GS8 - Only one brief capsizing reported - WTG, Everybody!

 
Mom just Reserved a room at the Inn of the Lost Coast! Hell Yea, the Chavez Family will be there! Whooohooo...Looking forward to this BIGTIME! Countin it down! Thanks Eric. Our registration will be mailed out soon.

Aloha,
I would be stoked to come up, and need a sponsor. Are there any rules about fishing a tandem?

Thanks

Isao

Great question, Isao.  I will now make the rules for fishing a tandem:

- One person in a tandem is fine - score as usual;
- Two people in a tandem each score their own fish - helping each other land fish is fine, and taking each other's C&R pics is fine too.

Tandem could be the way to go!  Especially with the big salmon mojo you guys have!   

I look forward to meeting you two.

Stoked!!! Got the sponsor! sending application tomorrow!
cheeee hoooo

Aloha

Isao

GS8 Paid Registrations:

1.   Batt, Dave / batt                     
2.   Bennett, Martin / Fish ‘n Brew      
3.   Calvert, John / Dogwood   
4.   Cameron, James / AbMan            
5.   Chasey, Lloyd / Kahuna      
6.   Coon, Aaron / SeaChumm   
7.   Dilbeck, Michael / dilbeck
8.   Easter, Brandi / Brandi
9.   Harrison, Scott / SFHarry   
10.   Hayashibara, John / bluewrx02   
11.   Jackson, Jim / Salty.   
12.   Johnson, Bill / Snapperhead   
13.   Jung, Won / SmokeOnTheWater      
14.   Kaber, Doug / crash
15.   Knoles, Rob / RacinRob        Welcome back - you're the man!   
16.   Moxon, Jacob / jmox
17.   Newman, Ben / Ben      Welcome, long time member - looking forward to meeting you!   
18.   Nguyen, Sonny / Sailfish         
19.   Ornellas, Jeff / Jeffo
20.   Price, Chad / Chardock   
21.   Reyes, Herb / Herb
22.   Richards, Jeff / JWR
23.   Russell, Jim / BigJim
24.   Sciucchetti, Pete / PineMtnPete
25.   Silva, David / metallidave         Welcome back!   
26.   Smith, Jeff / barefoot1          Welcome back!           
27.   Stockwell, Eric / Abking   
28.   Walker, Paul / PNWKA          Welcome back!     
29.   Walker, Sean / PISCEAN   

registration sent in for me and am!

registration sent in for me and am!

Hey what's up!  I met you two that day you caught that hog down at Gerstle Cove.

See you at Shelter Cove,
Josh

registration sent in for me and am!

Hey what's up!  I met you two that day you caught that hog down at Gerstle Cove.

See you at Shelter Cove,
Josh

Stoked that we get to see you again.
Without seeing your excitement, we would never have been out there and lucked into that fish. the whole day was very luck filled.
Mahalo Josh for our fish of the year, and for a main highlight of our first year being married!

Aloha,

Isao

Without seeing your excitement, we would never have been out there and lucked into that fish. the whole day was very luck filled.
Mahalo Josh for our fish of the year, and for a main highlight of our first year being married!

Aloha,

Isao

Isao - When Josh came back from that trip - he'd had quite an epic one - he was so jazzed to relate the story about encountering you and your wife and how you guys caught that fish - even on a day where I think I remember that he had his own challenges, the fact that you two got on that great fish after he helped you out with advice was so cool.  He felt it, he wrote about it here, and we felt it.  I was stoked for you, and I was stoked for Josh to have experienced something so special as to have assisted in someone else's beautiful moment.

That's what NCKA is all about, and it's what GS is all about.  I'm really stoked that you guys are coming.   

GS8 Paid Registrations:

1.   Batt, Dave / batt                     
2.   Bennett, Martin / Fish ‘n Brew      
3.   Calvert, John / Dogwood   
4.   Cameron, James / AbMan   
5.   Campbell, Craig / INSAYN   Welcome back, NWKA Brother!      
6.   Chasey, Lloyd / Kahuna      
7.   Coon, Aaron / SeaChumm   
8.   Dilbeck, Michael / dilbeck
9.   Easter, Brandi / Brandi
10.   Harrison, Scott / SFHarry   
11.   Hayashibara, John / bluewrx02   
12.   Jackson, Jim / Salty.   
13.   Johnson, Bill / Snapperhead   
14.   Jung, Won / SmokeOnTheWater      
15.   Kaber, Doug / crash
16.   Knoles, Rob / RacinRob
17.   Moxon, Jacob / jmox
18.   Newman, Ben / Ben
19.   Nguyen, Sonny / Sailfish         
20.   Ornellas, Jeff / Jeffo
21.   Price, Chad / Chardock   
22.   Reyes, Herb / Herb
23.   Richards, Jeff / JWR
24.   Russell, Jim / BigJim
25.   Sciucchetti, Pete / PineMtnPete
26.   Silva, David / metallidave
27.   Smith, Jeff / barefoot1            
28.   Stockwell, Eric / Abking   
29.   Walker, Paul / PNWKA
30.   Walker, Sean / PISCEAN   

Grand Prize - Malibu's new X-Caliber!

