Shelter Cove - 7/30

Drove down to the Cove Saturday evening and camped at the campground right by the store and boat launch--it's $25/night!     It was pretty full, with a lot of fishermen.  Got up and in the water by 6:20.  The call was for 10-20 knots N picking up to 25.  It turned out there was no wind in the morning to speak of and the drift was actually south to north.  I trolled for salmon for a couple of hours around the bell and whistle and beyond, but all of the boats were going south 6 miles to where the fish were--too far to go solo with that wind forecast!  I caught a few black snapper, an underling and a nice blue--while trolling...     kept one snapper.  I gave up on the salmon and started jigging with just a 6 oz. leadhead with a red fringe and the classic white 8" split-tail.  I wanted lings or big enough reds or cabs to hit a big leadhead.  The fishing was slow.  The first fish I caught while jigging was a little sand-dab - the first I'd ever seen!  A bit later I'd not caught anything else jigging and I came up to a big zodiac with 3 guys rockfishing.  They agreed it was slow, but I watched them catch a bunch (half a dozen in 15-20 minutes) of decent blacks and blues and one very nice vermillion when I was closer up to them, so I could've put on some smaller and more attractive baits and probably done better for numbers.  I did get a pretty nice China to hit the leadhead and went on to catch a 25" ling that I was glad to get but a little bummed to just catch a clicker!  I called it a day and the ocean was getting a little squirly--still not much wind, but random whitecap breakers on the 4' swells were going off and that's always a little disconcerting a couple of miles out...  I cleaned up at the table and got to see a big eel some of the powerboaters caught.  They had limits of pretty nice rockfish and some lings, but nothing huge. 

When I drove up the hill out of the Cove at 12:30 to get home and do something with the fam, I realized that the south to north current must be a wind-eddy because there were big-ass whitecaps outside!  Shelter Cove is well-protected from a true north wind by Punta Gorda and the King Range to the north, which juts out to the northwest and has high ridges right off the ocean and a 4000'+ peak--the highest right off the ocean in north America I believe.

This pic is my investigation on Saturday night about how the fishing had been that day - there were a few big king carcasses, a couple of big lings, crab, lots of rockfish and more, smaller salmon and lings.  One of the campers I spoke to who hadn't fished that day said he heard they caught "30-40 pounders between the bell and the whistle buoys", but I don't think that was accurate...  I was out shortly after dawn and no one even stopped and fished the bell and whistle--all the powerboats just headed south.

It was a good trip.   

Sorry I missed you Eric.  The weather report, and not knowing you would be there, caused me to go home and skip the Shelter Cove fishing.

Next time we will hopefully hook up.

Later, Sean

We fished Trinidad over the weekend, and did okay.  We managed to get up and around the head and I scored a 26" ling right off the bat, with my uncle picking up a nice cabbie.  Another nicer ling got tied up in the rocks, after that it was scratching up a few more blacks before the wind blew us off the water.  On the way back to the beach, I had about 30 yards of line out with my scampie/squid combo following, when it was smacked by a 10lb salmon...i was a bit shocked, and not able to get to the rod before it jumped off.  As far as I know, there off limits right now, but with all the bait in the bay, I'm tempted to head over when it opens back up!

Sunday found calmer seas, but the bite became really touchy.  We headed south and managed a few more blacks, and by 10:00, it was time to get out of the wind.  Back at the pier, the party boat guys were cleaning their limits, nothing of any real size, and I didn't see any lings either.

Is the extra drive worth it for Shelter Cove?  I'm planning on another trip for the 18-20th of August, and would love to find somewhere with a bit less pressure.  I was thinking Crescent City, but Shelter Cove sounds great too.

Tight Lines,
Ben

Ben:  The Cove is better in my opinion because salmon is open there and there seems to be a few more rockfish--I also heard of a halibut taken in the Cove itself off a kayak...  It is a long drive though--about 2 hours from Eureka.  Get in touch if you're thinking of going and maybe we can hook up.  And yes, salmon is closed north of Horse Mountain (a few miles north of the Cove) until a few days around Labor Day.

interesting about the wind eddy.  I guess it's called 'shelter' cove for a reason.

in august, when the wind rips through the golden gate, there is a back eddy close to shore around
san gregorio/ pomponio / pescadero, I use it for surfing reasons. 

Thanks for the head's up.  We'll probably wait and see if the salmon are still around.  It looks like only two of us are going, and the wife's are staying home, so that means we'll get a better chance of exploring, so who knows where we may end up!
Tight Lines,
Ben