Unexpected abundance arrives with the sun on the North Pass.  A silver hits the Captain’s herring minutes after he sinks it with the downrigger to 45 feet. Another takes mine. The bite is on. We could get our winter’s share of silver salmon if the more aggressive pink salmon did not swarm our hooks.

We boat two silvers — 20 pounds of fish — before the bait herring run out. A small miracle this time of year. Silvers come in the September wet not the height of summer.

But for a visitor from California we would not have left Tee Harbor on this holiday sunday. For him we hoped for whales and less rain. There was a whale at the harbor mouth but none in the pass. There was sun and little rain. There were no other boats partaking of the harvest but one. Strong luck.