Well, I'm pretty damn anal, uptight, judgemental, impatient, selfish, perfectionist, and definitely arrogant - these things have served me pretty well for ramrodding this tournament, and I love it.     BUT...  I do need help and am really trying to turn over a new leaf here by asking for it!   

Brandi is working on getting Gyotaku supplies together and I think she'll start a separate thread about it.  I'm stoked to have that develop as part of GS, and I'll kick a little tourney dough into supplies to make it happen, but I can't be directly involved.  So far she's corresponding with Adam / ATD about it, and please contact her or look for her thread about it if you can help too.  We need a bunch of cheap t-shirts.  Tourney will buy ink, brushes, paper towels and some other supplies, but I think someone could buy the shirts and take it upon themselves to collect $5/each for them or something. 

Otherwise, I need some signs made:

- We have to make a better effort to recycle at the potluck this year.  Every year a few of us end the evening by digging through plates of food debris to separate the bottles and cans from the trash.  I'll have plenty of commercial strength trash bags and The Tides provides the cans, but we need some big signs that will help people see to recycle here and put trash there.  Anyone into it?

- A volunteer to haul trash/recyclables out of the Cove would be awesome too!  The recycle $ will likely cover the trash dump fee with spare change left over.

- We need a sign for down at the ramp on tourney day telling kayakers to stay up close to the breakwater and out of the middle of the ramp area where the tractor turns around and launches boats.  "KAYAKERS STAY UP CLOSE TO BREAKWATER"  "KAYAKERS DO NOT BLOCK RAMP"

If someone could take on these tasks it'll help me a lot.  Thanks.   

(Meant to include RV in Private Site option)

I'm in touch with the campground owner, Jack, and I will be working to clarify any uncertainties regarding the deal.  Here is the deal:

- $35/night for one rig and two people in a tent site is tight - you can't overflow the boundaries - it's $10/night/person over two;
- $45/night for RV site is pretty cush if you have an RV;
- $20/night to live in an NCKA mini-city with restaurants and music dens is cool if you want that group scene.  (edited to include  because it really is a cool scene)
- I told Jack that I'm doing a poll to see just how many people we have planning to do the group thing - he is clear on how big this has gotten and what our needs are - he's a shrewd businessman but also aware of how big this is for him.  He will give us more space if we need it, and he's assured me he has plenty of space.  He's also giving us hoses and tables dedicated to cleaning gear in one area near or in camp, extra porta-potties just for us, and I mentioned firewood - I'll pin him down on that later.
- So get yourself a hotel, inn or vacation rental, or rent a private campground site, or plan on doing the group thing.  I'm confident that all participants will have room in the campground.

Hello, and welcome to Gimme Shelter 6th Annual Kayakfishing Tournament.  On Saturday, May 12th, 2012 we will open the rockfish/lingcod season along the North Coast.  A $25 registration fee gets you a t-shirt, a few goodies, and entry into the fishing tournament.  We fish in teams but score individually, and the winner gets some nice trophies as well as a grand prize – a new RTM Abaco with extras!  There will also be prizes for others who place as well as a Sportsman prize, and the nature of the tournament is that all cash in goes back out to the participants.  Based on our larger and larger footprint over the years at Shelter Cove, I plan to patronize the locals directly by buying two charter trips and a tractor launch to be awarded as prizes or raffle items.  There is much to plan for, much to share here about trips past and anticipation of this year, and organizing yet to do, but, please be clear, the spirit and purpose of this gathering is about people who love the outdoors and love sharing it with others who have their act together and bring a good vibe.  There is no room for attitudes or trouble.  Our presence in Shelter Cove has been welcomed and we’ve done much to build a good reputation as a group – let’s focus on that as we descend on Shelter Cove for an annual pilgrimage of fishing, drinking in Nature, and enjoying each other with loving hearts and open minds.

There is history to this tournament that is best learned in past threads.  This has become like assigning a Tolstoy novel to a college coed, but you really cannot gain better perspective on Gimme Shelter than by reading the threads that have developed around them each year.  I’ll give a brief here:  6 of us NCKA members planned a hookup at Shelter Cove early in the ocean salmon season of 2007.  I’d caught a huge king the September previous down there, and the season opened in February at that time, so 2 of us from Humboldt, Swellrider (Hawk) and I, and 4 of us from “the Bay Area”, Sailfish (Sonny), Sackyack (Etienne), Sin Coast (Pat), and MBYakker (Chris), planned to rendezvous over the weekend of March 5th, 2007.  We had a great time – read about it here:   http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php/topic,7354.0.html 

So the deep winter of ‘07/’08 sets in and Sin Coast / Pat starts up a thread for another early salmon season try called “Gimme Shelter II” – we’d corresponded about getting it going, and I credit him with the naming.  Well done, PK.   The thread gained momentum and quite a few people (a couple dozen or more) were going to show, but we got blown out by what I now call “a hurricane” – it was so extreme that NO ONE even showed up, at all.  What we really saw developing that year though was a strong commitment by longtime members to get together and have a special gathering – I still remember the energy of that thread.  Read the 15 page thread here:  http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php/topic,11452.0.html 

Winter of ‘08/’09 brought lots of hard-up rockfishers and lingcod lovers – it was decided that we’d hold the tournament for the opener on Friday, May 15th - Gimme Shelter 3.  Biggest fish would take first prize among about 45 of us having a “friendly” – was to be “money between friends”, but since we had some donated prizes we made it a free tournament.  Jedmo took it with a 56” wolf eel!  We had killer t-shirts by FishMaster, Domenic caught a Pacific Halibut in pre-fish, and such a great time was had all weekend with some awesome fish, exciting adventures, and so much fun it was hard to believe!  Read the 56 page thread here: http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php/topic,16397.0.html

