Keep On Keepin On

Things here have been moving along smoothly.  The weather is getting better and better.  We had two bad days last week and the rest sunny, or at least not raining, and hanging around 50 degrees.  While we haven't seen a grizzly yet, they should be out any day now.

Otherwise, last "weekend" Dallas and I went fishing for 8 hours on Thursday and another 4 on Friday and he caught 4 fish, including a 65lb halibut.  We won't discuss what I caught (or didn't catch)...  Crabbing seems to consistently catch one/day--not sure why we can't catch more, but 2 crabs was enough meat for 3 decent sized crab cakes, which were a big hit.  There have also been lots of "parties" so I have been eating plenty of seafood!  I haven't had to buy meat for 3 weeks now, which is really nice and saves a lot of money.  Shrimping is still going okay, around 30/day. I think we are at 5 octopus now, which are a lot of work for the little bit of calamari but it is delicious and the tentacles make good bait.

I boated in a pod of orcas last week, which was really cool, then saw 2 humpbacks the day after.  I've seen 3 rainbows last week, and watched 11 eagles fight over dead fish that I threw in the water.  That was really neat as they were within 20 feet of the boat!

Work is work. At times it gets monotonous, but it's outside, which I like, and doing physical labor, which I don't mind!  I guess that's why they pay you to do it! Seriously though, can't complain from here!  Hope all is well at home too.

Keeping Busy

Well, there isn't a ton to report here.

Shrimping has improved remarkably as we get anywhere from 30-60 shrimp a day.  We are still in search of the elusive Dungeness crab and I am on a secret mission to catch the first halibut of the year.

As far as work goes, things have been very busy.  Last week we all worked crazy hours in order to get all of the fish out of the incubators and in to the ocean, but were rewarded with a pizza party and some king crab!  I spent last weekend at the Takatz remote site again, which is a nice break because it's quite a bit easier there.  I went exploring a bit on my day off last week.  It will take some getting used to this area as things are crazy steep and often very muddy/slick.  It took my nearly half an hour to walk probably a quarter mile!

Other than that, things have been going smoothly.  I still like the work and the people, so that's a plus.  The weather the past few days has been awful, but today is quite a bit nicer. We were really hoping to spend a good part of the day fishing, but they need the boat for work today, so unfortunately, we're stuck on shore despite the sunshine and flat seas! Eagles are still an everyday occurrence, as are seals, and a new otter who is always floating around the bay.  I've seen two whales, although not up close, and apparently there was one in the bay here while I was in Takatz.  Haven't seen a bear yet, but last year the first one was spotted March 13, so it should be any day now!

Sunlight is getting much better and soon we will have plenty to fish and check/set pots after work, which will be nice instead of rushing during lunch break. But hey, how many people can go shrimping during their lunch break?!?

I hope everything at home is going well and I miss you all!