We are excited to have our niece and nephew, Courtney and Storm, join us in Petersburg for 10 days aboard Idyll Time. As a surprise present, we treated them to a tour and kayak adventure to LeConte Glacier with Scott of Tonga’s Kayak. This was their first visit to a glacier and even with the cold rainy weather they had a great time.
Leaving Petersburg the next morning, it isn’t long before we have our first sightings of Humpbacks in Frederick Sound. We divert course and spend an hour watching over 20 whales as they are feeding on herring.
Just outside our anchorage for the evening, we stop at our lucky fishing hole for a try at another Halibut. It is high slack tide so the timing is perfect. Within 30 minutes, Storm has a nice one on the lines. After a good fight, we have the halibut harpooned and secured on our swim platform.
With the anchor down, we proceed to weigh and process our catch. This is the biggest halibut of the year weighing in at 43 pounds. Our next task is to set out the crab traps in hopes of some more Dungeness Crabs. With our work completed, we enjoy paddling around the anchorage before dinner.
Around sunset, we have a sighting of two brown bears on the beach. Storm takes the Kayak out to get a closer look.
Checking our traps the next morning, we find several crabs inside. Courtney and Storm get their first lesson on how to handle the crabs.
We time our departure around slack tide for another try at fishing. Storm has had enough with his 43 pound catch yesterday so it is all up to Courtney. Within a few minutes of jigging at our lucky hole, Courtney has a big one on the line. It takes all of her strength to wrestle this halibut up to the boat. With the shock of the harpoon spear, he try’s to make another run but we now have him securely cleated to the boat. Courtney gets the biggest fish prize as he weighs in at 49 pounds.
All three of our halibut this year have been caught in the exact same spot! There will be no more halibut fishing aboard Idyll Time for a while. Our freezers are full!
Continuing our cruise down Frederick Sound, we are again sidetracked by whales.
Of the 5000 to 7000 humpback whales that summer in SE Alaska, almost half spend time in the waters of Frederick Sound feeding on the rich plankton and fish before returning to Hawaii in the fall to give birth. Frederick Sound is known as one of the best places in the world to view humpback whales. We certainly see evidence of this today with whale spouts in all directions. We shut the motor off and just drift as these big creatures swim all around our boat.
It is other worldly listening to the whales as they exhale loudly on the surface after their deep dive.
With evening approaching, we reluctantly say goodby to the whales and head down Seymour Canal to the Pack Creek Bear Preserve. We have a permit to enter the preserve tomorrow. Please stay tuned!