We were nowhere near the motorcycles for the entire month of July. But don’t feel sorry for us, we were still riding around – just on a boat instead of a motorcycle. Still outside, still “in the wind.” It’s a camping trip, a reunion with our friends, and a chance to check in with friends and family along the way. The boat looks like this one – just a little older….
Back when I was working, we made the 1,700 mile trip to Scotia Bay near Port Hardy, British Columbia in 3 days – now that I’m retired, we take our time and it takes about a week in each direction.
“The Rig” — Ford F450 and our, Keystone Montana fifth wheel trailer (a 40 footer)
Truck stops are where you get fuel and you have to wait in line with the big-rigs. If you want to stop somewhere, better check Google Maps for a big parking lot. We mostly just go from campground to campground and do any running around after we park the trailer.
When we get into Canada, we take a ferry from just south of the city of Vancouver over to Vancouver Island then 250 miles up the island to the end of the road (literally). Scotia Bay has been an annual trek for family and friends for nearly 20 years. My parents used to spend four months there, trading the stifling heat of the Phoenix, Arizona summer for beautiful scenery, cool weather, and awesome fishing – a very nice break for sure.
This is the view of the bay that we have out the back window of the fifth wheel (or the front window of a motor home). Cruise ships go by every day on their way back and forth to Alaska and there are Bald Eagles all over the place. A couple years ago I spent some little time working on getting this five shot sequence. I had some pretty good luck that day…
Bald eagles make a very distinct sound and whenever I hear it I’m reminded of my time up here in Canada where they are prolific. There is a pair that nests in a tree close enough to the campground that we keep track of the family with binoculars.
There are also Killer Whales (shot with an iPhone camera from the boat), Minke Whales, Humpback Whales, and Dahl Porpoise that zip around your boat from time to time and look like a cross between a killer whale and a dolphin. Oh yea, and large Sea Lions.
But we mostly come up for the fishing. When we got here the boat needed a new starter. Replacing the starter on a Chevy small block when it’s bolted to the bottom of a boat is difficult to say the least. The smaller and more flexible you are the better – I’m neither of those. I did get it done but it took a couple days – luckily they had the starter in stock or it would have been at least another week – we’ve done that before…. After replacing the starter, there were no more mechanical issues with the boat. Time to go fishing…
Sunrise fishing, just in front of the campground – fog over the Masterman Islands.
First fish of the season on our first day out, was this nice Yellow Eye (red snapper). It proved to be an omen of sorts – the fishing this year was very good.
Not the same day but this is a medium sized Chinook Salmon, about 17 lbs.
Robin isn’t the only one that can catch a fish – this is a 25 pound Halibut.
Another Chinook 20# – up here they call ’em Springs, elsewhere they are King Salmon.
Meet Ned McMath, my new partner. Ned wanted to partner with someone since it’s very expensive up here to go out with a guide and renting a boat is difficult. These are three of the fish we caught one morning, there are more fish in the box. Left to right Ling Cod, Coho Salmon, and Halibut. If every day was like this, we would have our licenses full in less than a week. This year there was never a day when we didn’t catch fish. When it was all said and done, Ned and I both had nearly 150 lbs of fillets to take home.
And the lucky fishermen went out for an hour and a half on this particular rainy morning and brought back a 50# and a 70# Halibut.
Okay, just a couple more fishing pix. Robin and I went out on our last day looking for some more of those Halibut that Ned & I caught but they weren’t interested. So, we headed for salmon country and did okay. Three Chinooks and a nice Coho to break in my new reel and leave us with even more great memories from Scotia (pronounced sko-sha) Bay.
So, that’s why we go, and what we do while we’re there. If you’re interested in making the trip up let us know and we’ll make sure you have the best accommodations and get to spend plenty of time out on the water – you might even catch a fish…….
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