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Picture Of The Month



SD2OR with a trophy fall walleye
 

Topic: Sucia Island '09  (Read 20357 times)

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deepcolor

  • Salmon
  • ******
  • Location: Lake Oswego
  • Date Registered: Nov 2008
  • Posts: 703
It's time to pull some ling lip.  Shallow Bay still looks really good with the forecasted wind direction so I hope to be there when you arrive - hopefully with a few AOTY points in the boat and a scotch in my cup holder.  Yak Monkey has my cell number if anyone needs it.  See you all soon.

DC
...as soon as the Advil kicks in...


deepcolor

  • Salmon
  • ******
  • Location: Lake Oswego
  • Date Registered: Nov 2008
  • Posts: 703
I thought I had seen all the good aerial photos of Sucia but this one is new to me.  I like it because you can click left or right and move around the island.  The link I'm posting should be of Shallow Bay.  The good fishing is right outside the bay where there are plenty of rocks and a steep drop-off.  I'll see you all there.

http://apps.ecy.wa.gov/shorephotos/scripts/bigphoto.asp?id=SNJ0963

...as soon as the Advil kicks in...


HBH

  • Lingcod
  • *****
  • Location: bellingham, wa
  • Date Registered: Dec 2007
  • Posts: 250
save a few for us OK?


deepcolor

  • Salmon
  • ******
  • Location: Lake Oswego
  • Date Registered: Nov 2008
  • Posts: 703
I always have some extra scotch on the rocks for friends.  And I'll leave some fish too  :D I only need one big one to get my AOTY goose egg off the board.  There are miles of good structure around the north side of the island to fish so we should all bag at least one keeper for the weekend and some good rockfish to boot.  And remember to pinch those barbs or be ready to donate $90 bucks to the WDFW.  Don't ask me how I know.
...as soon as the Advil kicks in...


HBH

  • Lingcod
  • *****
  • Location: bellingham, wa
  • Date Registered: Dec 2007
  • Posts: 250
someone (yak monkey) had a good weekend...
« Last Edit: May 04, 2009, 02:47:30 PM by HBH »


yessnoo

  • Lingcod
  • *****
  • Location: Seabrook, TX
  • Date Registered: Apr 2008
  • Posts: 456
Hopefully bsteves can tell us why this fish is so blue....his meat was blue...his mouth, his gills....everything was blue..... what the heck    :o
2008 Hobie Mirage Revolution Fish


yessnoo

  • Lingcod
  • *****
  • Location: Seabrook, TX
  • Date Registered: Apr 2008
  • Posts: 456
and thanks to all those that showed up and organized...special thanks to HBH for ferrying us out to the island on a very nice boat....It was alot of fun and great fishing despite the 30 mile an hour squall we had Saturday night....including a sailboat breaking moor and hitting HBH's boat (with no damage thankfully)

I feel kinda bad for the guys on the boat that night...I mean we got soaked on the land trying to cook and stuff but they must have gotten beat to hell lol

I look forward to doing that or something similar again
2008 Hobie Mirage Revolution Fish


deepcolor

  • Salmon
  • ******
  • Location: Lake Oswego
  • Date Registered: Nov 2008
  • Posts: 703
It was a very good weekend indeed - except for that perfect storm part.  Thanks HBH and everyone else.  It was great to meet you all.  Pictures tomorrow.

DC
...as soon as the Advil kicks in...


Pisco Sicko

  • Sturgeon
  • *******
  • Location: South Lake Tahoe, CA
  • Date Registered: Apr 2006
  • Posts: 1553
I've caught blue lings in that area, myself. I think it has to do with them matching the colors of the algae and seaweed at their home hole, a la chameleons. How that works, I don't know. Glad you guys didn't get too hammered by the front and squalls. I was thinking about heading out to a different part of the San Juans with my daughter, but chickened out when I saw the forecast. The weather was supposed to be better in Eastern Wa, so we went to Banks Lake. Saturday never did warm up as much as I thought it would. The wind switch when the front went through was wicked.



deepcolor

  • Salmon
  • ******
  • Location: Lake Oswego
  • Date Registered: Nov 2008
  • Posts: 703
Bad asses like this were trying to keep me from getting my rockfish points.  How else do you explain them inhaling my rock before I could get it to the kayak?  And it was convenient of mother nature to slam us during non-fishing hours.
...as soon as the Advil kicks in...


ZeeHawk

  • Administrator
  • Sturgeon
  • *****
  • Sauber is my co-pilot.
  • Location: Seattle, WA
  • Date Registered: Sep 2006
  • Posts: 5506
Bad asses like this were trying to keep me from getting my rockfish points.  How else do you explain them inhaling my rock before I could get it to the kayak?  And it was convenient of mother nature to slam us during non-fishing hours.