So winter rolls around at the end of ’09 and Gimme Shelter is now a fixture – there are lots of people wanting in on the fun.  I organized Gimme Shelter IV with pre-registration of about 85 people, t-shirts, and a kayak for 1st place.  Our boy Big Jim took the grand prize with a nice stringer (AOTY scoring was now the system), and it couldn’t have been more appropriate as he was cruising the “Big Yak” up until then!  Such fun and special times were had – it literally brings tears to my eyes to write this and conjure memories of the friendships that formed and positive vibes that flowed through that time and place.  Read the 60 page thread here:  http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php/topic,22208.0.html

OK, so we get to winter of ‘10/11 and Gimme Shelter is solid - time for GS5.  Added on additional gear to buy, secured a sponsor donated boat for grand prize freeing up $1000 to go to charity, had a bunch of other prizes and a special custom redwood Trophy Trough with abalone inlay, filled The Tides Inn by New Year, and had 93 paid participants.  The tournament went off nicely even though we were subject to some brutal cold and rain.  Some totally badass fish were caught including Jacks/Terry’s 48” Pacific Halibut that sealed his victory in the tournament, some monster 20 pound lingcod, and Darius caught his own Pac-But before the weekend was over.  Once again, the camaraderie, renewing of old friendships, brotherhood, and spirit of fun and happiness was approaching overwhelming!  This stuff can’t be made up – it’s what we do here.  Read of GS5 in this 73 page thread:  http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php/topic,28025.0.html

These threads have turned out to be the longest, most viewed, most responded to threads at NCKA.  I’ll take credit for being a rabble-rouser of sorts, relishing the nature of a somewhat cryptic system of communication between a special group who chooses to meet to paddle and fish together.  I don't care if this thread eclipses past uber-threads - it's more about the gathering for me now, and quality is the focus over quantity.  Thank you for starting your participation by reading this.  Over the next 4 months a collective swell of hope and anticipation will form here in this thread.  I’ll update a list of registered participants on the most current page, and I’ll have announcements that will be headlined in the changing title of the thread.  If anyone has any ideas or suggestions or would like to contribute to the tournament, please feel free to bring them to this thread or PM me.

See the attachments here for the new rules, schedule and registration form – registration closes on April 12th.

Sonny, let the countdown begin.   

It's been a challenging year waterwise - we got early volume that allowed fish to enter the river and enough followup precip to keep that going, but lately it's been very dry and the river and tributaries are falling down to late summer levels.  The fish are spawning farther down in the system and the redds are vulnerable to higher flows that could come later and wash them out.  I followed bear track today and saw one live fish around 10 pounds.  Spotted a dozen or more redds and enjoyed time on the creek.  Streams where I typically see spawners this time of year are not flowing enough to support any spawning activity at this time.  I hope for a steady stream of precipitation to take the place of this odd dry spell.  Beauty is thriving out there, but it's a precarious balance.   

I just read this on Humboldt Tuna Club:

I just called the DFG hotline (1-800-564-6479) and the quota will be reached tomorrow, September 21, which means the entire lower river below the confluence with the Trinity will close to the take of adult salmon (over 22") on Thursday September 22.  The river will still be open for the take of jack salmon and steelhead and C&R on adult salmon.  If you were planning on making one more trip this year, better do it tomorrow.

The bite got hot out of Humboldt Bay last Sunday when Rob and I hit Trinidad - timing is everything, right?...  The bite continued to be pretty strong this week and the fish are showing in shallower water (less than 100' at times).  With this forecast:

.SAT...NW WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT. W SWELL 1 TO 2 FT AT 14 SECONDS. PATCHY FOG IN THE MORNING.  .SAT NIGHT...N WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT. W SWELL 1 TO 2 FT. PATCHY FOG.  .SUN...N WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT. W SWELL 2 FT. PATCHY FOG.  .MON...N WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT. W SWELL 2 FT. PATCHY FOG.  .TUE...N WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT. W SWELL 2 FT... BECOMING NW 3 TO 5 FT. PATCHY FOG.

it's time to get OTW!  Hope to see you out there.   

Guys - this is getting serious.  Word has BIG kings in to 80' of water right outside Humboldt Bay, and they're chompin. 

.SAT...WIND VARIABLE LESS THAN 5 KT...BECOMING W 5 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. NW SWELL 4 TO 5 FT AT 9 SECONDS. PATCHY FOG.  .SAT NIGHT...NW WIND 10 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. NW SWELL 5 FT. PATCHY FOG.  .SUN...N WIND 5 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. NW SWELL 3 TO 5 FT. PATCHY FOG.

Today through Sunday the conditions are looking potentially epic.  If there was ever a time that I would recommend driving however far you have to, this is it.  20-40 pulls on a DeepSix is getting it done, and 80' is a mile or less from the Jaws.  Minus tide and flat water just after daylight means the incoming tide brings you back into the bay - it's a 6 hour, morning fishing window with minimal winds and low swell forecast. 

I see this is as one of the best chances to catch a big king from your yak.  I'll be trying to hit it tomorrow morning and maybe Sunday.  Send a PM if you're into meeting up, and go ahead on it yourself if you can - I want to see some yak-kings caught!