Longest Lingcod - Wilderness Systems' Tarpon 140!

Top tier prizes and trophies go to the top finishers in the tournament, but this year other prizes that would've taken us deep (like 27th place last year getting a prize) will now be in a silent cash auction, with the proceeds going to PIF and HOW on the spot.

Custom rod by GB2 / Scott
Custom gaff and bonker by Piscean / Sean
Custom kage and gaff by Ian Korte
Kokatat is on board
PacificNaluDiveCo is on board

More TBA...

If you'd like to sponsor a prize for the PIF-HOW auction please send me a PM.

 

Question Eric, on the Largest Lingcod, do we have to keep the lingcod to get weigh in just in case theres tie on length? I know that there are extra points for catch and release, but since theres price involve on largest lingcod and definitely theres chances of having the same length how is that going to determine who wins if both released them?

Thanks,

Darius

Question Eric, on the Largest Lingcod, do we have to keep the lingcod to get weigh in just in case theres tie on length? I know that there are extra points for catch and release, but since theres price involve on largest lingcod and definitely theres chances of having the same length how is that going to determine who wins if both released them?

Thanks,

Darius

I'll just have to judge based on the photo presented.  If someone's not confident in their photo of a big lingcod they're likely going to just bonk it and bring it in anyway, but I'm confident that I can make a fair ruling between two big lings, whether one or both are photos or not.   

Sounds like a great problem to have, actually.   

Question Eric, on the Largest Lingcod, do we have to keep the lingcod to get weigh in just in case theres tie on length? I know that there are extra points for catch and release, but since theres price involve on largest lingcod and definitely theres chances of having the same length how is that going to determine who wins if both released them?

Thanks,

Darius

I'll just have to judge based on the photo presented.  If someone's not confident in their photo of a big lingcod they're likely going to just bonk it and bring it in anyway, but I'm confident that I can make a fair ruling between two big lings, whether one or both are photos or not.   

Sounds like a great problem to have, actually.   

I dont doubt you will have fair judgement, just throwing it there for first timers, its so damn good problem indeed hahahahahhaahahaha

I dont doubt you will have fair judgement, just throwing it there for first timers

If a first timer at GS catches a big ling, photos and releases it, they're already scoring points with me.   

Sportsman of the Year could land a pretty significant prize this year...   

I dont doubt you will have fair judgement, just throwing it there for first timers

If a first timer at GS catches a big ling, photos and releases it, they're already scoring points with me.   

Sportsman of the Year could land a pretty significant prize this year...   

I do release sometimes  I'm asian and fish is our fav, besides if I dont bring fish home my wife will kill me hahahahahahah

GS8 Paid Registrations:

1.   Batt, Dave / batt                     
2.   Bennett, Martin / Fish ‘n Brew      
3.   Calvert, John / Dogwood   
4.   Cameron, James / AbMan   
5.   Campbell, Craig / INSAYN         
6.   Chasey, Lloyd / Kahuna      
7.   Coon, Aaron / SeaChumm   
8.   Dilbeck, Michael / dilbeck
9.   Easter, Brandi / Brandi
10.   Harrison, Scott / SFHarry   
11.   Hayashibara, John / bluewrx02
12.   Isaac, Jim / Jim I.     Welcome to GS!   
13.   Jackson, Jim / Salty.   
14.   Johnson, Bill / Snapperhead   
15.   Jung, Won / SmokeOnTheWater      
16.   Kaber, Doug / crash
17.   Knoles, Rob / RacinRob
18.   Moxon, Jacob / jmox
19.   Newman, Ben / Ben
20.   Nguyen, Sonny / Sailfish
21.   Ocampo, Erwin / Darius        Welcome back!         
22.   Ornellas, Jeff / Jeffo
23.   Price, Chad / Chardock   
24.   Reyes, Herb / Herb
25.   Richards, Jeff / JWR
26.   Russell, Jim / BigJim
27.   Sciucchetti, Pete / PineMtnPete
28.   Silva, David / metallidave
29.   Smith, Jeff / barefoot1            
30.   Stockwell, Eric / Abking   
31.   Walker, Paul / PNWKA
32.   Walker, Sean / PISCEAN

GS Topic of the Day:  Whales at the Cove!

For those who wonder about a whale encounter at Shelter Cove, it's a likely reality for anyone who spends a significant amount of time at or near the beach or OTW at the Cove!  I've seen many, many whales both while on the water and while on the beach all around Point Delgada - the name of the Shelter Cove Headlands.  Here are some of my most memorable Shelter Cove whale experiences:

-  Back in the 90's we spent lots of time along Black Sands Beach, north of Shelter Cove.  The focus in that area is backpacking, shore hiking and the hunt for big abalone.  Back then you could still take a four-wheeler three miles north along the wilderness beach to Gitchell Creek.  Over several years I camped at Gitchell and north of there - most trips while backpacking and some with the aid of a four-wheeler.  The big ab stories are starting to leak out of my brain and cloud my train of thought here, but those need to wait!  This is about whales...

