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SD2OR with a trophy fall walleye
 

Topic: “It’s a dandy”, aka Harold kicks ass  (Read 4255 times)

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Dawn Patrol

  • Rockfish
  • ****
  • Date Registered: Nov 2017
  • Posts: 164
Friday night I arrived home late from the airport, then spent a couple more hours dialing in my gear for a 0430 departure. Normally this time of year living in Seattle I wouldn’t make any plans for travel. Unfortunately COVID delta variant had other ideas for two very good friends who were traveling far from home and needed backup, so I jetted to CO for a week to work remote and make sure they were shored up as things in the hospital had taken a couple of scary turns. Thankfully their situations turned through the week, and the second was discharged two hours before my flight Friday.

So back home with the weekend free it was fishing time. I got to Golden Gardens pre-dawn and got on the water, psyched to see all of the bait and marks that had built up during my break. I had jigging and DR setups, had some ideas that had been working the week prior but also some recent intel. All in all I was just psyched to be on the water and back into the mix. As it was my birthday I had a bombproof hall pass as well.

Unfortunately the empty screen and lack of other signs pointed to a slow start. I pedaled around various zones for 90 minutes, in soccer parlance “trying to find the game”. I saw a few mini bait balls at the bottom, dropped jigs on them but there was no play and they would dissipate as soon as they had formed. Not the glorious start I had hoped for, but I knew things could change with the tide so I just kept scoping.

Crossing by the green can I came near a pb guy who I have seen around over the years. He said he had just passed through major bait and hooked a 10# + fish in 70 fow. I asked him what depth on the DR, he told me 55’- my line was currently at 60’ in 90 fow. This whole season I have been getting my fish trolling right off the bottom, but at this point I was just trying stuff. I headed to shallower water.

I didn’t see any bait and the screen stayed blank but within 3 minutes I had a fish on. Finally! I got the rod out of the holder, reeled in the slack. Ready to reel into the fish and set the hook, the line had already gone light, and reeling in furiously to the surface I confirmed it was off. Regardless I had some clues now and reset quickly, energized. It had started to rain and wind was picking up. The forecast had showed a short window re: wind, I was hoping to be able to at minimum keep fishing.

After another 20 minutes I still hadn’t seen the bait or marks, but had a feeling about pb’s tip so kept working it. It was at this time that I realized in all my late-night prep I had spaced the net. I wasn’t targeting coho or pinks, so I that gave me some food for thought.

Three minutes later the rod went off. This time I successfully made contact and set the hook. It definitely felt like a keeper, but it was hard to get a sense for the fish. It made a couple of short runs then powered to the surface. I kept with it until it broke the surface feet from the kayak, revealing the biggest fish I had had on this year, 20-ish. And a very smooth back between the dorsal fin and tail. I reached for the net- yeah right!

The fish immediately hammered back down to the bottom, then made runs up and down for the next several minutes. I yelled to a pb to stay clear, noting that it was a big fish and I didn’t have a net, they smiled and kept their line. As the fight settled into more of a groove over the next 10 minutes, I was thinking about what was going to happen next without the net. I started breaking down obstacles (rod holder, finder, getting DR line in) thinking I might try to haul it over the side. This all in between run after run, the fish occasionally surfacing to remind me of wanting a net. I had my mini game clip out, and was trying to figure out how this might go down. I decided I just had to wear the fish down as much as possible, hopefully before the hook worked loose or a seal hit it. At that point I agreed was going to be good with any result, having screwed up with the net but also having already had more than my money’s worth, and having respect for the great fish. I felt lucky and anything else was going to be gravy.

By about 20 mins nothing had changed, except for the wind worsening. The fish would get to the surface, then make a massive run in any direction, bending the rod around the yak several times. Borrowing a quote from a classic Climbing magazine article about German climber Alex Huber, this fish had “power to waste”. Whitecaps were forming and it was getting kind of silly. Looking across the water, I spied my original pb buddy who had pointed me in the right direction, about 100 yds away. I started yelling to him through the wind and waves and waving one arm, trying to mime out what I had going on and get a net assist. Miraculously the dude figured it out, jumped up, cleaned his gear and powered over.

As he neared I explained the scenario (big fish, won’t calm down, no net) and he approached slowly saying “I don’t want to spook the fish”. As the fish came up again he got a look and said “Oh, that’s a dandy!” and grabbed the net. We were bouncing in the waves about 10’ from each other, the fish between us. I called for his net but he said he thought he had a shot at it. We made an unsuccessful attempt at coordinating, and then the fish splashed and hammered back down to the bottom. I kept it on and called for the net, the dude threw it across, and I got set for the next attempt. After a minute I got the fish back to the surface and tried to lead it in. The fish kept just out of reach, passing by me from bow towards the stern and eventually getting out of net range.

