Non-yak fish of a lifetime.

I joined the NCKA several months ago but I've only made one post because I've only been on a kayak once, though I'm hoping to do more. Not sure how non-yak posts are received here, but I had to share this event none-the-less.
On Friday the 19th I went on a PB out of Emeryville. They were going for salmon because the past week had shown some promise. I had gotten skunked on another trip on a different PB back in August, so I was a little apprehensive.

We had only nine anglers and we were out the Golden Gate by 0700. Lines were in the water at about 0830 near the Duxbury bouy. The first hour saw nothing, and I was glad I brought along a novel to read. Then we had a hit at the stern but the fish was lost. Then we lost two more, including a hit on my rented rod. Finally we landed two fish, one about 25# and one about 16#. One was caught on the deckhand's rod.

Then I had a strike again. This one was lost too. The sardine was chewed up but the fish must've never been hooked. Then we caught a few more, but I was still shooting blanks.  After a while my rod went off yet again, and all eyes were on me now. The last time I caught a salmon I was twelve and Nixon was in office. I really wanted this fish. This time the deckhand, Chris, coached me all the way through the short fight. When he finally netted the fish I was relieved and vindicated at the same time. This 18# beauty would have made my day and made the trip worth it if that's all I went home with.



But then there was more.

My 18 pounder was one of only six fish in the hold, including one caught by the skipper. When my rod went off a fourth time I thought I heard "Not again" from somebody. This time I was psyched. I thought if I could catch a second fish it would be a great birthday present (Wed, Oct 24th). Again I had Chris coach me. I let the fish run, which it did mercilessly. It ran for what looked like half my line. I was able to gain some back with an assist from the skipper's maneuvering of the boat. But after a few minutes it was clear this was quite a fish. The fight went on and on for what I thought was nearing half an hour. The longer the fight went on, the more I thought we need this fish. The morale of the anglers and crew was a little low, as was the entire salmon fishing fleet this year. So as I got the fish nearer the boat I decided to take advantage of experience. Chris has landed scores more fish than myself, and netting this fish was more important than my glory. So I gave him the rod, telling him the boat needed the fish more than me. Within five minutes we could see the
leader. The skipper came back to help land the fish, and then we saw the f****r. Wow, can he get it in?
The skipper lowered the net and got it. Then he went to heave it over the rail. Too heavy. He couldn't do it. I thought, OMFG, don't lose it now. He gave it another heave, and with the collective will of the customers and crew, the fish was on the deck. All eyes on the boat must've looked like a rockfish after surfacing from 200 feet. The size of this salmon was stupifying. I simply could not believe I actually helped catch this beast. I grabbed the leader to take the hook out. As I raised it up the damn snap swivel broke. Amazing.




The fish was 45 pounds and 44 inches long. I was using 20# test line with a standard 8' 50# test leader. The sinker release held a 5# ball, which I had at 35' all day long. The crowbar hook held a frozen sardine. The captain and the deckhand said mine was the biggest salmon they had ever seen on their boat, and maybe the biggest this season in these parts.



Of course I had to take a pic of Chris the deckhand.


We only caught two more fish for a total of nine landed. Three were caught by the crew, which they gave to those anglers who had no joy this day. Nice, classy thing to do. I felt a little guilty, since I was obviously a bit of a novice.
When we got back to the dock the rest of the fleet had already heard the news. I guess that was my fifteen minutes of fame. I got the fish on ice immediately and transported it to my local watering hole. They let me keep the fish in their beer cooler overnight. Then my buddy Bryan sliced and diced the trophy. It's nice to have friends who work in the meat section of a supermarket.




I went out and bought a vacuum sealer and filled my fridge. I saved the head, which my cat was not impressed with.




I have a couple of questions for the forum, if you don't mind. Does anyone have a guess as to the age of this fish? The second question relates to smoked fish. I heard of a smokehouse in the East Bay that's run by the Ohlone indians. Does anyone have their phone number?

Thanks for reading this.
Scott

Super catch there, Scott. Congrats. You won't get any attitude here. There's a smokehouse on Mission in Hayward just south of the Foothill-Jackson intersection. Going southbound, it's on the right. I don't think they're the greatest, however. I take mine to Los Gatos Smokehouse in Los Gatos or Dittmer's in Los Altos (on Santonio Road next to Bud's Ice Cream and across the street from Sears). There's one in Emeryville, but I've never been there.

