Shelter Cove - 10/3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th/21

Sunday, October 3rd:

Cove with Sean.

Sporty seas on the outside early.  We hauled up some black rockfish and one almost legal lingcod before heading inshore to much nicer water where a late season salmon bite had developed down the coast a couple of miles.  Several missed bites, a brief hookup, a coho released and a hot whale show filled the next couple of hours.  We should have had one in the box earlier with all those bites, and finally Sean had one that was sticking.  We managed to work together to get about a 12 pounder in the net, and my guy's first day at the Cove was officially a smashing success.  Sean even went on to catch a couple more smaller kings - one just over 21" and legal, but both were released. We stayed and hoped for another bigger Chinook, but we were pushing well into overtime and had to troll back up the coast and get our little stack of fish filleted before the evening high tide showed up.

We made our way back to the harbor where tons of surfers were hanging out on the beach and riding waves both at Deadman's and right at the wash rock.  Oddly, launching and landing were no problem, but there was a nice break going off right there east of the ramp.  We landed, got our gear put away, did our photos and I drove up the hill to spray the scales off of the salmon - it's a happy time and legit tradition.

Came back down the hill to fillet the fish at my tailgate where Sean and I toasted a great day with ice cold beers, and another chapter was done in the story of what has been an amazing season.  The fish give me hope, and trips with cool people who become friends bring me joy.  Top that off with a premium guide fee gladly paid and a fat tip too, and I'm extremely thankful.  It's good to feel these things. 

A big thank you to Sean for a wonderful trip and to the community at large for the support that I have received - NCKA is at the top of that list.  I'm stoked to do what I do in Humboldt County, and I hope that you'll reach out if you have an adventure in mind that you believe I can facilitate.  I love doing everything I can to make the days full of value.
 
Let's go on your adventure.

Tuesday, October 5th:

Called Domenic Sunday with a report.  He had work to do for a few days, so I wasn't sure I'd make it back down for a non-guide day of fishing or not.  After sleeping on it, Domenic was in! 

We hit it early Tuesday, and Dom was on fire.  After we'd both had a few bites trolling down the coast, he hit a super bright king around 10 pounds, and not long afterward he had a 25+ on the line.  The big fish shot under his Outback and got the line in the rudder, and the look on Dom's face in that moment was classic lost-fish terror!  He managed to get it in the net though, and he'd limited by 5 minutes to 9AM.  He had it coming - hard work all summer and not enough fishing for my bro.  What a great friend to hang with me all day as I lost fish after fish and landed multiple coho to the pliers.  I eventually got a smaller king, and it was a total relief.  Never had so many pumpers on the line in one day.

Thursday, October 7th:

I needed redemption pretty badly, but I needed sleep worse!  Slept in and didn't get down there until 930, launched just before 10AM.  Got down to the fleet and the charter had 8 fish - shouldn't have slept in...  Hooked a hot pumper, set the hook, and - FUCK! - everything's gone.  Had just tied everything the night before, including a new palomar onto my snap swivel - and that's probably where it broke since I got back nothing.  I checked that knot and may have had a weak spot elsewhere...  I'm pretty religious about checking leaders and swivel knots, and I teach it to whoever I take out.  It was very painful to start the day like that, but the good news was that I'd hooked a fish quickly.  I re-tied and put a new rig out, and it wasn't long before I had about a 10 pound king doing runs from my yak.  Thought I had it tired and about ready after 3 runs, and then it turned and spit...  More pain.  Missed more bites and brief hookups over the next couple of hours, and then I finally got a bone thrown my way - 6 pounder in the net.  Relief, thankfulness and a hint of "I want a bigger one" filled my mind.  The charter got his last fish early in the afternoon, and myself and a group of powerboaters hit his spot as he left - lost another 12 pounder or so as I approached his honey hole...  It was that kind of day, and it sure seemed like I was due to get back on track with consistent hookup to landing ratio as I've enjoyed all season, but I had to head home with the one and be glad for it.

Saturday, October 9th:

Cove with Ross.

This day played out much like the previous 3 trips - hot fish, lots of lost fish and missed bites.  The fleet was experiencing the same thing, and sealions were thrown in this day for good (bad!) measure.  My guy and I lost multiple fish.  I broke one off at the hooks when I tried to slow a screamer down from going under a nearby powerboat.  Cohos to the pliers...  Deja vu frustration!  I ended up getting a 10 pounder put away, but my guest was living out all of the tough bite realities that I've already described in this report.  How hot these fish are right now is remarkable.  How long it's lasting is too.

