The Cape - 9/30

Can we start a CafeCraig camera fund?!!   

Hit Cape Mendo area today with my buddy Brian - he's got 2 year old twins, so this was his first (maybe only) trip of the year!     It was one of few days in the year that you can launch and fish over there - it's always windy and usually rough.  Brian's cousin Tom joined us for an hour or so on the water before he had to bail for his son's soccer game - WTG, Dad!  Tom took home some blacks and a pretty nice cab.  Brian had a 50 or so fish day, enjoying the constant black and blue action in really nice water around the kelp bed - you basically couldn't get to the bottom with certain tackle in certain spots.  He also bagged a nice blue ling and a vermillion.  I picked up 3 fish on my first two drops and knew it would be a good day.  I ended up releasing a dozen blacks, a dozen blues and 2 legal lings.  I quickly switched to a big leadhead (6 oz and even a 10 ozer for awhile) so I could target lings or reds.  The drift was fast heading northwest/offshore, so it wasn't ideal by any means.  The action was steady, but I only had a few blacks, a few blues and a couple of lings (all released) about 2 hours in.  I had constant bites - especially when I hooked up an octopus that one of the released lings puked up, but the biters didn't seem to be sticking too well.  We headed back in to the kelp bed after tiring of the constant paddling due to the drift and we had a blast playing with the blacks and blues.  The water smoothed out and the drift slowed, so I decided to head back out and try a good pinnacle again.  First drop picked up a decent vermillion of around 4#.  I had a 6 oz leadhead with red split tail and white fringe on an old shrimpfly rig that had only one bare hook above the leadhead.  Blues bit that bare hook 3 drops in a row and I was about to take it off - good thing I didn't...  I caught a very dinky blue on a double-hookup and decided to hook it onto the leadhead - I've never been fond of that sacrificial method, but this fish really was too small to filet.  I had that down for a minute when I got hammered and it stuck.  I knew it was a good ling and it took a while to get it to the top.  This was crazy - it was on the bare hook!!!  Too much!  I don't know if this crazy ling missed the leadhead and blue or what, but I got it in the net.  I took a bunch of pictures as I held it in my patented deathgrip on the first ridge of the gill plate.  After about 5 minutes of photos and telling Brian on the radio that I was going to release I decided to put it in the hatch - ahh, my lack of willpower!  23#.  Didn't measure the length - I like poundage stats better!     My giant salmon net made the fish look small again, but check out that ling next to a 4# vermillion.

I'd never netted a ling before today - only gaff or bare hand leadhead grab - the net was easier!   

Hi, A great report and nice ling. Can you explain "patented deathgrip"?

OK, there's no patent on it!     but it is pretty cool.  Years ago, after clearly hearing my dad tell me that a lingcod's gill rakers have teeth just like their mouth, I investigated as I caught them and found that I could hold them by the first ridge of the gill plate as you reach in from the back of it.  It's very effective.  I'm kinda weird though - don't really care about minor cuts and scrapes to my hands, so it's not for everybody.  Try it - you may likee!  This big one today sat there pretty mellow for a few minutes before doing a crazy twirl - I've had them bend more than one big leadhead hook doing this twirl thing.  I was able to hold on my tightest and keep it in my hand.  I'm not a big buff guy, but the adrenalin I have when I've just caught a nice fish seems to power these nutty activities.   

Nice lingzilla dude!

What a terrific fish but amazing that it stayed on that hook!  Yesterday was clearly a special day.

nice fish and pics abking!

I have yet to catch a real big ling, stuck on 30"! 

sometimes those hooks just catch a little skin, but don't come out because they get caught up in a corner of the mouth when the fish turns away, but still don't penetrate. I have had that happen with a halibut.
never give up and be careful on the landing!

J

I'm such an idiot!  Here's the progression:  great day on the water, photo and clean the fish, beers, get home, wash stuff, deal with catch, beers, play with the kids, make dinner to start re-building WAF, beers, put kids to bed, download photos, go on NCKA, beers, report that I've "never netted a ling" before, duh!, take a few days to realize that I have a previous post with photos of netting a ling (biting a black as a hitch-hiker - the TRUE first ling I've netted!), then feel like complete idiot for looking like obvious liar...  People:  I love this board.  I love the community here.  I'm sorry for being over the top - all the fish and catch details are true.  I'm just a desperately lonely yak-fisherman with alot of energy to report on my exploits.  I'm sorry for being an idiot...

I'll be back, even though there isn't much Humboldt or even Mendocino or Sonoma influence here, and, more often than not, I'll be under the influence of a few Sierra Nevada's, but I'll try to be more accurate!  (burp...)   

All we care about is....nice fish!!!!

A 38 lb. king followed by the 23 lb. lingzilla, can't wait to see what's next!

Dude!
That is an awesome ling!

See...sometimes the sacraficial lil blue is necessary.

NICE!

PK