Monday -
We had to get a boat launch permit before heading out, so we weren't on the water until 9 am or so. It was foggy with light rain as we got started, but not too cold...maybe 50 or so. It stayed cloudy all day, with light rain on and off. The place where we were fishing, St. John Baptist Bay, was maybe 10 miles from Sitka, and just off the main strait (Peril Strait) so we could see fishing vessels and the ferry passing, but very few people actually came into the bay where we were. It was about a 30-45 minute trip by boat to the bay, each way.
We were fishing in 60-180 feet of water, depending on where we were in the bay (or occasionally just outside the bay). We would pick a spot and either drift with the current if the wind wasn't too strong, or anchor if it was. Pulling up an anchor manually when it's got 60-90 feet of rope out is a good way to stay warm. We fished with rod and reel, just off the bottom, with hooks baited with squid pieces. Each of our lines had 3-4 hooks spaced ~6 inches apart with a heavy weight at the bottom to help keep everything oriented and to get us to the bottom.
We didn't catch any sablefish today, but did catch several other species. Throughout the week we caught 17 different fish species and three types of invertebrates (including a sea anemone that Maggie managed to snag and get on board!). Also neat - there were a couple of sea otters hanging out around the boat. We also saw seals and lots of bald eagles.
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