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Topics - LoletaEric

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196
I've been waiting and watching the Eel as record amounts of rain have been keeping it high and turbid for weeks.  Finally over the last couple of days it's come in to shape.  With my ear to the ground I've kept myself filled in on guide reports up and down the river, and things are very slow.  I've only heard of a few adults landed or even hooked, and half pounders have made up most of the catch reports - skunks are common.  I like to keep it real and give the true report, but the fact of the matter is that being on the Eel when it's running in a beautiful emerald - Steelhead Green - is one of the most awesome experiences around.

My guests and I are on a 14 mile run through oldgrowth redwoods where I know all the access points by foot or 4x4.  I'm familiar with the side creeks and have recently visited the biggest ones looking for spawning salmon and always finding magnificent beauty in the massive trees and the systems they support.  I've been visiting several of the swimming/fishing hotspots along my route for well over 30 years, and since I've been guiding I've honed my knowledge of the runs and riffles.  I am at home along my chosen route, and I love to share it with my guests.

Friday I greeted David Bradfield at my front porch as we met at sunrise to start our adventure.  A 30 minute drive from my place upriver and we were leaving Dave's Prius along an access point low on the South Fork.  We joined up in my rig and drove upriver to our launch in the heart of the Avenue of the Giants.  With gear unloaded and ready, I drove my truck back downriver and brought the Prius back to launch - it's best to have the gear hauler at the takeout so you can burn all the light doing what you came for.

It's been really cold, and that presents a whole new challenge when it comes to being sure you have the gear that will save your ass if the shit hits the fan and someone gets wet.  We carry lots of safety gear including some dry clothes and redundant communication devices - if cell service is lacking or the phones get wet your VHF could save the day along the wilderness river in mid 30's Fahrenheit.

David and I made our way down the first few runs, and our focus was to get David comfortable on an X-Factor and ready to deal with the few dicey spots along the route.  I've taken Dave on many adventures (thank you, Bro!), and I know his skill level as well as his temperament - I was totally confident that he would fulfill his high priority to safely run the river under my guidance.  That's a heavy one and may sound arrogant, but there's much to consider when you put someone on a 14'4" kayak on a river - it's probably got more potential danger than the ocean due to currents, trees, temperatures and the fact that it will push you into stuff that you can't just back away from like a driftboat or pontoon boat would do. 

When we came to the first and biggest 'rapid' along our route (none of the lower SF is very extreme in that regard), David's safety and learning focus was confirmed and borne out when, as we drifted in to the whitewater, I gave a clear and urgent command:  "TURN YOUR BOW TO THE RIGHT SO YOU'RE AIMED AT YOUR ESCAPE ROUTE!" - we were headed for a tree that blocks the main current and can strain (and kill) you quickly.  I knew it was there - it's been there for the past few years.  I also know what it's like to have someone dump there - my brother-in-law and niece went down right there on a summer run several years ago, in my formative guide days.  :smt001

David did exactly as I said and used skills that I already knew he had, and the situation went from potentially deadly to absolutely routine with a dash of exhilarating thrown in!  This was a good example of how we dealt with a number of tricky spots along the route, and showing people how to run the river in a big SOT is really a main focus of my trips - the fishing part isn't as heavy, but a lot goes in to that as well.

David and I got blanked for the day, and of all the people we saw along our drift we spoke to only one driftboat that had lost two adults and landed a half pounder - that boat had two pros and a third very prolific fisherman, all of whom I know well.  It was slow on the river for sure, but our adventure has many facets, as I've said.  We got our wildlife fix with a few otters, a Great Blue Heron, Kingfishers and various other birds of the river and forest.  We challenged ourselves and got our exercise running the river from just after breakfast until just before dinner.  Together we achieved communion with Nature and enjoyed strengthening our friendship.  And all of these things added up to a great adventure - this is what I aim to fulfill as a guide.

Saturday the river had cleared a bit more, the temps were just above freezing under a sharp blue sky, and I had two more friends to do the run with!  Nathan hired me last summer at the Cove (http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=74174.msg844454#msg844454), and I've known Walker for a few years - both great guys!

Walker would ride his older model Prowler 15 and I had Nathan on one of my X-Factors - I didn't think his PA12 would handle as well on the river.  After learning the tricky spots and how river currents feel on a big yak I'm confident that Nathan will do well with his PA on certain sections of the river. 

We met up just before 8AM at our launch, got our truck shuttling done, and we were launched onto the river in 34 degrees right after breakfast.  I took time to show the guys how I run the river, what to watch out for...etc., and they were both all over it.  Both of my guests this day had experience with the fishing techniques we'd use, and I didn't have to dictate anything about when and where to put a line in.  They were dialed in, and it wasn't long before Walker got the skunk off the group by landing a beautifully healthy half pounder.  We didn't take time for a quality pic - it's wet hand-dehook-fast pose from 20 feet away and get that dude back in the water.  This early hookup had us hopeful for a really productive day and a chance at a bigger adult, but the fact was that the fishing was still slow.  Walker caught one more larger half pounder, and all three of us had one brief hookup apiece - none of those could be confirmed as an adult, but 5 fish hooked and 2 landed was a pretty good number considering how slow it's been up and down the river.

