July 17, 2023 - Couverden Island Cove

July 17, 2023 - Couverden Island Cove

We left under calm conditions and as we approached Hoonah Island 45 minutes later, we could see boats fishing.  At first, we thought it was salmon fishing but after we turned back and closed in on them, we could see it was halibut fishing.  We swapped out the down rigger (damaged the clip in the process) for the halibut gear and looked for a suitable spot to fish.  Lois found a place close into Hoonah Island with a flat spot at 100’ where we anchored.  Between 11:30 to 1:30 we fished the location.  After about an hour we had another small one (similar to the prior catch) we decided to release – Lois wanted a BIGGER one.  Lois recalled a conversation between Orion’s Star and her companions about using salmon as bait.  We took some frozen salmon, a pink that was destined for the smoker, and set a chunk up on the second rod, with the first using herring.  Within two minutes we had our first hit, a bigger halibut, and a definite keeper!  We reset the hook with salmon and dropped the hook and within a couple of minutes we had another keeper!!  While not as large as we wanted, they were substantially bigger than our previous catch.  This put us close to our possession limit, so we hauled anchor and headed down Icy Strait.  The calm conditions built to 3 – 4’ wind waves getting a bit sloppy as we neared Couverden Point.  We could see whales breaching in Southern Lynn Canal as we rounded the point.  Pulling into the cove, there were two other boats, soon to be a third.  Once settled, Geary set out to clean and fillet the catch to which Lois prepared another fresh halibut dinner!

 

The next day was spent on boat maintenance - resolving an air lock with the water maker, washing the salt spray from the windows, and doing laundry.

Sunset over Couverden

Our catch for the day