ARW - 3/18

It was one of those "at least its nice to be out here" days. 
Started off early this morning throwing the net, hoping to find some bait.  That didn't pan out, but I was ready with trolling stuff and some swimbaits, so no worries.
Launched minutes before daybreak, and as soon as it got light out, the fog rolled in.  And then rolled right past.  With just a touch of breeze, the water stayed down all day.
The reel on my trolling set-up was throwing a tantrum, so I ended up throwing the swimbait for the better part of the day.  No bites, bumps, or hooked fish to show for it.  Its cool though, I like that place.  I truely do get a kick out of just being out there.

Better than being @ work. Way to give it A go....Andy

Thanks for basically checking things out for all of us. I was anticipating a great report and I got one. You are right, just being on the water is cool in itself. Were you tring to catch some herring or shiners? Good try all the way around and thanks again for the report. Craig

Thanks for the report Bungle. I like that place a lot too. I can still remember my
first ever halibut there last year. I hope the bait fish will come soon.

Jedmo

Thanks Nate.  Any day now...

Thanks Nate.  Any day now...

How about…..this afternoon?

I put in a full days shift plus an hours overtime at ARW today, 8am-5pm. Yesterday I managed to scratch up a whopping two pieces of bait, both smelt. One small and the other……..smaller. I suspect even krill picked on him.

I drifted the outgoing all the way out to the channel markers with the bigger of the two small smelt for nada. When I got out there I saw some signs of bait so I transferred the now-moribund smelt onto the tips of a sabiki and managed to scratch up one jumbo cannibal smelt. I rigged him up with a stinger and drifted, trooched, trolled and freelined him all over the place for…… nada.

I was saving the dwarf smelt for the turn of the tide, so at ~1.30pm I ditched the cannibal and put the midget on. He was so small I had to scrabble in my tackle box for a light wire size 2 circle hook. He was pretty lively tho’. I dropped him down and within 5 mins it’s bendo time. Nice fish as well, pulling like a batray but with the headshakes I knew it was a hali. Sure enough, up he comes, in the 25-28 inch range. I swoop with the net and………poink………… he’s gone. Dove under the net and snapped the leader just above the hook. I am going to blame his teeth. Maybe he went to Bens dentist in the morning. Or maybe I broke my golden rule of leaving a hali below the surface when trying to net it. I dunno. Phooey.

I swore a lot. I paddled back updrift of the spot and drifted dead chovies over the spot a few times. Twice I got really good bites, but they didn’t stick, just yanked the chovie off. I spent the next 2h drifting all the way back to launch, got bit twice more and redrifted, but nothing.

So…….they’re there. It’s early, but they’re there. I suspect Shicken will have more even more positive news. All the PB radio chatter was from the other side of the bay and a lot of it was pretty good (for them!).

It was a beautiful, beautiful day out there, flat and calm. I became very philosophical about my lost hali and was genuinely happy just to be out drifting the bay on such a gorgeous day. Yeah, I like it out there as well. Not going back without a plano full of midget smelt tho’!

That's rough man but then again, that's hali fish'n for ya.  Nice that you actually got to see a fish this year already.  I've been scoring skunks hard here at ARW.  Late.

NB, sorry you lost your fish..  

I didn't make it out to OP today..  a piece of equipment broke at work early in the morning, I had to go in and babysit the engineer to repair it.

:-/

I swoop with the net and………poink………… he’s gone. Dove under the net and snapped the leader just above the hook.

sorry that you lost the fish.  i know exactly how you feel.  i had a similar incident at bean hollow last yr.  i had a ling on the line and brought it up to the surface.  it seemed well over 35" and fatty.  as i tried to scoop it up with my net the ling broke loose of the hook.  it literally stayed there still for a few seconds not realizing it was free, and then i had to watch it swim away in slow motion.  it was a heart breaking, aching experience.  to ease the pain i had to tell myself,,,"better luck next time. there is always next time.  it's a part of the sports."  but that didn't work so well 

Ouch NB!!!! 

Thanks to both you and Nate for Getting out there....

 Looking Good.....

Great report NB. You are tenacious when it come to fishing. Too bad about the breakoff. Then the list of thoughts come up as to what went wrong and thats a good thing. Keeps the mind aware of slight changes that need to be made. The most inportant thing is that you were out there and succeded in fooling an early season halibut. Good for you. Now the only problem is, Where in hell to  fish this weekend?Lots of possibilities out there now when it sure looked bleak 2 weeks ago. Thanks again for the report. It lit the fires. Craig

Thanks for the reports guys and way to get after them.  Sorry for the lost hali NB.

DUDE!!!

Even though you lost 'em -- you HAD 'em....awesome awesome awesome...guess i'm gonng take a rest weekend day and fish here pretty soon!

Nate (Bungle), you'll find the hali's soon enough...you usually do.

Phil (NB), scooping hali's with a net is an adventure, gaffing them = dinner.

Thanks for the report!

Gary

Thanks for the reports guys. Way to get out there and give it a go. I've never fished ARW but I plan to give it a go this year. That place was hali central last year.

-FF