There's always something new on every cruise - PART ONE

Little Current - Baie Finn - Killarney

Leaving Little Current

Our departure from Little Current was later than usual but then again without crowds and longs days it does not matter. We made our first and only anchorage at a familiar stop in Mary Anne Cove at the beginning of beautiful Baie Finn. After making the 4PM draw bridge in Little Current we enjoyed the calm waters of Fraser Bay and the two hour ride over to the anchorage. When we arrived we found five other boats and decided to shore tie to the east side of the bay on the rock wall. This is usually a very popular spot and the remaining days saw fewer boats.

Having been freshly licensed to fish in Canada, I could not wait to get cranking. I started off from Florida and forgot the rod and reel that I've had for years (with very little use I might add) so I decided while we were still in the US to pick up an inexpensive beginner's combo in a Wal-Mart along the way. I also added a tackle box, a starter set of tackle stuff, and a nice filet set so when the time came to clean my first catch I'd be prepared. Well, when I whipped out my new gear I noticed that the reel had no crank (used for reeling in the big one). With no Wal-Mart nearby (only one place sells fishing gear in Little Current), I proceeded to buy a modestly priced reel which unfortunately was twice as much as the original setup. Anyway, I bought the new and better reel (more ball bearings), some new line (came with the other one), and some highly recommended lures that were a supposed to be a sure fire bet for these waters. Once we were situated in our anchorage, Sheri helped me wind the line on the new reel and after several tries trying to tie a knot on a swivel that would not slip I managed to get lucky and tied something that worked or at least I hoped it did since the lure I was going to use cost $10. All set, I tried casting a few times off the boat and that worked pretty well as I did know how to do that already. No bites at first but at least I was ready.

Lucky Bay

Day 2 we decided to try trolling but that did not work as I could not go slow enough in our Zodiac without the motor quitting. The next step was to find another spot that looked good so we went about a mile up the bay and found a good place to land the dingy. After we got out I started casting into a shallow area that I was sure was a good spot. Well, on the second cast I hooked a nice bass and was able to land it (with no dip net - next purchase) but unfortunately we did not bring the camera to capture the moment so you'll have to take our word for it. Anyway, I kept fishing and hooked five more but let them all swim another day. After my beginner's luck, I was addicted and needed to catch the big one.

Colorful fungus

The red tape marks the way

The view from Fraser Bay Hill

Jungle Sheri on the way down

Day 3 started with a climb to the top of Fraser Bay Hill but the urge to fish just made me want to get back to the boat and go back to what I had named "Lucky Bay" and this time bring a camera. We went to the same spot but the luck was not there and the only thing I hooked was a reed that would not let go and prompted me to wade in waist deep water to retrieve (it was only a $5 lure). I did catch one small bass and do have a picture to prove it. He went back in, however. We move up the bay to a less windy spot that looked similar. We dropped anchor (yes we have an anchor because any wind blows the Zodiac across the water like a leaf) and I started casting again. I could actually see the bass below the boat but could not get them to bite so I did what any good fisherman does and that's try a new lure. I went for the gold and installed the $10 special on the line and within a few tries I hooked a whopper. I fought him (turned out to be a her) for about 10 minutes before pulling it out of the water (remember, no dip net) and into the boat. Compared to the others I had hooked, this one was a keeper. With our one legal catch in our possession we headed back to the anchorage before the fish was too dead. I whipped out my new filet knife, sure-grip glove, de-scaler, and started scaling/cutting away. A bass is quite boney so I had to work carefully to actually have some meat left to eat. This was a nice sized fish so the end result was plenty for a meal. We refrigerated the filets and enjoyed them for dinner when we reached Killarney on Friday. A simple shake in flour, salt, and pepper and frying in oil in a skillet they were delicious. I don't know when I've had fresh water bass before but it was as good as we've had lately.

The BIG ONE!!

Retrieving snagged lure