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I was so excited to finally have a decent looking wind forecast for the Columbia. Winds were supposed to be light in the morning and max out at only 6mph in the afternoon. A perfect day for some smallmouth kayak fishing - or so I thought....
I met up with my normal fishing buddy before first light and also ran into another fellow that I had chatted with online a few times. It was looking to be an exciting day! We all launched and I headed one way and they headed the other to start.
On my first cast I had a strike on my topwater from what felt like a small fish but it quickly pulled off. I dodged the "catching one on the first cast is bad luck" curse but unfortunately the corollary is that losing one on the first cast is even worse luck, or so it seemed.
I managed to lose the next 5 fish I hooked including a couple that had some really nice weight to them. Those fish where you set the hook and the rod tip does not move when you set the hook, the bend just gets deeper. They all felt like really solid hooksets but each time the hooks just pulled out.
I did not lose them on a jump, during surface thrashing or anything like that. Each time the hooks just pulled out. I was starting to get pretty upset when I finally landed a modest 1lb 4oz smallmouth. At least the skunk was off!
Unfortunately that was my last strike from that area so I raced downstream to catch up to my friends. They were not having any better luck than I and in fact had even slower action. We were all puzzled by our lack of success. I started working an area that has been good to me in the past and almost immediately landed a nice 2lb 7oz bass. Things were looking up!
I did not get another strike from that area. My one buddy who was fishing nearby was also bit by the bad luck bug when he hooked and lost 3 bass (2 of which were nice sized) in a matter of 5 to 10 minutes. It was just a bizarre day.
We decided to head further downstream but as we did the wind just kept getting stronger and stronger. After a short stint down there I decided I had had enough and I was going to pack it in. I texted my friend and started back up the river.
I stopped at the spot where I had caught the 2lb 7oz and quickly caught a 1lb 3oz and then a 2lb 3oz which fishing in some heavy whitecaps and decent sized waves. I thought, "well alright now here we go!". Unfortunately, I did not get another bite. After about 15 fruitless minutes I finished the slog back to the ramp.
Just to make things even more interesting, my pedal drive kept popping out every couple of minutes causing me to lurch awkwardly. I finally made it back to the ramp and I spoke with one of the windsurfers who had shown up. He said that the wind was 20-22mph (just a touch above the 6mph that was predicted).
In all it was close to as bad of a day on the water as you can have. Lots of lost fish, getting blown off the water, tweaking my back while struggling to get back. Overall not a good day.
So, I am not sure what I did to anger the fishing gods but if anyone knows of an arcane ritual that I can perform to placate them then please let me know ASAP. I am thinking of a goat sacrifice or something but I am just not sure
Here is some video from the day that properly captures my frustration.
I met up with my normal fishing buddy before first light and also ran into another fellow that I had chatted with online a few times. It was looking to be an exciting day! We all launched and I headed one way and they headed the other to start.
On my first cast I had a strike on my topwater from what felt like a small fish but it quickly pulled off. I dodged the "catching one on the first cast is bad luck" curse but unfortunately the corollary is that losing one on the first cast is even worse luck, or so it seemed.
I managed to lose the next 5 fish I hooked including a couple that had some really nice weight to them. Those fish where you set the hook and the rod tip does not move when you set the hook, the bend just gets deeper. They all felt like really solid hooksets but each time the hooks just pulled out.
I did not lose them on a jump, during surface thrashing or anything like that. Each time the hooks just pulled out. I was starting to get pretty upset when I finally landed a modest 1lb 4oz smallmouth. At least the skunk was off!
Unfortunately that was my last strike from that area so I raced downstream to catch up to my friends. They were not having any better luck than I and in fact had even slower action. We were all puzzled by our lack of success. I started working an area that has been good to me in the past and almost immediately landed a nice 2lb 7oz bass. Things were looking up!
I did not get another strike from that area. My one buddy who was fishing nearby was also bit by the bad luck bug when he hooked and lost 3 bass (2 of which were nice sized) in a matter of 5 to 10 minutes. It was just a bizarre day.
We decided to head further downstream but as we did the wind just kept getting stronger and stronger. After a short stint down there I decided I had had enough and I was going to pack it in. I texted my friend and started back up the river.
I stopped at the spot where I had caught the 2lb 7oz and quickly caught a 1lb 3oz and then a 2lb 3oz which fishing in some heavy whitecaps and decent sized waves. I thought, "well alright now here we go!". Unfortunately, I did not get another bite. After about 15 fruitless minutes I finished the slog back to the ramp.
Just to make things even more interesting, my pedal drive kept popping out every couple of minutes causing me to lurch awkwardly. I finally made it back to the ramp and I spoke with one of the windsurfers who had shown up. He said that the wind was 20-22mph (just a touch above the 6mph that was predicted).
In all it was close to as bad of a day on the water as you can have. Lots of lost fish, getting blown off the water, tweaking my back while struggling to get back. Overall not a good day.
So, I am not sure what I did to anger the fishing gods but if anyone knows of an arcane ritual that I can perform to placate them then please let me know ASAP. I am thinking of a goat sacrifice or something but I am just not sure
Here is some video from the day that properly captures my frustration.
