Report from Tuesday

Merz and I decided to head out of Sunset on Tuesday to find salmon. We launched around 9am and headed out for the yellow can out near Baltimore Reef. No wind and longs swells made for some really nice conditions. Birds were every where, we were marking bait balls from the surface to about 40 feet or so. We hadn't been trolling very long when fish started making their presence known. Coho were jumping out of the water in almost every direction. One fished jumped about four feet straight out of the water about ten feet off of the stern of Merz' boat.
 We trolled back and forth in hopes that we could entice these fish with our offerings. On our troll north Merz and I were comparing images on our fish finders. He asked if I was seeing the same "lines" on my screen. I look down to check fish finder and then BAM! My rod comes alive. Fish on! I'm amazed/surprised/excited/out of practice all at the same time. At only twenty pulls of line out I know this isn't some pesky bottom dwelling by catch on the end of my line. The initial drag peeling run confirms that. fifteen seconds or so have gone by and I'm pumped. The fish takes another run and then makes a turn toward me. I reel in the slack and the weight of the fish is gone...forever. Sad day!
I didn't chalk it up as a loss though. We went out in search of salmon on this day and we found them. I'll take a swing and a miss over getting completely blanked any day. I haven't felt those salmony jitters in a long time and it reminded me of why I love this sport and this species so much.
We didn't waste much time getting back on the troll. It wasn't long before Evan got his first take down. A short fight later and he had a nice native coho to the boat. We snapped some pictures and continued on.
We headed on north still, I ended up getting four or five more take downs. I had some solid hits but they just weren't staying buttoned.
Evan got another small coho to the boat that shook free and I think another take down that didn't stick.
We watched as a small fleet of commercial boats headed south. One of the boats looked familiar and we both watched as it came closer. Suddenly it turned our way and that confirmed it. It was Evan's dad. He came over to see how we were doing. We shot the shit for a little bit and snapped a few pics. We parted ways and trolled our way back toward Baltimore Reef to try to catch some bottom fish before we headed in for the day.
If you're ever out near the Reef, be careful. It gets pretty shallow out there and breakers are common. We could see the swells stacking up over the reef and decided to stay clear. A small power boat decided to motor right over the spot where the swells were stacking. They had a good wave break right in front of them. They didn't stick around too long, haha.
Evan and I didn't end up with any keepers but it was a great day on the water. I can't wait to get out there and give it another shot.
We made it out to the 200ft line that day and it was crazy to think about how much water was between myself and a few inches of plastic. The open ocean is such an amazing place. When I'm out there I feel like I'm on another planet. It always feels like I'm teetering on the edge of life and death, and I love it.

Nice report and pics!!!

I've found that adding a snubber can help turn those hits into hook-ups. 

-Spot-

Great report and pics.  I enjoy the "Salmony Jitters" also.  Good term for the feeling.

Beautiful day on the water! I caught my first cabby at Baltimore rock. The rock was named after a ship that sunk there. The Baltimore was a schooner that sunk in 1861!

Outstanding fishing report.  Gotta love the "salmony jitters"!  Life is meant to be lived teetering between life and death.  Way to be smart and get home safe with a story to tell.

Nice report and pics!!!

I've found that adding a snubber can help turn those hits into hook-ups. 

-Spot-

Thanks, maybe I'll try that next time. I was using my Trevala. I don't normally troll with it but I wanted to see how it would handle fighting salmon. It turns out that it doesn't work very well

It was a great day on the water. Very relaxing and quiet offshore away from the rocks and waves. Will bring some actual salmon rods next time! 

Great report guys!  Looks amazing!

Merz you could frame that last photo and put it on the wall at the inn at Spanish Head that is f^[£!#¥ amazing.

Merz you could frame that last photo and put it on the wall at the inn at Spanish Head that is f^[£!#¥ amazing.

Thanks! I might frame it and put it on my own wall.

Merz you could frame that last photo and put it on the wall at the inn at Spanish Head that is f^[£!#¥ amazing.

Thanks! I might frame it and put it on my own wall.

If I wouldn't have seen the first pics of your yak by that boat I would have thought it WAS a picture on your wall

Amazing picture!