August 6: Big Bay to Dent Island Lodge

Auntie Bev and Auntie Shirley both had to leave at about 11 am today, so before they left we took the tender and the two wave-runners over to Dent Island Lodge to check it out. On the way there we drove by Jimmy Judd Island, which is about halfway between Big Bay and Dent Island. The tide was coming in and circling around Jimmy Judd Island somewhat fiercely, which created a pretty strong current going towards Big Bay. When we got to Dent Island we walked around a little bit and then Auntie Bev and Auntie Shirley had to go on the tender to catch their seaplane at April Point, about an hour and a half away.

View From Dent Island Lodge to the North

When they took off for April Point my mom, my dad and I took off on the wave-runners to explore a little. First we went around Dent Island to run through a twenty-foot wide tidal rapid that swept past the island and then we headed back towards the Breanna. On the way back I circled around Jimmy Judd Island because I had seen several bald eagles on the way over and I wanted to get some better pictures. I tried to settle into some calm water between where the swift currents were going past. I was able to get some good pictures, but in the process I had sucked up some kelp into the intake of the wave-runner while trying to stay in the calm water so I was stuck in the kelp beds next to the island between the tidal currents that were whipping around me. Since I was stuck there I figured I should at least try to get some more pictures of the eagles. It was actually really cool watching them because they were all around this side of the island, periodically swooping down from the trees and grabbing fish in the tidal currents and then returning to their perch on the island.

Just Caught Lunch

After spending about forty-five minutes stranded by the island the current shifted a little and started to push me off of the kelp beds. Once I was off I started the engine and tried to clear the intake of the kelp. At this time I noticed that my dad had come back from the boat to look for me. As my wave-runner was still crippled I had my dad follow me across the rapids to Big Bay and the Breanna. By the time I got back from my ordeal we only had about half an hour until we were supposed to go salmon fishing so we all grabbed a quick sandwich before the fishing boats came to pick us up.

Pam and my mom got on one of the fishing boats and Bud, my dad and I got on the other. We headed up northwest past Dent Island to the fishing spot, Denham Bay, to spend the next three and a half hours trying to catch a king salmon. The scenery around us was beautiful and it the fishing was very peaceful, aka, no fish. With about forty-five minutes left to fish we finally got a hit. Our guide, Herb, quickly jumped out of his chair, grabbed the rod and set the hook before the three of us knew what was going on. Bud and my dad had decided to let me be the first on the rod so I got to reel the salmon in.

It ended up being about a 19 pounder, not a monster by any means, but respectable. After that we didn’t get any more bites so we headed back to the Breanna, which had moved to the Dent Island Lodge. When we got back Herb cleaned and filleted the fish for us so we could take it back to the boat.

After fishing we had to get cleaned up for dinner at the Dent Island Lodge dining room. Dinner was very good and they had given us a table that overlooked the marina and had a great view of Stuart Island. My first course was baked oysters with smoked salmon and spinach; my second course was a whole steamed Dungeness crab (HUGE); and for dessert I had pecan pie with ice cream. To round out the evening we went back to the boat and watched the old classic An Affair to Remember.

DINNER!!!