June 8, Deception Pass with The Riddler

Ok guys,

I'm planning on hooking up with The Riddler on Thursday June 8th Deception Pass.  This will be a quick trip up to Bowman for a crack of dawn launch, fish for a couple hours, then get out of there so I can get back to my real job.  Hope some of you can make it.  I got ahold of Islander and hopefully he can make it too.  Anyone else game?

-Allen

Free Red Sox hats and bumpa stickas for all participants. Look forward to kayaking Washington State. I may not want to go back to Boston.

Dang, mid-week? Deception is closer than Seattle, but still 3 hours away, for me. I don't think I can sneak out for this one. 

Tides look "interesting"- Deception Pass: http://www.dairiki.org/tides/daily.php/dec/2006-06-08 
                                   Rosario Strait: http://www.dairiki.org/tides/daily.php/ros/2006-06-08


Did you see the catch rates reported in the Times this week? Ling catches were better in Tacoma and Mukilteo, than they were up north?!

Good luck guys: I'll be looking forward to the report.

Well, you gotta go when you can go.  The Riddler is only in town a couple days and this was the best time for us to hook up.  I don't think the tides are good for fishing in the pass itself.  The window at slack just looks way too short.

There is the possibility of fishing the evening of the 6th or 7th, but it is easier for me to get to work late, than it is for me to leave early.  The tides aren't really any better in the evening, and I'm banking on the wind being down in the morning as well.  We'll see.

Heck, maybe we launch at Cornet and ride the current through the pass.  That in itself is a worthy adventure, although getting some fishing in would be nice!  Or leave a car at Bowman and make it a one way trip, possibly fishing the outside after we get through.  Decisions, decisions.  Gary, how long would it take to shoot through the pass from Cornet to Bowman?

-Allen

Gary, how long would it take to shoot through the pass from Cornet to Bowman?

Sorry, I'm not Gary (though I just answered a PM from him on another board).

On a 7 knot ebb?  The distance is pretty short- a mile and a half, two at the most meandering. I'm going to guess that the hardest part would be get across the pass (S to N), while dodging whirlpools and deadheads.(Rivers have been ripping over here the last couple of weeks.)  Beach to beach might be possible in 20-25 exciting minutes.

Hi y'all,

I'm Baaaaack!  Been kinda busy this Spring and haven't been out there yet, but plan on plenty of trips this Summer.  The tides are running pretty hard on the 8th, but there is a short window in the Pass somewhere between 7:45 & 8:30.....  Not much time to fish in the Pass and get back around Lighthouse Point before the incoming tide makes that impossible.  Here is a link to the graphic current table for the Pass:  http://www.dairiki.org/tides/daily.php/dec/2006-06-08

If we just fish that window it's about a 10 minute paddle to Lighthouse Point and another 10 to fish the Pass itself.  It's doable, but won't leave much time to actually fish.  Another option is to Paddle 25 minutes or so out to Deception Island and fish for greenling and Ling outside the Island and when the tide slows enough, paddle the 30 minutes or so into the Pass. I almost never CROSS the Pass to fish Pisco.  I ride the eddys and get in the lee of Pass Island to fish when the tide is running too strong in the Pass itself.  You're very right about the rivers dumping stuff into the bay though.  I crossed the Skagit yesterday and it's pumping lots of silt and fresh water into the area. 

I've been running the Pass since I was a kid in High School and have even Waterskied through both Deception and Canoe, but wouldn't recommend a Cornet Bay launch and a run through the Pass on those tides in the early morning light.  With an outgoing tide of 7 ks. and an onshore wind, there would be very large standing waves as well as whirpools all around the Pass.... An avid river rat would just love it    Maybe I'm getting wimpy in my old age    Conditions are not that great for fishing, but we can get to some fishable water  with a Bowman launch.  If nothing else, it's a great place to paddle if you're from the East Coast.

I'll know for sure next week if I can get a rack fitted to the new truck and from then on we wish for good weather....

Gary

Hey Allen Riddler and anyone else that is interested....  That run through the Pass from the Cornet Bay side is starting to look a little more reasonable  if we hit the Pass at around 7AM.  Current would be down to a more manageable 4 Kts. or so and the trip would still be kinda fun    We might even be able to fish the outside of Pass Island for Ling and or shoot out to Deception Island to fish the outside there.  We'd at least have a couple of options plus a fun ride to the fishing holes.  It depends on how you want to spend the short time you guys do have.  We could park one car over on the Bowman Bay side and make it a one way trip or just ride the incoming tide back to our launch point at Cornet Bay.....  I'm open to what y'all would like to do, but a strong wind out of the West could make riding the tide out from Cornet kind of iffy.  I'm sure for paddeling with the current instead of against it 

Hope you all had a chance to get out of the big weekend and do some kayak fishing.

