So, I thought I would put up a few pics of some recent trips down to the coast. You’ll notice I’m only posting one fish. Get this: It wasn’t mine. Got a sniff of a fish on someone else’s outfit and the slime of his fish on my net twine. Well, “Glad I could help ya, Pal”.
Sal Monid aka Pops aka Globetrotting Fish Stalker brought his friend Allen along for a bank angling trip the day after the Turkeys’ got their ‘Gobble’ on.
Dusty Hansen was kind enough to take Pops and I down a beautiful NW river. Props to Dusty for the guided tour. It won’t be forgotten. You’ve got it working man.
H3LLCAT & DUSTY
I just wanna say that for those of you, like Dusty, Pops, B Dog, Whalen or H2o, who are getting out there this year and fishing in really tough conditions with crappy returns…..Props to you all. We are the truly hardcore.
With our very first driftboat trip of this King season under our belt, we now know the following information:
First off, that downed tree on the Kilchis below the park is still laying across the river. Chainsaw anyone? We made it through anyway.
Secondly, I learned, when anchoring in fast water……actually just don’t do it.
Thirdly, when fighting a trophy King, in said fast water on anchor, either throw your damn rope on a bouy or plan on loosing the fish in the most tragic way possible….at the boat.
Lastly, make note to self that the upper float kicks the crap out of the Wilson crowds. Seriously. Screw the crowds. Shorty, what’s up with the damn Olympic Peninsula? Get us a report on those rivers for the Winter Steelhead season.
Please enjoy a few pics from our trip…and LOOK FORWARD to a peak at my big King as it spits my hook at the boat….Video to come this weekend.
This is my buddy Scott who nailed this pig a couple of weeks ago on a trip with Rob Russel on the Trask. It came in at a little over 29lbs on his 10wt rod.
Woke up with the “flu” so decided to make a run to the Wilson. Knowing the major rains were on the way, and checking River levels this morning i knew today was the last day for a few, so i grabbed a fresh jar of eggs and hit the road.
Figured id start low in the system, then if nothing, work my way out of town. Well as it turns out the first spot i hit, was the spot i never should have left. The water had about 2 feet of visability and the color was great. Although the water seemed to be on the rise, it was definately fishin. After fishing traditional drift gear with eggs for around 20 minutes with no bites, i decided to switch up to smaller gear.
On the first cast with a fresh bait of eggs, a takedown, my heart jumped into my throat, and not a second later a huge king came leaping out of the water with my eggs hangin out of its mouth. About as fast as it all happen, im thinking to myself, how in the world am i going to land this alone, he was gone. It looked to be a pretty good sized king, really chrome, maybe around 22 to 26lbs.
About 30 minutes later i hooked another that i fought for a good minute or so before losing. That one i didnt see. Using steelhead gear for chinook is tough! I fished this same hole for around another 45 min with no more bites.
Ended up fishing 3 more places with no luck, should never have left the first place.
Well i really hope to have a couple more shots this year for a king.
“Why do this to yourself?” That is the question I was asking myself after another futile trip to the Klick. Got there early with some rain and gray skies. The water was up a bit and had a little color. The two of us fished two great runs with flies, spinners and floats. I had a maybe takedown on a float and that was it.
We saw a couple of boats and a couple of groups of fisherman but the place was quiet. Maybe that is a tip on the fishing. There were about 20 boats at the mouth that must have been going for the late coho.
Anyway, this is a great looking river and one of these days I will get some fish. It won’t be again this year! Sal
Headed out Friday to see what is happening on T Bay. I was with a couple of folks that know the Bay and have pretty consistent luck there. We were in the thick of things by 8:30. There were about 40 boats in the Ghost Hole and the day was classic coastal - gray, curtains of medium mist and about a 20 knot wind. It looked perfect for bagging, or at least playing, a nice fall chinook. We fished hard for about 4 hours and had no action. We saw one fish on the whole time. This includes 8-10 guide boats in the mix. We moved out to the jetty, “the Jaws”, and gave it a go for another couple of hours. Nada as well. We weren’t even marking fish on the depth finder.
It was good company and good fun but zero fish action. I have to believe that there is a basic lack fo fish and that this year could be a very bad year for chinook. Maybe the rain this weekend will perk things up. Judging by the lack of more than 3-4 cars parked along the Wilson on the way over, there is not much happening.
