Not from a kayak but still worth sharing.

I have been crazy busy lately and haven't had much time to fish or even talk about fishing on NWKA. I was able to sneak away for a couple of hours so I decided to do as the Bankies do. A buddy has been texting me pictures of his daily limits the last few days and it has been eating away at me...I can't let this noob's ego swell too much so I HAD to get out today and try my luck.
There is a tide gate near the Coos Bay boardwalk that controls the water flow for Blossum Creek. The gate will open about an hour after high tide on the outgoing.  During this time the Chinook try to make their way up the creek to die in a place they were released as hatchlings. The fish don't spawn there naturally...
When floating eggs or sand shrimp in front of the tide gate you find yourself subject to relentless harassment from perch and bullheads. They eat the shit out of your bait. Today was no different and I was having a bitch of a time keeping the "pogies" off my bait. It seemed like the second my bobber hit the water it was getting bit by the little bastards. A quick flick of the rod will scare them away briefly.
I gave my rod a little flick to check how much bait was left and I let it settle again. As soon as my bait falls out of sight they are back on it. A little annoyed I blurt some expletive out to the guy to my right and I flick the rod again. Only this time I immediately feel my hook set into something with some weight.  My reel screams and the fight is on!  I ended up having to chase the fish halfway down the board walk. My heart was pumping...it felt nice to have a little bend in my rod.
The only nice thing about combat fishing is there's always someone ready to net your fish. That didn't stop me from wishing I was on my Revo.
The guy netted my fish like a pro...he handed me the net and I took my fish to the train tracks to bleed her out and take pictures. I got her bagged up and I tried to get my limit to no avail. I texted my buddy to show him that my fish was bigger than his two from this morning. He showed up when I was packing up to leave. We measured the fish and calculated the measurements. We came up with twenty pounds. When I got her home I hung her from my scale and sure as shit it read twenty pounds! She wasn't my biggest fish ever but still a nice sized fish and I was happy to land my biggest of the year. I know I probably won't be getting any AOTY upgrades...I just bought a coffee shop and I don't have time to chase fish. If this is my last salmon of the season then I will be happy to end the year with this fish.
She had a little color but the meat was still really nice and tasty.
I've got some steelhead bait too.

Damn, dude. Slab! Coffee shop? Cool. Doing individual pour overs? Stoked to try your offerings!

Damn, dude. Slab! Coffee shop? Cool. Doing individual pour overs? Stoked to try your offerings!

Dude, pour overs would be sweet. I will look into it. I'm going to set up an NWKA discount button on the computer.  All NWKA'ers get a 15% discount on food and drinks. I'd also like to donate coffee and goodies to Sunset Bay AOTD next year.

Which shop? I'll hit you up instead of the one in Bandon when I head home from my monthly trips.

I always see the crowds there on the boardwalk. That's where the kids raise the smolts and release them in the culvert or something , right?

Nice Chris! That's a great look fish.  Good luck with the new coffee shop, I will definitely hit you up when I'm in the area.

SWEET!!!  Nice fish!!!!  We are playing with kings that are half that size right now up here in AK!  Thanks for sharing!

Wow! Killer fish, ling!

Awesome about your new business too. I do hope, along with the others, that you'll let us all know where it is so we can go there when we're in the area. Sounds like an exciting new chapter in your life. Keep us posted!

It's called The Grounds Cafe. We are located in the Books By the Bay bookstore  1875 Sherman ave. Sherman is HWY101 South. We offer fresh soups and sandwiches daily.  We have a drive thru too. Friday and Saturday I make Salmon chowder because I can and I'm awesome. I like being the boss...I made one of the girls stay to close shop at 6pm. I'm going to go throw some spinners for a couple of hours!

AWESOME CHRIS!!!!

Congats on both! Guess I got a new coffee shop to start visiting.....

It's called The Grounds Cafe. We are located in the Books By the Bay bookstore  1875 Sherman ave. Sherman is HWY101 South. We offer fresh soups and sandwiches daily.  We have a drive thru too. Friday and Saturday I make Salmon chowder because I can and I'm awesome. I like being the boss...I made one of the girls stay to close shop at 6pm. I'm going to go throw some spinners for a couple of hours!

We are headed down tomorrow and will try to stop by in the next week or so. Good luck to you.

Chris

NICE!!!!!

Good luck!  Roy and I will be there for sure.

Good on ya'. We'll stop in next time we're through the area.

It's called The Grounds Cafe. We are located in the Books By the Bay bookstore  1875 Sherman ave. Sherman is HWY101 South. We offer fresh soups and sandwiches daily.  We have a drive thru too. Friday and Saturday I make Salmon chowder because I can and I'm awesome. I like being the boss...I made one of the girls stay to close shop at 6pm. I'm going to go throw some spinners for a couple of hours!

I'm bumping this post because my wife and I had the pleasure of having lunch at The Grounds yesterday and got to meet Chris in person and talk fishing some. First off, the building used to be a bank so it's got the night deposit, original drive up and you access the restrooms through the massive vault doors. The food and coffee are all great quality and of course, so is the service. We had soup and sandwiches and coffees, all very good. So there is my mini restaurant review. Be sure to patronize your bro' when you are in the Bay area. It's right on 101 and has easy parking. Good luck with your venture, Chris.