What?? So you're telling me that ling is worth no points?? OH MAN!
That's beautiful ling!! Nice work DC.

Z
2010 Angler Of The Year
2008 Moutcha Bay Pro - Winner
Jackson kayaks, Kokatat, Daiwa, Werner Paddles, Orion, RinseKit, Kayak Academy


deepcolor

  • Salmon
  • ******
  • Location: Lake Oswego
  • Date Registered: Nov 2008
  • Posts: 703
That guy was worth points.  Its just that I kept catching ling...no complaints...and as the trip wound down, I had not logged a rock yet.  But I finally got a small rockfish during my last hour of fishing on Sunday morning. 
...as soon as the Advil kicks in...


HBH

  • Lingcod
  • *****
  • Location: bellingham, wa
  • Date Registered: Dec 2007
  • Posts: 250
ALL ABOARD!  love the shark teeth...i think i will paint them on my boat


ZeeHawk

  • Administrator
  • Sturgeon
  • *****
  • Sauber is my co-pilot.
  • Location: Seattle, WA
  • Date Registered: Sep 2006
  • Posts: 5506
ALL ABOARD!  love the shark teeth...i think i will paint them on my boat

Beautiful pic HBH! Nice work putting together the trip. Hope I can make it next time.

Z
2010 Angler Of The Year
2008 Moutcha Bay Pro - Winner
Jackson kayaks, Kokatat, Daiwa, Werner Paddles, Orion, RinseKit, Kayak Academy


bjoakland

  • Salmon
  • ******
  • Piscis Venator
  • Location: Anywhere I can fit 8 wheels and 2 kayaks!
  • Date Registered: Aug 2008
  • Posts: 514
'YakMonkey's Report - Sucia '09