On one trip to camp at Gitchell with my friend John's four wheeler we were wrapping up the great campout and bringing everyone's gear back up the beach with the quad, and I was riding behind John, holding onto gear and sitting on bungied-down gear.  We jammed down the beach on the sandy stretches and carefully maneuvered through the rocky ones, and when we got back to the parking lot at Black Sands (which was MUCH different then) we had an amazing occurrence unfold right before our eyes!

As we'd come up the last stretch of sandy beach at a good pace, we saw there were a group of people right along the flat ocean, but perilously close to a shorebreak that is as unforgiving as most on the planet!  It was a very calm day, so it was nearly a moot point.  Anyway, we see this group of obvious tourists (non-locals) right along the calm shoreline with a steep and cobbly dropoff just past the surf, and we proceed on the four-wheeler up to the parking lot.  As we get up on what used to be a 30' high ledge along the eastern boundary of Black Sands Beach (it's long since eroded away), we see a whale breach RIGHT NEXT TO THE TOURISTS ON THE BEACH!!  This was amazing!  These tourists, like I said, were in a spot that would've been very dangerous due to a steep and cobbly shorebreak (bowling ball sized rocks "roll" and create their own bass rumble there constantly), and they were standing right there when a whale not only showed itself and not only close to shore but right by shore and it BREACHED - way up in the air and splashed, RIGHT BY SHORE and RIGHT BY THESE PEOPLE!!  On the four-wheeler 200 yards away and a bit elevated, we had a great view and couldn't believe our eyes.  This happened and I reached for my camera, but it was too late.  Mind you, this was years ago and a film camera!  I like to think I learned from that day, because I'm pretty quick on the ready with the cam now, but that day I really blew it...  There's more!

Having seen this amazing breach right by the beach and right by the tourists, we were jazzed, and then it happened again!  Again I reached for my camera too late...  Here we were, just going through a process to get our belongings and several people back to civilization after having spent a couple nights along the coast three miles to the north, camping in the wilderness, and the most wild and amazing thing we've seen happens while we're packing gear to the parking lot!

Then it breached a third time!!  OMG, I was so mortified!  I felt like such a dunce for not having the camera out by then.  So then I had it out waiting for another beautiful vertical leap and splash, RIGHT BY SHORE!  It didn't happen.  As we continued on with our business we got to speak to the tourists - they were blown away, and even though we tried to make it really clear to them that things like that don't just happen every day, I felt they must figure that it couldn't have been THAT rare to have experienced that...  I'm telling you, those people were closer to something so special than any of us will ever get, I can't imagine...  I'm happy to have just seen it myself, from 200 yards away.

These things happen.  Not often.  But they happen at Shelter Cove, and it can be magical.   

-  Another time...  A few years back Domenic and I were fishing out past the Whistle on a beautiful, flat sunny day.  There wasn't much of a sound at all other than the distant purr of the summery, soft shorebreak.  We were drifting herring over the reef hoping for a lingcod or halibut and mostly just enjoying a special time on incredible water in good company. 

Domenic looks over and asks, "Do you hear that?"  And I listen.  I hear it, "Yes" - it's distant, and sounds like a gunshot, or...

We hear it again - both of us at once this time, and we look up, eyes meeting and confirm it with each other.

The inclination is to look toward shore, a mile and a half to the Northeast, where gunfire or explosions may originate at the Cove and echo out in any given direction, but it seems like it's coming from the south...

We listen and hear another "THWACK" in the distance.  Scanning the horizon, Domenic sees it first, then me.  It's a whale that's breaching WAY south of us, toward the Tolo Banks, the Old Man and The Hat.  We watch and listen as it continues to breach.  It's so far away that we see it breach - barely!, and then hear it's impact a second or two later!  It's like at least 1.5 miles south of us, maybe 2.5 or more!!  We were lucky to get to see three or four or more breaches and wait for the sound of impact seconds later each time.  If not for the awesome calm conditions and ability to be at ease and listening for distant sounds with a good friend partnering, these experiences may never have happened - I'd say they would NOT have happened most of the time!

Calm conditions are something you can learn about, watch for, chase, and encounter when lucky - do that.

The ability to be at ease OTW with a partner who would save your life as fast you'd save his or hers...  That's what can really make the magic happen.   

Last Shelter Cove whale story for the night: 



I will close this post with this:  you don't just go out past the Whistle Buoy.  You learn where it is, what happens there, how weather can change there, what the forecast is...  I'm never advocating doing anything other than spending years studying it so you can get lucky for a few hours and encounter the time of your life on it.

That's the reality.   

Great Read Eric. Best bed time story for a sleepless night.