We went on to have an awesome time where my guys got lots of confidence on the river on SOT's and learned the lay of the lower South Fork.  The weather was perfect with no wind - that was crucial since high 30's to low 40's was brutal in the shade and way worse if there was any air movement.  The river got better as the day went on, and we hit it hard - what a blast!

The end of the day came, and my guys were both due at NYE parties with their ladies and fams.  Back on the bar at my truck near sunset, we enjoyed a beer, got the guys back upriver to their rigs, settled up the business part, and went our separate ways.  Even without sticking an adult steelie in two full days trying, I was grinning ear to ear on my ride home.  It's not the money - I figured that out after leaving my corporate job and letting myself come down off the type-A mentality of "gotta keep working as much as I can..."  When I guide people I take all of the experience that I've gotten in these special places and I do my best to impart information with a positive spirit of friendship and conscientiousness - it's the Golden Rule, guide-style.  I want to always live like that, and making it a vocation (albeit only part-time!), I have come to realize that it is good for me to be determined to give my best, all day, and with my heart.

Thanks for coming along - I hope to meet you at launch.  :smt001

197
Fish Talk / Kings of the Fall - 2016 Salmon Survey - Thank You, Eiboh!
« on: November 25, 2016, 01:40:51 PM »


For the past 10 weeks or so I've dedicated much time to monitoring, tracking and documenting the Fall Chinook run on the Eel - my home water.

September is historically when adult salmon have entered the lower river, and even in the drought we've seen significant numbers of big kings pushing into water that's barely flowing at the end of summer.  Working from SUP and standing on the X-Factors, myself and a few colleagues and friends paddled and dove to look for early arrivals at well known holes such as Weymouth and Rio Dell.



Also, most weekday mornings after dropping my kids off at school I would run a couple miles along the levy in Fortuna watching for fish activity and then do an SUP session in the 12th Street hole.  Until September 30th the river was open to fishing, so tossing a spoon with a single barbless was sometimes my best opportunity to survey what may be present.



Half-pounder steelhead and pike minnow were my main sightings as they chased my gear, and there were a few hookups and gentle releases - fishing the SUP is a pure form of joy!

Late in September I'd not seen any salmon, and at that time last year I'd caught a jack in the same place, so when I hooked up a hot fish that seemed to have crazy spotting I thought I had a feisty chub on...  Lo and behold, I was able to document a rare and exciting species for the Eel, and I saw several more schooling around it as I fought it - Striped Bass!!










198
Tonight we were able to return to a tradition.

Midnight Crabbing was ON!

Claire's gone before. We had some Disneyland-like conditions down at Crab Park a few years ago, but that area has changed drastically, and the river's up a bit high for crabbing right now. It was to be the bay or nothing, so we went for it on familiar water that I pre-scouted during the afternoon high tide and it looked great even with big swell outside.

Domenic joined us for the evening - he and I have done quite a few midnight crab openers together over the years.  (search this site for "midnight crab" - some fun reports).  He came to my place before 10, we baited rings and loaded gear, got Claire moving and convoyed to our launch at King Salmon by around 1130PM. Dom and I headed down to the water and found that there were lines of 8-12 inch breakers three deep right out front because of the tide just starting to move in. It was ugly! We moved around the bay and found that the north end was reasonable (in the dark, and wanting to go crabbing!).

We'd head out and set the gear and come back for Claire at the truck. Dom and I got all of our stuff down to the water, launched, and by the time we were paddling out it was 1159. We soon had gear in the water and were laying it out in strings that would be visible and findable if a glow-stick fell off or wasn't on the surface...
After only a few minutes we went ahead and checked the gear - that anticipation at the very opening minutes of the season and especially not having had last year's season, we were giddy with excitement to see what may be in our rings! Right away we were getting lots of Dungees including some legals, and Dom even pulled a jumbo near 7" early! Hopes were high for how this night would go when I already had 7 legals by the time I was heading back to get Claire!

I'd told Claire that I'd be there for her in 20 minutes or so, and she was snoozing when I got to the truck in 30. That was fine - I didn't really know if I was going to get her on the water or not. This was nowhere near beginner stuff - middle of the night, no moon, headlamp shows about 10' to 15' of mist, and I'd need her to trust me that she just needs to keep paddling into the little rifflers coming in the bay... I felt that it was probable that she'd freak at those conditions, cry, and need to go back in and be situated in the truck. I felt it was probable, but I also knew that she'd had some experience with paddling in the dark before, and I knew that I'd made a careful assessment of whether I felt it was safe - it was. I was stoked to see if my 16 year old was gonna do this!

I wake her up and get her moving, and at first she's whiny and sluggish. I try to get her to be upbeat and go for it - positive attitude! As she continues to drag and act sad and cold I offer that she can sit it out if she wants - "It's pretty bumpy out there..."

