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Since Dan is busy guiding on the Feather, I am left to my own devices in the fishing department. My friends Bill and Sandy invited me and my son to spend Labor Day on their 21 foot Bayliner Trophy in search of some ocean action. We met at Crescent City Harbor at 8:00 am and headed out under sunny skies. There is always the element of the unexpected weather-wise in our area. The ocean was as flat as a flounder's navel, and we were enjoying the ride. We turned south and proceeded to the area called The Sisters. Bill pours his own jigs and this was our lure of choice. We were soon hauling in fish after fish. The limit on bottom fish is ten apiece with certain species having their own quotas. We fished in various spots along the coastline, mostly in water about 50 to 70 feet deep. The fish box was filling up nicely with large blues and even larger blacks. We hooked three large China Cod and added them to the mix. Bill hooked a huge Ling Cod but he sawed himself off in no time. They really have the teeth. We discussed the possibility of using some wire leaders next time we venture out. I also hooked and lost a large Ling, about 30 pounds. Nothing came up from the bottom but line. We also hooked a Vermilion and several Sea Trout. It was during the run of Sea Trout that I cranked one toward the surface. |
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I yelled at Bill that it looked like a really big one when I spied two huge eyes coming up right behind it. About a 16 pound Ling had a death grip like a Pit Bull on my 12 inch trout. If you keep the fish just under the surface, the Ling will hold on forever. Two for the price of one!! What a deal. We also drifted into a bunch of Candle Fish. We caught a few and put them back. I understand that they have been absent from these waters for some time, so we hope this means they are back to stay.
By 1:30 we had 40 good sized bottom fish in the fish box and were ready to try our luck at Salmon. The Salmon have been running about 5 miles out, with smaller numbers even closer. Largest fish recorded in the Englund Marine Salmon Derby is 38 pounds so far. This may have changed after this weekend, but that was the last posting. Tuna are also running, but out much further. The cost off the boats is 1.50 per pound this year due to increased gas prices. Bill has two downriggers, so we set them up and rigged up planers on the other two rods. We began trolling our way back to the harbor. Sandy was piloting and she was calling out depths and sizes of fish on the finder. We were trolling sardines at about 20-25 feet, which seemed the depth of the larger blips. Some were as close to the surface as 15 feet. About 2 miles south and 160º back of Buoy 2 both the rods on the downriggers went down. We had our oldest rod and our newest rod in them. The old rod is one of Dan's favorites, a Kunan lamiglass stick with an Ambassador reel on it. The new rod is one eAngler sent us to try. It is a one-piece, 6'6", 10-30 Mitchell Copperhead. The reel they sent is a Spidercast Pro and I had it rigged with 10 pound test. I grabbed this rod and my son Dan grabbed the other. Bill started bringing in the two planer rods and the back of the boat took on all the characteristics of a Chinese fire drill. After a whole lot of maneuvering, ducking, dodging, etc. Bill landed Dan's fish while I kept mine at the ready. It too was netted, and we had a jack about 10 pounds and a hen about 12 pounds to add to the fish box. A weather front was coming in on us fast and blue skies turned to gray. White caps began to appear and the fish made a quick descent to the 50 foot level on the finder. We decided we were ready to head in and begin the job of cleaning the catch. Dolphins swam with us part of the way. Bill pulled his truck right up to the cleaning stations at the harbor and plugged his electric filleting knife into his cigarette lighter socket. This arrangement gets us out of the "stinky" neighborhood much quicker and does a bang up job as well. It was a great day on the water and a good time was had by all Columnist Joan Carter co-owns, with her husband, Dan Carter's Guide Service. |
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