Sharphooks
Well-Known Member
I’d been on the water for three weeks by now. Although the fishing had been spectacular as far as finding productive spots in waters I’d never fished before, I’ll admit there was the gnawing realization that I hadn’t hooked anything big despite being in ground zero for big fish.
A week before I’d bumped into one of the Kitasoo Guardian guys I’d had a few chats with. I saw him the morning I got into half a dozen fin-clipped springs and mentioned that to him. He asked me why the hell I was wasting my time in a spot like that, mentioned there were some huge fish around, described the spot where it was all happening, and said all I had to do was find “the fleet” .....
That was all I needed to know to stay put ..... the fleet......no fleet for me ....no way.......so I kept doing what I’d had been doing. He shook his head in dismay as he drove away...... I thought to myself....well maybe the big fish thing is not so important after all.....
So that morning off Price Island, three weeks into the trip, all by my lonesome, it did happen.
I’d changed my fishing strategy this trip. I stayed well away from kelp beds and rock faces, working the deeper water. That was mainly to conserve bait and keep it away from rockfish and lings. But that approach had also been productive for me for springs ——90 feet down in 140 feet of water, clear screen with no sign of bait, then a wondrous take-down and I got to release a low to mid twenties spring. Not lots....maybe 1 or two a day with a mix of smaller springs and cohos——-for me that was more then enough, especially when releasing the bigger fish left me with this;
That’s from hand-lining springs to the boat and shaking the hooks out with a gaff. It’s a sad but true story: it’s much easier to kill a spring then release it
So that morning I dropped my lonesome anchovy down to 90 feet in 150 feet of water——no big signs of bait which was a good thing because every time I’d gotten near a bait ball I’d hooked a rockfish. So, once again, on a completely clean screen I got a take-down but this one had big fish written all over it.
Thirty minutes later after a Nantucket sleigh ride and burning half a tank of kicker gas, I got what looked to be a 40 pound fish to the side of the boat. The first thing you notice with these bigger fish is how deep they can get...after seeing those hatchery brats, it was nice to see there are still those big fish around. And it put a whole new spring in my step that morning, especially being the only boat in such a gorgeous place!
Then, my morning bonus——on the way back to my anchorage I got a stunner of a coho and Scout and I set up for yet another coho BBQ. At the risk of sounding full of myself, I’ll admit to having a bit of pride in finally figuring out how to BBQ a fish over a fire without burning the skin and losing half the fish to over-cooking. IT took me 70 years to figure it out but better late then never....ha ha ...yes...this one was still a bit undercooked...went back on the fire for a bit more time but talk about luxury: BBQ’s coho, asparagus and a good bottle of wine!
Shearwater is a strange place these days. All the facilities are still in place but they are completely under-staffed so everyone has that look in their eye—-over-worked, underpaid, when will this end? IT’s sad to see. Empty shelves of food but way more critical for me——no ice!!!
I’d been releasing piles of fish since mid July and here it was almost mid August —-with only a few days to go before the end of the trip I’d hoped to start doing the opposite....but no ice? Numerous people told me not to bother with the N’usi Seafood plant in Bella Bella. They’d “shut down” years ago....
But something told me to go and see for myself and draw my own conclusions. Oh glorious day: A Heiltsuk guy not only filled my cooler but helped me carry it down to my boat.....I was back on Broadway!
The next morning I’ll refer to as Deja Vu (All Over Again)......
6 years ago I hooked what turned out to be a mid-60 spring. After the first run, I made frantic motions to a guide coming up on my stern that I had a fish on. Of course he pretended he didn’t see me and just kept right on coming, eventually wrapping my line around the legs of his twin outboards . The fish was taking massive amounts of line while wrapped on the guy’s Yamahas.
I’d just switched to braid that season and that was the only reason I ended up putting that fish in the boat. For nostalgia purposes I’ll include the photo of that fish that against all odds, I got in the boat:
The rod I used for that fish was a $60.00 Shimano convergence. The reel was a Hardy Longstone with broken handles. Since the day I caught that fish, I put the rod away—-it hasn’t been used since that day 6 years ago.
