Shelter Cove - 7/16/21

Had my super busy July all mapped out, but a couple of cancellations and a persistent windy forecast had me off the water for 9 days.  There was a fantastic family wedding in there too, and I basically smoked myself with several great trips early in the month, so it's all balancing out anyway.
Yesterday's outing with Billy was just what I needed.  After combing through all of my go-to forecast pages multiple times per day and fretting over whether the Cove would allow us on the water with a Small Craft Advisory that kept getting extended, I decided we just needed to go for it.  I told Billy that if we got blown off the water early I'd come back Saturday to try again.  The National Weather Service call ended up at 15 to 25 knot winds and 8 foot seas at 7 seconds - not ideal, but that covers a large forecast area out to 10 miles from shore.  Still though, sites like Windy.com, Stormsurf and Magic Seaweed all agreed that the blow was coming by late morning, or earlier.
 
Coming over Paradise Ridge before dawn it was windy and foggy with fir boughs on the road, but by the time I got down to the Cove as it was getting light the air was only moving a bit, and there was no fog at all - for once!  With very little ground swell the inshore area in the lee of Point Delgada was nice and flat, but I could see a distinctive corduroy surface indicating sloppy seas on the outside.  I set to work assembling my gear, and by the time my guest arrived at quarter to six I was ready to consume my Wheat Chex with berries, visit my office up top where I send a special package to Mar A Lago, check in with the charter captains, and then we'd be ready to launch.

Billy came prepared - 2019 Hobie Outback, Kokatat drysuit, Lowrance unit, multiple VHF's, big net...  This is my ideal client - has the right gear, doesn't get seasick, and exhibits an eager positivity for discovering the offshore wilderness at my favorite port along the coast.  He found me through Youtube, and I was stoked and so honored when he told me that a trip with me had landed firmly on his Bucket List a few years back.  Retired from decades of helping disadvantaged families and youth through social work and progressing in the face of a cancer diagnosis, my guest this day had an obvious and infectious energy about him - he was ready to follow my lead onto potentially hazardous water where we'd hope for a salmon but settle for whatever we hooked.  You see, the fish aren't ever the only thing we're pursuing out there.  Billy booked this trip with a distinct focus on living his life to the fullest, and that is ultimately the quality that I hope for in any of my guests.

We launched right after the tractor dropped the first powerboat in, and the clear sky and warmer than usual air coming off the King Range from the northeast had us feeling very optimistic about our day.  As we made our way toward the outside water the fish started to come up - a short lingcod, some quality black rockies - they were on the chew and loving some brined day fish that my good friend Yoshi hooked me up with.  This was Billy's first foray onto the open ocean with his kayak, and the early catches had the day already feeling successful. 

When we rounded the lighthouse point and entered open water, the effects of the days long Small Craft Advisory were apparent - sloppy seas with random peaks and a few riffle tops made for a bit of a wild ride.  Billy was all about it, and I was confident in both his physical condition and his gear, or I wouldn't have brought him out there.  Jarred Morris was nearby on his charter boat, and we chatted briefly on the radio, both of us seeing a frenzy of pelicans and other seabirds going off out toward the Whistle Buoy.  In ocean fishing and especially in salmon fishing, you look to the murres and other indicators in order to locate bait and the predators that are pursuing it - a frenzy of pelicans is about the best thing you can go to.  We eased our way toward the working birds, but the outer water just looked too raspy - it was bad enough where we were, and the current was trying to ship us to Kamchatka...  I'd been checking in with Billy regularly regarding his comfort level on the rough seas and his confidence on his platform.  It's no joke to feel like you could flip, and, again, I was so pleased that my guy had shown up with what I consider to be the State of the Art in ocean angling kayaks. 

