Months ago I got a call from Kenny. He wanted to fish at the Cape. That got me thinking about what qualifications I might look for in such a request...

A couple of months later I met Kenny at the Cove. He wasn't even on the water that day, but we talked about his boat (Kraken 15.5), his experience (he's seasoned) and his desire (good priorities). We were one step closer to a deal...

Last week I saw some potential "Cape Weather" approaching, so I left Kenny a message on short notice. This was the last test...

Kenny wanted this. He was on my request, and I already knew from our correspondence that he was well equipped to do the trip. We arranged to meet in Fortuna where he was camping the night before, and from there it was just a matter of getting up early and driving over the hill to the Cape.

With a forecast that was wavering from 5 knots to 5 to 15 knots, we just needed to get over there and do it. 15 knots can translate to 25 at the Cape, so we were looking good to arrive and see only a mildly chopped up surface and not many whitecaps on the outside. We geared up and got on the water by just after 7AM, and it was game on!

Even with a pretty extreme drift the bite was fast and furious with lingcod landed right off the bat. We went on to land several lings in the first hour, and the wind went from mild to raspy and back to manageable in the first couple of hours.

We went on to catch all the fish we were after - 4 lingcod in the 15 to 20 pound class out of a dozen and a half or so that we landed, a nice cabezon, two fat vermillion, two coppers with one being state recordish at around 8 to 10 pounds, chinas, blacks, blues... We were blessed with a diverse catch and a pretty constant bite for several hours.

When it was time to go my guest had kept a modest lingcod and a couple of small blacks. It wasn't about a limit or even the biggest fish for Kenny, and that garners much respect from me. At 65 years old, my partner on the water this day was in good touch with what it means to seek fulfillment in the offshore wilderness. I was just lucky enough to be the facilitator.

Thanks for coming along. 

I'll get this started by saying that Big Jim Russell and the A-Hull crew really pulled off a great event at Del Monte Beach in Monterey today.  We fished, gathered at the mile buoy to pay our respects, paddled together, potlucked and raffled, raising more funds for PIF in a record year.

Well done to everyone involved.  Good Times! 

Shelter Cove with friends, old and new.

Wednesday the 5th I had a cancelation due to illness, but two of my best friends and fishing partners were hitting the water expecting to join up so it was on! David, Domenic and I ended up spending almost 10 hours on the water on a great ocean. We tried some different strategies out west of the red can and were rewarded with a new species for the dinner table - Petrale Sole. Soooooo good, and they're fun to pull up along with some sand dabs.
 
At one point we thought Dom had a Pac halibut on, but it turned out to be a skate. All good fun!

A long and beautiful day on smooth water with friends was a great time, and I was stoked to get a text from Ryan at the end of the day saying he was ready to hit it soon. "You down for tomorrow?" I sent... And soon I'd gone from all warm and fuzzy from 10 hours OTW to re-charged for another adventure on Thursday!

I made my way back up 101, got dinner in town, got home and cleaned gear quickly, and then my kids wanted to go berry picking... Even after 3 hours driving, 10 hours fishing, an hour at the cleaning table, briefly meeting with my guest for Thursday, dinner and re-situating gear for the next day's trip, I was stoked to do some picking with the teenagers! Coll and I scored a couple quarts at Humboldt Hill, and then Claire freed up and the 3 of us donned headlamps and mosquito repellent for night picking in Loleta. I knew I'd be pushing it to do a second day in a row of getting up at 345AM and fishing all day, but you don't skip out on night-picking with the kids. #lifetimememories

Got to bed just after midnight hoping my body would tolerate the forced endurance test... Thursday at 345AM came, and I was ready to be on point with my best for the day. Packed my bait, breakfast and a few beers, picked up Ryan, his yak and gear, and we were on the road for the Cove. 101 in the dark is a favorite time, and spending the trip getting to know my guest and new friend was a great way to start the day.

Ryan and I got down into the Cove by about 6AM to see a beautiful ocean with overcast skies that promised to keep us cool for the day's adventure on the Pacific. We got launched by just after 7AM and made our way along the usual circuit - moorings, Bell, a few favorite pinnacles, the Whiss, south for a bit, west for a bit... There was a common theme: the fish were biting on every stop! I enjoyed passing on information to Ryan as the morning progressed - it's not just the how, where and when of fishing that I am looking to impart - we focus on how to use the forecasts, how to read the water, what to watch for as the day unfolds and the conditions change... Safety is really the overriding theme of any kayak fishing trip, and anyone who doesn't understand that is certainly not doing it right! We also go over gear and tools - everything from kayak/seat/paddle/fishfinder/PFD to rod/reel/tackle/net/stringer/burlap/cooler to wetsuit/drysuit/boots/paddle jacket/hat/glasses/face shield. I am proud to have a set protocol for items and considerations that are to be reviewed and focused on during my offshore adventure trips.

