Albion Open 7-25

cool pics, what with the old boats and flaoting houses, they looked thrashed, does anybody use those?

are there fish in the river?

Right on Mike.

are there fish in the river?

Millions and millions of tiny dudes...  We thought they might be juvenile rockfish?

There are ruins all along the river, some made of old-growth redwoods, HUGE logs...  ruins from the salmon fishing days, and the shanties DO appear to be used...  some were quaint...  some were rank.

A big congrats to the winners, everyone who attended and to the organizer SBD. Glad you got to have fun this time! Great report everyone. Looks way too fun and I know it only showed a sliver of what it really was. And that spread, the grub, looks insane!! That is THE tournament to be at and it was a hard one to miss. I will be there next year. Now to get my WAF together for HMB!

Z

Sounds like a great trip, I won't miss the next one. Were you guys catching those dungies right off the dock in the river?

Albion was a great time despite the fishing conditions.  Fishing might be the focus, but for me, hanging out, chillin, visiting the different camps, and seeing everyone just having fun was what I loved about the weekend.  Like Sean said, there was something fun for everyone to do at Albion.  I didn't even miss Elk (especially the big ass hill).

The launch was a dream.  We got a free ride out in the morning and free ride back in.  Jim/Inseine said it best -- "It was like an escalator for kayaks".

Thanks to Mooch, William, Tote, and Jonesz for donating their fish to the fry.  Jonesz's English style fish was delicious and so was just about everything else I sampled like Fishmaster's seafood gumbo, Erik's strawberry rhubarb pie, and Jim's crazy fried cheesecake.  It was all GREAT!

It was also great meeting lots of new members.  Thanks to HDRich for hooking us up with bags of his tasty tortilla chips.  There's no better way to ingratiate yourself with this NCKA group than introducing yourself with free food to give away.  

Special thanks to Chris/Kingfisher and his wife Jenna for inviting me to share their camp and making my dog "Aki" feel welcome.  Thanks too to William102 for jumping my dead battery (left my truck door and dome light on too long).

Of course..... A big THANKS to Sean and the generous prize sponsors for another great derby/weekend.  I'm convinced Sean can work with any venue to produce a successful event.

CONGRATS to Kiel, Craig, and Tote!!!

The windy road to Albion was definitely a turnoff. And speaking of turnoff, Jdyak and I missed the turnoff to the camp by one road. Dumb GPS insisted that I drive another FOUR miles down Albion River Road. Anyway, we finally made it to the campsite which, fortunately for me, was the closest to the launch area.

Pic 1: That is one very tall bridge

Pic 2: John (Jdyak) rigging up his yak, while Craig (Ravensblack), Chuck (ChuckE), Aaron (Pisciform), Joel (Mooch), Allen (Otobepelagic), and Patrick (Holy Toledo) trade fish tales

Pic 3: Ben Newman and sons Jacob and Joel rigging up to keep me company on the water. Campmates Jdyak and Ryan (The Walrus) offerred to hang with me, but I knew they really wanted to go farther out than I was ready for.

Pic 4: My first rockfish on my first ever venture onto the big water

Pic 5: Caught two blacks before the kelp started to preoccupy my time with snags

Pic 6: Jacob and Ben FINALLY stopping and looking for likely fishy spots

Pic 7: Joel showing that it's faster to paddle backward than to turn the yak around

Pic 1: Andy (Fish Master1) and Al (AlsHobieOutback) had their campsite in full swing practically 24/7. Felt like it anyway

Pic 2: Jdyak, Mike (Mickfish), and The Walrus grilling some huge burgers

Pic 3: Jay (Fishin-Jay) with some huge bratwurst

Pic 4: Jenna and Chris (Kingfisher) setting up shop

Pic 5: AlsHobieOutback kicking back to watch Fish Master1 cook up some fabulous meals

Pic 6: Chips 'n dips for anyone in the area

Pic 7: Michael (Dilbeck), Dustin (Rock Hopper), Adam FisHunter - unofficial food judges of the moment

Pic 1: Burgers too large for any bun, but tasty nevertheless - courtesy of The Walrus

Pic 2: Toasty buns; thanks to Fishin-Jay for any missing condiments

Pic 3: Campsite scene

Pic 4: ChuckE and Kingfisher

Pic 5: Theresa (Parrothead) - she's gonna kill me when she sees this pix

Pic 6, 7, 8: Fish Master1 with his Saturday haul

Our Host at Church on Sunday AM

That little wave was too perfect to pass up.  I farted around out there for almost an hour.  I was stoked to learn that despite eating it several times my 2-piece Kokatat setup was totally dry.  In the end surfing even the tiniest wave will put a huge smile on your face.  

Pic 1: Mooch showing The Walrus the fish he should have caught

Pic 2, 3: Juan (Mako1) and his catch

Pic 4: Another campsite view

Pic 5, 6: Levi (Steele_Leader) and his catch

Pic 1, 2: Sean (SBD) and Chris (Jellyfish) weighing Steele_Leader's catch

Pic 3: Naoaki Uminchu and Ashley

Pic 4: SBD watching Mooch, Erwin (Darius-MMIII), and Ben (Bassmanben) at the cleaning table

Pic 5: Mako1 TRYING to give Mooch instructions on how to clean a fish

Pic 6: Mooch showing all how to prepare fish for the fish fry

Pic 1: Crabbing at the dock was better than fishing

Pic 2, 3: Mooch's competitor?

Pic 4: Joel and Jacob watching papa Ben clean the catch

Pic 5: Joel looking on...sorry (didn't get the fellow's name)...my bad

Pic 6: Darius-MMIII watching Mako1 finally get a chance at filleting; Jackson (Chub) working on his fish

Pic 7: Don (Danglin) cleaning his cab

Pic 1, 2: SBD weighing KzReelRods's (Erik) catch

Pic 3: One of Fish Master1's contribution to the potluck

Pic 4: Raider Nation was well represented

Pic 5, 6, 7, 8: The potluck in full swing

Pic 6:

Pic 1, 2: My contribution to the potluck

Pic 3: SBD starting the presentation ceremonies

Pic 4, 5: Third place winner Mike (Tote)

Pic 6. 7: Second place winner Craig (Ravensblack)

Pic 8, 9: First place winner Kiel (ReelKnots)