So this year I brought that rod along on my trip. The intent was to use it the day I decided to start keeping fish. With a cooler of fresh ice, this was clearly the day I would put that goofy rod back into action.
So I rig it up and get to one of my favorite spots at 5 AM, knowing I have about an hour before the guides show up. When that happens, I ‘ll leave. So almost immediately I get a take down in 25 feet of water.....I was just lowering the single anchovy down when it got plucked from the clip, as shallow as I’ve ever hooked a spring in that spot. I knew it was big from the head shakes and the huge run that had my Longstone shrieking in agony. My hand was instantly covered in hot grease. So here comes the first boat around the corner, perfectly on cue. The guy is lowing his gear into the water and his boat (a Sea Sport!!) is clearly going to go right over my fish.
Yes, Deja Vu All Over Again: It was literally a Kabuki Play for me: same rod, same reel, another big fish in almost the exact same spot, and despite making all the noises and motions of ....”Dude, I have a fish on and you’re going right over it,...” his boat goes across my line.
Short story, the guy is totally cool about it (unlike the guide 6 years ago) He patiently untangles my line from his gear, I start reeling like nuts after he frees it up, and 20 minutes later I put an almost-tyee into the boat which goes into the cooler with all that fresh ice.
It was like a choreographed dance.....and no way I was going to start screaming in church. I just patiently waited to feel the fish back on the end of my rod, a fish I knew would still be there because of the strict choreographing and pre-ordained outcome....
But it was clear that Shimano Convergence was not the right tool for the job. A total noodle stick. So I went across the bay to find my own water and switched back to my Sage. Almost immediately a thick pall of fog rolled in——a big fleet of guide boats showed up, right on cue, all going around in circles on one side of the bay in that thick fog. Me, I’m on on the other side of the bay all by my lonesome hidden by that fog and by the end of the tide I ended up having the best morning of the trip: I got into 6 springs, all 20+.....what a morning, and what a way to celebrate all that new ice in my cooler!!!!
A week before I’d bumped into one of the Kitasoo Guardian guys I’d had a few chats with. I saw him the morning I got into half a dozen fin-clipped springs and mentioned that to him. He asked me why the hell I was wasting my time in a spot like that, mentioned there were some huge fish around, described the spot where it was all happening, and said all I had to do was find “the fleet” .....
That was all I needed to know to stay put ..... the fleet......no fleet for me ....no way.......so I kept doing what I’d had been doing. He shook his head in dismay as he drove away...... I thought to myself....well maybe the big fish thing is not so important after all.....
So that morning off Price Island, three weeks into the trip, all by my lonesome, it did happen.
I’d changed my fishing strategy this trip. I stayed well away from kelp beds and rock faces, working the deeper water. That was mainly to conserve bait and keep it away from rockfish and lings. But that approach had also been productive for me for springs ——90 feet down in 140 feet of water, clear screen with no sign of bait, then a wondrous take-down and I got to release a low to mid twenties spring. Not lots....maybe 1 or two a day with a mix of smaller springs and cohos——-for me that was more then enough, especially when releasing the bigger fish left me with this;
That’s from hand-lining springs to the boat and shaking the hooks out with a gaff. It’s a sad but true story: it’s much easier to kill a spring then release it
So that morning I dropped my lonesome anchovy down to 90 feet in 150 feet of water——no big signs of bait which was a good thing because every time I’d gotten near a bait ball I’d hooked a rockfish. So, once again, on a completely clean screen I got a take-down but this one had big fish written all over it.
Thirty minutes later after a Nantucket sleigh ride and burning half a tank of kicker gas, I got what looked to be a 40 pound fish to the side of the boat. The first thing you notice with these bigger fish is how deep they can get...after seeing those hatchery brats, it was nice to see there are still those big fish around. And it put a whole new spring in my step that morning, especially being the only boat in such a gorgeous place!