Ryan's first offshore outing at the Cove was a great success, and we had a blast getting to know each other while playing with the fish. After two strong days on the water, all the driving, not much sleep and practically wearing out my smile muscles, our drive back over the ridge and up 101 had me catapulted to a whole new level of warm and fuzzy!

Thank you, Ryan, for bringing an open heart and positive spirit to our trip - it was really great to meet you! Thank you, Domenic and David for being the best fishing buddies and all around badasses that I could ask for in friends.

I look forward to my next opportunity to share my way with others and to build on the praise that I offer to Nature as a daily reflection of my soul's intent. 

With salmon season recently closed at the Cove the focus is on rockfish, lingcod and hopefully some halibut will show up like last summer.  Of course, with news of a 12.25" abalone recently harvested, that's on the potential catch list too...

Friday I had a great followup client - Dave W. from Oakland.  We did a couple days for salmon at the Cove a few years back.  A busy restaurateur, Dave has been enjoying great success with his gig, but fishing opportunities have been scarce - he came north to scratch that itch at the Cove, and I was honored to host and guide him for a day.

Good friends and local badasses Domenic and David S. joined us on the water for a strong session down on the Tolo Bank where we combined to catch a dozen species including some stout lings and verms, coppers, blacks, blues, canaries, yellow tail rockfish, quillback, greenling, cabezon and even an ancient and super fat yellow eye that was carefully descended back to where it came from.  Right around midday a slight breeze started up, so we headed back to the north.  We found that the NW to SE current had taken us a bit further than we'd planned on, but with a guest on a Revo I wasn't concerned about getting back up the hill.  1.5 hours of paddling and pedaling later...  we were fighting quite a bit more wind along with the current, and we were ready to call it a day.  I still had a chove running behind 8 ounces of lead with hopes of getting a bite from a halibut southeast of the moorings, and what do you know, I managed that 12th species - short, but a great sign that we've got another Cali-Hali summer coming on!

We were soon landed and enjoying the sun at the ramp while we packed up the gear.  Dave and I enjoyed a brew up the hill while processing the catch - I'm pretty good at fileting fish, but Chef Dave and his Bubba Blade were like watching a TV show.  Great stuff, bro!  And thanks again for the followup call and the generous tip - it all goes to my kids' college fund. 

After visiting with my favorite innkeeper at The Tides I hit the road for home where I'd clean gear, re-pack for Saturday's trip, fuel up on our favorite Mexican takeout and crash hard for the night.  Saturday I was up just before 4AM again and on the road to the Cove to meet up with Stephen.  I've known Stephen for a few years through Eel River work and interests, and he was recently sworn in as a Humboldt Bay Harbor District commissioner.  Stephen was at the Cove for Friday evening's public meeting concerning the launch and fish processing facilities, and I'm very glad to have a connection to the inner workings of that process and the issues surrounding it - the old, half-burnt building by the fish cleaning station is to be torn down and replaced with a new state of the art facility, and the fish cleaning station is to be dismantled and transformed into a processing facility where the fish offal will no longer be dumped into the ocean.  There's also talk of big changes for launching as well as access, so I'll stay close to the news on these issues and report here as I have info.

Anyway, Stephen has a Cobra Tourer and has done some crabbing at Trinidad, but he'd not fished from a kayak prior to our trip yesterday.  With the forecast a bit scattered it wasn't a day to go back down on Tolo, and Stephen's first trip would be well served by the strength of the bite right around the Cove and Point Delgada - black rockfish and lingcod it would be! 

Here's the meat of this report, to me.  Friday I had a veteran NCKA member with me who's salmon trolled Bolinas and other tough spots, is master of a Revo, and who knows his way around the open water in terms of safety, motion sickness...etc.  But Saturday's guest was much different.  Stephen's in good shape and has some experience on the water, but he hadn't had any introduction to paddling and fishing at the same time - let alone landing spiny rockfish and toothy lingcod in your lap!  My work is specialized - the right trip for Dave with his experience, fitness and gear was different than the right trip for Stephen.  I felt good about making these considerations my focus as I tried to provide the best possible experience for both guests.

