JDW Photos and Life

We went back out on the water a few days later as a sightseeing day - no fishing. It is always interesting to see the sea otters in large pods. I have no idea how many were in this pod but it was a bunch. As soon as you slow down the boat, they all go on alert to see what is next. Note that we are not very close to them and these shots were with a zoom lens. However, they decided a stopped boat was not what they wished to see and they started heading off to increase the distance. In this second shot, you can see their wake they are leaving as they swim away. As they swim off, they break up into smaller groups - oftentimes in pairs as seen the the third photo. I think these two were telling us to get on with your business so we can get on with ours. Thanks, Doug White https://jdwarchive.blogspot.com/

After a week of significant events and deep emotions, I'll try to resurrect some positive energy by sharing some more Kodiak trip photos. We took Penny for a walk in Ft. Abercrombie State Park. The path provides some great views of the ocean and the primroses were in full bloom. The tide was very low and exposed a lot more rocks than our typical hike. Though clear skies, the atmosphere was still a bit hazy. Thanks, Doug White https://jdwarchive.blogspot.com/

We did not take a photo of every fish caught (many more than this photo) but I put together this collage of the photos taken. We kept 5 fish for the freezer (and dinner that night). Halibut and lingcod are the favorite table fish and we were really fortunate that day with two halibut (15# and 10#), two lingcod (both about 15#), and one silver salmon (guess around 8#). All other fish were released to fight another day. My Gulf Coast friends will notice a very nice flounder that was released. When you have halibut, who needs flounder! Their supply of fish in the freezer was just about depleted due to the poor spring/summer weather. This was easily their best day fishing for the year and I was very grateful to be a part of it. This one day put several dozen 2-person meals in the freezer. Yes, they also put Penny's fishy dinner morsels in the packages. I have said it many times - they are going to miss the fishing of Kodiak! Every time I had the opportunity to fish there, I was not dis...

Just as I was about to put the camera up and get back fishing, we spotted a sea otter swimming along on its back with something on its chest. After a few photos, it was clear he was having lunch of some sort. We have seen sea otters cracking clams on their chest before but this meal was much larger. I took way too many photos over a couple of minutes watching but here a few at various stages of lunch. It appears to be some kind of large snail-type meal. Thanks, Doug White https://jdwarchive.blogspot.com/

We are about to the end of photos taken in the middle of our fishing trip. While rocking along, I found myself just sitting and enjoying the beautiful landscapes surrounding us. The first photo is another view of the little island jutting out of the water. It must be where the gulls and cormorants go to rest after their feeding frenzy. The second photo shows the beautiful green mountains with patches of snow still present. You get another view of just how overcast the day was. Having just left 100+ temperatures and a severe drought burning everything to brown in Texas, this trip was beyond wonderful. I don't believe we had a high over 65 in our 3 week trip. Thanks, Doug White https://jdwarchive.blogspot.com/

This sequence of five photos takes place in less than a half-second. The subject gull has his needlefish and is working to get airborne again. You also get a more clear photo of what's for lunch. Thanks, Doug White https://jdwarchive.blogspot.com/

The action got pretty intense in flock feeding frenzy. Again, each photo has detail that I like to study. These photos are cropped for aspect ratio but that is about it (very close to in-camera size). I believe they were feeding on a school of small needlefish. Thanks, Doug White https://jdwarchive.blogspot.com/