...and she's like, "No. No - I didn't come out here in the middle of the night for nothing!" And she got up, got her PFD on, made her way with me in the dark to the water's edge where we pulled the X-Factors into the surf a ways, and then I told her, "I'm going to push you out, and you need to just paddle for that red light across the channel." And she's like, "Ok, Dad." (I didn't need to hold back a tear at the time, but while I write this I do). 

I got her headed out into the darkness, trusting that I was sending her to safety, and I scrambled back to get my yak, get the bow pointed into the surf, and paddle after her as fast as I could. I caught up to her and we were too close to the little jetty. I told her to veer hard left, and she did it just fine. I was so stoked to have her on the open water and in full control of her own boat.

We were now easily on safe water, and what we'd come through wasn't more hazardous than maybe losing gear and getting wet, but we'd gotten through in the dark with no crying and no needing to go back to the truck - this was happening!

We paddled side by side to our little fleet of buoys - Domenic's had yellow glow-sticks, and ours had blue ones. I told Claire about the current running north to south with the incoming tide, and she easily adjusted and approached from the south, grabbed the buoy, gathered the loose rope and started hauling in the first ring. She's expert at this!

She gets her first ring-load up top and it's got at least two legal Dungeness! We bag those, re-deploy the ring and move on to the next one. At this point I have no reason to believe the night won't be just out of this world for crabbing!!
 
Well, right when you're in a position like that you should basically just expect a change to come! Suddenly we couldn't get a Dungee... It was all rock crabs. In the next 30 minutes we pull all the rings twice and only get one more legal Dungeness. No prob though - we had enough, and we'd had a blast! After my girl got that first nice crab she was no longer cold, no longer whiny and absolutely having a ball - what an awesome time to have with my daughter!

After only seeing rock crabs for a while and Claire's back bothering her I got her back inshore and in the truck, loaded up her yak, and headed back out with Dom to finish the session. I didn't get any more Dungee's, and Dom was pretty much done too - we were both happy with what we'd scored early and left with near limits for he and I.

Dom and I enjoyed a 2AM beer while we loaded up the yaks, and soon it was time to head home. It was all smiles because this had been a really great opener. Good bite, challenging conditions, got Claire on midnight rough water where she scored a couple legals, and Dom and I were able to enjoy the second half of the session on beautiful moonless water, where it no longer mattered whether another crab came up. We'd gotten what we came for.

Good times, my brother. Thank you for being there as my safety ranger while I took my daughter on a true adventure.  :smt001

199
Late season Cove run with Ralph.

With big swells and a few more inches of rain coming soon, my hope was that last Friday would be the calm before the storm. Ralph was coming from past Sacramento to meet me at Shelter Cove for his first offshore kayak fishing trip. Launch looked good at sunrise, and there were even a few powerboats heading out, but the fog was really thick and the ocean wasn't exactly calm.

We got outside and started trolling right away - we'd head SSE toward the Bell and work those pinnacles. Navigating in thick fog is on my list of exhilarating activities for sure, but throw some strong SE to NW current in there and it gets interesting... I like to use my compass and only look at the GPS if I have to. Soon I could hear the Whistle but not the Bell - it was time to look at the GPS. The current already had us around the corner in front of the lighthouse!

Within an hour or two the fog cleared and we could navigate by landmarks, and we basically spent the whole morning trolling against the current. Whenever we'd catch a lingcod (all that was biting!) we'd be down current again, but at least we were catching some fish.

Ralph did great with a less than perfect ocean - I was glad I asked him to take some Dramamine. Although he's in good shape and runs often, the seat and leg situation in the X-Factor wasn't agreeing with his back, so we headed for the barn around noon, content with a strong outing for his inaugural paddle on Big Blue.
 
Thanks, Ralph, for making the trip. I hope to paddle with you again - or peddle, if that's what you end up deciding on~

:smt001

200
Registration is now CLOSED!

We WILL have a new kayak as part of the raffle.  Our own RacinRob has confirmed a Wilderness Systems boat again - thank you, Rob!!  Each participant gets an entry toward the Grand Prize kayak.

The gear will have purple ink, and this year we'll have zip hoodies instead of pullovers.  The raffle will benefit PIF and HOW, and most of the other Gimme Shelter traditions are part of this year's plan as usual.  We'll have Gyotaku fish printing where kids 15 and under will print for free and possibly win a cash prize.  We'll have a potluck and raffle awards ceremony at the campground pavilion as it's been the last few years, and KayakJack and his volunteer army will bring back the awesome Taco Shack.  We'll have a safety meeting down at the ramp where my laptop might fly or my vehicle may instantly become disabled!  We'll have a fishing tournament where I've added a species - starry flounder, just to keep it interesting.  We'll hopefully have great diving and pre-fishing water and beautiful sunny days to enjoy the Lost Coast and each other in the world class setting of Shelter Cove.

