More NCKA in Humboldt - 5/25 - 5/27 - approaching XXX rating...

I met DaveW/Pescador and his son Joey near Petrolia Sunday evening with hopes of getting a session in, but it was blown out big time - they hoped to fish the next morning, but it didn't look promising.  With the busy weekend of household obligations and family activities my wife wasn't hearing my plan for Trinidad Monday, so I bowed out and left it to beenfishin and fishinmike to complete that NCKA hookup, which they did and Ben had the hot stick picking up some fat blacks and a nice ling - sorry we couldn't hook up, but way to go, Ben!  Late night Sunday I get mama talked into letting me go, so I headed over the hill to the Lost Coast early Monday morning, hoping to find Dave and his son as well as Hawk and his bud, Graham.  Hawk, Graham and I met up and got on the water around 8.  We fished choppy waters for a few hours and had some nice hookups.  Graham had a nice ling to the boat that flopped off and out of the net, but he was stoked to have had it there by the boat and to have fought it.  The fishing was pretty steady, but not wide open.  I did manage to catch a 39" ling.  Forgot to scale it, but it was a 20 pounder.  I wanted to put it back, but Hawk was 100 yards away and his camera was fritzin' out from a moisture short and inoperable, so with my one free hand I tried to get some good measurement photos for AOTY and then I was going to let it go on video, but instead I put it in my tank well without ever bonking it.  I paddled over to Hawk and it was still just lying there under the webbing - it never even freaked out at all.  I told Hawk I was thinking of pushing it overboard and he told me to kill it!  He's a bad man, I know.  I took his advice and used his bonker to dispatch it.     We headed in around noon - small whale came up pretty nearby again.  We did filets and a beer in the tidepools as Dave and Joey showed up and headed out - they'd skipped the early wind and, rare indeed, the wind was actually dying down when they headed out.  Dave told me later in a PM that they got buzzed by a pod of orcas!!!  We've never seen them out there, so that's serious business!!  He said a big male kept spyhopping and it was pretty disconcerting but thrilling - I'll say!  Gotta get some of that on video.  Oh, and I had to get the first-hand story on last year's shark sighting from Graham and Hawk who were out together that day, and Graham says, "#$(% yeah, that thing almost ate me!!!"  I guess I never wanted to believe that story could be true - after hearing it from those two yesterday I'm watching my back much more closely...  I got home last night, got all gear cleaned up, family fed and decided the ocean's too nice, I gotta take tomorrow off, call fishinmike back and hookup.  He was in to it, so we met at my place at 7AM today and headed over the hill.  The forecast was 5-10 knots and 2' swell.  Out there it was 10 knots steady, choppy, foggy and snotty.  We had a rough launch, choppy water, very fast drift, and not that great of a bite.  Mike did manage a nice ling - way to go!  and some other assorted rockfish.  I caught and released a couple short lings and a few assorted including blacks of course, a gopher, a greenling, and a couple fat blues - one of which came home due to hook damage.  We didn't see any whales, and the landing was a bit rough in the rock garden, but we had fun.  It was extremely refreshing to hang with yet another NCKA'er who can really hold his own on the water.  The conditions were way less than ideal and got pretty nasty and Mike was solid.  Gotta love the X-Factor. 

Good Times on the NCKA hookups for the holiday weekend.      And remembering those who made it possible for us with their lives.     Honor and pride.   

IN-FRICKEN-CREDIBLE!!  Great Report AK! that is some DETAILED (minusAfewDETAILS ) account of the various journeys. "Blown Out" just plain BLOWS!, but "steady" sounds SOO nice... hearing the Ocra and "other" story, doesn't bode well, but I'm a "MAD" boy. If YOU go?, I'LL go!......lets GO! 
NCKA Hook-ups like THIS are really what makes NCKA,NCKA!

I think an earlier trip may be in order....stand by!

I knew that 39 incher was coming. You bastard!  Congrats.
At least I still have the cab title. Nice fishing. And cool pics too man.

At least I still have the cab title.

Mooch has some bad news for you on that one, PK!   

There's still plenty of time for upgrades...   

I'll post up some condensed fish-porn later.   

At least I still have the cab title.

Mooch has some bad news for you on that one, PK!   

There's still plenty of time for upgrades...   

I'll post up some condensed fish-porn later.   

I can't WAIT!...I'm gonna make sure my hands are clean this time! 

SC~ AK is right! lots of time(maybe) for upgrades&heartbreaks! I had a CABBIE on the line that I lost while describing to him how it was bigger than his.
IthinkHEsetMEup!

scary stuff.  don't understand how you guys launch in that moonscape of rocks, although I totally get why you would want to!  Nice haul.

Sweet report, & one heck of a nice ling there Eric!
My goal this year is to get one over 35", but I'd settle for anything over 31". Dpown here that's big

My goal this year is to get one over 35", but I'd settle for anything over 31". Dpown here that's big

I think you know who you should be hanging out with - PK's got the ling mojo going for Monterey lately.   

Wish you could have made it up on Monday, Mike and I had a great time in the calm seas.  The black I caught was rediculous, I swear it was starting to turn grey it was so old.  Anyways, keep at it and stay away from them Orcas!
-Ben

The good stuff is coming...   

Forgot to mention that the warden came and checked us out! 



 

simply MADDING!!   Loved every click!   Video on the yak, hoistin in ZillaLings,calm and collected when need be, doing only as AK can do!
that last seg. when you're holdin the beast up, you got a CRAZY-MADD look in your eyes, you may want to get check out! 

You deserve your own "plateau/ pedestal" for the work it takes to DOtheTHINGSyouDO!

you have gotten me all pre-fluided out, I got to go clean-up!     

DAMN LingKing!!! (possible namechange from Abking?) That is one whoppin' ling - spill the beans, Eric - bait? depth? What is the key to that grandeur? WOW.

The•Madness¹ [Da madunesss]
noun

1. Kayak fishing to the point of obsession. A person so wrapped up in kayak fishing that his/her life is run by it. Filming every trip and editing with funky 80's music is a tell-tale symptom. The madness had infected him so badly he forgot to sharpen his knife and filleted his finger.

2. See AbKing.

Dude, you either have way too much time on your hands or are so inflicted with "the madness" there is no turning back!  Either way, keep it coming!
-Ben