Guide Flashback - TLA Comes to the Rescue at Shelter Cove! - August of 2014

Each summer down at Shelter Cove I often see past clients or people who have been to my tournament over the years.  It's always nice to catch up, and each one of these encounters presents an opportunity to reflect on how we all progress in our fishing and other aspects of our offshore experiences.

This past summer I saw Marc/Plankton down there - he'd been on a trip with me in the summer of 2014, my first year guiding.  We had a nice visit, and I was stoked to learn that he'd gone on to focus on pursuing salmon from his kayaks.  Several months later, Marc got in touch with me through private message here on NCKA, sharing his blog post of our 2014 trip.  After being pretty wrapped up, myself, in posting trips for so many years on here and on Facebook, I was thrilled to see someone else's work from the past that included me - it was my own chance to reflect on progress made and so much time well spent.

In reading Marc's post and viewing his photos, I was taken back to the day of our trip and the very unique events that unfolded.  Marc brought up a California halibut that day, and I got to net it and bask in the glory of having guided the trip!     It was the first time I'd ever dealt with a Cali - they weren't common up here for many years, and now I've caught several hundred of them and they've been a great addition to our fisheries up here at both the Cove and Humboldt Bay.

The big reward that I got from seeing Marc's story was a review of how a good friend of mine had helped me out in a huge way on that day in August of 2014.  TLA/Keith was hanging at the Cove at the time of that trip, and when I hooked a big thresher that Marc and my other guest Nick were basically having to paddle behind me, chasing me because of, Keith was right there.  After 30 minutes or so of fighting this new species to me, I was ready to cut the line and move on to complete the guided trip and finish the day for my guests.  My guys were thrilled to be witnessing the battle though, and they openly welcomed me to do what I had to in order to bring the fish in and achieve a culmination of the day in that way.  The problem though, as a first year guide who had plenty of experience with salmon, rockfish and lingcod, was that I didn't know how to land this fish or how to process it.  I expressed this to my guests with Keith right there, and the chovy had no hesitation in offering to help me land it and to help me process it when we got back on land.  This was a generous offer that I had to take him up on - my guests were in full support, so how could I not do so?

Check out Marc's blog post here:  https://westernseaboard.org/post/shelter-cove-to-trinidad

Over the next few years of guiding, I ended up having 3 guests hook a thresher that stuck (it's always a bycatch on salmon gear), and I was prepared to land and process each of those fish because of how my friend had helped me out on that day in 2014.  I know I thanked Keith, and I know he realizes how much he helped me out at a time when I was building my skillset and really legitimizing my choice to pursue guiding.  That's the kind of friend and quality individual that The Lost Anchovy is, and we're lucky in this community - NCKA - to be surrounded by many who display such generosity and humility.  These are things that have proven to be integral to the workings of this place - that's a truth that I feel very strongly about.

Yesterday I read Moo's story and watched his video where he managed to capture a trophy Cali - what a thrill, and we're all glad that it wasn't a different ending with those gaff near-disasters!  Knowing of how Keith and Moo have collaborated and also how they've openly yanked each other's chains with regularity and in the best kind of friendly nature, I took the opportunity to deliver a blow of my own in Moo's thread - the Kleenex reference.     I don't expect that Keith would take offense at my dig on him, and I don't feel bad, but I did feel that, at 51 years old and always wanting my appreciation for good friendships to evolve properly, I owe my friend an open and public expression of my gratitude and respect.

You are one of our best, Anchovy.  I look forward to fishing the Cove with you this summer for sure.   

Great write up about great times and great friends! It’s good to hear the backstory.

I second everything Eric is saying... beautiful memories.

Chovy has been such an inspiration to my own fishing adventures ever since we crossed paths back in 2014. Keep up the great work, Keith!

Thanks for the report Eric.  It never got old.

Thanks for the moving story
A much better use of Kleenex IMO

I know it's going to be a good morning when I sit down with a shot of espresso to sip and I see a guide story from Eric -- let alone one with a bonus blog post giving the other perspective!!  Thanks for sharing and way to show gratitude!

Great Story Eric, Thanks for sharing it.

Gavin

Wow Eric thanks for the open ended bromance love letter in a public forum where it will be immortalized in Digital form for the rest of our lives. Lol. I greatly appreciate the kind words and I feel the same way about you after our night in the fly motel.

In all seriousness when the time comes for this chovy to hang it up. It's the memories and friendship we have built over the years that is most important.

I need to capture that in my videos. Thanks Eric. Miss you brother. See you soon.

I, the Nick mentioned in Eric's narrative, remember that day so well. What a thrill it was to be a part of it and experience the encounter with that beautiful animal (the Thresher, not Eric). Eric and TLA were clearly advanced kayak fishermen at that point and their guidance was so important in that process. Marc has achieved mastery in several aspects of kayaking and fishing since then, while I have successfully gotten quite old and can claim few other accomplishments. Eric gifted us generoursly with big chunks of the Thresher; I still remember the meal I made of my portion--one of my best ever.

Thanks to Marc for alerting me to this thread. Thanks again to Eric and TLA for one of my most memorable kayak fishing adventures. Hope I see you all OTW again soon.