Earlier today CC called and asked if I wanted to hold the rod tonight, given I hadn't all last year.
I agreed immediately as I wanted to try out a couple of spoons I'd resurrected this past Winter so he came by and picked me up a bit after 7:00 this evening.
I decided to try my new rod which shows spoon action better than my Richmakes do plus it's the rod I use when I fish alone, so I threw it in the back of CC's truck as we were getting ready to go.
"Where's your set-up?" I asked, noticing there wasn't another rod in the truck.
"It's all you tonight," CC replied. "I row and you fish and we're going to hit one. I feel it."
It's hard to argue with pure optimism so off we went to the Tyee Club dock and CC's boat.
I wanted to try my old Clendon Stewart first, so I tied it on and we set to trolling.
It wouldn't beat worth a crap!
We went both directions and varied the speed to cover the range one normally fishes a spoon in, but it simply didn't want to work properly and seemed highly disposed to spinning too.
We tried one of CC's Improved #8 Stewarts for a bit and it beat pretty good but attracted nothing, although we did see a couple roll nearby.
Also saw a big jump in number of boats out tonight, with a few out for the first time this year, signifying the Long Weekend and the word there are a few fish around now too.
As we approached that magic last half hour or so where if there is going to be a "bite" it most likely will happen, we switched to a proven spoon, one that CC got a 33 pounder on some years back.
And then we moved down the length of the Pool towards the big red mooring buoy, swung around into the light breeze and started fishing.
"Gotta be close to magic time." CC mused aloud. "Be alert."
I grinned at him because he knows I'm as alert and as quick on the strike as anyone, but he still can't help nudging me now and then, part of the persona guys who row seem to have, as they are always considering all the parts that make Tyee fishing different, including always keeping the rod-holder involved and ready.
I'm always involved and ready so when I felt the hit I struck high and hard, flipped the rod over so the reel was at hand and waited for the surge of CC's hard and quick strokes to help me take some stretch out of the line as I reeled down onto what I hoped would be a good fish.
The expected surge was slow in coming, as CC had been looking away when the hit happened so lost several seconds before reacting with the hard pulls I'd expected.
Alas, I realized we hadn't hooked up as there was no further pull from a fish, just the pull of a rapidly spinning spoon as I reeled it back in.
CC was still pulling hard on the oars when I told him it was gone.
CC said a bad word.
Maybe two or three actually.
I might have said one too.
But all in all, CC hooked up yesterday and lost it after 10 minutes or so and rowed me to a strike tonight, so he is still "fishy" as they say and one of these days he'll get me my Tyee.
So tomorrow should prove interesting as the Tribal Journey group arrives with some 100 or so canoes, all to be removed from the water after ceremonies and the like.
I'm scheduled for tomorrow evening so hope most of the activity involving canoes will be over with by then.
Anyway, that's about it for today from here.
Take care.