Then, my morning bonus——on the way back to my anchorage I got a stunner of a coho and Scout and I set up for yet another coho BBQ. At the risk of sounding full of myself, I’ll admit to having a bit of pride in finally figuring out how to BBQ a fish over a fire without burning the skin and losing half the fish to over-cooking. IT took me 70 years to figure it out but better late then never....ha ha ...yes...this one was still a bit undercooked...went back on the fire for a bit more time but talk about luxury: BBQ’s coho, asparagus and a good bottle of wine!
Shearwater is a strange place these days. All the facilities are still in place but they are completely under-staffed so everyone has that look in their eye—-over-worked, underpaid, when will this end? IT’s sad to see. Empty shelves of food but way more critical for me——no ice!!!
I’d been releasing piles of fish since mid July and here it was almost mid August —-with only a few days to go before the end of the trip I’d hoped to start doing the opposite....but no ice? Numerous people told me not to bother with the N’usi Seafood plant in Bella Bella. They’d “shut down” years ago....
But something told me to go and see for myself and draw my own conclusions. Oh glorious day: A Heiltsuk guy not only filled my cooler but helped me carry it down to my boat.....I was back on Broadway!
The next morning I’ll refer to as Deja Vu (All Over Again)......
6 years ago I hooked what turned out to be a mid-60 spring. After the first run, I made frantic motions to a guide coming up on my stern that I had a fish on. Of course he pretended he didn’t see me and just kept right on coming, eventually wrapping my line around the legs of his twin outboards . The fish was taking massive amounts of line while wrapped on the guy’s Yamahas.
I’d just switched to braid that season and that was the only reason I ended up putting that fish in the boat. For nostalgia purposes I’ll include the photo of that fish that against all odds, I got in the boat:
The rod I used for that fish was a $60.00 Shimano convergence. The reel was a Hardy Longstone with broken handles. Since the day I caught that fish, I put the rod away—-it hasn’t been used since that day 6 years ago.
So this year I brought that rod along on my trip. The intent was to use it the day I decided to start keeping fish. With a cooler of fresh ice, this was clearly the day I would put that goofy rod back into action.
So I rig it up and get to one of my favorite spots at 5 AM, knowing I have about an hour before the guides show up. When that happens, I ‘ll leave. So almost immediately I get a take down in 25 feet of water.....I was just lowering the single anchovy down when it got plucked from the clip, as shallow as I’ve ever hooked a spring in that spot. I knew it was big from the head shakes and the huge run that had my Longstone shrieking in agony. My hand was instantly covered in hot grease. So here comes the first boat around the corner, perfectly on cue. The guy is lowing his gear into the water and his boat (a Sea Sport!!) is clearly going to go right over my fish.
Yes, Deja Vu All Over Again: It was literally a Kabuki Play for me: same rod, same reel, another big fish in almost the exact same spot, and despite making all the noises and motions of ....”Dude, I have a fish on and you’re going right over it,...” his boat goes across my line.
Short story, the guy is totally cool about it (unlike the guide 6 years ago) He patiently untangles my line from his gear, I start reeling like nuts after he frees it up, and 20 minutes later I put an almost-tyee into the boat which goes into the cooler with all that fresh ice.
It was like a choreographed dance.....and no way I was going to start screaming in church. I just patiently waited to feel the fish back on the end of my rod, a fish I knew would still be there because of the strict choreographing and pre-ordained outcome....
But it was clear that Shimano Convergence was not the right tool for the job. A total noodle stick. So I went across the bay to find my own water and switched back to my Sage. Almost immediately a thick pall of fog rolled in——a big fleet of guide boats showed up, right on cue, all going around in circles on one side of the bay in that thick fog. Me, I’m on on the other side of the bay all by my lonesome hidden by that fog and by the end of the tide I ended up having the best morning of the trip: I got into 6 springs, all 20+.....what a morning, and what a way to celebrate all that new ice in my cooler!!!!
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