Trinidad - 6/4/16 & Shelter Cove - 6/5/16

After the buildup and culmination of all my GSX stuff I've been laying low for a couple weeks - a soccer trip to Medford with my son was a nice break and resting time, but this past weekend was time to get back on the yak!

Saturday's trip was about going offshore of Trinidad. Scott and Mike from Redding were looking to learn some new spots and techniques. They've been out up here before and make it over a few times a year. Big lings were on their shopping list.

Forecast called for pretty light wind and a 6' swell, and that was mostly the case. It was more on the side of confused and randomly messy than would have been ideal, but that's the ocean and you've got to be ready for it.

We headed out past Flatiron trolling choves - no salmon to be kept with the season closed up here, so it was all barbs today. No salmon to be seen either, so no by-catch worries. The blacks were picking us up pretty early, so I was encouraged about the bite. Hours later and farther north we'd missed several lingcod hookups before things blew up a little - wind escalated and nasty seas dominated for a bit. I was stoked that my guests were so comfortable and competent in their Outbacks, and they were keeping up with my X-Factor just fine. 

As we let the drift carry us SE back toward Flatiron Rock we had more teasing from the lings, so we worked and re-worked that reef section for a while but it was mostly nothing but short bites, short fights and a couple more blacks to show for it - Scott did land a barely legal linger that he opted to release.

Soon it had come time to work our way back to the harbor, so the big lingcod wish didn't materialize. On the beach Dan the fish counter said that no lings had even come in that day - even on powerboats!  That actually made me feel better about not getting my guests on 'em, but we'd had our chances.

We completed a pretty challenging journey Saturday, and I'm honored to have been the guide for an 8 hour session where the ocean did a foggy mechanical bull routine on us.

Trip #2 of the weekend - Shelter Cove with Stacy and Anthony.

I was pretty beat Saturday evening after feeling woozy in funky Trinidad waters, so I crashed out early in preparation for a 4AM rise and roll to the Cove on Sunday. Met up with my guests at the ramp at 530 sharp, and they were locked and loaded - all ready to fish!

We went over tackle, bait and reef layout before getting on the water just after 6. Enticing news from a powerboater, Kody King, who scored 27 and 29 pound salmon yesterday! But that was 9 miles south of the Cove... We wished him well and launched onto a nice ocean - hoping for a salmon closer to port.

Spent the first couple hours chasing baitballs and nice marks near the Bell, fighting off a few blacks and lings, and then trolling through fog across the lighthouse point and on to Bread and Butter. We passed in front of The Tides Inn and I thought, "we got here pretty quickly from the corner..." As we paddled offshore in the fog we did an arc and then got pointed toward the Whistle in about 90' of water. As I listened for it I felt that the dull moan of the red can seemed far away and wasn't getting any closer as we trolled. Soon we were next to crab buoys that I recognized as being a string that's quite a ways up the coast from the Whistle - the buoys looked like they were in a river flow! We were in a strong current that was no doubt related to the extremely low tide that had just turned. We stepped up our efforts and ended up taking about 45 minutes to get to the Whistle. Once there we decided to fish reefs close to it for lingcod since the salmon weren't biting and the current was really crappy to troll in.

We got on a group of pinnacles I know and worked it pretty good - drifting quickly SE to NW, dragging big bait through the rocks. Right away Anthony hooks a screamer of a ling - he was working it up and trading line with it when it went on a blistering run down into the rocks and sawed him off. Bummed but determined, we got Anthony rigged back up, sent another big offering down, and boom he hooks another hot one! Determined not to let it take him into the rocks, Anthony worked his prize to the side of his yak where he was looking to gaff it. I could now see that this was a 15 to 20 pound class fish, and it wasn't wanting anything to do with Anthony's gaff since it hadn't even taken much of a run yet. It avoided the gaff and ripped off about 20 feet of line, and as Anthony recovered on the rod I offered to net it. He was glad to take me up on it, but it almost went awry when on my first attempt I drifted out of reach just as I almost had it in the basket! It ran again, I recovered my position as Anthony got the fish back on top, and the next scoop was the money! FAT lingcod in the bag!!

High fives, gilling, bleeding and stowing, paddle back up current and keep working it. We had more opportunities, but nothing was sticking, and then the drift died down and so did the bite. We spent the next few hours trying to find a bite at three more stops, but it was basically over - we could hear that happening for the powerboat fleet too. No worries though - we'd gotten a stout paddle in the fog to start the day against that current, Anthony landed his personal best ling, and the three of us enjoyed being on the adventure together.

I need to say that I'm really stoked for both sets of guests I took out this weekend because in each case we encountered really challenging conditions, and everyone kicked ass! We were safe, under control, fit, calm, and we were a team. I'm damn proud to paddle with people who have their shit together, and I can't thank my guests enough for supporting my business as I grow it carefully - catering to those who know the sport and want more out of it.

We closed out the day at the cleaning table where the powerboaters had one nice salmon to show, and Anthony's lingcod was a celebrity in its own right at 18 pounds and 36 inches.

Good Times on the water with some great guests. 

More Saturday pix

Sunday bling

Bling is fun, but Porn is better. 

Nice report Eric. I felt disappointed that i didn't see any Salmon porn!!! That's the standard that you have set buddy.
We've all been spoiled by your reports. Congrats on a great outing.

It was a pleasure to meet and fish with you. You are an awesome dude! I can't wait to do it again!

It was a pleasure to meet and fish with you. You are an awesome dude! I can't wait to do it again!

Right on, bro - same here.