June 29: Fishing has slowed a little

And that explains why I had time for photos with my weather-beaten and valiant little camera. It was pretty wet and cold on Sunday, though the wind wasn't as strong as Saturday's. The smears on these photos are not me trying to protect anyone's identity; it's raindrops on the camera that I couldn't rub off with my filthy bandana.

This is my brother's crew... and half of his family, Everest and Hannah. Makenzie will be here soon after her whirlwind gig as The Touring Bridesmaid. Jane (my sister-in-law... ok, and Harry's wife, and the kids' mom) isn't able to come out this season, but we are scheming to get her here some time soon.

I think the New Boat crew is much more colorful and nautical than we are. Look at those sou'westers! When they came over to help us with our final pick of the day, we could hear Johnny B Good blasting from David's portable speaker (so that's what those dry boxes are for!) Jeff likes to hang on to the bowline like a cowboy, riding through the rough waves. He's the devil-may-care guy on their boat... snap up the raincoat? Who need it!? Rain hat? For sissies!

I don't know if I've included a photo of the delivery yet. We bring the skiff in to the beach to offload. It's a delicate thing because we need to protect the prop from the rocks and we can't let the skiff go dry (and when the tide is going out, it often goes out fast). At the same time Brad needs to keep his giant gehl forklift from getting stuck in the increasingly soft mud. So pretty much, we can only deliver until about half tide on the ebb. The crew must push us out deep enough for me to lower and start the outboard. When it's rough like it has been the last couple of days, the surf picks up the bow, driving the stern into the ground, so then they have to get us out deeper, where it's harder to control the boat - especially given the big bow facing the strong wind. Our solution has been to throw the anchor as we're coming in so that we'll run out of line just as the skiff gets to the water line. Then driving a giant gehl forklift with fine control, Brad comes to the skiff to pick up our bags of fish as the crew keeps the boat floating. In this photo, Brad is heading back to the truck, loaded with the insulated totes filled with slush ice to deposit our fish after weighing them. Today, Roger is following to grab the bag and bring it back to the skiff. Then we pull out to a safe depth on the anchor line and we're off to another pick through, with the crew cleaning the boat by throwing in water and bailing it out as we run.

I had a little time to take photos because the fish weren't hitting heavily. Here is AJ. At first, he found the tangled fish completely baffling. But he's been getting some practice, picking the inside in the Grayling with Rohan and helping the New Boat with their roundhauls so each time he gets in the boat, he seems to be faster and faster at picking.

And here is Rohan, who is a faster picker than I'd expect from someone in their second year.

Our opening for June 30 is from 3 to 10. June 30 is the second anniversary of Alex's death, my younger son. If you'd like to light a candle for him, I'd be glad to think there is more light in the world in his memory.