Gary

I'm attaching the current plot to this post so we don't have to keep bouncing back and forth to the link.

Question ...   What difference is there between running the pass out vs in?  Because the other option is to get on the waer early, fish the outside, run in and fish the Island, then follow through to Cornet.

Anyway, it looks like we have lots of options, so we'll see what the weather does as the date approaches.

-Allen

What time do y'all plan on being up here Allen?  That and the weather are the only things I'm not sure of    I'll find out tomorrow what time they take the bar down at Bowman.  If they keep it up till 6:30 and you want to launch earlier, then Cornet Bay is your only option.  There is more reachable fishable water on the outside with a strong ebb flow.  Don't know about you, but I hate paddeling as hard as I can and going backwards    We'll have half an hour or so to fish either side of the slack at 8:03, but if you need to be all loaded up and ready to leave by 9:00, that changes things a bit.  It can get pretty tough to impossible to get around Lighthouse point and back to Bowman Bay with much more than a 5kt. Flood tide.  If you miss that window going back, you can portage across behind the lighthouse to get around your timing goof.  Been there....done that...  I just don't know what your timing requirements are and wanted to give you options....  I can lose ground equally well against either an ebb or flood tide    Whatever, I'm looking forward to the trip and meeting you guys.  Now if only they get those adapters in for my truck rack.......

Gary

Holy Chalupa! 7knots! Wow!   Thats an adventure! We have at best 2-4knots in Maine at the Piscatiqua River in Maine!

What are we looking at for water temps? I was just going to bring dry gear and layers to be safe. Any suggestions on outfits and tackle? We chase Atlantic Cod around my way but mostly 10-20lbs inshore. Offshore for the larger ladies and better suited by boat. I have an assortment of cod jigs from 13oz to 22oz.

Just saw your post Islander, thank you, look forward to meeting you as well. My flight leaves Bellingham at 12:50PM on Thursday.  I think if I get to the airport at 11AM I shoudl be all set. If I borrow a kayak from Ocean I will need to drop it off. I don't know the distance of everything. If I leave between 9am and 10am from the fishing area, would I have enough time to make a stop at Ferndale (Ocean Kayak) and then make it to Bellingham Avis at the Airport by 11AM?

Polepole, if you want to crash at Hampton Inn in Bellingham on Wed night, come on up.

Hey Riddler,

Water temps run from the high 40s to low 50s most all year long in waters near the Pass.  Just a little north and west of us you can see up to the 70's in Desolation Sound Canada.  Your dry suit should be just fine.  I just use a "NRS Farmer John" and boots, but have never accidently dumped it.  If you try to cross the Pass at a full 7Kt. ebb, ya gottta be prepared for anything.  Air temps should be 50 or so in the early morning.......maybe.  I'm going to wear some poly under the splash jacket and maybe even paddeling gloves.

I plan on just using herring myself, but I've used all kinds of jigs sucessfully in the past. 

Timing getting to Ferndale and back to the Airport in time could be problematic.  Both are north of Bellingham a ways, but I'm not sure of the timing.  Bowman or Cornet to Bellingham will be an hour or more...

Gary

Thanks for the feedback. Are there any other options for fishing to look at? Time constraints are a killer for me, if I did not have a tournament in CT, I would stay in WA for the week. I am open to other options including freshwater.

I'll bring a boat for you so you don't have to return one.

-Allen

Good on ya Allen...  If you could bring a ride for the Riddler, and are able to leave Bowman or Cornet Bay before 9:30, you should make it just fine.  Plug it in to Mapquest and see what they say.   I'm guessing about an hour from Bowman to Bellingham and then some time to get to the airport from there.  Never been to the airport, but think it's north of town.  I bought my Prowler up in Ferndale at Johnson Outdoors from Andy Wallace and it is a ways north off of I-5.

Gary

OK.  I exchanged emails with The Riddler.  I'll provide a boat for him so he doesn't have to go back to Ferndale.

12:50 flight, huh?  So if you go straight to the airport and have to return a car, I'm going to say you need to plan on being there aournd 11:30 and you need to LEAVE DPass at 10:30 at the LATEST.  Let's see, if I leave DPass at 10:30, I can be home and on the computer by noon.     Looks like we have some time now.

Islander, I plan on being there as early as possible depending on launch site and when it opens.  Will finalize when we get a peek at the weather forecast.

-Allen