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July 10, 2007
Slowing Down
After our two days of extreme fishing, we have settled into a more reasonable pace. In fact, the day after the 20,000 pound opening, we dropped down to a mere 500. The Department of Fish and Game switched us to the opposite tide. Meaning, instead of starting to fish at 4:00 in the afternoon, we were forced to begin at 4:00 in the morning. Which means rising at 2:30, grabbing a quick snack, putting on the rubber suit in the dark, and driving down to the beach in the predawn hours to fish in the early drizzle. Those hours are stunning up here; the fleet of boats on the water looks like a floating city at night. The sky, never really dark up here in summer, gradually turns from purple to red between the hours of 3 and 5 am. So there is a silver lining to early tides. But mostly it's cold and miserable and exhausting. And especially demoralizing when you catch only 500 pounds of fish. The nice thing about the tides is that they get a bit later each day. So today we woke up at 5:00am for a 6:30 opening. Still not exactly a civil time to rise, but better far than a few days ago. Also, each day our catch has been slowly rising. Although we have yet to play our nightly guessing game in which we each name an estimated catch with hopes of winning a scratch-off ticket, I'm guessing that we caught just more than 3,000 pounds. Which is a respectable poundage for this point in the season.
When not fishing, Robbi and I have been working on Volume 9. It's difficult to motivate ourselves, because our first instinct when not fishing is to fall into a deep, profound slumber. But we have found time here and there to discuss and sketch. Provided the internet signal is strong enough when I drive down to the beach, here is a picture of Robbi painting at the table. If there is no picture of Robbi painting at the table, use your imaginations. In the picture you imagine, Robbi should be sitting at the table, somewhat disheveled from fatigue, holding a paint brush in her left hand. With the brush, she is painting on a piece of paper. Fascinating.
It's hard to believe, but we leave for home a week from tomorrow. Maiko leaves this Friday and Roji the day after Robbi and I, so all of us will start preparing the place for the winter soon. We put the trucks up on blocks, put anything a bear might find appealing into the reinforced steel containers, and board up all the windows on the various buildings. The winters up here are pretty bleak. So I've been told.
Speaking of bears, they have been prowling our roads at night of late. Every morning we find fresh prints at the end of the road that leads from our compound down to the beach (and several healthy piles of bear droppings, which are almost black in color). When we get up to pee in the middle of the night, we have to whoop and holler to alert any nearby bears that it would be advisable to move off deeper into the alder bushes. That he might not get peed on, and that we not be mauled.
Oh, and here are some fish.
Posted by bogenamp at July 10, 2007 06:19 PM