Shelter Cove - 9/3/22

Schwegg came back for a late summer trip, and he brought his lady, Celeste, along to check out the scene.  They crashed out in their tent-top over the truck, and the late night launch crew showed up at 130AM, keeping my people up for many hours of the night!

I got there in the dark at 540AM and got all the gear set up for Celeste and I, but by the time it got light and Schwegg was about ready, he told me that Celeste needed to sleep in.  No worries - I packed up her gear, got a new parking spot and Schwegg and I launched.  Half a mile later I realized that I'd left my safety bag in the truck in the midst of the busy morning.  I left Schwegg trolling near some buddies and paddled hard back to the ramp.  Got my gear, re-launched and headed down the coast to find my guy more than a mile away now.  Couldn't have done that with a first time client, and big thanks to Domenic for hanging with my guest for a bit while I worked up the best morning sweat in a long time - ever, probably.

Nothing was happening for the fleet.  There was still some bait by the harbor, but nobody picked anything up in there, and out of all the boats down by the Coast Guard Buoy no one announced a fish.  We did some laps and worked the closer bait after coming back from the south, but nothing was biting at all.  The water was nice, but things were super quiet.

Schwegg and I enjoyed the calm water, and I hoped that Celeste would opt to join us.  We'd landed one keeper lingcod and one short halibut at this point, and we hadn't had many other bites.  Schwegg had been texting with his lady, and she was now ready to get on the water.  We headed to the launch to get Celeste set up and hoped that the tide change would get things going for the bite.

Celeste has kayaked before and has ocean experience, but she didn't want to fish.  Even though I'd brought all the gear and had her boat equipped with sonar in the morning, I was able to leave the rod, net and electronics in the truck - a bit of a bummer that she wouldn't be angling with us, but
this was also a gift to me in that I'd not be training and assisting with the basics. 

We made our way back out of the harbor, and with the point and out front being a bit sloppy we decided to stay nearshore to look for a halibut and hope that the salmon would show.  Celeste did great, and we covered a few miles on clean water with only a slight breeze showing now and then. 

Schwegg and I ran nice baits with a variety of presentations for the entire session, and we did manage to land more fish, but the radio talk as well as any interactions on the water with friends revealed that the entire fleet was having the same luck:  Not Much.  All species were off the chew, and I'd find out later that the bite up the coast was similarly slow.  The fish know more about these things than we do, and you have to be ready for it in this sport. 

Our catch of the day and the fish that really made me happy was when Schwegg brought up a respectable halibut.  I got up on him and the fish was right at his kayak.  As I produced the net, I told him that the fish was due to explode, and then, basically right as I'd said it and showed the net, the fish went apeshit and dove hard.  I thought the barbless hooks would pull out for sure, but somehow it was still hooked.  Schwegg brought it back up, it dove again, and when he brought it up for a third time I was ready.  We got it in there, and the hooks flopped out in the net - happens a lot!

Not long after this triumph of the day, it was decided that we were about done.  My guest couple wanted to grab a late lunch and hit the festival that was happening up at the lighthouse.  We landed on a super busy high tide launch area, got our gear quickly stowed on the trucks, took a few glory shots and then headed up the hill where I'd fillet while my guests cruised the festival and enjoyed a few beers.

I don't mind at all when my people want to do something else while I'm finishing the day's work.  It's all part of the tip-earning!  This vocation has been an awesome practice in being at my best.  I want to be on point, attentive, positive and engaging for our entire time together.  I've said it before:  it's not about the money to me.  It's about practicing in self-control and using the Golden Rule by treating others as I'd like to be treated.  When you're paying for a day with a guide, you want to feel good and be happy - that's what I focus on.  Watch out though, because I'm dialed in on my people, and I may not have much for those outside of our little bubble.

With the fish filleted and iced, I texted Schwegg to finish up our transaction.  We closed out our day with mutual expressions of appreciation, and my guests embarked on the rest of their weekend where they'd check in to their suite at the Inn of the Lost Coast and Schwegg would have options on morning fishing for Sunday and Monday.

I'm pretty sure the loving couple got a much better night's sleep last night!

Salmon season ends tomorrow off of Humboldt.  My body's telling me I'm done for the year!  We'll see...

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Awesome report as always...thanks Eric.