Days 1 & 2…..Vancouver to Ucluelet….and fish on !!

With our 2020 travel plans put on hold due to COVID-19, our idea is to stay close to home and visit local areas. First up is a family mini-vac in Tofino on Vancouver Island ….Steve, our son, has been in Vancouver on business for the month and we are camping at his apartment before leaving in the morning. Ella, our daughter, will meet us with her flock in a few days in Tofino.

Lovely morning as we headed to Horseshoe Bay to catch the ferry to Nanaimo…. a full ferry but everyone was observing COVID protocols..

On-time departure and arrival as we head for Cathedral Grove en route to Port Alberni and Ucluelet on the Pacific coast…..a bit bummed as Cathedral Grove is closed and the parking area even fenced off !!! After picking up last-minute groceries and a cup of java in Port Alberni…

….we then head out following a pretty twisty road with a few nice outlooks onto rivers, mountains and several large lakes Kennedy, Sproat…..i.e it would have been nice to check them out but it always seems there is not enough time !!

Steve checked out the water and yes…it is COLD !

and finally arrive in Ucluelet (aka Ukee), a part commercial fishing/part tourist hamlet. Tomorrow’s fishing expedition time is firmed up, our meeting spot checked out and we head to Anchors Inn where we will stay for 2 nights…

An early evening, as it is 5 AM wake-up….morning is foggy but with a positive forecast for a sunny day and light winds…we meet Dave our Captain who asks if we have fished here before and whether we have taken our Gravol……hmmmm, I ask him about the forecast…he has a rather short retort >>> “lumpy”, have not heard this term in weather forecasts, but get the feeling it is not a positive term. We wonder about the Gravol question, as light winds do not require Gravol….the Captain laughs and says there has been a westerly wind for the last 5 days so the seas will be lumpy !!! As for the fog, he says it may or may not lift ….sounds great, as we set off the fog really sets in:

We have radar so no worries, once beyond the harbour headland, things start rocking and rolling: rocks, rocky islets and foaming water on both sides as the seas build…this area is known as the “Graveyard of the Pacific”, nice… Capt. Dave seems calm and says he has run various boats here for the last 12 years….the drill is simple: hang on with one hand and preferably two >>> thoughts of leaning back and enjoying the view/ride are quickly extinguished as the Grady White repeatedly slams from the peak of a wave to the trough, often a fall of 10 feet or so….we have 300 horses helping but going faster than half throttle is not an option…..1 hour later we are out 7 miles out and on the banks where halibut, salmon and lingcod reside…

….the good news is we feel great and even pound back a sandwich, the bad >> the fishing is going to be a bit tough …soon the whole fleet (4 Grady’s) is on location and some of the guys start catching …..we on the other hand are  just fishing…then a doubleheader > action was intense so only a pic of Steve fighting his fish:

2 nice Chinook in the basement !!! After a longish session of trolling the water 2 halibuts aka “chickens “> meaning small (less than 20 lbs.) join the chinooks. Spirits lift, the weather lightens up and we head to the lee of an inshore island where Capt. Dave cleans our fish …being on a charter certainly has its advantages…and we jig for rockfish with some nice rockies caught along with vermillion coloured> a beauty, but all go back in the water as we are happy with what we have in the cooler !!

…and as our “half day” stretched to six hours ends, we head for the dock …..an exciting and in the end successful day !!

Now that we have the fish what to do with them … Ucluelet is well prepared and we are recommended to go to Ukee Seafood and Fish Pak which will portion cut, flash freeze and vacuum pack your catch, keeping it in their freezers until you are leaving. With our catch safe and sound it is time for a quick lunch, some rest time at the Anchors Inn and revitalized the crew is ready for a short hike on the nearby Light House Loop (part of the Wild Pacific Trail) ….. a short 2.6 km loop with fantastic viewpoints of the wind-swept coastline of Barkley Sound…click on images to enlarge:

….below a fisher coming through the “Graveyard of the Pacific, still tricky but easier when “fog-free”……click on lower images to enlarge:

 

 

 

An exciting fishing trip and a beauty of a walk…..a great start to our min-vac !!