Olympic Peninsula Salmon Derby Presidents day weekend

Some of you saw this in my previous post, but here it is for all of you. 

How many of you would be inclined to participate in a late winter derby?  I've been in touch with the Derby Officials and they might consider giving us our own division in this contest, particularly if we come up with the sponsorships and some manpower.  We are welcome to fish in it anyhow, and I'm thinking I will this year but if there is enough interest we might be able to have a "Human Powered Division" in this big contest.  http://gardinersalmonderby.org  If you are interested get an email off to the powers that be @ [email protected]

             ohbryant,
       Good idea sir.E=mail sent to derby.

        Thanks for starting it up........Mark
 




Dear Derby Officials,

As an active memeber of NorthWestKayak Anglers community,I welcome coming to your derby this winter and fishing out of my kayak.There has been quite a bit of interest shown by other members also.Some have questioned whether there will be a division for "human powered craft".If that option is available I would venture to say that we will have a large group wanting to participate.So ,my question to you is:is a "human powered craft" class a possibility for your 2012 Derby ?

Even if not--some of us will be there simply due to our passion for fishing.We have batted the idea of staying at Salt Creek Campground.That would be a long paddle if we launch there to get to the nearest weigh-in station.However we can always put in closer to a weigh-in area and limit our fishing close enough to be players.

Thank-you in advance for putting on such an event.Very much looking forward to this.

                                                                                    Sincerely

                                                                              Mark Collett

                                                                            Raymond,Wa.
   

I'm trying to put a plan together to make it. Even if my Tandem Island disqualified me from "human powered" status.


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^BUMP^

   ohbryant and others intersted in this derby,
  I have been contacted by derby officials and it sounds like there is no chance of a "human powered division" in the 2012 Gardiner Salomon Derby.That's ok by my standards.We are still welcome to fish in the regular "open" tournament.
  Apparently they have never had any participation from kayak anglers.Some of the comments I've gotten back from derby officials have somewhat negative conotations.As an example  "Our derby being in the winter has a weather issue as far as maybe bad and dangerous. I would not want kayakers out on the water during derby times. If we ever had another division it would probably be a kids division. I'm sorry"
  This is a quote from an e-mail I recieved from a derby official via ohbryant that shows some of the attitude some power boaters have regarding kayakers

 " Fascinating, I had no idea there were kayakers out there fishing for blackmouth. Have any of you fished our derby in kayaks in past years"
 Hearing these kind of comments makes me personally want to participate just to show the power boaters that it can be done and done successfully.Such an ignorant and naive attitude demands some education in my eyes.And I hope some of us will show up to make a statement .I will be there.

I may try to go if I can get the wife's blessing. If I did, I would rather be in the "regular" division because it would give a me a shot at the $10,000.00 and other prizes.  I think placing in a kayak would be much more satisfying while competing against power boaters. Just my 2 cents.

I agree with Craig.  If kayakers ever want the powerboat crowd to take us seriously why would we want our own "Special" division?  I say if you want respect you have to beat them at their own game, take their prize money, and make them eat their words.

 I might be up for this if I knew, or could learn enough about the fishery, to have a chance at some level of success.  Is it a herring on downriggers deal?

   Personaly--I could care less what the power boaters think.I have been one and will have more powered boats.Just cause you spend +$20,000 on a boat does not make you a fisherman.Any more than buying a $5000 shotgun makes you a good hunter.
   What does concern me and aggravates me is a "better than you are" attitude.That's why I agree with pelagic paddler about beating them at their own game---in a kayak.It's the sense of pride in a job well done.And done well..

  I'll be doing all the homework I can to make this a success.Whether it's a herring,downrigger,jig,or whatever it takes show....I/we want to make a statement.The statement is a strong ---yes we can........

Amen! Preach it brother.

Which response are you getting the "better than you are" out of?  The only thing I see from the responses you posted is a safety concern and perhaps a lack of understanding of what kayaks are capable of, which isn't really something you should come down on them for.

Which response are you getting the "better than you are" out of?  The only thing I see from the responses you posted is a safety concern and perhaps a lack of understanding of what kayaks are capable of, which isn't really something you should come down on them for.

I agree I don't see the "better than you tude" either. Might be better to take the "informative" tact than the "confrontational" one.

  No confrontations from me.
  It's not appropriate to post the entire e-mails on a public forum and I won't do that.
  Education and information shared with those folk that are unaware of a kayaks capability is the way to go.
  There will always be some people that have an "attitude" that doesn't agree with your own.Just have to deal with that kind of stuff.And move on.......

  I don't want this thread to deginerate into anything negative.Let's keep it about the fishing opportunities available in the Straight of Juan de Fuca.Cause there are a lot of 'em.

  Some local knowledge will certainly be helpful.I haven't fished the Straight for over 10 years and that was mostly out of Seiku.How is the fishing around Ediz Hook ?How about right out of P.A.?Port Townsend ?
  Any one who lives in that area..please feel free to help us non-locals out.And thanks for any help in advance.

 I was looking at Gardiner Salmon Derby's website and found one of the weigh-ins is at Freshwater Bay.That's fairly close to Salt Creek Campgroung.It looks like there is a decent shoreline on the west side of Freshwater Bay with multiple coves and kelp beds close in that might hold some fish.Any locals want to chime in ?
 Here is a map link  http://gardinersalmonderby.org/about/map/   I don't have an underwater chart yet but will start looking.....

 Found NOAA chart 18465 .It shows Freshwater Bay and it looks good in my eye.Next chart to the east is 18441.

This link to SalmonUniversity.com has hints on where to find them throughout the derby areas:

http://www.salmonuniversity.com/psn_mid_channel_bank.html

I was thinking of launching at Port Townsend and just fishing the "yellow lines" on the map, seemed like a relatively protected area without a large distance from launch to fishing. There are maps of Sequim and other areas, too. Anyone want to plan a "reconnoiter trip", maybe a week or two before the derby?

iHop

The current around mid channel bank is extreme (3 kts+ at times). If you look at the area from google maps you can see that it's a bottle neck. A lot of people fish the PA area which is better when it comes to currents but offers little protection from wx this time of year.

Thanks, Zee. How about Sequim? Where would you recommend yakkers fish in Feb?


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