Humboldt Bay Doubleday - 6/24/20

The "Humboldt Doubleday" became a thing on Nor Cal Kayak Anglers quite a few years back - search the site for "doubleday" to enjoy some archived adventures. The doubleday entails the execution of two distinct trips in one day, and it's part of my program that's designed to maximize everything from opportunity to satisfaction. The key component: you've gotta want it.

Martha contacted me several weeks ago wanting to learn to fish. She'd purchased a Big Tuna and gotten out with her beau where they discovered some of the challenges of the tandem ("divorce boat"), and that led to her decision to engage my services - for that I'm very grateful.

Martha and I started a dialogue about her intent, and, as with any new client who contacts me, I tried to ascertain what her skill level and abilities were so I could propose a suitable outing for us. I was just getting my business going after many weeks of covid lockdown, so a Shelter Cove trip was briefly floated before we landed on a better plan - we would run a few miles down the South Fork of the Eel along a route that I know very well and while the flows were ideal, having not dropped into the mellowness of summer yet. We ended up doing 3 trips - each increasing in miles and focusing on expanding Martha's knowledge and bringing out her potential as a kayaker and as a reader of the water. We covered 25 miles over those trips and enjoyed the company of some friends as well as having a chance to get to know each other a bit. When Martha showed up for the 3rd trip where we'd do the 'long run' of more than 12 miles from Lansdale down to Leatherwood, she'd shared with me that on her way to our meeting place her emotions were peaking in anticipation of the outing! This was one of the coolest things I've ever been told by a guest on one of my trips, and I was realizing that Martha was serious about her desire to learn and to experience the outdoors in ways that would not only provide freedom and joy - I was coming to know that Martha really wanted this.

With the river dropping by early June, Martha and I discussed plans for her next trip. She'd come in to this wanting to learn to fish, but I didn't know if we were ready for it yet. She'd also expressed the desire to try crabbing, so that's what we decided on. We were to go last week, but the forecast was too windy - we postponed until yesterday, June 24th.

In my earlier years of guiding - in my mid to late 40's - I pulled off 4 days in a row of trips a few times. I know this because each time I'd do it I'd be pretty crushed after the four day run. I put lots into my trips - especially the all day Shelter Cove fishing expedition. Up at 330AM, charging hard all day, beers and smiles through the afternoon, drive home, clean gear, swap out for new and dry supplies if available, pound down dinner and crash as early as feasible - it's a grueling schedule that I am blessed to know and love.

This week I'd done strong Cove runs Monday and Tuesday, and meeting Martha for crabbing at King Salmon at the late hour of 830AM sounded just right for my sore hands and my 51 year old body. There's an intangible that crept in though - Martha's enthusiasm would end up pushing me from being content to do an easy crabbing tutorial mission to realizing - remembering, really - that the "want it" attitude is infectious.

I arrived at KS just after 8AM to throw down the yaks and get fresh salmon and lingcod parts pinned onto 4 rings that we'd run in hopes of finding an elusive summer jumbo Dungeness. I'd told Martha that late season in the bay isn't known for the bonanza of legal crabs to be had - we'd probably not even get an eater. She was all in though, and that was further evidence of her developing focus on becoming a proficient and informed outdoorswoman. She wanted to learn how to crab, and I was stoked to get to be the teacher.

With a forecast of 5 to 10 knot winds, I was hopeful for morning glass, but there were little whitecaps when I first got to our launch. If it meant that part of the training would be how not to end up at Fields Landing, then so be it - we would have fun. When Martha arrived though the wind had dissipated - we would have glass for crabbing class.

We got on the water on X-Factors - the big boats that are so stable that we easily stand on them for salmon survey in the fall. Martha had used an X on our first river day, and it was a bit large and easily pushed around in the currents of the South Fork. Days 2 and 3 I'd had her on the more nimble Scrambler XT - a much better fit for her in river current. For pulling gear though, the X-Factor is the obvious choice. I'm glad I got her back on the big boat. Martha told me that she and her man had gone back out with the Big Tuna after our river runs, and she'd been telling him how to back paddle and how to read the riffles and find the thalweg on the river - this made me smile.

