GONE FISHIN'

Not satisfied with the fishing supplies available at Refuge Cove, we still had no bait.

We headed for Campbell River, a real town.

Rounding the point is the Cape Mudge Lighthouse.

First views of Campbell River. 

I was elated to see we would be spending two whole nights in civilization.

Fisherman's Wharf Marina, Campbell River. The various vessels are packed in here like sardines! 

All the "rafting" made for a tight squeeze. I think we got the 2nd to the last transient moorage left. 

Can you find Pairadice?

Discovery Pier at Fisherman's Wharf. I toured the aquarium at the head of the pier.  

An hour before closing, I had the place to myself. The kids studying marine 

biology know their stuff and were very engaging. It was a lot of fun.

Historic landmark ( 1926) on Island Highway across from the marina.

Stroll through the park.

We enjoyed seafood nachos at this bistro on the deck to the right.

I've never seen a free floss dispenser in the U.S. BTW, it was out of floss!

The King Neptune carving was in an obscure location behind a marine store.

The tree carving was appropriately located at the book store. 

Monday, May 23rd was a holiday here in B.C. Everything was closed.

We did make it to the Maritime Heritage Museum the next morning.

.

P.CP. 45, a gill net fishing boat,  was donated by the owner and restored to it's 1927 original specs,
completely by local volunteers.  The museum was built to house this boat.  

The Dock Master's Office. People up here keep telling us, "just come back
  tomorrow, right... you can pay us when you leave. Oh, we close at 3 or 4".
This continues to happen, every time we land in port. Weird!

We stopped in at Crabby Bob's to check out the live crab and fresh fish.
These prices didn't fit in our cruising budget. Our next stop includes fishing!

A dingy ride after breaking down and storing our grocery purchases. 

Serious fishing boats and tugs everywhere you look.

Dinner and sunset from the cockpit concludes our time at Campbell River.
John did manage to get his bait here and make another run to the tackle shop.

It seems you can never have enough fishing gear :-)

Tomorrow morning we will be backing out through this narrow opening, the dingy rafted to our starboard side with boats tightly moored to are bow and stern. Everyone turned out to watch. An older British gent cast off the bow line after I did the spring and stern lines and gracefully stepped aboard. John mastered his task with expertise. 

On to Growlland Harbour, May 26th, Day 58

Seal pups at play.

The harbour was full of log "Pannes" we think that means, pens.

The Pannes are worked by the tug operators who float them through
the channels to the lumber yards and processing plants.

After setting anchorage, John organized his "hoochies"... salmon lures.

No luck this afternoon, so we set out with the crab pots to soak over night.

The foggy morning shaped up to a beautiful day for fishing.

Crab pots are baited with chicken drumsticks and ready to soak.

This is where the crab pots went down approximately 40 - 45 feet deep.

Looks like these guys are expecting company.

We cruised around the bay checking out the neighbors.

The three guys enjoying brews in the cockpit flashed us there bellies.

Looks like pretty nice rentals to me.

Retrieving the first pot...

The first two keepers, both dungeness.

John is actually happy with the catch, just not the camera!

Two the first try, Five the next!!!

It took two hours to shell six crab.

Made yummy crab cakes that night, fish stock and froze four bundles.

The end of another great day in Canada on Pairadice.