Trask Tidewater report

After a surprisingly uneventful morning (broke my streak) and drive over the hill, I met up with Kykfshr (and later, Spot) at the 5th Street boat ramp in Tillamook for a little fishing and exploring.

Maybe 12-15 boat trailers in the parking lot, and a few more cars.  Got rigged up and were on the water by 8:00, low slack, then headed downstream towards the bay.  I'd never fished this area before, so Kykfshr was my tour guide.  Hospital Hole had 25-30 bankies scattered around.  Saw 6 or 8 boats on the water, some anchored up fishing bobber and eggs, others trolling.

It was a better day of exploring than fishing.  We stuck to trolling and covered a good bit of water, first with spinners, then with kwikfish and a wobbler.  Nada. Neither of us had a hookup all day, and I never even marked a fish on my sonar (though I did spook a chinook as I skirted the bobbers at the Hospital Hole on my way back in, setting off quite a bit of excitement among the bankies).  No one else had any luck either.

The exploring was nice, though.  The tight channels and sloughs in this area are perfect for kayaks.  Saw a bald eagle, couple harbor seals, great blue heron, kingfisher, flock of wading birds flying over (stilts?), and lots and lots of geese.

We followed the channel all the way out to the confluence with the Tillamook River, down bay from the Oyster House.  Another possible kayak fishing spot, when the wind cooperates.  Lots of great structure in both the Trask  channel and the sloughs for sea run cutthroat... will have to revisit this area next summer with a fly rod.

The verdict on the fishing was we need more rain... forecast for the Tillamook area looks wet this coming week, but who knows.

I also got to admire Kykfshr's Tarpon 120 (rigged very, very nicely), and Spot's Fish n' Dive.  My Outback was comfortable and stable, but when the wind kicked up I envied those guys.  I was also surprised by how fast the Tarpon 120 was.  My wife want's a kayak as well, so those two boats gave me some ideas. 

All in all a good trip.  No fish caught, but learned some stuff and finally got to do a group kayak trip with other board members.

It was nice meeting you and Kykfshr Sunday!  Sorry I was late.  When I hit Hwy 6 I realized that I hadn't grabbed my life vest.....  Doh!

You're not kidding about the speed of kykfshr's Tarpon.  That thing could really move (even fully loaded and flying a salmon net). 

When the wind kicked in I headed up the slough.  The trees offered some relief and the scenery was beyond words.  To boot, there were even a few fish taken back there (though not by me).  I talked with a couple of people who'd picked up fish from the bank and was also chased down by a very happy and out of breath harbor seal who wanted to show me the salmon he'd caught.

I'd planned on surfing the afternoon but I couldn't seem to quench the never ending desire to know what's around the NEXT corner.  Eventually, I found myself paddling under 101 in Tillamook.

Beautiful Day!