Chinook above Warrior Rock

After spending the majority of the Labor Day weekend attending to a neglected list of household chores I desperately needed a little water time.  This time of year there's no end to the species one can chase around the Portland Metro area but of all the available species, the only one that properly inspired was Salmon.  I'm becoming such a snob... 

Dawn breaks, coffee brews, winding roads, dusty roads, washboard roads and finally, finally, I'm there.  A half hour later than I expected and my PFD is no where to be found...  In my hurried packing the night before I'd forgotten the most fundamental of safety gear...

What to do?!?  Run home?!?   Claim that my seat cushion is a Class III floatation device?!?   @#$%^&!  F'it!  I'm going fishing!!!

Luckily, the Po Po weren't patrolling the area I was fishing but just to be on the safe side of a ticket, I wore my drysuit.  As I launched into my troll, I mentally prepared myself for the attempt at convincing The Man that the trapped air in my drysuit is equal to if not better than the buoyancy of a legit PFD..  Yeah, I didn't buy it myself but the river was sheet glass in still morning air.

About a mile into my troll, I reeled up for a weed check and noticed that my gear felt oddly heavy.  When I saw the approaching dull shine turn to silver, I set my hook hard and suddenly I was hanging on with both hands so as not to loose my rod.  The fight would more than make up for the subtleness of the take.  5 or 6 strong runs and endless circling before I was even ready to draw my net.

Once the net was out, the fight started again as though I'd just hooked her.  Around and around.  Every time she'd see the net or the hull of my kayak she'd dive and run.  Luckily, the pinched factory treble on my heavily modified, green and white Guidetech spinner held true.



Trolling back to the launch site, I met a guy and his daughter in a tandem Jackson Big Tuna.  (I never did get his name)  They'd paddled out around the same time as me and had managed to put a piggy on the deck while sitting on the hook. Our total matched the total for all the powerboats I'd talked with.   

I wouldn't call the fishing around Warrior Rock red hot today but it sure was nice to be home by noon.

Nice Fish!  And to get a soft bite and still get the fish - way to go!  It looks like you were anchoring from the gear?  Can I ask what depth you were at?

We were fishing the same area last night in a PB and wondering if there was a good place to put in for the yak - now I've got to to go explore!

Thanks for posting.

   That's a nice fish Mark. Gotta love them "sneaky salmon".... the one's that surprise you. And you find yourself saying "where did you come from".

   I haven't tried Guidetech spinners yet....have to do a little research.

   Again----nice fish

Sheesh! That's the way to make a memory! How big -- 28 pounds? Thirty?
I had hoped to get out this weekend. Instead, I have a sore throat and my Aussie contacted a skunk at 5 a.m. ...
:-(

Sheesh! That's the way to make a memory! How big -- 28 pounds? Thirty?

It was all of 20 but I didn't have a scale handy so I'll just leave it at that.  The eggs were still small but the fillets were HUGE!
Hope you feel (and smell) better soon! 



Stevm, I was trolling this morning.  I had planned on anchoring but didn't want to chance it without my PFD.  The depth was ascending to 28fow.

-Mark-

Great looking fish!

Sweet fish Mark!

Nice job, Mark. ...truly envious of your ability to get out on your own, avoid madness, and catch such quality fish.
Congrats, sir!

Where is the picture of a certain someone standing behind you giving you a right proper salute?
Nice job once again there, "spot-on" Mark give me a shout if you run out of freezer space I have a little

Fantasmic.  You're such a risk taker practicing your story to the Po Po    That salmon sure gave you something else to think about.
That is an enormous perfect fillet.  You guys and your knife skills...I'm impressed with that as much as your prowess and skill for catching.
Great Day!

That was me you talked to and that is one hell of a fish, ours was a little bigger but not by much. I think I am going to sit on the hook out of Gleason since I don't have to think about tides up there and seems to be hit or miss down there. I would post some pics but for some reason it won't let me upload them. See you next time. I will also be doing some memaloose this fall.

Simply awesome.

Thanks guys!  This is a spot I've wanted to try for a while and I was stoked to pick up a Chinook my 1st time out.

JamesC - It was good meeting you this morning and really cool to see you out there with your kid!

-Mark-

Great job Mark! Nice fish too

Bad boys, bad boys whatcha gonna do?  Whatcha gonna do when they come for you?  And all joking aside, great to see you out, having caught a gorgeous Salmon and still paddling the ever popular, fish slaying Ocean Kayak.