Stephen and I had a great morning of glass before a squirly southwest wind kicked in and had us on unorganized chop for the balance of our session.  Over the course of the morning Stephen quickly gained proficiency in trolling bait, reacting to bites, hooking and landing, and re-deploying gear to maximize opportunity and success.  The blacks were biting really well between the Bell and Whistle, and the lingcod didn't let us down when we hung herring over them along the reef.  Stephen earned his SOT Offshore Fishing card yesterday, and I got to mark down another happy guest's first catch and first lingcod in my guide log.  After fileting fish in the rain, sending Stephen on his way, being treated to lunch by my innkeeper buddy and enjoying one last view of the Cove, I was on the road for home, smiling all the way up 101 as once again the best kind of fatigue was so awesomely counter-balanced by joy and appreciation for the opportunities that I have been so fortunate to cultivate.

Thx, NCKA.  See you soon. 

Will be flying out of Oakland at 1015AM on a Sunday and want to get to Oakland Saturday evening and leave my car at the hotel for a week. 

Anyone have good info on options?

A secure place to park that is cheap would be ideal.  I'm thinking Uber or taxi to airport...

Thx!

Some GS Hike and Dive history:

As part of GS8 in May 2014 I offered a First Annual Gimme Shelter Hike and Dive t-shirt on the order form.  The shirt would represent a group hike that I offered on Sunday after the fishing tournament.  Meeting up at 6AM sharp at the Lost Coast trailhead at Black Sands Beach, 30 of us embarked on a 6 mile roundtrip beach trek.  Yes, you read that right - THIRTY of us!  Domenic and I hauled our gear on 9' Mainstream kayaks with Wheeleez, and many of the others had gear in backpacks.  The group went on to complete the mission with several of us locals grabbing some abs - Domenic got a beautiful ten incher! - and eventually we made our way back up the beach to Shelter Cove.

The hike was pretty brutal.  I think it was a bit more than some participants expected, but people had fun, learned, developed new relationships and discovered a beautiful new place - all while challenging themselves in Nature.  This was a Loleta Eric's Guide Service trip - I'd just gotten my license.  The trip was free, but I was loving showing people around at an old haunt of mine.  I'd envisioned showing others how to find big abs and maybe working one on one with some...  The way it turned out was that people did their own thing at the dive spot and along the trail, and that was fine - it was a blast to see so many people really going for it!

Here's a link to the original report:  http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=51304.90

The next year for GS9 there was some talk of a 2nd Annual Hike and Dive, but I didn't make a t-shirt or followup on organizing the hike.  Got the potluck trash dealt with, shipped the family home, salmon trolled quite a few miles Sunday evening and Monday morning and by that evening I was looking around for someone who may want to go on a hike early Tuesday.  I soon found that just about everyone was gone already from the campground and around the Cove.  Craig/Rockman and his lovely wife Tinney were hanging for another day, so we did dinner and I convinced them to hike with me up the Lost Coast a few miles.  The second Hike and Dive would go down after all!  The next morning we met up early and hit the beach - it was beautiful out, and I really enjoyed spending the time with two good people who are also now good friends.  They weren't diving, so I popped into the water at 3 different spots as I worked my way up to Gitchell Creek at 3 miles from the truck.  By the time I was diving at Gitchell I'd missed the tide, and the visibility was about average for there at nearly zero!  I ended up getting overzealous about my attempts to hold the bottom when I couldn't see it, and my hands paid the price as I bashed into urchins and gouged them on barnacles.  I don't think I even pulled an ab, but I found a couple and had fun trying to find a trophy.  Craig and Tinney enjoyed the trail, and we were all pretty beat by the time we got back to the trailhead.

So GSX comes along in 2016, and I really wanted to do another Hike and Dive.  Again I decided against the t-shirt, and I figured I'd just see who might ask about a potential hike and dive instead of trying to drum up a group.  A few people did ask about it, but overall most folks were headed home and the availability of abalone for those who wanted to try right at the Cove was good, so the brutal hike and low viz dive didn't seem to have much allure - and that was fine.  As it turned out, I did trash and sending the family off on Sunday again and then on Monday I decided to do the hike alone.  Setting out on the trail with my gear on my back I remember being a little lonely, but it's also true that some quiet, alone time at the end of Gimme Shelter is something that I've come to value quite a lot.  I enjoyed the hike, dove solo at Gitchell as a father-son backpacking team from back east watched, grabbed an ab and got back to The Tides for lunch.  It was a fun day - later that evening I even dove a beautiful ocean again up at Abalone Point and grabbed one more ab.

