Dunbar Residents Association News and Events

Hi

I was down at a dock in the North Arm a few days ago trying to bring back my fishing childhood with my trusty AND REPAIRED NUMEROUS TIMES,$12.95 Army and Navy Fibre Glass fishing rod . I found the old Penn Reel, that had a loose button that put it in and out of gear most of the time, It was great, scrounging through the old rusty tackle box, getting ready to fish for Chub again ! Wow whats this warning thing, do I really need a Federal fishing licence to fish for CHUB , BULLHEAD and PIKE MINNOW in Celtic Slough !, my gosh I have been doing my spring chubbing ever since I was 7 years old and it cost me nothinG BUT A SLICE OF BREAD !! Bait , I always took a ball of wet G. B. White Bread,” Chub do not like the brown whole wheat stuff “, a few worms and a little” Knobbly Wobbler Half and Half spoon” that my mom bought for my dad at the Army and Navy Store in the 1950ies . It was great to mosey off down to the little slough at the south foot of Blenheim Street , to fish with the other Blenheim Flats kids and of course the sloughs GREAT BLUE HERON we all called BIG FOOT, was always waiting for a Chub or two !

I can always remember many year ago spending lots of time polishing the Knobby Woddler Spoon with moms Brasso and getting ready for a fishing trip to the Green Light on the west end of the North Arm Jetty . Dad said do not foget my Knobby Wobbler spoon for it would catch all most every thing that has fins on it ! It was a 39 cent Army and Navy Coho Blueback and Chub killer and I kind of always liked the little fish lure for I was incharge of looking after it ! We chugged out of Celtic Slough on a outgoing tide, in our Easthope powered Gillnetter, with lots of fishing friends on board . Destination was the Green Light on the sea ward end of the North Arm Jetty. It was dark so i turned on the Puffs running lights and lit the cabin top Hurricane Lantern ! Boy were we ready for a morning of Spring Blue back Coho salmon fishing out in the Big Sea . The 5 horse power Easthope engine with its model T, 6 volt wooden box coil egnition, sparked in tune with the one lung engine that we salvaged from a wreck on Point Grey ! I loved to steer the old boat with one hand, trying hard to miss the many dead-heads in the river . It was hard peeking by the cabin door that slid back and forth when a tug boat went by! The dangerous to kids, high amperage buz coil sparked and went buz buz as it sat on the windshield shelf ! Do Not touch it dad warned or you will be electrocuted ! The heat from the” Easthopes Goose Neck Exhaust ” was very welcomed inside the carbon monoxcide laced air of the cabin, it kind of made you sleepy, unless the cabin door was wide open ! Dad and friends ,”we for -sure were overloaded with fishermen friends from up the Blenheim Street Hill on this trip ! They ” were very busy polishing the Knobby killer and other spoons and shivering in the cold morning air ! They all kind of huddled under the net drum in the back of the boat with their fishing rods and complained a lot ! Time for a hot breakfast dad announced , as we passed the Inner Light , he took a can of beans, punched a hole in the can and hung it close to the now cherry red goose Neck exhaust pipe of the engine, for we had no stove to cook our breakfast on ! It was a great fishing trip and the “Knobbly Wobbler Half and Half out fished all the Gibbs spoons and flashers ten to one !

So today I am again fishing for Chub, Bullheads and Pike Minnow, with no licence of course and oh my gosh it seems they all kind of like the G. B. White Bread paste and here they go, the nasty Pike Minnows grabbed the old Army and Navy Knobby Wobbler too !

Terry

Hi : On Wed. and Thur. last week the cement sidewalk workers stamped the Salmon and Historic First Nations creek name on the new sidewalk additions at Crown and King Edward Streets .I volunteered with the stamp placings for the Salmon and Khahtsulek Creek name and the pressings went very well .

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The Coho Salmon stamps on the east side of the Street are in a design and a direction that focuses on the juvenile migrating salmon moving from the Historic Convent Stream, now Saint Georges Junior School property . This little brook twisted and bubbled it way to the main creek at 29th. and Wallace Street . A little fresh water spring and stream , a eastern tributary of Khahtsulek Creek, historically provided fresh water for the Convent buildings and a spawning place for Wild Dunbar Coho and Sea run Cutthroat Trout !

I gathered Blue stones from a creek to the north, that drains onto South Spanish Banks and i used them to represent the meandering stream and Coho spawning gravels ! Sandra Thomas of the Courier was very interested in this Dunbar event, but was on holiday during the First of hopefully many historic salmon Creeks of Vancouver Sidewalk stampings . Loretta Woodcock of the Parks Board was on hand to see the first official recognition of a historic Salmon Spawning stream on the west side of Van .

Waiting for the cement to dry, for just right time, to make the stampings , was like the Historic Coho Salmon waiting for the right weather and creek conditions, to enter the Creeks mouth at the North Arm of the Fraser River !

Yes it was exactly a hundred Years ago that the last Wild Coho of Dunbar, spawned in our neighbourhood !