I've added to the application and qualification sheet, and I appreciate everyone being patient about complying with what still amount to very basic paperwork requirements. 

Registration fees have remained unchanged since GS4.  Shirt prices are the same as last year, but I'm only offering a zip hoodie this year - they're more pricey at $50.  They'll be cool.  Also, I learned from the hat production last year.  The hats will be high quality and are $25.

The bottom line for this event is celebrating the NCKA community.  Prizes and commercialism have been identified as secondary priorities.  I plan to make the event everything that it's been leading up to this point, and my goal is always to enjoy it immensely at the same time.  I look forward to spending time with my NCKA family.  :smt001

Discussion can continue at whatever pace is desired.  I'll likely get revved up now and then over the coming months and do some pic dumps and video archive revivals of past GS's and Shelter Cove stuff from over the years.  Please feel free to do the same. 

Part of what has become my GS Scheme is to tone down the buildup, and that way hopefully only those who really want some GS will be the ones to attend.

Thanks - please post questions on this thread, and I'll keep it checked and updated.

Probably won't maintain an updated roster this year, so be sure to get in touch with me if you don't get a welcome email.  Anyone ever not gotten a welcome email?  Check your junk mail folder, Disney!  :smt005

I will post the roster soon.

201
The Lost Coast kicked out a special catch today.

I had family duties and chores to do early, so I didn't get over the hill at the Cape until nearly 2PM. I was biding my time, knowing that the forecast showed the potential for a mellow afternoon. Passed by some friends who were out at the usual spot, and I was tempted to join them as they reported a nice bite on the radio.

I had come for a specific trip though. I was there for the Trudge. I was ready to haul my X-Factor on Wheeleez, loaded with all my diving gear and fishing gear too. I'd do 1.5 miles on the sand to get to my remote launch - a place that I've been coming to for over 20 years.

I hauled down the beach enjoying a light breeze and warm temps, and before long I was ready to launch. Got on the water quickly and headed outside where I descended herring along kelp beds in 50 feet and less. Almost immediately I was on lingcod - caught 4 in a row just over the legal size and kept the first of those.

The water was pretty kicked up, but I was rock solid in my X-Factor. As I worked my way around the kelp bed with my herring offering hovering near the bottom I enjoyed the steady bite and figured I had a chance at a bigger fish, but I'd take what I could get - this was paradise already!

Paradise got even better. I was hooked up on a heavy one. Got the video rolling and figured I had a 15 pounder or so on, but then I got it topside and saw that it was a real PIG! Got it in the net and considered releasing it, but it was a fish to keep today - I wanted to fully document this catch more than a catch and release video can do. I'm glad I made that decision, because this lingcod turned out to be a personal best at 27 pounds and 41 inches.

On my way back up the road I stopped and shared my stoke with Rob and Matthew who had nice stringers from their day on the water. My day had amounted to a difficult trudge in the mid afternoon, catching seven lingcod in a row, hauling back out of there with about 30 pounds more than I'd brought, and riding the permagrin all the way home.

Still a month in the season - let's get on it.  :smt001

202
Hookups and Fishing Reports (Viewable by Public) / Shelter Cove - 9/16/16
« on: September 17, 2016, 12:05:11 AM »
What a day!

330AM - I am awake. I try my best to sleep a bit more before the alarm at 430, but we know how that goes.

430 - I'm assembling gear and readying to hit the road.

5AM - David arrives right on schedule, we load his gear in my truck, and we're on the road by 505.

630 - We drive on to the ramp at Shelter Cove to join Domenic - the only one there.

8AM - We've barely started fishing. David is just getting accustomed to the X-Factor, as I've taken him off of his Hobie for this trip! The breeze and the current are working against us, and I'm thinking it may have been a mistake to make Dave paddle vs pedal, and just as I'm considering all of this, David's like "I think I hit a rock."

So I ask, "How many pulls are you?"

"11" he reports.

"It's 30 feet deep" I respond, "It couldn't have been a rock."

Then it happened. David had a fish on. As he fought it I saw his rod bounce, considered where we were and thought it was likely a lingcod. It wasn't very long at all and he had it up by his yak on the far side from me, and I asked what it was - "it IS a salmon!" he announces, and I'm scanning hard at that point, of course. I see a flash under his bow and think, "smaller fish".

Then Dave, who's obviously got a much better view than me, announces, "it's Huge!!", and that's right as I get another glimpse, and it's true! This fish had come to the surface for him and sat there by his yak, and now it was alive and ready to run. David worked it expertly as it did about 4 soundings - granted it was only about 33 feet of water, but this fish wasn't coming easily.

I got positioned with my net, but the fish was pulling him and his yak away from me. I had a couple stabs at it where it evaded the net and sounded, but soon we got the opportunity we were waiting for - Dave lifted the fish, and I thrust the net to the extent of my reach and got the big king in there! What a rush it was as I pulled it in to my body and enclosed the net in my arms and fingers to guarantee that the catch would not escape.