Pb dude called for the net again, another successful throw was made. As we worked to coordinate the fish then ran under the back of my Outback, and then stuck just off the back, holding position. It had caught the line in the rudder. I started folding my seat back thinking I might climb over the back if I had to, but the waves were spicy and I still had the rod in one hand. My pedals were not responding well for some reason as I tried to reverse towards his boat. Just then he said (after a couple more “oh that’s a dandy’s”) “I think it’s coming loose!”. I got set in my seat and looking over my shoulder indeed the fish was coming free, and my pb buddy was getting in position again. I reeled into the line to regain full contact. Just as I did that the line popped and went completely loose, it had broken off at the flasher.

As I was yelling “It’s broken off!” I spun around, looking between the boats at where the fish had just been. To my surprise I see the fish on the surface, spoon in its mouth, heading right towards pb buddy. At that moment he makes a perfect 1-time scoop and lands the fish in the net.

Minds fully blown, high fives were exchanged, and I collected the fish and secured it. “It’s a dandy!” was reciprocated by massive thanks from me. I asked this hero’s name, I believe it was Harold (the adrenaline was quite high). Harold, thank you again. And I’m here to say that Harold kicks ass.

Ended up being a female, 34”, estimated 19#, a darker fish likely bound for the Locks. I’ve got nothing on WH’s 4 chinook bonanza morning (wtf?!) but am fully stoked for the weeks to come, and now once again a believer in trying for suspended fish. Lastly I want to share thanks and respect to the dandy, truly a memorable fish.

*not sure how to fix that first pic, tried uploading a few ways including an upside down version

« Last Edit: August 03, 2021, 09:58:14 AM by Dawn Patrol »


DWB123

  • Salmon
  • ******
  • Location: Seattle, WA
  • Date Registered: Aug 2013
  • Posts: 841
That is the best fish story I've read in ages. My heart was racing the entire read. Congrats!!!


bogueYaker

  • Lingcod
  • *****
  • Pace the halls and climb the walls
  • Location: Now back in NC
  • Date Registered: Aug 2019
  • Posts: 405
Heck yeah dude, nice fish and even nicer memory to go along with it!


snopro

  • Sturgeon
  • *******
  • Location: HR
  • Date Registered: Jun 2008
  • Posts: 1111
Great story.  Lots of eggs?


Dawn Patrol

  • Rockfish
  • ****
  • Date Registered: Nov 2017
  • Posts: 164
Major eggs, I gave the two full skeins to a couple of older locals at the ramp. Nothing in the stomach.

As a postscript, I hit the same zones yesterday with a buddy in his PB, no love save for a small one and a bunch of dabs. Still a little early here generally. Did get to say hi to Harold, dude was working it again.
« Last Edit: August 02, 2021, 10:10:55 AM by Dawn Patrol »


bogueYaker

  • Lingcod
  • *****
  • Pace the halls and climb the walls
  • Location: Now back in NC
  • Date Registered: Aug 2019
  • Posts: 405
As a postscript, I hit the same zones yesterday with a buddy in his PB, no love save for a small one and a bunch of dabs. Still a little early here generally. Did get to say hi to Harold, dude was working it again.

Because it's convenient and I'm able to log on to work by 9:30, I've been hitting GG a lot recently.... I got tired of empty fish finder screens and scoped out the NE end of MA10 yesterday. Bait for days. Will be going up there with frequency.
« Last Edit: August 02, 2021, 12:35:55 PM by bogueYaker »


workhard

  • Salmon
  • ******
  • Get off your computer and fish
  • Location: Bellingham
  • Date Registered: Sep 2015
  • Posts: 712
Nice fish! Great story.


Adrift

  • Herring
  • **
  • Location: Portland, OR
  • Date Registered: Aug 2020
  • Posts: 45
Awesome story!
Made my day reading it!


Larry_MayII_HR

  • Rockfish
  • ****
  • Location: Corvallis, OR
  • Date Registered: Jun 2017
  • Posts: 150
Your story 'was a dandy!'  Thanks for sharing!!


bpm2000

  • Rockfish
  • ****
  • Location: Shoreline
  • Date Registered: Jul 2017
  • Posts: 100
Epic tale! Wont be forgetting that net again.
formerly known as smokeondawater


 

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