Nehalem King 8/25/08

For me, rolling out of bed at 5:30 is a rare occasion, other than for work. Spot and I planned on fishing the end of the incoming tide (around 10am) and then possibly shuttling up and drifting down the outgoing. I thought I might try to be the diligent fisherman and catch the "early" bite. So I was on the road to Wheeler by 6:30 and on the water by 9:10.

I figured I'd get a bit of trolling in before Spot arrived from Detroit Lake so I headed upriver from the launch and joined the stink boats following the channel. As soon as I cleared the pier and headed up, a boat just behind me hooked a fish and worked it for a few minutes before the hook got tossed. A good sign... I paddled up about 200 yards and then turned and headed downriver.



The river was glassy, there was clear blue sky above and the paddling was easy. It was wonderful day to be out there with only a few boats. I pulled by Kwikie down about a mile or so with not even a bump and decided to try something else and paddle back up towards Wheeler to meet Spot.



I put on a wobbler with a small silver fish flash and 3 oz of lead and headed back. In about 3 minutes I noticed my rod wasn't twitching at all but it also didn't feel like a fish. When I got the line in I noticed that the lure and weight had completely spun themselves around the fish flash. So I drifted down and untangled the mess. The line was completely twisted and the smart thing to do would have been cut the leader and start again. But I'm lazy and didn't want to make the effort so I untangled, changed to a 2 oz weight and tossed it back in. The rod was now doing the happy dance and I was paddling back towards the dock once again. I moved the rod holder up to the more forward position to give myself a bit more paddling freedom. After zigzagging about 50 yards or so I got to see my rod tip take a sudden dive into the water. It's now 10:20. A couple of hard paddle strokes later I knew I had a fish on. Now to keep it on and land it. She took a couple of good runs, towing me upriver for a moment and breaking the surface one time. The first time close to the yak, I saw a native King at least 30", probably a bit more. I gave her plenty of time to run and get tired. My net was just deep enough to hold her but if she had thrashed once in the net, I might have been empty handed.



A couple out in a rental boat for their first time fishing watched the entire event and volunteered to take a photo. There aren't too many chances for on the water hero shots when fishing alone, so I gladly accepted. After thanks for the pictures, I paddled back to the dock, expecting Spot any time and to get this baby on ice. I thought I saw a few grimaces from a few of the old timers in their boats as I paddled past them but I also got a thumbs up or two.



She measured out at 35" and a belly full of eggs. Since I have no clue about using them, I donated the eggs to a very happy guy on the dock. Time to give her an ice bath and pack the car up. Well, look who it is...Spot has arrived from his marathon drive and he's ready to fish. Too bad I got kicked out of the pool so early. I could have fished for coho but there aren't many in yet and I don't want to injure any chinook. So it's off for home with a lunch stop in Garabaldi.

They're out there. As Spot and 3wt said, you just have to put in the time. Getting a bit lucky doesn't hurt either.

Jay

Nice AOTY upgrade!!!

-Allen

   Steelheadr  that was an awesome report, incredible pics, what a catch made me drool all over my keyboard!  Thanks for sharing!

Hey Spot, any luck yesterday?

Did you meet up with Bsteves today???

Damn J and you have the luck!!! Great freeeeeking job!! That's a beauty of a 'nookie. Now get out there and fish for some other fish while your mojo is flowin'. You could fill up your AOTY pretty fast.

Z

Congrats on a nice fish, nice snaps!

Damn J and you have the luck!!! Great freeeeeking job!! That's a beauty of a 'nookie. Now get out there and fish for some other fish while your mojo is flowin'. You could fill up your AOTY pretty fast.

Z

Yea, to make any real progress at this point, I need some salt. Maybe some will stick around Pacific City after the tourney and fish on Sunday???

Jay

Damn J and you have the luck!!! Great freeeeeking job!! That's a beauty of a 'nookie. Now get out there and fish for some other fish while your mojo is flowin'. You could fill up your AOTY pretty fast.

Z

Yea, to make any real progress at this point, I need some salt. Maybe some will stick around Pacific City after the tourney and fish on Sunday???

Jay

You got it.  I'll be there for ya Jay.

-Allen

Nice fish Jay.  Part of me wants to give you the Asshat for catching this salmon on your first pass of the day on a lure you had to ask Spot for the name of.    Wasn't your springer also caught in the first 10 minutes of the day?

Anyway, I met Spot at the Wheeler boat ramp this morning at 6:30 am (after ~2hr drive) and we fished until about noon with nothing but a half dozen staghorn sculpins to show for it.  Man those little guys are aggressive, attacking bait and spinners longer than they are.

Guess I need to get up late and use I lure I know nothing about next time.  Good job Jay, glad someone is getting them.

Brian

Nice fish Jay.  Part of me wants to give you the Asshat for catching this salmon on your first pass of the day on a lure you had to ask Spot for the name of.    Wasn't your springer also caught in the first 10 minutes of the day?

Anyway, I met Spot at the Wheeler boat ramp this morning at 6:30 am (after ~2hr drive) and we fished until about noon with nothing but a half dozen staghorn sculpins to show for it.  Man those little guys are aggressive, attacking bait and spinners longer than they are.

Guess I need to get up late and use I lure I know nothing about next time.  Good job Jay, glad someone is getting them.

Brian

Yep, I caught a few of them as well. I figured they were sculpins but didn't know they were staghorns. I guess you have more BS than me...

It sure seems that if I'm going to catch a salmon, it will be over and done with quickly. Too bad there isn't something closer to home. Driving for 5 hours and paddling a lot less than that could seem like a drag. However, fresh salmon in the cooler are nice driving companions. 

If a little knowledge is dangerous, then I'm lethal...

Jay

nice fish, Jay! Now I'm wishing I'd blown off work & headed to the coast with you. I was halfway there already.

Brian

Jay,

When you headed out again?  Do you want company? 

I figured out where all the fish have been over the last week or so.  I was surfing just north of the Nehalem jetty on Tuesday and there were huge schools of bait fish out beyond the surf.  Birds and fish were everywhere, taking part in an orgy of gluttony.  If the ocean had been open, I'd have traded my board for a yak in a heartbeat!

Jay,

When you headed out again?  Do you want company? 

Not sure about the next trip. I tend to fish on Mondays since everyone else is at work. I'm off to Mt St Helens this coming Monday. I've taken Tuesday off so I might head to the coast if I can. Company is always welcome...the more newbies out there getting stink eyes from the old farts the better   

Jay

...the more newbies out there getting stink eyes from the old farts the better  

Jay

Hey Jay, carefull with the negativity toward PB'ers on this and other sites.    There are asshats in any sector of any sport but in general I get a lot of positive feedback from PB'ers (Especially when I've caught a fish). 

-Mark-