We celebrated, but I was nervous about losing this fish! I headed back to the ramp with the fish still in the net and in my lap to finish bleeding, gilling and gutting it and get it in the cooler on ice. I weighed it at this point too - I'd estimated it at 24 pounds in my lap, but my guestimation skills aren't that sharp right now! 30 pounds on the nose!!!!

It was also notable that this 30 pound fish had NO sex organs. No sperm sacks, no eggs - nothing! Next year's 50 pounder that had already determined that it wasn't spawning this year... Incredible species.

We went on to spend the rest of the day towing herring and chovies around from the Bell to out front and then back in by the moorings. Caught plenty of lings - kept a few along with a few blacks. Domenic caught and shook two short California halibut, and Dave and I enjoyed getting baits stripped and teased by lings all afternoon.

When you start out the day with a 30 pound salmon on a slow salmon bite you really can't go wrong, but follow it up with an 8+ hour session with lots of bites, nice water and weather...  The Cove treated us very well today.

203
My son and I are heading to Novato Saturday the 17th for soccer, and then we play at noon at Rohnert Park on Sunday.

Sandman is our favorite, but they're only taking a two night reservation at this time...

Anyone have a reco for a place with a pool and a real breakfast for around $100?

Thanks in advance.  :smt001

204
Saturday:  Epic.

Ron and I have gone on some amazing adventures, and yesterday's is at the top of the list. We paddled over 10 miles roundtrip to dive on a remote spot looking for trophy abalone. This particular location has been part of my abalone-psyche since the 80's - my Dad would talk of it as a fabled destination for big tens. By the 90's I was going there with friends, camping and diving from 4-wheelers back when those were allowed that far up the beach. By that point though I'd already hiked to this remote spot many times, and after off-road vehicles were disallowed up the beach that far I continued hiking up there. From the beginning, the hike was a big part of going on the trip.

By 1993 I'd been up that beach many times, but I'd never gotten a confirmed ten inch abalone. I was living in San Jose at the time, and I had an opportunity to drive up to Humboldt starting at 11PM. I drove all night, and when I got to the trailhead around 4AM I packed my dive gear and my dog and a big Maglight and hit the trail. A disappointing Perseid Meteor season had an amazing comeback from my perspective that early morning, as I marveled at dozens if not hundreds of shooting stars as me and Sokay walked up the beach in the blackness.

We arrived at the reef just after sunrise and a couple solid hours after the turn of a very low tide. I would have limited time to get out there and find what I was after before the incoming tide covered it all up. Without a weightbelt, I made my way out around various rocks and kelp beds, and soon I located an awesome shelf with 4 big abalone in about 9 feet of water. I worked meticulously as I tried to pry the largest one off to take it home. It wasn't happening! After 30 minutes and feeling leg cramps coming on I decided to pull one of the other abs on the ledge - it ended up taping out at 9.75" I had to give the big one a few more tries...
I was stubborn - bent my iron and had to bend it back between two boulders, and right when I was about to give up on this big abalone, I gave a little twist where I'd only been prying. It seemed to make all the difference - the ab popped off the rock, and I grabbed it and shot out of the water in the most triumphant display imaginable!

It was my first 10, and it was a dandy. I still have the shell.

Jump forward to today - we would skip the hike in favor of a paddle on nice flat water. We've waited for these conditions and this timing for a few seasons - today was the day. We set out around 7AM from the Shelter Cove launch as around a dozen of our yak-fishing buddies were setting out to try for salmon, halibut, rockfish and lingcod nearer to port. Ron and I paddled north on water that sometimes rivaled a Tahoe morning - the ocean is a very special place, and when it gets like this it's exponentially so.

We paddled a little over two hours to get where we wanted to be, and we were ready for a dive. About 1.75 hours in the water and we'd gotten what we came for - Ron pulled a 10.8 inch ab.

This is why I guide. I want to get people on one of the best days of their outdoor career. I want to get people on one of the best days of their life. It's not just about the abalone. We challenge ourselves, and we're looking to pioneer routes and methods - I've been thinking about this kayak trip for years, and today it became a really awesome reality.

We made our way back down the coast and dove one more spot much closer to the Cove - 15' of viz and some nice abs, but it wasn't the same as what we'd just been through. The challenge of covering the miles, diving in very low visibility and doing it all on our kayaks was really what we were after - the trophy ab was just a bonus.

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

Today's Adventure: Exploration!

I am blown away. I never imagined such a wild and untouched piece of the north coast existed. Today we paddled south from Wilson Creek - False Klamath Cove, toward the mouth of the mighty Klamath. What I thought would amount to a few rocky coves turned in to one of the most amazing landscapes I've ever seen!
We did our thing on a beautiful ocean and discovered an amazing place - Mission Accomplished.

This is what I'm doing out there. Finding ways to tap into amazing opportunities in the outdoors, and sharing it with my guests. I hope you'll get in touch if you're thinking about a trip you'd like to fulfill.