The Hike and Dive had progressed to that - me solo hiking and diving at two spots I've known for decades.  It wasn't sad or lame - it was just part of what I do.  Again, it's about challenging myself in Nature - the truth is, I get off more on that challenge and the trip conceptualized around it then I do when I get a ten inch abalone or catch a big fish.  When I do get a nice ab or a big fish it's the best of both worlds because I can really get mileage out of my Challenge in Nature theme by billboarding the Trophy!  I share this with you because I have found that I am most gratified and can most clearly communicate my heart when I do these 2 things:  provide true detail and say how I feel.

Step away from GS for a minute here.  As my guiding career started up just after GS8 and the First Annual Gimme Shelter Hike and Dive, I was having a blast meeting new people, showing the way for them to progress in kayak fishing, figuring out how to make it all work...etc.  I'd gotten my guide license because I knew from many years of experience that I was capable of putting family and friends on some of the funnest days they'd had on the water, and I loved to experience being in a position to provide such discovery and fulfillment to others.  As I got trips under my belt I came to learn that my guiding was actually much different than my earlier experiences of outfitting people I knew for outings that I'd setup for us; it came down to one thing really - money.

It's like I've said a bad word!  Not just to some readers right here, but to me too!  It's hard to reconcile my own ideals with the notion that I want to tell you that money made my trips better than anything I'd ever done, but it's true.  I found that as a professional guide I was now under more pressure than just really wanting to facilitate the fun for free.  Pressure can be good or bad though, and you don't want to be under bad pressure.  I want to tell you how I made the pressure good.  It relates to what I referred to a bit ago about the truth and your feelings.  I'd found through posting for years on NCKA that I was most gratified by reporting in true detail and making a point of expressing my feelings, and what I found next was truly amazing.  Through the process of submitting fishing reports on this forum and going on to grow quite smitten with the love and praise sent my way via responses, I found out that I could, to some extent, self-actualize my next epic adventure.

Take that in - it's a key concept and has changed my life. 

Self-actualizing the next great adventure - it came from my desire to share it and to go on to receive positive feedback.  It's the stroke!  So how does the money come in to the equation?  I feel that I am able to do things in the outdoors that end up being even more fun than they would have been in the first place because I want to gather photos, videos and material for a true and heartfelt story that I can share - that's the self-actualization.  The money is about this - I was already including people in my adventures before I became a guide, and I tried hard to use timing and knowledge of locations and species to make sure we had a good time.  Once I started getting paid to do it, I was certainly trying even harder.

So here's the math:  As a young adult I became an outdoorsman and discovered that I thrive on challenge and discovery in the wild; then more than 10 years ago I became a poster (call it "poser" if you want!  ) and discovered the joy of the 'stroke'; next I progressed in my craft - both in the wild and at the keyboard - and discovered that I could self-actualize amazing adventures; and now I am a guide, and I've discovered that getting paid to take people on adventures leads to, without a doubt, the most complete and thorough effort toward amazing results that I am able to provide.

Think about this please.  Apply a little here and a little there to your life if you will.  I'm no guru - I just love to share what inspires me, and, ironically, that may represent my next step in what is a beautiful progression called Life.

Now for my report - The Fourth Annual Gimme Shelter Hike and Dive - it's a paid guide trip now! 

Today was about getting back to work - I had some serious guiding to do! 

Ron has been such an awesome client - always wants to take on basically the most hardcore itinerary I can come up with, and his diving skills allow for whatever location and conditions I see fit. If there are rollers to duck or low visibility to deal with Ron is down for whatever and wherever I want to take us. Over the past 3 years we've been to many of my best spots. These are places that I was very active in back in the 90's - when I was in my 20's and going abaloneing up to 60 times per year! While some of the spots are still part of my seasonal rounds, quite a few of them are not - I had not been to today's location for 14 years.

The adventure today entailed a couple hours driving on very narrow mountain roads, hiking down a steep hill to an overgrown trail with fresh elk droppings, scrambling down a cliff to access the beach, climbing over boulders adjacent to breaking waves, swimming out through the surf zone, diving at a very remote location in a wilderness area, and... success.