Here's my wanna-be-inspirational-because-I'm-so-butt-hurt report from Facebook:   

October salmon fishing has been amazing lately - it's not typical, but no one's complaining!  One fish on each of my last four trips, and they've all been highly appreciated, but it's important to read the tea leaves in these reports.  There's absolutely nothing easy about catching a salmon right now. 

The fish are hot - really hot!  If you manage to hook one, you'll need to hold on and be ready.  The head shakes, frenetic movements, line-peeling runs and powerful sudden turns create an atmosphere of chaos and potential desperation as your best laid plans for hooking, fighting and landing an ocean salmon can and often are dashed by the athleticism and sheer determination of these beautiful and profoundly majestic animals.  Harvesting and consuming Chinook salmon is a pleasure for sure, but battling one on the other end of your line is a whole new level of thrill.

Here's the deal though - you don't just paddle to the spot and troll up dinner like it's a scripted story with a happy ending.  Entering the Salmon Lotto can be way more about lessons in humility than it is about working hard and automatically finding success.  The moments of glory in this fishery - this passionate pursuit - are high highs for sure, but if you're not careful you may find yourself working very hard to get close to achieving your goal only to end up wondering what happened - how it all went wrong.  You may find yourself pondering whether all of the work and instances of heart wrenching disappointment are worth it.  I call it Salmon Torture.

Lately I've enjoyed some great conditions for trolling along the wild coast southeast of the Cove, and, as I posted the other day on my personal page, I've hooked more hot kings recently than I can remember ever experiencing.  The adrenalin produced from fighting these fish is exceptional - my heart races faster during these encounters than it did when I saw a Great White Shark!  The tea leaves though...  All of those hookups mean this - I didn't land much, or I'd have had my limit and moved on.

So what's the real draw?  What kind of people subject themselves to what can often amount to a series of gut punches just for the chance to fight and retain a salmon?  I can tell you this - it's not just the protein. 

“Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after”  What did Thoreau mean by this, and how does it relate to the kayak salmon pursuit?  I've come to know that there are many reasons for our choices to focus our time, energy and resources on what are so frequently very difficult tasks.  Challenge is high on the list, and so is adventure.  Exercise, companionship, love of nature - they all factor in to the equation.

When I assemble all of my gear, tie new leaders, seek out a special piece of tackle and obtain high quality bait, I am laser focused on giving myself the best chance at finding success that I can.  I eagerly awaken at ridiculously early hours, drive in the dark over mountain roads far from my home, hustle to prepare for a long day on the water, toil with paddle and rod for what will likely amount to almost the entire day, and the final result is, honestly, hope.

There is no formula that will guarantee the catch - this is true of any angling activity, but especially so for salmon and even more so for catching an ocean salmon from a kayak.  I want the difficulty and the challenge.  I enjoy the discipline and the long hours and the exhaustion at the end.  I make myself accept the setbacks and the shortcomings - the torture of not getting the job done - because I want the prize that is hope realized. 

What I'm describing here is about learning to use outdoors pursuits to enhance and improve your life.  When you live with hope for accomplishing inspiring goals - whether it's catching a salmon or climbing a mountain - you give yourself a framework for finding prosperity and happiness in other aspects of your life.

So when you do all the prep and devote your time and energy to the pursuit only to hook and lose hard fighting fish and find yourself holding an empty stringer at day's end, the challenge becomes humility and the hope can transform itself into determination for the future.

The real trick in kayak salmon fishing may be how to be humble when you do capture your quarry.  We all want more of that problem!

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Ross joined me for the Salmon Torture yesterday.  Short story, based on what I've written above:  mission accomplished, all around!

Eric Stockwell - Kayak Salmon Torture Guide~

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Keep it real, NCKA - peace out~   

Tuesday pix:

Thursday pix:

(there were none - too butt-hurt! - just kidding    )

Saturday pix:

Tuesday pix:

Eric. You da man! I love your passion. And I have to say I feel the same way getting out fishing the great blue.

Max

Nice!

I think we can all relate to the "salmon torture", even those of us who don't often fish for salmon...

Awesome reports Eric...thanks for sharing with us!

Great report Eric.  Sounds like a great time was had by everyone

Another great write up with pictures. Congratulations Dom on your impressive salmon limit.

Thank you, Eric! Every time I read your reports it just makes me want to drop everything I'm doing and just drive there. That place is very special! Thanks for sharing your adventures!

Humboldt tourism ambassador!  WTG. 

BTW, wth was that dolphin carcass??

Great reports, Eric! I already want to go back.

Thanks for the nice replies, fellas.   

BTW, wth was that dolphin carcass??

Good question - never seen anything like it around here.  Looked like a bottlenose, but I don't even know if that's possible.  The ones we usually see around here have short bodies and don't have a long snout like that.

Great report again Eric

Great report as always. Thanks Eric!