Last Night at the Clam Shack

So it looks like I get around to this almost dead blog about once every 3 months or so.  Hmmmm....

Last night on the Eastern Shore of Virginia we went out to the Clam Shack for "1st Wednesday" where one of the few open mike nights on the shore takes place.  Lots of fun.  Some great talent for sure.....  Link is to the right.

Alaska: Time is flying by...

If there are several consistent things in Alaska they are beautiful scenes and hard to come by reliable internet.

To summarize what we have done:  Salmon fishing one morning in Seward and then on the Celebrity Millennium, a stop at Hubbard Glacier, on to Juneau and a helicopter ride to a dog sled camp... and today we are in Skagway Alaska.

Karen and I have been shooting tons of pics (I'm around 400 to 600 a day) and processing but a few.  I'm posting on Flickr and trying to organize in sets.

We have met any number of wonderful people and had way to many great meals.

I'll write something about my feelings concerning cruise ships later.

Alaska is fascinating and rugged.  We are just scratching the surface in the experience we are having and are already thinking about a return trip.  I could live here... in the summer.

I know I'm not divulging much in the way of detail.  Look at the images... ask questions.  I'll be happy to answer.

Much more to follow......

Richard

Alaska Railroad: Anchorage to Seward

The train ride from Anchorage to Seward was excellent.  The scenes unfolded rapidly.  Karen and I found ourselves out on the observation deck again for the majority of the ride.

We saw a some golden eagles, bald eagles, Dall Sheep, a moose and a black bear.  We had breakfast in the dining car which again was as good as any nice restaurant. 

The experience on the Alaska Railrode makes the airline service we get seem quite poor.

This morning we are going out salmon fishing with Mat as our Captain on the Prowler.  We saw tons of fish (literally) brought to the dock yesterday.  Seward seems to be a hot spot for salmon and halibut.

Till next time.

Richard

Alaska Railroad: Denali to Anchorage: Anchorage to Seward

What a great way to travel.  I can't say enough about this company.  Great service.  Great food..... as good as any nice restaurant you would wander into.  Fantastic ride and spectacular views of Alaska.

We are jamming it in folks.  We have to be at the train station by 6 am.  More later....

Richard

Denali

We left Fairbanks early in the morning by way of Alaska Railway.  Great way to travel I must say.  The car was comfortable, spacious and clean.  Visibility was outstanding.

We are wiped out right now and have to get up at 430 to make a 530 departure on the Denali tundra tour.  Today the weather was perfect..... tomorrow may not be.

Internet is poor but it is what it is.

Have a good day.  I'll check in tomorrow.

Richard

Fairbanks Alaska

We left Missoula and AJ today and are now in Fairbanks. 

On the plane ride from Seattle Karen met a guy named Al who had some work in Fairbanks and he gave us a ride to our motel.  As a bonus he took us a few minutes away to see the Alaskan Pipeline.

So here we are now dead tired at close to midnight and I'm taking sunset pictures....

Up by 530 to get a train to Denali is what I should be thinking about now.

Glacier National Park

This should be on everyones short list of places to see.  Karen and I covered a lot of ground Friday and Saturday and had great weather and skies.

It was quite an experience to have air temps of about 85 when there was snow on the ground.  The wildlife was wonderful.

I'm still in a rush to get things done.  Today we are leaving Missoula and heading first to Seatle and on to Fairbanks today.  Monday there is a train ride to Denali.

The pictures I'm posting on Flickr are done on my laptop which isn't the most desirable method but will work for now. 

Later,

Richard


More to follow.

Waking Up in Missoula

Yesterday was our first day in Missoula.  We did a little shopping and a lot of eating..... The Pearl Cafe was wonderful.

http://www.pearlcafe.us/

Karen and AJ went out and bought some crazy shoes....Vibram Five Fingers...

Not much to say except we are off this morning to Glacier National Park.  The weather should be perfect.

I'll be posting images here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/33755787@N03/show/

Later,

Richard

Fishing Report: July 3rd 2010

Saturday, July 3

We were up at our house at 3:30 AM. The plan was to leave the dock at Willis Wharf at 5 AM. Karen and I stopped at the early morning coffee and gas place and made our final preparations.

We met Monte and Frank who are our usual offshore crew. Karen brought a blanket and a pillow and with temps around 65 and no wind we started the 12 mile ride to the inlet on slick calm water.

From the inlet sights were set on 26 mile hill where last week there was a very good Blue fin bite. We had 2 to 3 foot swells from the east with a light north wind. The sun came up and all was good.

As we approached the hill we could see there were already a dozen boats before us with more on the way. We set out a spread of 9 to 10 lines that included the usual assortment from a cedar plug on the short flats to ballyhoo and islanders on the riggers and a couple of Green Machines at 100 and 200 yards back.

We trolled.... and trolled. We didn't see one hook up on any other boats and while last week the charter boat captains were busy with reports this week was silent. Noon arrived with nothing in the box and not even a knockdown.

