Metlakatla Fishery

Okay, so I finally finished blogging the Mexico episode of our life. But, there's still a lot of things I haven't written about yet. My schedule finally caught up with me and it's been pretty hectic trying to balance work at Knudson Cove with finishing up school and all the other projects I've got going on.

So, when we got back from Mexico, I still hadn't completely finished unpacking when the fam. announced that we were heading out to Metlakatla to pack fish for a couple weeks. So I threw everything back in my suitcase and we were gone the very next day. We left Jo at home; she had to work...

Dad and I drove the boat out to the bay where the fisherman were and the next couple days we spent waiting...

and waiting...

It wasn't like we didn't have anything to do though. We played Risk. ...again and again. And by the end of day-2 we were all hating each other pretty bad. Our conversations would be peppered with 'who really should have gotten Europe' and 'how it wasn't fair to hole up in Australia' and such... :)

Getting the boat ready for buying fish.

It was in the middle of the night when the first boat came to give us fish. We all stumbled out of our bunks and clambered up to the deck and pulled on our gloves, ready to work. The whole seascape was black, spattered by the lights of the boats spread across the bay. Scales flew through the air as the fish slid down the de-water box and into the tank. Mom watched Sam in the galley and made up hot dogs and coffee for the fishermen. Emma wrote fish tickets. Paul ran the fish-pump. I operated the weigh-box and tied up boats. Dad ran the hydraulics and kept everything in order, and Johnny hosed off the deck between loads.

Steadying the weigh box.

When we actually got to do some of the work in the day time, it's was amazingly beautiful out. The sun graciously brought out the smell of the herring though as well as the warm weather. None of us really minded though- the nice day was way worth the reek of fish. :)

The best meal in the world ;).

Hobart Bay Fishery

On Wednesday evening we were just sitting down to dinner, when we got a call saying the fishery was going on 2 hour notice tomorrow. (Two hour notice just means that fishery could start in two hours, and you should be within 2 hours distance of the fishing grounds). We had been planning on going on the fishery, but had thought it wouldn't start for a few more days and that we had plenty of time... So we were all thrown into a panic about packing and getting the boat ready. It is a 24 hour boat ride from town to Hobart Bay, so basically, as Dad said it, "We leave two hours ago."

Well, the boss called us again a little later and said that even if we left right now, we wouldn't make it in time for the fishery (if it did start tomorrow) anyway. So he said to plan on leaving the next morning. This was a big relief to everyone, giving us a little more time to get ready! (Pictured: Carrie steering the boat in the wheel house)

We got to Hobart Bay just an hour after the fishery started on Friday morning. (It didn't matter so much that we were "late" because it usually takes a while for the fisherman to set their nets and get a good catch before they deliver the fish to our boat.) In this picture, the small fishing boats are setting their nets. You can see the flocks of seagulls above them, looking for a chance to snag a fish.

The funny thing about fishing is all the rush, and then the waiting! We rushed up to the fishing grounds so we could wait around to get fish on board...

No, we did not edit this picture on the computer, this is straight from Carrie's camera. We enjoyed a beautiful sunset on Friday evening!

John, sitting out on deck enjoying the view. It's evenings like these when we go, "Oh yeah, now I remember why we came!"

...they're still fishing... and we're still waiting...

Action time! It was a long night... About 9:00 on Friday evening we had our first fishing boat pull alongside us and we started pumping the fish on board. We were pumping fish from fishing boats non stop from 9:00 Friday evening until 5:30 the next morning. As soon as one fishing boat finished pumping their fish on board, another one took its place. Boat after boat... they just kept coming! In this picture, Dad is standing next to the weigh box. When the fish are pumped on board, they go into the weigh box where they are weighed, and then dumped into the fish tank.

Dad worked the crane that lifted the suction hoses on and off the fishing boats, Paul ran the fish pump, Carrie steadied the weigh box and did other odd jobs out on deck, and I wrote out the fish tickets (the paperwork). Notice Paul isn't smiling in this picture... I don't think any of us were smiling. This was probably taken around 2:30 in the morning...?!

...You knew this picture was coming, right? This was, after all, the purpose of this fishing thing. It was an amazingly fast fishery! We left on Thursday, and we were back in town on Sunday morning to unload the fish at Phillip's Cold Storage! It was a good trip... work... but good.

2009 Mirror Lake Trip!

This last week, my family, our cousins, and a friend, enjoyed a trip out to Mirror Lake to fish, boat, and hang out in the cabin playing games and having fun. We all had a great time, and got very wet! (As it rained for most of the time!)

John did a great job driving the skiff!

(left to right) Cousins: Lacey, Kendall, Carrie, Joanna
This was taken on the dock in town before getting on a float plane to head out to the lake.



Boating was one of our favorite things to do. However, we did have some problems... like the time when Paul took his skiff out and forgot to check the gas, result: towing his boat back to the dock (pictured here).



...if you want to go fishing, you're going to get wet...

(we fished anyway, of course!)

Carrie playing cards in the cabin.


Emma and a fish

breakfast... Mirror Lake style

Goodbye Mirror Lake...

Family Fishing Trip

Mom set the baby's play-pen out on the

deck so he could watch the action.

We had some beautiful weather

and awesome sunsets!

Carrie took this picture of me through

the window while I was driving the boat.

My family loves going with my Dad on fishing trips, and we were able to join him this past week for a trip to Seymour Canal (a few hours out of Petersburg). We all pitched in to help with the fishery. Carrie and Joanna took turns driving the boat for a few hours during the night while Dad got some rest. Paul worked the fish pump while unloading fish off the fishing boats and onto our cannery tender. Carrie and Dad worked the weight scale, and Joanna filled out the fish ticket papers. Mom took care of the little kids and cooked the meals. After the fishery, everyone helped scrub down the fish tanks. It wasn't exactly a vacation... but everyone had a good time.

After delivering the fish, we headed out to do some Halibut fishing and have fun on the boat. The weather had been beautiful, but the wind kicked up as we neared our halibut fishing spot. So, we anchored in a small cove to get out of the wind. While we were there, we took our skiff over to the shore and went exploring. We found out there used to be a copper mine there about 100 years ago, and we found the remains of an old building and a HUGE mound of mine tailings.

We got home yesterday afternoon, and since then have been unpacking and getting back into our school routine.

Father-Daughter Fishing Trip

early morning on Roosevelt Lagoon


the beauitful scenery as we hiked


Joanna with a fish


the birthday girl, fishing




Dad

night in the harbor

To celebrate Carrie's 13th birthday, Dad took Carrie and I and a friend of ours and her dad on his large boat, the Champion, to the Naha River for a two-day hiking, boating and fishing trip. We left on Sunday afternoon and got to the Naha at about 9:00 that night. After dinner on the boat we went for a late-night hike. When we got back we all went to bed and got up at 5:30 the next morning. It didn't get light until 7:30, so we did a lot of hiking and boating in the dark that morning. We hiked about 7 miles altogether that day over rough trail and packing all of our gear. It was exsausting, but a lot of fun! We fished at some of the good fishing spots along the trail. When we got to Jordan Lake, we stopped for a rest at the cabin before continuing on to the "Glory Hole". We caught about 10 fish there and had lunch. It was a beautiful day (but very cold... about freezing temperature). After spending a couple hours at the "Glory Hole" we hiked back to our skiff, took the boat across Rooselvelt Lagoon and then from there, we hiked back to the boat. Then it was a 4 hour boat ride back to town. During the boat ride back, us girls fixed dinner, played games and took pictures. We had a great time. Thanks, Dad!