Shelter Cove - 7/27/23

Last week I got down to the Cove for the first time since last Fall.  It's a bummer not having a salmon season, and it was even more of a bummer that they were everywhere...  We had to bail out of the nearshore zone where we were hoping to find a halibut, but all there were were salmon.  MarkL and his son Jacob were fine with me adding in Al S., and the four us hit it hard in sloppy seas offshore.  The abundance of salmon around had the rockfish and lingcod hiding in their holes, but once we got out to 80 feet or so we found some blacks.  Al brought up our only legal ling at 18 pounds/37 inches, so that was cool.  For a shitty forecast, we did well and got in a 7 hour session on the water.  Fillet time at the tailgate felt great, and the Cove was pretty active with locals playing on the beach in the sun.  In general though, things are slow there, with no salmon, the rockfish just opened a couple weeks ago, and no Californians showing up - charter has caught one, and Jake mentioned that the salmon are hitting everything, everywhere.  He's heard of Mendo coast charters releasing 40 salmon a day...

Big thanks to Mark for doing another trip, and congratulations are in order too, as he bagged that nice Pacific the day after our trip.  Great to fish with Jacob again, and Al was stoked to catch his biggest fish from the yak with that 18 pound ling.

Tough guide season for me with no salmon, but I've still got lots of cards to play.  Not going to be guiding forever though - I'm getting old!   

Your still a youngster Eric.

Your still a youngster Eric.

 

We are all getting closer in age all the time, brother Terry!