The Outback isn't quite as stable as my boat, but very few models are - if any.  The Mirage drive system is clearly superior to paddling - unless it breaks!  I like counting on me and my paddle (and my extra paddle that's always in the front hatch).  One drawback to the Hobies though, is that the rudder can become a liability in rough seas where the swell is at your back or quartering - a push from behind can become an unexpected power turn that can capsize even a veteran to the sport.  We discussed this and kept our focus on it, employing strategies to avoid unwanted outcomes.
After maybe an hour of riding the slow-mo mechanical bull out there I had nearly a limit of stout rockfish under my legs - all of them missing their gills and my hands bearing the signs of the carnage.  I was in my element, and Billy was having a blast.  The lingcod were only interested in scraping their teeth along the flanks of the herring that we offered, and the salmon were only biting a few miles to the south - "Just lost a hog" was a common theme on the radio, as the jackass seas had the powerboaters working hard for their catches too.  In the end the boys with gas powered toys got their salmon, and we were content to turn to the inside water for a tour of the halibut grounds.  After all, that wind was supposed to come up any time...

Billy and I scratched out one legal flatty and gently released a couple of shakers plus two brown rockfish, and we had a brief but wild shark hookup that ended with a cut leader - it was the typical midday capper to what had turned out to be a wonderful session.  We fished until just after 1PM, and the wind never did come up - that's why it's called Shelter Cove!

During our time on the water, I have lots of information to convey to my guests, and we get pretty busy with the immediate tasks at hand with the fishing of course.  There's always time to get to know each other a bit better though, and this was definitely the case with Billy's trip.  Our strong rapport developed and continued right through to the Tailgate Fillet Station where a cold beer never tasted so good and throngs of locals were enjoying the fact that the sun had finally come out.  Billy and I basically hit it off - both of us being uppity liberal types and sharing concerns for our world and the environmental as well as the social tumult that's occurring.  Commiseration regarding an uncertain future was balanced with celebratory smiles that had their roots in shared ideals, new friendship and, of course, fat sacks of the freshest fillets in town.

It was just another day of fishing the Cove and loving life on a level that nourishes the soul like nothing else can.

...

Awesome write up and Great story Bro… 

tell ya what-I’ll not use my leash if you don’t put gourmet snacks on your tailgate 

Crazy the difference once you get around the light house….

GotSome…

Thanks for the trip report and great pictures Eric.

The last photo was my favorite. Cheers brotha! Thanks for the story. A slice of the cove is always welcome.

Thanks for the nice replies, fellas. 

I hope this report doesn’t come off as artificial in any way.  I get so tired on these 18 hour days, and I’m so grateful to be able to do what I’m doing, that an emotional download like this is almost the best part of the entire gig. 

Anyway, thanks for the support and the community.  I strive to tell the truth about what occurred and how I felt.  I learned about the rewards and a potential for perpetual generation of these adventures largely through this club.  It’s all about those two things for me - truth and genuine emotion.  Focusing on those priorities actually leads to way better outcomes than just going on the trip all by itself.   

Lots of salmon focused trips coming up.  Can’t wait.   

Nice write up makes me want to visit the cove.

Can’t wait for the next time!!

Thanks for the intel Eric! I ended up finding some fish in those pelican frenzies. Epic!

Reading old posts since no one is posting and found yet another gem of Eric's fishing reports.  Boy I sure hope it's going to be an another awesome year at the cove! 

I’m planning on being there the second week of September for several days. Any advise of what fish are active at that time and wheather or not they are Kayak opportunities or we’ll need a guide to take us out.

I’m planning on being there the second week of September for several days. Any advise of what fish are active at that time and wheather or not they are Kayak opportunities or we’ll need a guide to take us out.

You could do a poll and find that hardly anybody would vote for "need a guide", but you could poll my clients and find that most of them would vote for "get the guide".

Look up some of my September reports for info if you want.

Good luck.

Eric is the man!  I say you get him as your guide and you won't be disappointed.

Eric is the man!  I say you get him as your guide and you won't be disappointed.

+100 

AbKing wrote:

<snipped> . . . hardly anybody would vote for "need a guide", but you could poll my clients and find that most of them would vote for "get the guide"

As a multi-repeat client (and friend) I totally agree! There is always something new to learn and see with ES.