Shelter Cove - 11/1/20

Greg and Kerry came up from Lakeport to enjoy the Cove after their Mexican vacation plans got Covidized.  I got to take them out for some fishing, and we had a ball!

The forecast was one of the best of the season with 5 knots of wind and a 4' swell from the north that would basically be eliminated by points northwest of the Cove.  I arrived just before sunrise to see a foggy ocean with wind chop on it - for first thing in the morning, this was more ripply than basically all summer had been.  No worries - we can adapt.

I got the yaks laid out and gear all set up, and my guests arrived ready for their adventure.  I asked Kerry if she had heard about the two shark attacks on kayaks at the Cove over the summer...  Oops.  Did I forget to confirm with Greg that they knew about it?  My bad - seriously, I thought it was well known.  They were undeterred, and soon we were paddling out into the fog toward the Bell Buoy.

My guests picked up the fishing techniques quickly, and Kerry got on the board first with a little lingcod.  It wasn't long before Greg pulled up a couple of rockfish, and we were looking good with taco meat on the stringer.  The fog and slight wind and chop made for chilly temps, and the current was like a tractor-beam, dragging us up the coast toward Alaska.  After working that for a bit we headed for the nearshore where the sun was trying to come through, and the slickest water available to us would make for a more comfortable fishing zone as the current would be minimized and the swell basically non-existent in the lee of the point.

On our way across the cove I got slammed by a hot coho that got a no-touch release, and that was fun for everybody to see a few aerials and the brilliant chrome flanks of a magnificent ocean salmon.  We got to the inside where we hoped to find a late season halibut, and I was also really hoping some rockfish and a lingcod would show up - it's not always easy to scratch out a bite in near the beach.  An hour or so went by and we'd only had a few bites, but, as is known to happen, eventually the bite turned on.  For an hour or more I couldn't get a bait down for long because I kept hearing "fish on!".  It's an ideal situation for a guide to be so busy netting, bleeding and stowing fish and re-baiting hooks that he can't even fish himself - what a gift!

After loading up the stringers and having a chance to get to know my guests while we fished, it was time to head for the ramp.  I'd been joking about us having an epic hookup late in the game that would cause me to be filleting in the dark, and it basically came true!

We closed out the day with cold beer at the tailgate fillet station, filling the last ziploc of fillets by the light of a headlamp as the Cove locals stoked their bonfire nearby.  My guests had maximized their opportunity in this day, and that's another guide ideal.  Together, Greg, Kerry and I had created a space where we had challenged ourselves, embraced the adventure and discovery available in the open ocean in thick fog, enjoyed the wildlife and scenery, braved the elements and caught a pile of fish, but the best part of the trip occurred in the dark at my truck where we had managed to make a connection that goes deeper than acquaintance and is much more meaningful than it is transactional.

Thank you, Greg and Kerry, for a great time and for showing me your hearts - this is the way of the kayak angler.

 

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Thanks for the great write up and pictures Eric.

Thanks for the report and pics Eric. 

I miss the cove.   

I miss the cove.   

I'm missing the NCKA family reunions for sure, brother.

Hoping we can all get together in 2021.

Great to read a great time was had by all.