Moutcha 2007 Derby Reports

Special thanks to Z’s wife for preparing the roe.

Hmmm ... you didn't know that I made the roe.  .  The recipe is posted here ... http://www.northwestkayakanglers.com/bb/index.php?topic=200.0

Full credit goes to Charles wife Tomiko, who showed me how to do this last year.

We didn't have any mirin with us, but it adds a hint of sweetness to the roe.  Also, it only soaked for a day.  Try it after 2 days.  The roe get all plump with the marinade.  It will last for a few days fresh, but I also freeze it right in the marinade and it keeps just fine.

-Allen

Hey Allen, good job on the roe.  Sorry you didn't get the credit!

hey, do you know what the folks at Moutcha are doing with all the pictures they took?  I heard they might either send a cd to derby participants or else post them on a site for download. 

Thanks Allen

That was a great trip, hope to talk to everyone soon.  Going to try smoking a few fish tonight and I'll let you know how it comes out.

Charlie

So who won the Boat!?!?!?




personal mental note for 08: pack a bottle of mirin 

Wow....what a great trip!  I'm ready to go back next week   

Jesse (Espiga) and I started out early Thursday Morning and caught the ferry to Duke Point and then made our way on up to Moutcha, arriving around 4:00 that afternoon.  After setting up camp and getting a lay of the land, we headed out with all our gear (downriggers, flashers, hoochies, Rotary Killers, bait etc.) and trolled around a bit.  I couldn't quite believe what I was seeing....the water was glassy everywhere except by the river mouth, where it was literally frothy from 25 lb salmon jumping, boiling, and slapping all over the place.  At first I felt like a kid in a candy shop, but not allowed to buy anything.  I was about ready to jump out of my Triton and grab one of the beauties by the tail.  It was a surreal experience.  I have never been around anything quite like that before.  We were quickly informed by Rob that in all his years of fishing there, he had never seen anyone hook up while trolling.  Well, so much for all our prep and gear.....off to the little bait shop for some spinnows (when in Rome   ).  Within 5 minutes of switching to jigging, I was hooked up with a nice 22 pounder and a nice fresh 10 pounder I decided to keep for a little dinner that night.

We were up at the crack on Friday and refusing to give up on the trolling we dropped our gear and trolled over toward the "spot"....still nada.  It turned into another fantastic day with both Jesse and I hooking into more than our fair share of 20 pounders.  Saturday was probably one of my best days.  In the morning session I landed a 25 lb 1 oz beauty to put me in a tie for second with Allen and that evening I landed a 28 lb 7 oz hog on my spinning set up with 12 lb test.......needless to say, I was pretty excited about that.  Unfortunately it was foul hooked so she didn't count for the derby, but she'll sure get high rankings on my dinner table.

Not sure what happened on Sunday, but I was covered in SKUNK.  I was doing pretty much the same thing as the days before, and just couldn't beg for a bite....the fish were everywhere but on my line. 

Jesse and I stayed around till Tuesday and had a few more amazing sessions, in which one we put the charter boat guys to shame.  They must have had four guys on each fancy boat....backing down on us left and right, and I think we out fished them 4-1.  At one point the clients told there guides they wanted there money back and that next year they were coming up in Kayaks!!!!!  Classic.  Of course the weather turned amazing on Tuesday after pounding us for 3 days straight.

I have some a few great shots of the dinner and awards and will be sharing them over the next few days.

Things I learned:
1.  Be better prepared for bad weather.....neither my camping gear nor my paddle clothing were really up to the task.....I've got to step it up in this category a bit.  Thinking of getting a dry suit of some kind.  Any ideas?
2.  Replace all hooks.......I was amazed by how easily those crappy hooks bend.....cost me at least 5 fish.
3.  Take more photo's....even with 150 photo's...I still missed a lot.
4.  Don't just sit in one spot and wait for the fish....Hunt THEM!!! 

What worked:
1.  Vacuum packer powered by extra car battery and an inverter was great for sealing up our fish and keeping it in tip top shape.
2.  Fish finder:  Pretty key for seeing where the schools were holding.
3.  Line counter on real.....sure helped to make sure I was at the right depth.
4.Trident!  What a great boat....she was a real pleasure to fish from.

Jesse, Lars and I tried to change things up a bit on one afternoon and we paddled out to the point to try and find some lunker lings.  It sure looked like a fishy spot and I'm still willing to bet there are some fatties down there, but it was a bit deep (400 ft) for the class of gear I was using.  I still landed two nice rock fish, as did Jesse, and Lars killed it with 4-5 nice ones.  We also found some other spots that really looked like they had some nice structure and seemed to be holding fish, but it was hard to resist the pull back to the spot, where you knew you could hook up in a matter of minutes.  I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed with all the snagging and was hoping for fish that were still on the bit.  I think all in all I had about 30% biters and the rest.....well......they were still a heck of a lot of fun.

I'll add more as it comes to me.

All in all, it was a great trip and I really enjoyed meeting all of you and I look forward to more fishing adventures with you in the near future.  What a great crew.  I truly had a great time with everyone I met.  The vibe was right on and the spot was amazingly beautiful.

Fishing from a Kayak is a beautiful thing.  When hooked up, I felt like I was in total control and no matter what crazy moves that Salmon tried, I was moving right with him.  The only one that really threw me was the one that charged my Yak and smashed head first into my bow!!  I just couldn’t believe that move……it worked for him.  I’m sure that my landing percentage was far higher than it has ever been on a standard boat.  I’m totally hooked and already planning the next adventure.  90 lb halibut anyone?

Cheers,

Darren

So who won the Boat!?!?!?

I don't remember.  It was some guy that showed up for a short time and left.

personal mental note for 08: pack a bottle of mirin 

And pack extra sake.  Someone drank the leftovers on Sunday night.   

-Allen

Here is that 28 lb 7 oz beautie.

What an amazing night...Jesse and a great sunset.

What an amazing night...Jesse and a great sunset.

That picture is too cool!!!

-Allen

Jesse with a nice one (one of many)

Carol accepting here prizes for 1st!

3 great fishermen.  Allen, Jesse and Jeff.


Thanks again Allen for putting all of this together and sharing all of your tricks of the trade.  Much obliged.


Jesse and I are working on putting together a Baja trip and a Queen Charlotte adventure in the next 6 months.  Would anyone be interested?  Much to work out still.....so details to come.

Jesse and I are working on putting together a Baja trip and a Queen Charlotte adventure in the next 6 months.  Would anyone be interested?  Much to work out still.....so details to come.

QCI for sure.  We've already started talking about it with Jeff.

Baja is overdone IMO.  Leave it to the SoCal crowd.  If I can put a Costa Rica trip together, would that interest anyone?  I've been trying to plan one down there for a while and have a few contacts now.

-Allen

Hey Allen,

I would be up for a central american trip for sure.  I've been in Costa Rica, Panama and Honduras before and just love it down there. 

I still love Baja, but from here it's really not much more effort to just head south a bit.  You ever fish in South America?  Argentina, Uruguay etc.....

I'll start another thread on this tomorrow.


Darren

Awesome Job NWKA

  ConGrats to Carol!!!!!

 You sure deserve it, You worked hard last year and I heard you were just as tough if not tougher this year....

 Going to make it next year and I feel cerain you will see some NCKA brothers/sisters also...

  Keep up the Good Work NWKA EH?........

 hey the Costa Rica thing,  now your talking ........ Danglin