Terry

For thousands of years dying Oolicans rolled over on to their silvery backs, eyes looking up towards the sky, on the brown surface water of the Lower Fraser River , that like clock work in May starts spring Freshet ! For thousand of years the Oolichan ritual was the same , the little oily fish became at last visible on the surface of the river in the late spring ! The many species of fish hunting birds ” including Eagles” that depended upon the silver fish and their life giving ocean oil to feed and raise the young that were now in the nest were waiting . It was , ” from a God kind of natural cycle” of Oolican death and giving so that many other species could survive !

Its late May and the spawned out fish now find themselves out of swimming control and slowly rolling over on the surface of a dark muddy river, strangely now the little ocean fish are under the complete mercy of the tide and wind in the river estuary ! On every wave thousands of the up -side down struggling Oolichan finally wash ashore in the lower river . The tide drops and the marshes are covered in dead splashes of silver through out the dead grasses, the muddy banquet table is set and there are many species that are patiently waiting for their spring time feed . Yes for thousands of years this was mother natures or gods plan for these little fish, they would provide them self as food for other species to survive ! Also the great Fraser River Juvenile Salmon Marshes that provide food for spring migrating fry and smolts are waiting now to receive the fertilizing goodness of the left over dieing Oolichan ,yes this has been happening for thousands of years, a part of natures wonderful plan !

Last year I walked along the shores of the North Arm of the Fraser River , I saw no gulls in the sky looking down , I saw no Eagles watching from the dolphins and the brown river Freshet was not visable . I walked and walked and wondered if the river’s brown silty colour would come in time for the Oolichans and really some how I knew, like the year before, that the Fraser River Oolichan would again never come home ! We can only hope this will change in the spring of 2011 !

Terry ” From the North Arm of the Fraser River ”

Most every block in Dunbar has one or even as much as 4 houses now being demolished and new very large homes built next door to neighbours . Yes the neighbourhood is undergoing a construction boom that we have never seen before, except probably in the early 1900 ! Many old but structural sound homes and garages are being demolished and large truckloads of waste is being sent to landfill ! I find it surprising and wonderful when a major renovation does take place on a old home in Dunbar now and watch as the home is lifted up or just painted and landscaped .Our senior neighbours that have lived in Dunbar for many years, kind of accept the noise , dust and 8 months of construction activity, but for many old time Dunbarites it is annoying ! The excavator continues for a few days house smashing and ripping, all this kind of some how rekindle memories of old families that once lived in the house, great gardening and just very friendly helpful people, who we talked to every morning, over a low side and backyard fence.

Where there was once , backyard fruit trees, raspberry bushes and a “Victory Vegetable Garden Patch”, today it will all be replaced by a big garage or a lane home . The Backyard Lawn is also being reduced to a postage stamp size ! The Head- lines in the local paper should read our lawns are under attack, not only from Chafer Beetles and Skunks but from New House construction !

The huge, old lovely smelling “Van Fleet Rose” that survived by being planted on the old “not necessary to survey property fence line” is now gone in the diesel smell of excavator exhaust fumes ! The neighbours “Quince Bush” with is fruit that made great jam, along with its wonderful spring pink flowers, is gone now hanging out of the excavators bucket !

The last to go is the jungle of Raspberry Bushes, they survived many previous home owners for the berries were so sweet and over the many years required no help at all from anyone !

I just watched a Group of seniors singing on T. V. the song” Should I Stay or Should I Go ” it was really wonderful and it reminded me of what is taking place in Our Dunbar Today .

Terry

The Angel Hair is here again, along side most of the Trails in Pacific Spirit Park . The Feather Frost is white and kind of looks like curved white feathers poking out of pieces of dead Alder tree branches and fallen logs . Some times there are lots of them near the sides of the trails, on broken pieces of branches. These snow like clumps of frost needles are always found on deciduous trees that at very sick or dead ! Stop for a moment and touch the white cold frozen hair and they quickly melt and disappear in your hand !

Angel Hair forms during the night when the temperature is just a few degrees below freezing and usually after a relatively winter warm and wet spell . In the old days us kids called them ” Forest Popsicles” one lick and they were gone, disappearing like magic into the heavens above !

Early this Sunday morning all the many things that were needed, were in the place for the Angel Hair, sometimes called Feather Frost, to make a big appearance all over Pacific Spirit Park . They squeeze their way out of cracks in old broken and frozen wood, pushed up through rotting stumps and some special ones looked like they were as light as a curved fine white Bantam Chicken feather, that floated down from the sky above . As the daytime temperature warmed up to just above freezing, the” Feather of Angels” disappeared like Magic only to appear again when natures ” Jack Frost ” said it was time for them to make another grand appearance and makes us all wonder with amazement about those strange pieces of “White Winter Fluff ” that mysteriously show up on a cold winter morning in Pacific Spirit Park !

Terry

Is all about the return of North Arm of the Fraser River’s Otters !

Our not well known but now the seasonal Christmas Wild River Otters are wonderful to watch ! The small family of North Arm River Otters this year has grown from 2 to a family group of 5 and have spread their fish hunting habitat from the waters of Mc Donald Slough in Richmond to the lower ponds of Vancouver’s McCleery Golf Course and also Celtic Slough” Deering Island Park” in Vancouver .

