Tis better to have hooked and lost ....

3:00PM High tide
The Island is quiet.  The air is cold.  I'm cold.  Legs stiff and shoulders tight.
I throw swimbaits to frozen fishsticks hovering around the dock pylons.  Nuthin.

Nuthin all morning.... 
5 hour troll against the current.  Slow and steady without a bump.  Saw 2 taken.  Nothing for me.  Didn't even have to change herring.  Full on zoo of boats.  Big, little, private, guides, non-stop.

It'll be a quick trip back
One last shot at glory.  Make sure everything is perfect.  Fresh bait, good roll, scented up.  I'm ready.
I follow a small dingy with two guys in it out of the docks.  Watch the fish finder for a good depth and deploy.  One last check of the spin.  Last chance.

Just past the confluence there's a bump.  Bottom?  Maybe.  Bump bump.  Not Bottom!  Bump, Bump, Bury, Ziiiiiiiing!  Fish On! 

It's amazing how many things you can do wrong in 5min.  The short list would be:
Snag your net on your game clip.  Check
Loose your net float in the water.  Check
Braid your legs, paddle, paddle leash and bow line.  Check
Knock your pliers to the very front of your yak.  Check
Drop your rod (sans leash) in the water.  Check  (Thank god it was still hooked to the fish in my net!)
Do it all in front of an audience.  Check

Adipose spotted before netting and figured it'd be less traumatic to trap and release than play it out to exhaustion.  Still, took 10min to revive her.  Especially after the rod and pliers incidents.

Fresh bait.  Rolls good.  Smells fishy.
150yds further another Bump!  Nada.  10yards further Bump bump, bury....nada.

Fresh bait.  Rolls good.  Smells fishy.
Almost done but...Bump....bump....Ziiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing!  Before dislodging my rod from the holder I'm already heading upstream.  Holy #$%^&!  Push down the butt lift. Ziiiiiiiiing!  Holy #@$%&*(!! 
Time passes 
I admire the sunbeam on a grassy berm.  Bald eagles are so gracefull.  The water clarity is pretty good today.  Ziiiiiiiiiiiiing!  Holy #@$%^&(*(!!!!!  Tighter drag needed.  Slow mechanical pump and crank fishing.  10min and my shoulder is burning.  10min more and my swivel is at the 1st guide.
Net out.  Not happening.  Repeat and increase the shoulder burn.  Finally he's ready.  Big, no adipose, male and chrome.  This is what I came here for.
I dip.  Fish turns.  Perfect head scoop!  Wait, wait what?  The full diameter of my net isn't big enough.  He slaps the surface and somersaults tail first out of my trap.  2nd hook in mooching rig tugs at the net.  Holy #$^%^&(!!!!!
We tug at each other.  He turns under the boat.  *Ping!*  40lb leader snaps like kite string.

....Than to never have hooked at all

Now you know why I prefer a giant net.  So sorry!   

-Allen

Pat, pat, pat. (On the shoulder.)

We all end up having experiences like that. Mine was with a small (25#) halibut that blew through my net. It was so much better to share the experience, especially when Fishin' T reminded me how much halibut was selling for, at the store.

condolences on the loss..

But that sounds like  a GREAT day!!!!!
It is far far better to have hooked and lost
then to have paddled around all day
and only gotten tired!!

Go Spot!

Nice story Spot.

Sorry about the lost fish, but sounds like it was fun. 

Way to go!!!!

-Jesse

Tough break (pun accidental), but nice write-up, dude. My stomach actually got tight  reading it.

Nice work spot... I mean... well the story sounded awesome! It does happen... but you know what strikes me about your story isn't the fish.. it's how much the MADNESS has gotten you!!!! Welcome to the fam!

Z

Yea, great, if sad story..

Wont be the last, that i can guaranty. I prefer to lose 'em before i get to see 'em. That way i can pretend i didn't wanna catch it anyway..It never helps. 

My heart is pounding from just reading that.  I think that might convince me to go buy a big net.  Nice work Spot even if you didn't land the fish this time.

Brian

sorry about the loss but very nice story...i gotta quit reading this stupid forum cause for the last 2 nights i have come home from work and been reading it till about the time i go to bed....I HAVEN'T EVEN MOVED TO SEATTLE YET! lol i want a kayak...and i wanna go fishing now lol...haven't been fishing in over 5 months of any kind

Speaking of kayaks when did the ocean kayak prowler trident release...in other words how long before the price drops a bit lol...that looks like a sweet boat from wat i read but wat do i know (sort of expensive)...it is definately gonna be a while before i can afford to buy a boat but i don't know wat my best theory is...do i just spend as much money as it takes (within reason) to get wat i want or do i settle for something less expensive with less of wat i want because i have no experience...i am ussually the type that likes to buy something that i know i won't outgrow to quickly but i don't know on this particular subject....

any suggestion regarding that?

yessno ... you got it bad brah!!!

Prices don't tend to go down.  And in the NW, there isn't much of a used kayak market yet.  We do get some good sales, but mostly in the fall (although I hear Sportsman's Warehouse still has some deals to be had).  Paddle a few yaks, figure out something reasonable in terms of fit and price.  And go forth and paddle.

-Allen

before i do anything i will have to get a Washington drivers license because wow non-resident licenses are crazy there heck even the resident ones are fairly expensive considering...i am not used to having to buy a saltwater license because i always fished from shore and in sc, ga, and fl you don't need a license to fish the shore or most peers. im not even sure if u need a license to fish from an unpowered vessel in those states but i am not sure about that one...

the good thing about kayaking is after a some what expensive initial cost for the kayak, rigging, and safety equipment there isn't much more cost (in theory but i know how it prolly works...u prolly want a new upgrade every month hehe)

yessnoo,

 i have a trident.. if we can ever get together at a weekend someplace, i'll loan ya the boat and you can go play for a while.. .. and, don't forget, we have a link to the local craigs lists here too. you can find it over in the  classifieds section..
Rich

Resident licenses are more expensive on the left coast, for some reason. NY didn't require a saltwater license, either. And WA state wonders why numbers are declining.

Sure the Trident is trick, but as you've noticed, they are heavy. My rowboat weighs only a few pounds more, and can hold 3 people! 

Here's some SIKs (Sit In Kayaks), that weigh a lot less.

The 30-40# models (and I have the Wherry rowboat) http://www.pygmyboats.com/

The 20# models- skin-on-frame! http://capefalconkayak.com/

Happy reading!

Thanks guys! 

I was a broken man for a couple of minutes.  Then I realized that I'd just hooked and played two beautiful spring chinook.  If nothing else, it was a good boost for my confidence.