Deep Creek Saltwater May 7, 2011

Deep Creek Saltwater King
May 7, 2011

VIDEO for the day.


Met AKS2000 and COD (their handles from some of the forums including here) on the beach.  The surf was high by my standards.  Swells were 3ft with south 15mph winds.  Surf launch looks doable so off we go.

Lesson number one:  If you rig up before you launch, strap down the weights or rig up after launch.  I broke my rod tip when my 4oz weight whacked my rod tip as I was launching.  Good thing I always carry a spare!

With the south wind and incoming tide, it was all I could do to keep my position paddling.  AKS2000 in a Prowler 15ft and COD was in a longer sit inside kayak could make headway with some effort.  I was amazed at how slow my kayak was.  I knew it was slower but its more than an inconvenience thing.  I realized how much safety margin I also was giving up.  Dang, I guess I need to buy a new kayak for safety reasons!

We troll/power mooch for kings a while with no luck.  We see one power boat hook up to a king and another boat managed to hook a seagull.  I am still amazed at how few boats are in the area.  I was expecting a hundred boats, I saw maybe 20 trailers max.  Maybe 4 campers in the Deep Creek campground.

COD takes off after the first salmon attempt.  But he saved the day by running AKS2000's truck down the beach so we could drift towards it versus trying to paddle back or walk back a couple of miles.  THANKS COD!!!  If it wasn't for you I would have never caught that king.  Of course if it wasn't for AKS2000 tolerating me as a wingman, I wouldn't have caught one either.  So thanks to the both of ya!!!!

SO AKS2000 and I paddle out to about 25 to 30 ft of water which is over a half mile off shore.  Between the two of us, we landed probably a dozen Irish Lords.  No halibut, no cod, no sharks, no rays.  I think that has to be a first for me fishing this area.  AKS2000 also said he didn't see any bait balls on his sonar.  I saw enough to prep a sabiki rig last week.  hmmm.....

Lesson #2:  Secure your battery so the rocking doesn't disconnect it.  It was the roughest water I have fished out of and once it unplugged, I wasn't about to open my center hatch so I was without sonar for pretty much the whole trip.

About 9pm I realize we had stopped drifting toward the truck which is still a mile away.  So I tell AKS2000 that maybe we should begin paddling.  What I meant to say was I should begin paddling.  He had no problems making headway.  I lumbered toward the truck but at 1/5 the speed.  Maybe that was good as I had a whole purple size herring (large) that I was using for halibut but had it rigged so it would roll so I just trolled it back in.  I was thinking about just reeling in my line since I was having such a hard time paddling.  But moments later!  Whammo!  Are you kidding me?  It's not the bottom I don't think.  Nope!  It's a fish!!!!!

The kayak was stable and AKS2000 makes the perfect net job despite my net being way to small.  The only time I just about flipped the kayak was when I took the fish out of the net and it slid off my lap into the foot wells.  I guess 27 pounds of weight shifting the edge is NOT good.  Felt like I came within inches of rolling the yak.

So no halibut but I did get one of those pesky secondary species!  NO COMPLAINTS!

Is the rod that broke a Trevala too? I like to rig up everything other than weights and bait. Makes work on the water so much eaiser and you don't have to worry about lead flighing around as you get to where you want to fish.

No, fortunately it was one of my $30 old shimano's.  I use the trevala for my bottom fishing and halibut.  Worked pretty well for this application.  I used it to bottom bounce 6 to 10 oz weight in the river for kings as well. 

Lessons learned...I am sure many many more coming.

There's been some interesting discussion in other forums that the fish I caught might be a "feeder" king.  Almost 100% of those are native to British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest.  The fish had zero detectable roe or milt.  I have never seen a king shed scales like this one did either. Happens with the cohos we catch in the saltwater but not the kings and I have seen literally tens of thousands during my commercial fish trading trades. Super fatty, a slightly different body shape than what I am used to seeing.

So apologies to the folks down south, I think I may have intercepted one headed your way.

A few pics for anyone interested (apologies in advance for the Yuk factor for the queezy type)...


DON'T MOCK THE FLEECE PANTS!  DANG NUMBIT!

That's a Beauty!  Caught one football shaped like that last year, they say they are Frazier River fish.  Mine was much smaller but lots of fish for the length.  It was mid July and the Milt was very dark.

I had a great time fishing with Kardinal_84 and COD.   I normally Yak-fish alone, but having you guys with specific knowledge on that particular body of water and on a Yak nearby was very reassuring.

Kardinal_84, it was great meeting you in person and congrats on your first kayak King. I had a great time just watching you fight that fish.

Cod, it was great meeting you also and thank you for the local info and the ride.

My takeaway points:
1. Paddling against wind and current is doable. Forward progress can be made against 2.5 mph current + 10-15 mph headwind.
2. The slope of the bottom along the beach was surprisingly low. The depth of water was only 30 ft @ 1/4 miles from the beach.
3. It is safe to land kayak anywhere along the beach and walk to your vehicle if necessary. Be careful of breaking waves along the surf zone.
4. It is better to go when the tides are not super high. High tide water mark comes very close to the cliffs. Parking next to the unstable dirt cliffs can be hazardous to your vehicle.
5. It is doable by yourself. It is SO much better when you have a fishing buddy.

Here is a photo of Kardinal_84 right after he landed it.