205
Tuesday I met up with Andrew / Bucketmouth at the Cove.  With lots of freshwater yak fishing experience, he was looking to expand to the salt, and Shelter Cove is the place to be right now.  I was super stoked to get him on the bite that's been happening down there!

We met up at 6AM and got all our gear together.  This was my first trip putting someone on one of my X-Factors with sonar.  It was great having both myself and my guest wired up for depth and temperature, and Andrew got a nice dose of what it's like to fish a big SOT on the big blue.

We headed out towards the fleet and Matthew Mayes was already on his way in with a thresher he'd subdued - what a way to start his day!  Andrew and I got to fishing and it wasn't long before we had a shaker halibut up top - they were biting early!  I did my best to show him how I use a few different trolling techniques to target a variety of potential biters, and Andrew took right to it - I love guiding experienced fishermen.

We both missed a few bites over the next hour or so, and then Andrew got one to stick.  He brought it up and soon we had a fat Cal hali in the net - score!  For the next few hours we enjoyed great water and lively conversation where Andrew did a great job asking questions that would bring him up to speed on the ocean scene - it didn't take much because he's done plenty of powerboating down around Sonoma.  Next step - think about what model SOT you're aiming to get - sounds like maybe another Dark Side candidate...  :smt001

So by the end of the day we had two 10 pound halibut and a decent little salmon on our clip - it was a good day and, as always, a hell of a lot of fun.  Thanks for signing up for an adventure with me, Andrew - see you around.

Today was "guide's day off".  I slept in, made a hot breakfast and was drawn back to the Cove by the awesome forecast and the fact that my bro Domenic would be down there.  I texted him that I failed to get up at 430, and wouldn't you know it he'd experienced an early salmon bite and had a 16 pounder in the bag before 7AM!  I made my way down there and got on the water by about 10AM.  I was setup to do stand-up-fishing, so I did some laps like that and missed one strike.  Went in for a while to change my FF battery and have a brew around noon, and just generally kicked back all day.

At one point Rob comes on the radio to announce that he had a big hog salmon on, so Dom and I headed his way and got to see him battle this bruiser as it towed him around, dodged his net, got tangled in the net, and then finally Rob climbed out his bow and nabbed it - beautiful 25 pounder or so!  Nice one, Rob.

Also got to see Tony and Eric/Yakhopper boat some hali's - Andrew was back out there and had at least one hali, and a few other fish were caught.  I ended up with another 10 pounder - the Cali hali thing has been great - they sure are easier to net than salmon!

So that's it - the story right now is all about the Cove.  This bite is historic - my highest recommendation is to Get To Shelter Cove SOON.

Adios~

206
Kayak Diving and Spearfishing / Humboldt Two Day Dive - 8/20 and 8/21/16
« on: August 21, 2016, 05:08:10 PM »
I saw a good forecast coming, and those have been scarce this summer!  Got ahold of Terry and Ron and we were set to get on it.  We met up Friday night for trip planning.  It was great to be hooked up with these guys for another Humboldt run, and dinner at a favorite Mexican place in Fortuna (Las Cazuelas) was the best way to start off our weekend.

Saturday was about accessing a remote spot in hopes of catching conditions that would allow for an offshore adventure in search of trophy abalone, lingcod and rockfish. My guests and I met early, convoyed to Mattole Beach, and just after sunrise made our way down the Lost Coast a couple thousand yards with our boats on wheels and our gear stowed on top. While we were able to successfully shore-launch the kayaks, the ocean was far from the placid pond we'd anticipated with the favorable forecast. We managed to paddle to and dive some rocks I've had my eye on for 25 years, but today's conditions weren't suited for exploration - it was literally pitch black on the bottom in 20 feet of water.

As the tide came in we relocated to a more familiar spot where we were able to safely battle the swells while searching the bottom for abs in 10 to 12 feet with 12 to 18 inches of visibility. While no ten inchers were located today, we did enjoy a challenging dive and trail hike with the beauty of the Lost Coast as our backdrop. One oldgrowth 9.5 incher was harvested for Stockwell Family eats - my 5th tag burned for the year. 

We made the Trudge back up the beach to the trucks and hit the road.  On the way home we saw some friends after their rockfishing trip, and soon we were back over to the Eel River Valley where we parted ways for the day.

Here's Sunday's report:

"Tired and Happy" is a common theme for me lately. I haven't dove so hard on a two day run since my 20's!

I only took one picture today!

Yesterday's trail haul and rough water dive along the Lost Coast was just day one for Terry and Ron. Today we opted for easier water - we'd paddle and dive Trinidad Bay to survey the habitat and see what we could find for sport or just observation. Five hours of exploring at a few different stops hit the spot, and we were ready to call it a weekend.

Today's harvest presented itself as a result of our focus on looking around, venturing out and taking a closer look at opportunities we may otherwise be missing. After diving several spots at varying depths we ended up finding quite a few rock scallops - we took home half a dozen nice ones and left more than that. I've only ever harvested a scallop or two here and there, and this was Ron's first experience with scallops in a long diving career. He ended up finding the biggest one on his own at the end of our dive, and I was stoked to have shown him the "orange smile". It was a great capper to a really awesome weekend with my two VIP guests.