Ron and I have an understanding - the trip can be a great success based on the scale of adventure, discovery, challenge and inspiration that we achieve, even if we don't find the trophy ab we're looking for. That said, the Ten makes it that much sweeter. It was a sweet day indeed.

Please enjoy the photos of a very special place and what turned out to be an incredible adventure for a day trip.

Post Script - Too good to miss!

This weekend the forecast is shaping up, and the mild seas and winds will combine with some of the lowest tides of the year, which should make for epic conditions! Sunday and Monday are prime for a Lost Coast Dawn Patrol Ab Run. I'm looking for one to three guests who want to learn about rockpicking and shallow diving for abalone on a remote Humboldt reef.

The adventure will consist of a scenic drive, a wilderness hike in awesome scenery, getting in the ocean with full gear, and we will be looking to maximize the return per ab tag - we're talking oldgrowth!

I can't and don't promise a ten incher, but I do guarantee we'll have strong opportunities to pick high quality abalone at one of my long time favorite spots - even if you don't want to put your head under the water.

Don't make me go alone!

**********************************************************

Thanks, everybody, for supporting me in my pursuits.  NCKA rules.

I grabbed a bunch of pics showing my adventures from 2016.  Shortened them to a second per pic, put narration over it and divided it into two vids - January through end of June, and July through New Year's Eve.

Good Times!  And thanks to NCKA members and friends who were part of my life as a waterman and guide.

2017 is off to a great start - here's to an awesome year! 

Short version: Fishing Success!!

Longer version:

So I just spent the last two days drifting a lot of miles with my guests and cumulatively we spent 30 hours or more fishing for Winter Steelhead - had a blast both days but no adult fish hooked. Got home last night and the forecast had ramped up - river's scheduled to blow out again by Tuesday night.

Slept in today and lounged a bit before deciding to head upriver for a couple hours before I'd be due at my in-laws' for dinner. I can't stay away from the green water!

It had actually warmed up, as it was a whopping 43 degrees at 11:30 when I launched onto a longtime favorite run. Paddled upstream and soon the classic Humboldt Liquid Sunshine was drizzling off my gear - when you go out in these conditions an upstream run is a good mode because you can always turn around and land right back on the truck in short order.

Made my way up to the fishing zone and worked it with multiple methods for an hour with nothing doing - we'd just hit this area hard yesterday on our trip, and nothing seemed to have changed. Moved further upstream, walked over a couple riffles dragging the yak along the margins. Even with a bit of rain and the cold temps it was stunning out there today - always worth the trip.

Got to the top of my favorite run and worked my way back down, putting extra time in on spots where I've had luck in the past. Another round of liquid sunshine moved through, and of course a rainbow showed up with the end of it on one of my favorite runs... I was now up against the clock and didn't want to be late for dinner, so I did a last drift down through the hole and was going to ride out the swift chute... I couldn't have scripted it better - I was suddenly ON!

Powerful fish runs hard as I turn the vid on and point the camera toward her. She does a couple tailwalks and has me worried that she'll go down the swift water with inundated Willows all along the margins (disaster zone), but then she turns and runs right back to me! Just a couple one armed paddle strokes and I'm secure in the eddy and able to fight this beauty while drifting the yak. The vid is less than 5 minutes long - first run to release, but I was lost in a world of euphoria - could've been 2 minutes or 10 minutes for all I knew...

Once again, I was SO stoked with my fine mesh release net - it's hard to do a fast scoop with, but once you have a fish in there it prevents them from damaging their fins - they seem to just mellow out as they can't see safety through the black screen of the fine mesh. She was about 12 pounds and absolute chrome - perfection with fins.

Now grinning ear to ear or even further, I drifted out of the hole and let the swift current cart me down toward my truck about a half mile away. I took some casts, but I needed to just get going and be on time... You know what comes next, right? Hahahahaha...

I get down to the last run - can see the truck in the distance - and I'm ON AGAIN! Wow - two in 10 minutes!!

I get the vid on again, she does some short runs and surface breaches, but this fish isn't as strong as the first. After some yak-side wrangling and the typical net-avoidance behaviors, I had another beauty all mellowed out in my Lovebag - that's how I'm referring to my net from now on. 8>}

Snapped a couple pics and sent her on her way, and by this time I was about 150 feet from my truck. What a thrill!

Thanks for reading my story - I'll enjoy making a video of the action this evening and will try to post it up soon.
Let's go fishing when the river comes back in!