#16 Bella Coola, Namu to Lewall Inlet

Sunday, August 21, 2011: Bella Coola to Rocky Inlet (Namu)

Rain and southeast winds are predicted today.  The Wild Blue and Maritime will slowly cruise westward, down Burke Channel, towards the building winds and rain.  There are several places to duck into if it gets nasty including: Cathredral Point anchorage, Fougner Bay, Namu or Rocky Inlet behind Namu.  So off we go examining the various creeks and rivers, which because of the heavy rains, are all flowing like big rivers.  We are looking for salmon amassing near these water mouths.

Maritime holds her course.

We fish our way along and all goes well, for the weather, but not the fishing.  At Cathedral Point, about 30 miles southwest of Bella Coola, winds are light, rain is heavy and we continue. 20 miles later, the winds are building with gusts over 20 knots so we decide on Fougner Bay.  This Bay is small but nicely preotected and upon close inspection, we find two boats already anchored there.  We continue and as we turn left into Fitz Hugh sound, the winds are gusting in the upper 20's and the seas are punchy.  The Namu dock looks to be too exposed to these southerly winds, so we sneak back into Rock Inlet, just behind Namu and anchor in calm waters with a few other boats.  It's a good place to be as the winds are less than 10 knots.

Wild Blue battles the building seas and driving rain. (Rob Bonner photo)

Namu was once a busy fish canning town.  The killer whale that was caught in a fisherman's net near the town assumed it's name.  Namu now  serves as a overnight spot for visiting pleasure craft.

Entering Rock Inlet

Rock Inlet after the wind dies.  The top is live, the bottom is a reflection.

This is not a  Rorschach  diagram.

Pat's homemade tabbouleh, Karen's Teryaki salmon, and seasoned potatoes made us forget the rainy weather..

Monday, August 22, 2011: Rocky Inlet to Lewall Inlet

The storm has passed and just spotty light rain remains.  Today we'll cross Fitz Hugh "Sound", which really seems more like a "Strait".  On the way we'll fish just outside Namu, then the Nalau Pass area.  The plan is to stay inside well-protected Lewall Inlet for the night, just in case.

Our Route for the next few days.

Exiting Rock Inlet

The ocean is quite calm and once trolling, it's easy to see our flashers down to 20 feet deep.  We troll at 35 and 50 feet using Apex lures: Alex's shiny bright Hot Shot, and Bill's dull green Apex.  It's a dull green kind of day and Bill begins landing fish.  A small King, a big Coho, another King, all this as Alex watches.  Finally the skipper gets a bite and lands a King, but it didn't have the fight to detach from the down-rigger! Oh well.

After a short day of cruising-fishing, we squeeze through the narrow entrance to Lewall Inlet on Stirling Island and anchor for the night.  We invited Rob and Donna for dinner aboard, and Donna brought some yummy crab artichoke dip.   We served Pat's homemade meatballs with Karen's tasty Italian sauce over linguine.   All crew survived a dessert of homemade brownies and ice cream.  We slept good!

Veteran Wild Blue crew Bill Almas shows how easily it is to catch a salmon.  This Coho is around 30 inches or so.

Today's haul off Namu and inside Nalau Pass area after 90 minutes of trolling.  Bill caught three fish and chopped the head off Alex's fish.  Note how small Alex's fish looks.

Entering Lewall Inlet on Stirling Island