Thank you, Ron and Terry, for repeatedly supporting my biz and allowing me to go on adventures that surpass what I ever did before I was a guide! Putting my full focus and energy into these trips, and, this is it right here, focusing on having a really positive engagement with my guests - these are things that have taken it to the next level for me. This was the first trip with Ron where we haven't gotten a ten inch abalone, but that's fine! We have the potential to pull off an amazing harvest, but we're also focused on the other aspects of outdoorsmanship that make us feel fulfilled, and we always reinforce these values through our communication.

That's what it's about for me. Thanks for following, and I hope you'll come with me if you're feeling it.  :smt001

207
Today was amazing.

Nathan called me yesterday asking about a trip soon. He just bought a Pro Angler 12 and has lots of ocean experience as a charter captain in Alaska! I said, "how about tomorrow - Shelter Cove forecast is great." He was in. Terry would be there too - he's always welcome on my trips.

We all met up at 6AM at the launch to see foggy but flat conditions. Got all geared up and launched by about 640 with commercial salmon boats nearly running us over on their way to work. We already knew we wouldn't be going far - bite's been close in lately. So I was just telling Nathan how last year - on August 12th - my guest for the day landed a fat thresher shark right in the area we were in. It wasn't 3 minutes and he's on! We thought it was a salmon - until it jumped! Thresher on!!

I'd also just been telling Nathan how thresher hookups are usually very brief due to the breakoff factor - like 90% lost gear. Wouldn't you know it - he hooks up and it sticks! Great fight on his steelhead rod! And 55 minutes later I'm grabbing the tail of an 88" / ~75 pound beast and dragging it onto my lap. I fucking love this job!!!

We landed with the shark, got it up top to the cleaning table, sliced, diced and iced and we were ready to get back on the water! It was time for some salmon trolling.

Right away Terry hooked up on a salmon in like 30' of water. Nathan and I knew it was just a matter of time before we'd be tugging on a chromer, but there were quite a few rockfish and lingcod to get through first - everything was inshore feeding on the heavy bait just off the beach.

We'd worked for an hour or so getting numerous bites but few hookups when I finally got one to stick. What I thought at first was a smaller king turned out to be a slab! This sleepy salmon came to life and ripped off some hot runs on top of the water as I'd hooked it in 20' - I'm loving our cold water and bait near shore this summer!

Soon I had this pig in the net, but it got out! Got it back over and properly bagged and we were celebrating as a team - 20 pounder in the bag! All of us ended up having multiple salmon hookups over the next few hours, but these fish were hot - we all lost fish, and I lucked out and got a 13 pounder to round out a limit.

At the cleaning table Nathan stoked Terry and I out with some beautiful thresher meat, and I made sure Nathan and his fam will be well on their way to being sick of salmon soon!

Shelter Cove is one of the most special places on the planet, and right now it's Prime Time. I do lots of billboarding, but I don't megaphone about how hot something is over and over unless it's true - it won't last forever, so get on it!

208
Wow - I'm burnt!  But smiling.  :smt001

It's been a pretty wild run for the past several days, and more's coming.

Late last week I got to show two good friends and long time NCKA OG's around my home waters of Humboldt Bay. 



Etienne and Ken brought expert salmon skills and all the gear, so I had to convince them that my guide service was worth a modest investment.  To make a long story short, we started early enough to get a good bay tour on the low tide - including an approach on the Jaws of Death that the bar represented that day, and by high tide each of my guys had a salmon under wet burlap.

Etienne is On!









There were even some salmon caught from the jetties.  Here Robert Bray tosses his net to the Jetty Dudes - 20 minutes later they landed a Hog!

Cool move, Rob.

  Glory at the end of the day.

  I had a great time with you guys - thank you for supporting Loleta Eric's Guide Service!  :smt008

The following day, Friday, I had to prep for a Sunday paddle-only tour with 8 people and another guide through Pacific Outfitters, so after taking care of that I hit Humboldt Bay where the salmon bite has been hot and cold - mostly cold, but when it's hot...  Anyway, I'd brought along one of my newer model X-Factors which has a really nice deck layout for standing - I wanted an "XUP" salmon!  I launched in a shorty wetsuit and not my usual hat, and there was no tripod or sonar on this yak, so I was incognito!  :smt004  I had minimal gear and left my radio in my seat so I could jump off the X if I lost balance.  It IS the case, and I say it all the time to people I guide and people I paddle with - I could jump off the X-Factor before it would flip.  So I was ready for getting wet if that's what it took to try to land a salmon standing up.  Well, there was something special brewing for me that afternoon because the dozen or so yakkers there were getting a bite and a fish here and there, but nothing had happened in a while when I got three fish on within a short time. 



