fort ross 8-19-09

well havent been on the water in a few weeks, lifes a little out of control, so headed to the fort this morning for a little head clearing. arrived at 630 to a slight drizzle and no wind with pretty flat conditions, by the time i got set up and truck parked and back to the beach the drizzle stopped and the wind started to come up, not bad maybe 5-6 knots, so i headed on out. i was on a mission today, lingcod, need a big lingcod, so thats what i went hunting, already deciding that anything else goes back in the water to fight another day. swell was pretty minimal, 3-4ft every 10 sec but the drift was north and pretty fast, gps had it at 2.1 mph for the average, so hit the "alley" on the south end and drifted north and repeated. got alot of gophers and blacks right on the bottom, released 10-12 gophers and 12-14 blacks for the day. as i was releasing one of the gophers as soon as it hit the water this big grey and white mass comes flying out from under the yak and hits the gopher and makes a quick turn to finish the job, happened so fast all my mind could grasp was big, fast and grey, nearly crapped my pants thinking it was the landlord but then it rolled and turns out to be a very large harbor seal, dont know where it came from, never even let on that it was in the area. so get back to the task at hand, and start fishing again, had a lot of short strikes today, big hits, set the hook and nothing, reel up and the tail is missing from the scampi, had this happen six times today, dont know what the deal was but they just kept biting short. finally around 10 i get a good feeling on the other end of the line and know it is not a gopher, but there is something different about the way it feels, its fighting feels like some weight but doesnt feel right, get it to the surface and its a ling, a short ling, and its foul hooked in the stomach, which makes sense since i hooked it in the middle of the water coloumn. well quick pic and back it goes. about a half hour later finally get the hit im looking for, it hits the bait hard and starts pulling line, start to slowly increase drag and make sure ive got a good hook set, its got great weight and still pulling line, im thinking this is the one i came for, then all of a sudden, BAM, rod goes total bendo almost comes out of my hands and then nothing, absoulutely nothing, and then up comes the damn fur ball with at least a 34in ling in its mouth, it cant even lift it to get it in its mouth, it turns towards me and i swear it smiled and stuck its tounge out at me, took another big bite, then another then grabbed the remainders and disappeared into the kelp. I HATE SEALS!!!!!! well recovered from the heartbreak and kept fishing, caught a few more blacks and kept my end by releasing them and pulled out around 1 and headed for the nearest place for a beer, cameron

Thanks for the report Cameron. Sorry about the fur ball having the upper hand on
your fish. That sucks big time.

Jedmo

Well at least you had the chance to relax and drain your frustrations OTW, too bad about the ling and pesky sea pup.

Boy, Cameron, it sure looks flat. Just the way we like it!
I'm with you man, hatin' the furbags. Was it a sealion or a harbor seal? I've never had the close contact with the harbor seals. The don't seem to be as aggressive, but linger nonetheless.
The one I stuck at Shelter was satisfying as well, I could see my big pink jig stuck in it's side as it breached away in pain, (I hope).
I wish I was there today, good for you.

Shitty luck Cam. Thats a shame and a waste of a good fish. Season should be open when they are that aggressive.

Open season on the fur bags would be nice . A 10 day season just like for salmon.

 Need to talk to the landlord about increasing their rent, no more subsidized housing

Wow that really sucks, sorry about your loss. My first thought would have been, wheres my 12 ga.

It made for an exciting report anyway, Cameron.   

Screw the Fur-Bagstards!   

I'm not fond of sea lions myself but the harbor seals aren't so bad. I'm sorry you lost your ling but it deffinitely didn't go to waste. It's all part of being out there and participating in the food chain.

When you guys talk about 12 guages and stuff it kind of makes us look bad. We want the fish but it's not like we really need them.

I've lost some really nice salmon before to the sea lions and was not happy about it but at the same time it makes a good story and thats how nature works you snooze you lose.


-Eliot

Sorry for the loss. It was a good read tho and sounds like you had fun  Those pinnipeds can put in a scare or be major nuisances as I'm sure many can attest to. I've been buzzed by little harbor seals in the water.. little bastards!

Thanks for the report and pics. Fort Ross used to be so sweet a few years ago...right up until the DFG inacted the depth restrictions and all the party boats started raping it.

That's some FAC water!  Thank you for the great report and pictures Cameron.

juan-yeah it was a harbor seal, first dealing with them on the water, usually sea lions giving me the problems, but i did notice that they smell better and are a whole lot quietter almost like the commandos of the seals, he was probably with me most of the day and only showed when neccessary.

otter- yeah i would never actually harm the little fur ball, but it feels good to vent, like watching action shoot em up movies and yelling at the screen to shoot that MF.

A heart pumping trip...WTG Cameron, was planning on being there fishing this wen and my ride fell through...thanks for the pics of that FLAT ASS water dude...just rub it in...j/k Great report...I can't wait too get OTW maybe nxt week...

But in the mean time I got your report to tide me over ...thx for pics and report bro...