now available.  

As we enjoyed our cockpit time this in the afternoon I got a very unusual opportunity to photograph a female Kingfisher.  Usually Kingfishers are very camera shy birds, and they never seem to remain on one branch for long.  Jason spotted this female when it dove for a fish.  As it flew up and landed on a branch I was sceptical about there being any point to my grabbing my camera, since “of course it will just fly away as soon as I point the camera at it”.  I got my camera anyway and after snapping several shots I was shocked that the Kingfisher had not flown away yet.  Jason got my telephoto lens for me and I switched out my lenses, once again sure that it would be gone before I would have a chance to get any more shots.  I could not have been more wrong.  This female kingfisher decided that it was time to preen, and she remained on the branch looking around and preening her feathers for quite a long time.  I have not yet looked at the pictures that I took, but I am hoping that some of them will be good.  It was definitely a unique opportunity.  Since writing this paragraph I have looked through my photos and unfortunately the lighting was very poor.  The sun was in front of me and the Kingfisher was in the shade.  None of the pictures were very good. It was quite disappointing.  

We had a delicious feast of fresh Cabezon, fresh Lingcod, Salmon, sea asparagus, and potatoes for dinner.  Yummy!!  It was so nice to have sea asparagus again and the Cabezon was scrumptious.