It is about a mile up the logging road from the USFS dock in Marguerite Bay, in Traitor's Cove.
I go there a lot.
For this trip my crew was 12 year old grandson Tyler, and step-son Steven Doran and his fishing buddy Eddie.
We left from town on Friday morning.
The weather was terrific.
Sunny, warm, and calm seas.
You couldn't ask for better conditions.
We made our way out there and while we were underway the crew prepared our 2 crab pots and our 3 shrimp pots.
Once we got into Traitor's Cove we dropped the shrimp pots in about 400' of water just before the last turn into the bay.
We dropped both crab pots in front of the lagoon, just a quarter mile or so from the USFS dock.
We tied up to the dock at about noon.
The only other boat there was a small USFS skiff.
We later spoke with them and learned that they had a small crew out there working and that they had been there since Tuesday.
This is the cabin they use when they are in the area.
Pretty nice digs.
They had a small Honda generator running and we could see lights on inside.
Not sure how many of them were there, but the skiff was pretty small.
We had a quick lunch, got our gear together, and made our way up the road.
I use my collapsible rolling cart with bicycle wheels to carry all the heavy gear, like the small outboard for the skiff, spare fuel, etc.
Steven and Eddie dragged that cart up the road and I didn't have to do anything.
It's one of the few benefits of getting older - the young guys do stuff for you.
We got up to the location of the skiff and got it set up with the small outboard that we brought.
Fishing was fantastic.
Almost no one has a way to get out on the lake so the trout are hungry.
There is a gravel bar at the far end of the lake, and that is where we set up temporary home base.
Here's the skiff we use for this trip.
My former boss at First Bank put it up here, but he lets me use it a couple times a year.
Thanks to Len for lending me the little outboard we used for this trip.
Here are some pictures from the first afternoon and then next morning, before the rainy season started.
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| Eddie gets one of the first trout of the afternoon |
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| Steven tries his luck from the gravel bar |
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| Tyler fishing off the gravel bar - almost over his boots |
Tyler fishes off the big log.
My balance is no longer true enough to do that.
He didn't even give it a second thought - just jumped right up there, started walking along it and fishing.
We were careful to abide by size and possession limits.
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| Tyler shows off the trout that we kept |
We left the motor on the boat as we intended to fish the next day as well.
We made our way back down the logging road to the boat where I cooked a dinner of spaghetti.
The weather was so nice I just cooked it on the Coleman stove right out on the dock.
Boy, I sure look like an old man. Oh, that's right, I am an old man.
If you're hungry enough, almost anything tastes good!
Steven and Tyler took the raft out to check the crab pots, but they also did a little exploring along the way.
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| They saw this guy on the beach |
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| Tyler shows off a couple of crabs that were in the pots |
The next day the guys were ready to head up the road before I was so they took off and I went up a little later. They eventually brought the skiff back and picked me up.
Fishing was a little slower on the second day, but we still had a pretty good haul for the day.
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| Steven shows off a beautiful trout |
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| Wet but happy |
When we got back to the dock Steven and Tyler went out in the raft to pull the crab pots.
We got a pretty decent haul of 13 keepers in the 2 pots.
You can't keep the females and those that are under sized.
We set up the propane cooker there on the dock and cleaned and cooked the whole bunch of them.
My cook pot is not huge so we had to cook them in multiple batches.
I cooked some burgers on the Foreman Grill for the hungry crew.
Being cold and wet for hours does something for your appetite!
Tyler had school on Monday, and Steven and Eddie were due back at work.
Saturday night the weather kicked up and the bumpers and lines creaked and groaned all night as the wind howled and the rain pelted down.
In the morning I listened to the marine weather and it was grim.
We made the decision to wait until at least noon before leaving, so the guys geared up in as much rain gear as they could find and went out exploring on the road system.
I just hung out on the boat until they got back.
I enjoy just being on the boat, I never get bored.
By now it was early afternoon, and I listened to the marine weather again.
It was still pretty bad, but the forecast was for it to lay down more as the day progressed.
We decided to pull out about 3:45 PM.
We pulled the shrimp pots and got about 60 shrimp - a low to mediocre haul.
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| Some of the shrimp were pretty good size |
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| A couple small Tanner crabs in the pots |
After we pulled the pots we headed out of Traitor's Cove and into Behm Canal proper.
This is the leg of the return trip that could have been the roughest.
But the seas were calm enough to make the run towards town.
It was late in the day and while it wasn't blowing any more it was still pelting hard rain.
We had a crew meeting and made the decision to stay out one more night.
We decided to pull into the Naha dock.
Steven had not been there since his return to town, and Eddie had not ever seen it.
We got there about 5:30 PM, and had the dock to ourselves.
The guys immediately geared up and went up the trail.
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| Tyler and Eddie by the rapids |
We had a dinner of left overs, and then watched the movie The Fifth Element, which I've seen perhaps a dozen times, but still enjoy.
We sacked out early this evening because everyone but me needed to be back in town fairly early in the morning.
On Monday I got up just before 5 AM and started the engines.
Eddie was already up and helped me get the boat away from the dock.
It was an uneventful run into town and we got there in time for everyone to be where they needed to be.
It would have been more fun without the rain, but we enjoyed the trip anyway.
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