July 1 2016: We fished!

Many of us, including me, had trouble sleeping last night. It was probably a combination of excitement/anxiety about the upcoming opening and not being tired enough to overwhelm that excitement or anxiety.

It wasn't a really heavy tide, but it was respectable and it gave the crew picking practice. It was really hard to keep my hands off and let them figure it out.

Here we are, so happy that there are enough fish for everyone (but me) to pick.

Here is Patrick, calm and cool - he's the experienced guy in my boat this year and I'm really glad to have him. We have a crew full of hard workers this year, and still, Patrick stands out, the way he doesn't get distracted by our occasional silliness - he seems always aware of where we're heading and what needs to happen to get us there. And what his role could be in that process.

Here are David and Austin. They are the "big guys" in the boat this year. And I had forgotten that David D has had a lot of experience picking fish, so he's pretty fast. And he is probably the most positive person I've ever met. And I love the way he sings!

Austin is Jeff's cousin and new to our crew this year. He is the guy who will find the awkward thing to say in a group setting. We are all impressed. Perhaps related to that ability, he seems to be a natural for fishing. On the very first day, he understood the need to communicate what was happening in the bow of the boat so that I, in the stern, could tell whether I should slow down, lift the outboard, come up and help... or whatever. He's been on hydraulics and he keeps up a running commentary that is fun and very helpful. And he grew up driving a skiff, so it's easy to turn the helm over to him.

As the pelting continues on the west side of the cabin, I’ll show you Oksanna and fish-picking by fire. I have great hopes for her as a fish picker. I think women tend to be a little better at untangling things. She has small hands, is not afraid to try anything and wants to learn, is hard-working and always on the lookout for how she can help, and is patient and calm. This last attribute means she will be the last person to tear a hole in the net, and she is a positive joy to work with. On the other hand, she may have to learn to defend her fish from the less patient in the boat (like me) when the fishing gets heavy.

Patrick and Oksanna were usually on one side of the net while Austin and David D were on the other side. We always try to help each other, which sometimes translates into relieving each other of the fish they are working on. Maybe not 100% of the time with permission. Ok ok! We will sometimes steal each others' fish. I'm not saying that's what's happening here... but it could happen. At some time.

It is very very hard for new pickers to resist the impulse to hold the fish while they pick it. This impulse seems stronger among the more conscientious. I think it is very counter-intuitive for a careful person to let something drop to the ground.

Sometimes we just plain old laugh at each other. But don't worry; everyone gets a turn and we all know our turn is coming.

Patrick grabbed the camera and got a shot of us motoring away from our last delivery this tide by skiff. The day that started out so sunny and mild that most people stowed their raincoats instead of carrying them out to the skiff -- and that David L eschewed his raincoat altogether -- started to make promises of rain, and then started to fulfill those promises, with a little interest. AGS' trucks and Gehl are on the beach, having just taken the last fish we could deliver before the tide slips away too far so that there is too much mud between the bow of our skiff and the reach of the Gehl.

Our period closed at 4 PM, but we started to run out of water before that. It looks like this year is like last year in that we seem to be getting late hitters. At the very end of the tide, as we we're picking up the net, we had a lot of fresh strikes! Yay?

At 3 PM there was an announcement of another fishing opening tomorrow morning starting at 9:30 AM till 5 PM. It feels good to be fishing.