   I started Friday a bit frazzled and tired, as I had no sleep the night before due to a raging case of anticipation.  The weather was nice with the wind light and the cloud cover beginning to thin.  So, I got everything packed up and headed to Blaine, with just a quick stop for a bagel and some java.  I made it to the marina a few minutes before HBH arrived, which left me just enough time to finish my uber-coffee and explore the marina for a few minutes.  Once HBH arrived, we moved our gear down to the Intrepid and got it all loaded up.  (I must say, she is a nice craft.  Hat's off to the skipper.)  Just a little while after we finished packing up, Yakker arrived.  We stopped to admire the craftsmanship of his kayak as we helped him unload from the car, very nice finish work and light as a feather.  Thumbs up Yakker!  It didn't take long and we had him loaded and ready to go.  Lo and behold, YarJammer and Yessnoo pulled into the parking lot just as we were finishing up loading Yakker.  The loading up of the last of the group went smoothly and quickly, more hands making the job simpler.  HBH did a quick review of safety issues, then we were off.
  The crossing from Blaine to Sucia was uneventful and took about an hour and a half.  We were lucky that it was only light chop and the wind wasn't really an issue.  It was nice enough that HBH piloted from the fly bridge and Yakker kept him company.  The rest of us slept or chatted in the main cabin.  On arrival we used the dinghy as a barge and hauled all the gear to shore with just a few short trips, made camp and headed off fishing.
  Friday afternoon into evening weather conditions were great.  Deepcolor had arrived the night before, and he had early reports of nice lings in our future.  Well, he was right!  I believe HBH was lucky enough to land the only keeper ling (and a nice fish too!) for that evening, and I had the bonus of the copper rockfish.  On the return trip in, some of us experienced the power of the legendary San Juan Islands tidal currents.  I could tell the current had begun to run strong when I had a hard time getting a 4oz jig to play vertically.  It was amazing how quickly it happened too.  YarJammer and Yessnoo were farther down current than I was, and had begun heading in slightly before I did.  I took a second and switched the gps over to tracking speed, and noted 1.75mph movement on a pure drift.  Going the wrong way.  Uh-oh.  So we ran back into camp against the current, which I must say is an experience not worth repeating.  That night we had a moderate fire and we enjoyed HBH's lingcod and my rockfish for dinner, along with some good company and a few beers.  A great day all around.
   Saturday started out looking rather dismal, and the weather reports were helpful but a little misleading.  I think Sucia Island is a little offshoot of the Twilight Zone (as our park ranger suggested).  The reports out of NOAA sounded absolutely unpleasant, but what we saw was another thing.  We were looking at light wind and tiny chop in the morning, so out we went.  We trickled out as we were ready, so it was more of a wandering day than the day before, but we had reviewed the tides and currents the night before so knew what our timing should be and we all had our own little plans in our fish-obsessed noggins.  I do have to admit that I can't accurately recall who caught how many undersized lings or incidental rockfish, but there was no lack of action that morning.  I was lucky enough to get my first keeper of the weekend in a 29" ling.  I tried to repeat the rockfish catch of the night before, but with no luck.  The tide change and currents had lunch time and the early afternoon as a perfect break, so we trickled in and had a lazy afternoon chatting, hiking around and general camp style goofing off.  I cleaned out my ling and we crammed it in HBH's fridge on board the good 'ole Intrepid.  Nice to have a refrigerator around!  I don't know if I could have eaten that much fish!  After the break, nearly everyone headed back out when they felt the call.  Personally, with the daily limit already met for lings, no luck with the rockfish and with legs beat up from fighting the current, I abstained from the afternoon fishing.
   With the exception of a light sprinkle and a few moments of "rain," I felt we might be far enough into the twilight zone to actually miss the weather that was reported on the radio.  I was wrong.  From shore it looked like the wind and currents were picking up, and they must have been, as the guys headed back in at almost the same time.  It began to rain more seriously so we moved back into camp, and applied all of our resources and Yarjammer's eagle scout experience and started a fire in the fire pit and later used some charcoal and made a cooking fire.  Fortunately for us, HBH was thoughtful enough to provide a few armloads of firewood and we had saved it thus far.  This allowed for a nice bonfire which was warm enough to make it worthwhile to stand out under the drizzle and rain just to enjoy the radiant heat.  It wasn't long before Yakker commented that the wind, which had been picking up, had completely switched directions.  Early on the wind had been blowing into Echo Bay from the east and had now switched to blowing in from the west.  Shallow Bay is on the western end of the island, and is where we had moored.  Every hour or so someone would peek out at the beach and check the height of the tide and just take a look at the conditions.  Fortunately the campsite itself was quite well sheltered and we were able to miss the worst of the wind.  Late in the evening, Yarjammer, Yesnoo and I went to check on the conditions and Yarjammer noticed something that got all of our attention.  It appeared that one of the sailboats had broken it's mooring as it was moving across the bay with a wildly swinging mast light indicating that it was definitely not pointed into the wind and waves.  We watched it cross the bay and it finally came to a stop very near HBH and the mothership.  It appeared that the sailboat had no lights one, until we finally saw a very small light on through one of the windows.  It didn't look like anything was going to sink, so off to bed.  Sleep was a bit elusive for me, as I kept waking up imagining my kayak slamming against the logs, but each time I realized it was just log to log contact and that my boat was high up enough to be safe.
   When morning struck, it was a shock.  No wind.  No waves. A few whispy clouds.  Sunshine.  WOO HOO!  Up and at 'em!  Yakker was the first to be up and I followed close behind. Yessnoo and Yarjammer were a little farther behind, but that can probably be explained by the beers ;) The break in the weather was quite encouraging and the mood was light and anxious.  We took a little while to have breakfast then broke camp before getting all geared up, then off to fishin' we went.    I believe that some of the guys didn't have the luck I did, but Sunday broke that spell.  It was definitely the best fishing conditions of the trip.  Warm sunlight, flat and clear water and a belly full of warm breakfast made it all seem like paradise.  Oh, and the fishing was even better!  It must have been my third or fourth spot playing a jig and I landed a 28" ling, took a picture and sent him on his way.  It wasn't long after that I switched to a smaller jig and started fishing for rockfish.  I wasn't having much luck and then WHAM, there's the 32+" ling I reported for AOTY.  DeepColor must have had a good morning too, as he headed back in and the word amongst the guys was that he landed a very nice fish.  Due to the need for him and his father to get back to Portland, they left a little ahead of us.  He waved his salutations at us with one hand and held onto his beverage with the other hand (what was that anyway, scotch?  or was that the gin and tonic? coffee? < read as jealousy!) I kept fishing for a while, still looking for a rockfish, but no luck in that department.  I landed a few undersized lings and then decided to head in and get packed up.  I met HBH while we were heading back and when I checked the time, we were a full 2 hours ahead of schedule.  Very nice.
   It wasn't long after I went in that the rest of the group came in and we loaded the dingy/barge up and got all our gear back on board.  The cruise back to Blaine was even better than the trip out.  The water was flat, the fishermen were satisfied and everything had gone off without a hitch.  Perfect weekend.
   I wish all fishing trips went as well as this one did.  I'd like to send out a huge THANK YOU to HBH for making this possible.  Without the Intrepid and skipper it never would have happened.  Thanks much, Bernie!  You Rock!
•• If people concentrated on the really important things in life, there'd be a shortage of fishing poles. ~ Doug Larson ••


 

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