Beach Combing

What treasures do winter storms bring to the Central Coast? Only a day of beach combing will tell. With our friends, Ed and Ann, we set forth both small dinks in a big sea. We slipped through the cut and chose beaches exposed to the southwest storms. One rocky and piled high with logs and the other sand swept clean.

And this time the treasures were practical - crab trap floats, thick rope and barrels. Unlike last year there were no Japanese glass fishing floats. But another beach and another time will yield new treasures. Now it is time to fish.

Ohhhhhh, Jan caught ANOTHER salmon. This time on a diver with a double green hootchie. It hit like a freight train and dove five times. Living is easy and the fishing is good.

Sharing with the Eagles

Our larder was well stocked with crab, prawns and oysters. We had eaten two delicious meals of ling cod but what we really longed for was salmon. Our first fishing day brought nary a nibble and so we traveled on to our exceptional fishing area out of Shearwater, B.C.

We rounded the point and were greeted by our old friends an enclave of bald eagles who fondly remembered us from last year. When we would catch and share the fish carcasses with the locals - mostly eagles and a couple of stray mink. We trolled on and our old friends, the eagles, watched with disdain, unsure whether we had returned with either luck or skills.

Suddenly, I heard Doug yell those favorite words, "FISH ON"! and the eagles cheered my landing a nice 24 lb king. Scarcely had we put the lines down when Doug yelled again. This one was his fish (we take turns). It dove five times and bent his pole nearly double. As I finally managed to slip the net under the 32 lb Spring, the eagles swooped overhead knowing that dinner tonight would be exceptional. No more bait fish for the mighty eagle - tonight would be a salmon feast. And feast they did, uncharacteristically sharing the larder without chasing one another. Sometimes it is just better to eat in peace. They are happy that the fishermen have returned.

EAGLE FACTS:

Female eagles are 25% larger than male eagles.
Alaskan eagles are the largest with recorded weights to 17 lbs.
Eagles live 20 to 25 years in the wild and up to 45 years in captivity.
Eagles glide at rates up to 45 mph.
Eagles dive as fast as 99 mph.
Eagles have been documented to carry a 15 lb mule deer fawn.
The largest eagle nest recorded was 20 feet deep, 9.5 feet wide and weighed 2.7 tons.