You might want to ask Brian (bsteves) or Sean (scwafish). They're both fish biologists.

Howard

Nice Hen!!!!

  WTG...........

 Nice job on self Sacrafice,  but next time........ Keep the Rod ....Danglin

Nice fish. Thanks for the report.

The smoke house in Hayward/San Leandro is closed. It was Bobby Lee's but they had a fire and I think Bobby is to tired to reopen it. Too bad cause he was great at buthering deer and pig.

WOW! What a great fish! I can only imagine the sleigh ride if it was on a yak.
You can always smoke that baby yourself. There are plenty of good posts on this site to help you with that.
here is a very well done video on the process as well. You don't even need a smoker!



I have always been such a DIY guy that I didn't even know there were places that would smoke your game for you unless it was a specific feature of your outting. Duhhh!

Wow, Scott!! that is quite the story, and quite a fish, bigger that mine!
Great smoked fish video too...  off to do some striper recon, hope to get luck.

What a great unexpected early b-day present Gaffer. I'm sure this one will be remembered for quite some time!!!  

Hey Gaffer,

Thanks for the post and pics!  Your great catch makes me drool,and the pic of the cat with the fish head makes me laugh.

I have an "Older Smokey" smoker that I am really happy with:

http://www.amazon.com/Old-Smokey-Electric-Smoker/dp/B0000CEWYN/ref=pd_bbs_sr_5/104-8154456-0973551?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1192982423&sr=8-5

-Matt ("HobieSport") in Mendocino

congrats on a great catch of a lifetime.  Now how do you commercialize on the cat pic?  Perhaps a new line of cat lures

Not sure how non-yak posts are received here, but I had to share this event none-the-less.

The fish was 45 pounds and 44 inches long.

Does anyone have a guess as to the age of this fish?

Thanks for sharing, Gaffer.  There are many non-yak posts here that most members love to look at.  When you write "non-yak" in your title it gives people the option if they don't want to look, but who skips "fish of a lifetime" posts?!   

45 pounds - 44 inches.  this is a timely comparision to that carcass I was playing with!   

Age:  probably 4 or 5, but could be up to 7.  Brian and Sean should have good info on its most likely age.

Way to go, Scott, and thanks for posting.   

Non yak post???
 I thought it was a recruiting post for Duxbury Reef!
 Nothing has ever made me want to go out more in a kayak!
A salmon that big and strong with wild lunges and wide runs would make fighting one like a rodeo ride! A fish like that, if not played out enough can generate dangerous  chaos in our little boats.
What I'm trying to think of with so much less experience then most of the guys here is about the advantages of salmon kayak fishiing...ie. sneakier, quieter, no motor, no churning boat wake etc. etc.
 Without generating speed on a troll though, how can you still make em go for broke on your bait? Can you use less lead weights....can you  drift fish?
 Steve

SWEET FISH!!!

its nice to some salmon FINALLY

maybe they will make their way up to the American someday

That is a nice fish and definetly worth posting.  Great job and enjoy the memories which are priceless.  One of the telltale signs of a Salmon over 30lbs is the tail.  They seem to get wider when they hit that weight and when I hook a Salmon and it surfaces, I look for the tail.  If the tail sticks out of the water, play the fish out longer than usual because it will be hot when it gets to the boat.  Many people loose big Salmon because they don't realize the big ones (over 30lbs) have enough power to snap their line when they get close to the boat.

Great to hear they are beginning to make their run.  Time to check out Paradise at the top of the tide!

Luis

 Without generating speed on a troll though, how can you still make em go for broke on your bait? Can you use less lead weights....can you  drift fish?

You drift fish (mooch) with just enough weight to get you down to your desired depth. It works, but then you're waiting for the fish to come to you.

Congrats! That thing is a Pee eye gee HOG! If you have the time now, get a smoker, the fish has to brine for a day or two anyway, and the smoker is less $$ than a foodsaver ( we have both, a deadly combo!)
Once you have one, you'll use it all the time. When we grill steaks, I smoke ' em for 20 min first and thier outrageously tasty. Ben