But we are used to not catching and this really didn't dampen our good time with all the usual stories. The really good ones were told for maybe the 3rd or 4th time over the last 5 years.

Last week when I was out on "Playin Hooky" we left the hill around 1 and headed east where we found a 55lb bluefin. When something works... repeat it.

Around 1230 we headed east. Now we had nothing to do but eat and talk. We spotted a couple of turtles and I saw a flying fish go by. Around 130 I was checking the spread and had my hands on the rod with the bird and green machine checking the drag when it went off. FISH!

Frank took over and we cleared some lines. Before long we saw the color and got the 12 lb mahi in the boat. Beautiful fish!

All it takes for us is one fish and we are all good even if nothing else happens. However, we managed to get some lines tangled up and in the prop which is never a good thing. We did this about 3 years ago and I went in the water to clear it. This time Frank volunteered. The job was easy and no sharks showed up to bite his toes.

Back to trolling. Now the spread included a green machine way back on an Okuma 50W minus 100 yards of line.... still plenty... But when the next fish hit and started shredding line I got a bit worried. I took this one and felt it was a decent fish and watched line going out. Monte had the wheel and I had him bring the boat around to keep the fish off the starboard side so if it ran it wouldn't take as much. We made good quick progress and before long had a plan. Monte was ready to handle the leader and Frank had the gaff. The last 50 yards seemed to be straight down where this fish wanted to be. As it came up we could see tuna and no measurements were required. It all came together and with just a little but of confusion Frank gaffed it and got it over the side. It was his first gaff ever.

Although there has been no Yellowfin bite to speak of we caught a stray 42 lb fish about 7 miles east of 26 mile hill. We tried a little longer for another and picked up 2 more mahi at 7 and 3.5 lbs.

At 330 we picked it up and ran in.

Here is what we learned:

There really isn't any reason to get up early in the morning although it is best to do this to avoid work at home.

Getting line tangled in props should be avoided but warm ocean water makes it a bit easier.

The tuna was attracted to Frank's underwear we had flying on the center rigger pole.... a little known technique but one we will try again!

Go off in undisturbed water with no other boats in sight to find the best fish... this happens with us more often than not.

Here is a link to pics of the day.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/33755787@N03/sets/72157624418622930/show/



I'm off to NC to work Monday... back home Tuesday to turn around Wednesday to leave for 3 glorious weeks of vacation in Alaska!


I'll keep you posted.



Richard

Undead Stumps and other Creatures...

There is a special place on the Eastern Shore of Virginia referred to locally as the "dunes" or "sand dunes".  To get there you find Eastville and then make your way down Savage Neck.  There is a place to park now and the area is called "Savage Neck Natural Area Preserve".

When we go there we are usualy alone and on this Monday it was no different.  The skies were cloudy and rain was threatening when we arrived.  Many of the recent winter storms left the area quite wet and the freshwater pond water level was higher than I've ever seen.

The winter storms have come and cut away at the dunes but no more than expected.  What was noticeble however was the beach just to the north of the preserve where man made breakwaters are in place to protect some private property. The waves and currents took a big bite out of the dunes as they have started to wrap around and cut inside these massive (and rather unattractive) mounds of boulders). 

The trees have been dead for a couple of years but the stumps still have sturdy root systems.  The recent weather has removed a couple of feet of sand exposing them.

A friend on Facebook asked, "how did you do that??)

The skies were getting grey and rain was starting to spit as I started to shoot.  I was using a wide angle lens (Canon 10-22) on my 7D with my trusty tirpod.  I was anticipating the need for it. 

For the isolated stump pictures camera was about a foot off the beach (actually a sand mud of sorts) to get the horizon and sky in the background just right.  The subject was only a couple of feet in front of the camera to give it the larger than life look. 

Three images were shot with a properly exposed shot followed by an underexposed and overexposed image.  Combining these three images in post processing is a technique referred to as "high dynamic range" (HDR).  The idea is every part of the image has detail.  A "regular" image will frequently have areas of shadow and highlights where detail can not be seen.  HDR creates some interesting photos and many purists despise them.  Much of what is done in HDR does not look real and is finished with oversaturated colors.  I have mixed feelings about the overal process but I like it enough to explore the possibilities.

I could have spent hours in this one little area and if the rain had not just started I probably would have.  I knocked all these out in less than 20 minutes.

The following is my favorite of the set.

(I have not figured out how to properly size this blog so it doesn't cut off pictures like it does here...click on the pic to see the complete image or view it in the slideshow by clicking on the link)

 

The stump has some features of "monsters" from low budget sci fi movies made in the 50's.  There are several nets and other debris caught up in the mix.  As he (it is hard to tell the sex of these types of creatures) holds out his left hand he is showing you the man made structure that has directed the erosion in this area that has prematurely woken him from his sleep.

I also like the crab.



The link to the complete set is found in the column to the right....

I'm flying off this afternoon to Haywood County NC to work 3 night shifts.

Till next time,


Richard