Two of my former co-workers invited me to join up with them on a trip to Traitors Cove and Marguerite Bay. It didn't take long for me to agree to do so.
My two friends each had their own boat so we were a 3 boat armada. Their boats are metal and fast, while mine is fiberglass and slow.
We went to the USFS dock at Marguerite Bay and got settled in. We each slept on our own boats. They each had a dog with them and we had a 4 wheeler to use.
Both my primary camera and my backup camera are having issues so I just pulled up some photos of this area taken on previous trips. I will work on getting at least one of those cameras fixed so that I can include more current photos of future trips.
On Friday morning we baited up 4 crab pots and 9 shrimp pots. We went back through the salt chuck into the back part of the lagoon and set the crab pots there. Then we set 2 strings of shrimp pots in Traitors Cove proper.
We had a skiff placed up on the lake and we brought along a small outboard motor and fuel. The best fishing seems to be down at the other end of the lake where the inlet stream comes in, and you need a boat to get there.
It's about 1.6 miles from the USFS dock to the nearest end of the lake. Having that 4 wheeler helped a lot as that is a long walk.
Fishing was good but not terrific. Mostly there are cut-throat trout in this lake, and we only kept what we intended to cook and eat. But the weather was good and it was fun trout fishing in the lake.
This is a view of Margaret Lake from the nearest end, where there is a bridge over the logging road. The best fishing is at the opposite end, where an inlet stream comes into the lake.
On Saturday morning we took one of the metal jet boats and ran back through the salt chuck and into the lagoon to retrieve the crab pots. For setting only 4 pots we got a respectable haul of keepers, perhaps about 15 or so.
Then we came back out of the lagoon and pulled the 2 strings of shrimp pots, getting a respectable haul here as well.
After a quick lunch we went back up to the lake for some more trout fishing.
In the evenings, when it wasn't raining, we had a propane fired fire pit to sit around and swap stories. There was a young couple there on their own boat and we invited them to our fire. This is one of the best parts of this kind of trip, just sitting around a fire talking.
On Saturday evening the weather was so nice we cooked and ate our dinner out on the dock. The previous 2 nights we had taken our dinner on my boat since I had a little more room and I have a table.
Sunday morning I pulled out about 9 AM headed back to town. It takes me about 3 1/2 hours to make the trip. My buddies have metal jet drive boats and it would take them significantly less time to get back.
I left it to them to put the skiff away, load the 4 wheeler on the boat, and pack and put away all the gear that we had out on the dock.
It was a good trip, just the kind of trip that I missed while I was down south. You could never do a trip like this down there - just too crowded and too many rules.
Finis
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