Martha paddled the crabbing grounds with ease, maneuvering the big yak deftly to position herself for picking up the buoys while gliding toward the gear and letting the rope pass through her hands until she was in position to quickly pull up the rings, trapping the crabs which seem to instantly find and start devouring fresh carcass parts from game fish caught the previous day. She learned to crab, and even though we didn't get a keeper Dungee, she loved learning about the different species, how to differentiate the males and females, handling, measuring, tossing back dozens of juveniles...etc. We played with 3 species of crab for a couple hours before wrapping it up as the northwest wind started to ripple the water and the tide was flooding in from a minus.

I've been reading the reports of a good halibut bite in the bay, and seeing Martha at ease on the X-Factor had me thinking that I should suggest meeting again in the afternoon for some fishing at Eureka. I didn't know if she'd be down with a doubleday, so when I suggested it I was very pleased with her response, "YEAH!" There was no doubt about it - Martha's positive spirit and desire to keep progressing with her new pursuits had ME wanting it more than I'd even realized. We wrapped our crabbing mission and agreed to meet up at my urban launch spot at 2PM for part two of our adventure.

Got the yaks and crabbing gear loaded up, headed home to swap out gear for fishing, jammed to Amiga's for the best lunch in town (do it!), and I was soon at my launch enjoying laying out the gear for the halibut hunt. Martha pulled up right on time, and after a brief practice round where she got some time with an Uglystik in her hands, we were launched and drifting with the last hour of the incoming tide. I showed her how to run the gear and explained what our goals were in presenting a frozen anchovy along the bottom of the bay where we hoped an ambush predator would find it, smash it and provide us with the thrill of the fight and the sustenance of arguably the best meat locally available.

Boom! Halibut in the net! Martha was stoked, and so was I to have found a nice one early on. I showed her how to handle, subdue, bleed, clip and stow the flatty, but only after warning of how they'll bite you more quickly than any other local fish that I've dealt with. The Cali is truly a special gift to all of us who participate in the fisheries here, and now Martha's level of want is even up a couple notches from where it already was.

We went on to do the drift and troll up past the middle bridge and back with the tide change, missing a couple of bites but enjoying the abundance of newness and joy that were coming from my guest's first real saltwater fishing experience. As the tide brought us back to the truck I offered that we could paddle back up and do another drift, but Martha had somewhere to be by 7PM, and she was content with the day as it stood.

After photos with the catch where the smiles were brighter than the underside of a 28" halibut, she got a fillet lesson and packed away about 6 pounds of boneless deliciousness in her cooler as we settled the business deal and parted ways. The Doublday had been a smashing success - not so much for catching and harvesting, but for living and feeling, it was spot on.

After 2 hard days at the Cove and being ready for an 'easy' outing, I had fed on the eagerness and energy of my guest - my new friend. I've commented a few times in the past few weeks that I don't know about doing 4 days in a row this summer. I didn't know if I wanted to push myself that hard. So here I am, feeling humbled and very fortunate - I've been shown how my itinerary in the outdoors isn't and shouldn't be determined by a number of days in a row or how many hours of sleep I got. It's about the Want.

Thank you, Martha. Can't wait to go on your next adventure.

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And thank you, NCKA.  The community here is always evolving, but I want to make it clear that the inspiration for much of what I'm doing is and has been fueled by this place.   

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Wow...thanks for a great write-up and pictures Eric!  Always enjoy reading your reports.

Wow...thanks for a great write-up and pictures Eric!  Always enjoy reading your reports.

What he said!   You clearly know how to do it

not too bad, there old man!   

Good stuff Eric. I love reading your write-ups of adventures.

Lovin' it!!   

WICKED SWEET!

The enthusiasm...awesome.

Nothing better than feeding the stoke of a budding enthusiast ! And a first halibut to boot!  That's the makings of a best fishing trip ever right there.

always enjoy your reports, Martha isn't the only one with infectious enthusiasm, thanks for the write up and the pictures, and you're right those smiles are bigger and brighter than the underside of a big hali!

Awesome write up bro!