So about 8 PM on Friday I made the snap decision to make a weekend trip to Marguerite Bay in Traitors Cove, one of my favorite places to visit. Anyone who has been reading my blog for awhile knows that I go there frequently.
I pulled out on Saturday morning at about 7 AM in almost dead calm sea conditions, partly cloudy skies, and temps in the high 40's.
We had been having extreme high tides over the last few days which always lifts lots of logs and other debris off the beaches. The calm seas did not disburse them as quickly as rough seas do so there were many many patches of this debris along my route. I had to slow down several times and either pick my way through them slowly or make a wide sweep around them. Should have taken some pictures - but didn't.
I stopped for a short time in Clover Pass and prepped my shrimp pots. It was dead calm, sunny, and warm in there.
Here's a map snippet that shows the route from Bar Harbor to the entrance to Traitors Cove. It's about 27 nautical mile, one way.
About 10:45 AM I arrived in Traitors Cove and dropped my shrimp pots out in front of Marguerite Bay, in sight of the USFS dock. I was glad to see that no one else was at the dock, which meant that I had my pick of tie up spots at the dock. And I had the solitude that I seek.
I tied up to the dock about 11 AM and was just hanging out waiting for lunch time when I heard strange sounds coming from around and under the dock. I finally figured out that it was a seal or perhaps an otter swimming around and under the dock and occasionally crunching away on some shell fish. I tried to be stealthy and sneak up on him but never did get a visual, just a lot of audio. He was crunching away on something.
I took some shots of my surroundings just because it was so calm and so beautiful that I just had to.
Not a bad place to spend some time.
Here's an addition to the boat's gear that I recently added. That round silvery reel in the middle of the flybridge extension railings is a Quickline reel. It holds 265' of 7000 lb test flat nylon web "rope." I got it with the intention of using it for A) a stern tie to shore when anchored up in a tight place, B) a stern anchor when needed, C) towing the raft. The advantage is that it takes far less space to store it in a flat line on a reel than 265' of standard rope in a coil. Haven't used it yet. Will let you know how it works.
I had lunch and then geared up and walked up the road to the lake.
I've taken, and posted, many pictures of Margaret Lake from the first bridge, but I don't seem to be able to stop myself from taking a picture there when I get there. So here's another.
I really wanted to try some trout fishing but the skiff my boss has on the lake is too heavy for me to launch by myself so I walked way around the left side of the lake almost to the farthest point that you can see in this picture. It wasn't easy as there is only a trail for the first few yards, and after that it was just brush.
And of course I didn't catch any fish. But it was a nice day for a hike in the woods anyway.
I did see this one "critter" along the way. I almost stepped on him.
I made it back to the boat about 4 PM, and then hurriedly dropped the raft in the water, mounted the kicker, and then prepped my two crab pots. I have a small depth finder for the raft which I only use when I want to set the crab pots from the raft. I putted over to the area in front of the lagoon and dropped them both in about 60' of water.
As the evening progressed the weather just got nicer and nicer. Here are a few more pics to attest to that fact.
I put my thermometer out on the dock and it soon registered 73 F, but it was in the direct sunlight.
I was talking to Lisa on the sat phone when it started to sprinkle! I couldn't believe it. I looked around and found one lonely cloud in the sky. I looked a little further and finally found half a rainbow. You can just barely see it, and it didn't last long.
Had a quiet but productive evening on board. I am taking the boat to Seattle in August and I am already working hard on trip planning, so that took up most of the evening after dinner.
In the morning I noticed a heron (crane?) working the shallows nearby so I took the time to put my zoom lens on and got a couple of shots.
Next I went out in the raft and pulled the two crab pots.
What's that they always say about real estate? "Location, Location, Location."
I bet I had those two crab pots no more than 50 or 60 yards apart, and they were baited identically.
One of them was totally empty and the other had 9 crabs in it.
Of course you can't keep any females, and males have to be at least 6 1/2" wing tip to wing tip, so I could only keep 3 of these, but that is still a good haul for me. I had not had crab for awhile, so was glad to get the 3 that I did.
Good for me, not so good for them, this is what awaited them:
That's my crab cooking set up. I'm going to have to replace the fiberglass propane tank (in blue cover) because the rules have been changed and the propane providers are no longer allowed to refill these tanks. Apparently they are considered a safety hazard because they are thin fiberglass tanks encased in a tough fiberglass outer shell. Too bad, I like that little tank.
On the way out I pulled the shrimp pots. Got three of what I call "rock crabs." I don't think that is an official name, just one I use because these crabs really look like rocks when they are closed up. I think I got Papa crab, Mama crab, and Baby crab. Here are a few shots of them and also of the small load of shrimp I got along with them.
Here's one that is open.
Here's Papa, Mama, and Baby rock crabs. All curled up.
Here's what they look like on the underside. You can see why I call them rock crabs.
After that it was just a beautiful ride back to the harbor.
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