The first one was fat and hot!  20 pounder that came right up to my bow shaking its head and looking stout!!  I was standing there fighting it, totally balanced and thrilled, and I realized that I should've had my net in the front holder where I'd ran my trolling rod (I did stand up troll the entire time).  So I reach for the net after only having this fish on for like 30 seconds, and it's gone...  Damn - but that was awesome!  2nd one that I had on I let get a little hotter and do a run - then it popped...  Third one - well, third time's a charm!



Got her played out and netted her while standing up -  what a thrill! 



The bite lit up pretty good for a few people to end that afternoon - including a 20 minute limit for Domenic, who showed up late, Matthew Mayes had multiple fish, and Tony got two bruisers over 20 pounds!







(Oops!!  Exceeded 20,000 characters again.  :smt006  To be continued...)

209
I couldn't make it to Albion due to Friday and Saturday evening family stuff, so I stayed close to home...

After a great family vacation at Tahoe where I didn't even take along any fishing gear(!), it was time to get back on the water today. The wind and swell are still kinda volatile like springtime, but Shelter Cove lives up to its name this time of year as north and northwest influences are blocked by Cape Mendocino and Punta Gorda to the north, often providing fishable water near the Cove even when the forecast looks rough. I wanted to get on it early so I hit the road just before 4AM with bright stars and balmy temps along pre-dawn 101. Yesterday's extreme heat was holding on in pockets - one spot was 75 degrees above Bear Creek at 5AM and pitch dark. I love things like that about early morning summer trips.

Arrived at the ramp at 515, and it was still dark with pretty thick fog. I got my gear laid out, parked the truck, ate my breakfast and got on the water before anyone else showed up at the launch. The fog was thick but not horrible with about 60 yards of visibility, and the fact that there was no wind made that OK. I used my compass, my ears and a long history of kayaking at the Cove to get me to the Bell and then on to the Whistle and points north. I did refer to my GPS a couple of times just to confirm that I was where I thought I was, and I was!

I'd started out on lots of bait near the moorings - seems to often be the case - and I picked up several blacks and a few lings as well as a few other mystery strikes and brief hookups from there to out near the Bell. I couldn't say any of it was salmon, and the rock species were eating enough of my bait that I just chose to troll on toward more typically salmony waters outside the Whistle and northwest of the reef. When there was nothing happening out there other than a few more rocks and a ling I made my way all the way back through the fog to my starting point. The fog and a bit of a mixed swell had me feeling a bit off, so I was about to scrub the mission and call it a day...

You've always got to troll the way in though!

As I worked my way closer to launch I had a couple more small lingcod and was close to pulling in my line when in about 25 feet I hooked up on something hot and heavy!! My line went tight very quickly and whatever I'd hooked was heading south for the Bell. Soon I was being towed that direction at about 3 to 4 knots as I simultaneously tried to gain some line and horse this thresher up to the surface. I had the video rolling, so I wanted an aerial show! I captured over 4 minutes of being towed, but it never gave me the air show. As I got it to slow down and get under me in about 45 feet of water it sliced me off and was gone.

That got me going, and it wasn't long before I hooked up on another hot fish. This time a stout salmon had found my offering, and it was all over the place running horizontally in 25 to 30 feet and breaking the surface multiple times. It had me worried for all its running around and head shakes, but soon I had it in the net and the morning had a whole new source of inspiration!

I ended up staying longer than I'd wanted to since I'm joining Domenic for tomorrow, but it sure was a fun day. Shelter Cove is in Prime Time right now for opportunities to hook really fat salmon that provide an amazing fight and challenge. If you know the Cove I urge you to get on it, and if you don't and you want to I hope you'll consider getting ahold of me for a trip. Thresher rides and all day lingcod and rockfish bycatch are pretty nice too...  :smt001

210
Domenic and I got on it this morning to catch the last day of a flat spell and to hopefully get some salmon redemption since we skunked yesterday.  It was like the Good Ol' Days out of Humboldt Bay!  We saw Sarah and Jeremy Kingstrom and Cameron Pascual out there, and the kayak crew had the tip of the South Jetty to ourselves to start the morning.  The Tip, as it's now been named on my list of amazing places to fish, has really been the center of some hot salmon activity this week, and today we cracked the code a bit in terms of how to pick up nice salmon on the mooch.  Much time and study goes in to developing techniques for hooking bait to be hung as invitations for hungry but very finicky salmon, and Domenic got us on an impressively effective method today.  Thanks for cutting me in on your science, brother - way to think outside the tacklebox.  :smt005

Jeremy started off the catching with a really nice one in the bag, then Dom bags an early limit of beauties, then he feeds me leaders as I catch a second Dungeness (LOL) and then go on to catch my limit in like 20 minutes.  What a morning and what a great time with good friends.  We headed back to launch for beer brunch and filleting fish, and I heard later that the rest of the morning crew got on a few more chromers to finish their day too - WTG, Sarah, Jeremy and Cam!

Humboldt is happening right now - watch for the next flat water coming...

:smt001

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