Chum-a-thon Nov 15

I bought "bag bait" at Joes for I think $5 for ~30 per bag.  I have about 60 brined and frozen in the freezer if someone want to buy some of those.  I could probably part with about 40 of those.   

-Allen

ok, picked up two pkg of frozen lil fishies tonight.. and a bunch of green wobblers and spinners..dude at sportmans warehouse was very helpful and he said to tell everyone good luck. i think we may have another new member in the making, each time he sees me he asks more questions and tonight he wanted to know about being towed by a good fish..i told him to contact Z and pole here for thier descriptions    sorry forgot to tell him to check out the moutcha thread when he visits the site.. 

btw, was passing over the nisqually on I-5 bridge on way down, it's like 15 feet over where it should be.. 

oh, hey! what's the best way to close a siwash?? < never mind i got it, duh..> oh, wait, these have barbs.... < 3 hours later have them pinched down and changed out>

Pliers will solve the barb problem and close your eyes, Richard.

they sure did 

Piscipursuit and I hit Minter this morning.  Sans kayaks and good thing.  Even with a high low, the water gets skinny.  Would have been a doable to walk up the creek though ...

I kept 2 bright chums and gifted 2 other smoker quality.  The limit at Minter is 4.  Released a good deal more that were darker. PP got a few too including a last cast bright one that went home with him. The chums look bigger than average this year.  Minter was a zoo this morning, on a weekday at that.  I'm not liking that spot anymore.  Most likely won't go back unless it's off the yak.  There were some beach netters working Purdy spit so launching from Wauna and fishing the spit would probably work out ok.

Pics later ...

-Allen

thanks for the report.  Sounds promising for tomorrow.

Is the plan still to hit Oakland Bay tomorrow at 9am?

Here are the tides at Shelton.  I don't think we have to worry about skinny water.

Sa  15      Low   1:31 AM    -3.5   7:17 AM     Set 10:38 AM      96
    15     High   8:22 AM    15.8   4:37 PM    Rise  6:38 PM
    15      Low   2:18 PM     7.2
    15     High   6:22 PM    14.4

Also, will I need my drift anchor setup or any anchor setup for that matter?

Yup.  Oakland Bay at 9AM.  Bring an anchor.

-Allen

Piscipursuit and I hit Minter this morning.  Sans kayaks and good thing.  Even with a high low, the water gets skinny.  Would have been a doable to walk up the creek though ...

Thanks to polepole for bringin' me along for a morning at Minter. Fun even though it started getting more stacked with anglers than fish. The spot is probably still good for a quick fix as long as you hit it midweek before the crack of early. Otherwise, forget it! With as many people as there were when we left today, I can hardly imagine what it'll be like on the weekend. Someone's gonna lose an eye! 

Tomorrow should be great - looking forward to meeting some other North Westers on the water.

-Aaron

went and got a rod and reel setup after work today...got an okuma rod and a shimano reel...should do ok...20 pound braided on it....i don't have an anchor is that gonna be a problem?

ill be there tommorrow...does anybody need a ride...i can fit another in my truck i think as long as your yak is 13 and half feet or shorter...actually if you brought foam to go on top it wouldn't matter i don't think

No anchor?  No problem.  Just clip off to someone else!   

-Allen

would a drift sock work there too, pole'? if it does i can bring mine along and loan it to someone as long as they have an anchor trolley or cleat rigged. it's 20 inches dia. on about 18 ft. of 3/4 in. flat hollow braid, with a snap link braided onto the boat end...works great to stop / slow a T15 in most moderate winds and shallow lakes.. not so good when you have a current pushing you tho.. .

Where'd the fish go?  Met up with piscipursuit at 7AM and began the drive down to Oakland Bay.  Met up with Zee, Matt_k, bsteves, yessno, and wanderingrichard.  Unloaded drug the kayaks over to the water.  There was a slight incline, maybe 10 feet that I thought I'd seal launch down it.  With a shove off from Zee, off I go, hit the water and roll over.     I had a rod in my lap and my knees up holding it away from the tip.  Bad move as I was topheavy and had no room to brace.  I did have my drysuit on, but the fly was open.     And my phone got wet and broken   Lesson learned ... don't get too complacent.  I thought this would be an easy launch and didn't give it a second thought.  I didn't give it the respect it deserved ...

The day only got worse.  There were no fish left at Johns Creek. I only saw one up in the creek and it was half dead, no jumpers anywhere.  So we decided to pack it up and head 15 miles up the road to Allyn.  Stopped at a beautiful Cascadia Marine Trail launch/park and had lunch on the grill.  We didn't see any fish working out on the water and concluded they were there either.  What to do?  Hoodsport!!!  25 miles later we're launching at HP and paddling towards the masses.  Something was wrong.  Nobody was catching a thing ... except a native american beach seiner who wrapped up about 200 fish while we were there.  4PM, called it a day, a long day, with lot's of driving and no fish.  Though about stopping at Minter or Kennedy on the way home.  But you got to know when to say enough is enough.  2 hours to get home still ...

-Allen

That's a bummer. I was stewing yesterday because I chose to paint our bedroom instead of making that trip. Guess I made the right choice and got a major honey-do off the list.

I'm wondering if were just there at a bad tide.  I was just reading a post on IFish and someone mentioned..

Went up there last weekend on both Saturday and Sunday (yes, isn't it nice the gas is "cheap" again!!)
Had a blast with bobbers and bait in fron of the hatchery on the incoming tide. Never ceases to amaze me how many fish show up right at high tide!

High tide at Shelton was at 8:22 am, by the time we started fishing it was 10:30 am.

Wish we were able to hook up and it was nice to be able to fill up my gastank for ~$25.   I'd be up for trying this again next year, maybe a week or two earlier.

Brian

Here's the ifish thread...

http://www.ifish.net/board/showthread.php?p=2238913#post2238913