July 28th - 29th 2022 - Sweetwater Creek!

Sat Jul 30 2022

On Thursday the 28th we arose to a rainy morning with a forecast of more to come. After hoisting the dinghy on deck and a nice breakfast we began our chug to our next destination, Gilbert Bay where Sweetwater Creek dumps out. A couple of local folks had advised us that the salmon run up the creek and get slowed down by a waterfall where they are an easy catch for bears and people alike. As we made our way North on Stephens Passage we were hailed by a boat heading South towards Ford’s Terror. They had left Gilbert Bay that morning and told us about a close encounter with a sow and her cubs as they went to observe locals netting salmon below the waterfall. That intel excited us to proceed with our plan, and we advised them about our recent experience at Ford’s Terror and the timing for transitioning the narrows. Actionable intelligence for all!

In about 3 hours time we were dropping the hook in Gilbert Bay, finding a spot between several boats and outside swinging range to crab pots that lined the bay. The bay shoals up rapidly near the shoreline and the pots were set in about 40’ of water. We ended up anchored in about 130’ with a scope of 2:1 and good holding. We decided the steady rain would not deter our adventure and we all piled into the dinghy for a trip ashore, with the hopes of snagging at least 1 sockeye salmon. Because the tide was going out we couldn’t risk letting the dinghy dry out - darn thing is too heavy to drag across a mud flat - so Isabel had volunteered to drive us in then collect us later when we hailed her over VHF. As we made our way towards the shore we spotted a pair of bear cubs with their mom, and Ian made a command decision to not risk mixing it up with the bears. Instead we observed them from the water then as the rain increased we ultimately abandoned our explorations and returned to Sunset and with her diesel furnace and lovely dry, warm interior.

The fish finder on the dinghy had been pretty active, so as everyone else hibernated aboard Sunset I elected to rig up for salmon fishing and see what would happen. Why not, I was already suited up in all my wet weather gear? After collecting up the down rigger weight and setting up the correct lure on the fishing rod off I went, trolling around the bay for about an hour until it became apparent that my wet weather gear simply wasn’t up to the task. A group of folks who had been netting salmon in the creek had returned to their boat and I tooled on over to say hello and see their catch. Four people, 23 large sockeye salmon, only about 25% of their daily quota for household sustenance. Two of them were wearing dry suits and they looked content, the others looked pretty wet. We discussed their experience and apparently on a previous excursion one of the fellows had caught 44 sockeye in an hour, so for all the work they had put in this day the results weren’t terribly satisfying. As they noted, it’s a lot of work and expense to run a boat down from Juneau, fish all day and return with only a few fish to split among them.

They also told me about their bear encounters while ashore. Apparently there was a sow with 2 cubs, and another sow with a single cub, all taking a big interest in the fish the folks had bagged. The bears got within about 7 meters of them, but blasting air horns and yelling kept them at bay. That’s the difference between people who have grown up around bears and the rest of us. They respect the bears and the danger they represent, but they just equip themselves with horns, bear spray, flare guns and pistols and get on with their activities. We on the other hand are quite a bit less comfortable with the idea of a close encounter with a bear, and behave more cautiously. Not entirely inappropriate.

I returned to Sunset to find Isabel and Nicola had prepared a cottage pie with the ground moose we had been given by our pal Craig just a few days earlier. The sundeck looked like a giant laundry with wet gear hanging everywhere and my own gear simply added to the clutter. One of the things we’ve realized about Sunset is that a sheltered outdoor space that serves as a mud room like one might have in a house is a great thing indeed, as it helps keep all the dirty wet gear out of the boat interior. We’ve a little propane heater we can run on the sundeck or the fly bridge which keeps the place toasty warm and also helps dry the wet gear, an essential piece of kit in this environment.

The moose cottage pie was absolutely wonderful! Even Charlotte with her slightly picky young palette thought it tasted just like the stuff Nicola makes with beef, and we all made pigs of ourselves. It’ll be interesting to see if the leftovers heated up taste a little gamey as we’ve noted in the past when eating something made from elk.