Shelter Cove - 8/26/22

David called up recently, looking for a date at the Cove to try out his new Hobie Outback.  Friday the 26th was our day, and, great news:  a few salmon were caught by the fleet the couple of days before our trip. 

I had my gear all ready to go when David pulled down onto the ramp.  Thick fog had the breakwater partially obscured from shore, and the forecast called for sloppy seas out front and a potential SW wind coming on throughout the morning. 

As my guest put together his gear I realized that he literally had never had his kayak in the water.  No worries - orientation on his new platform would become a big part of our focus.  Between the newness of his boat, the fogginess of the nearshore and the sloppy seas out front, it was a no-brainer to stay inshore and head down the coast, hoping to find part of that bite from the previous days.

We got launched just before 7AM and spent some time getting David acquainted with the feel of his Outback and its capabilities, and at the same time I got him fishing with a basic trolling setup.  It wasn't long before we'd landed and released a little rockfish, and soon after that I hooked up on a hot salmon.  This big coho was all over the surface and making spirited runs away from me, and by the time I had it back boatside for the second time, it seemed tired enough for me to leader it up and grab the hooks.  The fish didn't like my plan and ended up thrashing its head and breaking my leader with one hook still in its lip.  I hate to put a big coho in the landing net to get the hooks out, and I think it'll be OK with its new temporary lip ring.

The coho battle and interaction had David and I livened up and ready for more action.  It wasn't long before David was hooked up, but it seemed small.  He reeled in a Chinook that looked like the most beautiful 7" herring I'd ever seen, until I realized it was a mini-salmon.  It got the wet hand release and will hopefully grow to a fat adult like the ones we were looking for.

As we made our way through the fog to the south we could hear the powerboaters on the VHF already scoring some salmon, and there were boats cruising by us headed to the same bite we were.  Pretty soon we were amidst more than a dozen boats in about 70 feet of water, and there were great signs - bait, birds, anglers hollering in the fog when they'd land a salmon.  It was feeling like the good ol' days, as this year has been pretty slow for salmon at the Cove.

Boom!  My guy was on.  I cleared my line quickly and got right up on him as he reacted to what was a big salmon on his line.  The rod that David had purchased along with his kayak was probably better suited to rockfishing - short and stiff, but I knew it could get the job done.  I'd had him keep his drag pretty loose, warning that a hot salmon could just whip its body and break his leader.  That loose drag was now resulting in line peeling off of David's reel at a rapid rate!  Looking at his line counter, he's like "It's 150' out now!"  I definitely didn't want to tell him to tighten the drag, and the fish did slow down.  I coached him on lifting and reeling down on it, and David started getting the fish back toward us - heeding my directive to always keep tension on the line to keep the barbless hooks from slipping out of the mouth of his prize.

Within a couple of minutes he had the fish up to us.  I only got a brief glimpse of it as it rolled sideways and then hid under his kayak - it was big, like 25+.  I told him that when I show it the net it's probably going to run again, and I asked him to lift it to see if it would come out from under the boat.  I showed the net as he lifted, and the fish reacted with an explosive maneuver that wasn't unexpected...  What WAS unexpected though was that this big king was going to get the gear caught in the rudder on my guy's new Hobie.  Snap, crackle, pop!  The fish was gone. 

David was in shock for a minute I think, and I acted cool and tried to make sure he shook it off.  "This kind of shit happens in fishing - nothing you could've done..."  I'd actually been telling him earlier how Hobie guys typically peddle when they get a fish on, in an effort to control and tire the fish.  We'd agreed that he'd better learn that down the line, but now I was thinking of how that very strategy could've kept that really nice salmon from being able to get itself caught up in the works.  Lesson learned, and, really, it's just part of fishing - have to buck up and move on.

Luckily, I'd already determined that David had brought some legit beginner mojo on this trip.  I got him set up with a new leader and another piece of really nice bait, and before long he was on another hot one!  Again, I cleared my line and got up to him quickly.  Now fighting his second nice fish in the last 10 minutes, David got to see how differently two different fish can act and feel on the line.  My guy did great to make any adjustments that I asked him to, and within a few minutes we worked together to get his redemption fish in the net - 22 pounder.

My good friend and long time fishing partner, Domenic, had launched just before us, and I'd been trying to bring him up on the VHF ever since we landed in the middle of the fleet.  Now Dom and I were in contact, and before too long he joined us on the troll.  For the next hour or so the bite seemed to subside, and David and I went our own direction for a bit.  Dom had just paddled back up to us after doing a lap a quarter mile away when he got hammered right by us - now he was on his own hookup. 

It's really fun to watch my bro fight and land a fish.  He sets the hook more aggressively than anyone I know, and his level of concentration and touch with the rod and net are top notch.  I snapped a few pics as he fought and landed the fish - that's always an iffy proposition, as a lost fish in that situation can lead to uncomfortable tension - even between long time bros!  No worries at all though - Dom got the job done, like he has done many times before.  It was cool for my guest to get to see and be involved with it too, and it's not the first time that Domenic has been a cool part of my guided trips.

With the bite really falling off after Dom got his, David and I eventually headed inshore to look for a rockfish or halibut, but nothing was really happening there either.  Another good friend and long time client, John, showed up and joined in with David and I on the troll.  We did a couple more passes through the still-slow salmon fleet and eventually headed toward the point where we'd pick up a few rockfish before calling it a day around 3PM.

The salmon rush had kept us on the water for a bit longer than planned, and now it was time to load the gear, get some photos of the prized catch, spray the scales off and process the fish.  The Tailgate Fillet Station was back in full production mode, with Dom and John hanging out with David and I, enjoying easy conversation and the tastiest cold beers on the coast.

With David's cooler loaded up, we settled up our deal, and everyone was headed down the road for home.  I was feeling the kind of satisfaction that I've grown so accustomed to over the years of guiding at the Cove.  It's about having just helped someone expand their horizons in a way that isn't at all routine, and the learning that occurred, even though it was solid and very thorough, was eclipsed by the joy that was found in that moment of redemption.

Big thanks to David for engaging me for his orientation and angler training.  Also, gratitude to Domenic and John for their friendship and always adding positively to any of my trips they've been around.  It probably shouldn't take the salmon finally showing up to get me waxing proud and grateful, but that's part of the magic.

The Magic of the Cove is hard to beat.

Great report and happy to hear the salmon have returned!

Nice one Eric

Someday I’ll get up there and fish

Right on Eric. And congratulations to Dom.

Great job and great report as usual. I'm going to start calling Dom the salmon whisperer.

OMG what a hog!!  Congrats making lifetime memories for others.