Their winter diet of fish include Starry Flounder, Sculpins and other bottom fish in the river ! Carp in the McCleery Golf Course Ponds are fished for and eaten before the Christmas Point Grey Herring arrive in the river ! Historically on the “Large Flood Tides ” of Dec., Point Grey Pacific Herring get pushed up into the river on the powerful ” Salish Sea’s Salt Water Wedge” . The salty wedge twists and turns into sloughs and backwaters, providing a great “Christmas Feast of Fish”, of yes Herring for the North Arm River Otters and local Eagles ! On the out -going tide change , the river returns back to more fresh water environment and the now “High Slack Tide Herring” are pushed up to the surface and the Christmas feast begins for the Otters , Eagles,Harbor Seals and Cormorants !

Wow it is a great but really only once in a lifetime chance, to just maybe see the” Christmas Feast” for the Animals and birds in the lower river ! The Natures event happens very quickly , it is just a bit of real luck that you might be there when it does happens !

Question: How to make my chances a little bit better ? When must I be on the McCleery River Front Trail or on the West end of Deering Island Park to just may be get lucky and see this all this unfold ? Look in the Sun Paper on the weather page for the Large High Water Tides, add about 1 hour on to the high tide noted , be in the park or in -front of the McCleery Golf Course and bring your Binoculars !

Hey its free, a great Christmas present from Mother Nature ! Good Luck and tell me how you make out ! “

Happy Holidays”

Terry Slack ” From the North Arm of the Fraser River “

Hi ! Yes just this year in Dunbar we have added one more species of hummer to our” wintering over population”, it is the COSTA’S ,Calypte costae ! Wow in Dunbar one of Vancouver’s great places for year long” Wild Bird Watching”, has some how been chosen to look after just ONE SPECIAL BIRD, staying for this Winter, the lovely Costa’s Humming Bird!

She (or he) is a” Wild Desert Hummer” that are known to spend most of their time poking their long beaks into flowers that bloom near the edges of towns in Arizona and California ! The first sightings and positive identification by birders, took place this summer on the West side of Dunbar ! She visited our backyard feeder at 33rd. and Camosun and two others in the neighbourhood . Wow it was something very special as we watched all summer and fall long as she visited with Anna’s and Rufous hummers, the competition was fierce for the nectar plants we planted in our front and backyard yard humming bird flower garden .

Would she stay the winter with our Anna’s was the question on our minds , and if so could she learn the lessons of winter survival from the Anna’s ? Yesterday morning we heard the light Tik , Tik scolding sounds near our feeder and she was visiting about every 5 minutes for quite awhile , then off to the other West Dunbar Feeding locations ! Yes she is has learned the winter survival skills well from her Anna’s friends on the West side of Dunbar .

I was asked just a few days ago if I was taking a winter holiday , the answer was No , it seems I have a” Winter Humming Bird Feeding Job” to do, living on the West Side of Dunbar ! Terry Slack ” From the Costa’s Humming Bird Feeders of West Dunbar “

The Adams River Sockeye are entering the Fraser rivers mouth near Steveston especially on a hight tide and are highly visable for about 2 hours on slack tide ,all across the river south east to the Albion Wall it was solid salmon ! Still the bulk of the Sockeye run still has not entered the river !

This past Tues.the Sockeye entering was very large in numbers , gillnetters were catching about 200 fish on every set of the net . Garry Point Park just west of Steveston is a great viewing location and on any high slack tide, its really a jumping Salmon Show !

The Late Run Sockeye continue to pass through Johnston Strait still in large numbers ! My guess is the late run sockeye alone could reach 25 million !

The commercial fishermens price per. pound from a large Fishing Company has now sagged to 90 or even 75 cents ! Commercial Boats are now fishing for a big volume catch, 1’000 salmon or more at these prices, this just might pay some past bills .

When buying gillnet caught Sockeye from dock sales chose your Sockeye with care, look and ask for a Silverbright Sockeye with no fish slime on the outside skin ! The large fish with a hook nose are Males they are great for smoking and the slender Sockeye are females with roe , they are best for canning and freezing ! White looking Sockeye with bloodmarks on the skin or bloches could mean they have been in the net or on the boat for a longer period of time ! Some gillnet boats sell directly to the public for around 4$ a pound gutted at this time to try to make a profit ! Gillnet Best Buys might be around 2 days after a commercial gillnet fishery in the river has ended , then barter price with the boat owner ! Trolled Sockeye are the best , but much more expensive ! Many Seine boats at Steveston are unloading Sockeye quota catches from Johnston Strait, about 10, 000 sockeye and every short trip ends up here in Steveston Channel for shipping !

The Adams Sockeye are large and in good shape so far this year and mixed in with them are some other runs of Sockeye that are much smaller and much brighter looking , they are great and my choice for freezing ! Oh yes the North Arm of the Fraser River shows little or no sign of the Late Run Sockeye using this waterway as a river entrance migration route, with a run this size, I can only wonder why not ! !

“Terry >From the North Arm of the Fraser River”