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alm21
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RunWithSasquatch said:
Can you find the other one flanking me?
Why quit?
Can you find the other one flanking me?
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alm21
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beaverfan said:
My confidence seems to set in when I feel I have everything dialed in and there is focus and clarity on the objective.
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alm21
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It was a good week. Went out on Saturday with my son and hit a different stretch of water that is better for him. Again, had the place to ourselves. The first hour or so was pretty slow and we were talking about going somewhere else. But then they started to come around and roll. Saw one roll so I made a couple quick casts in front of it then "FISH ON!" I yell to my son. He comes charging up and I hand the pole over to him. My son has never caught or fought a salmon before and has been putting his time in on numerous trips with me. With some coaching from dad, he did a great job landing the fish. It was a nate buck around 24"-26". I would have loved to get a pic but this wasn't the time to be showing him how to hold the fish. I went ahead and revived the fish and off he went. My son's first salmon fight and landing. High fives all around!!!
If your curious, water was up a few inches and a bit off color. He hammered a #4 Blue Fox with Michael Jackson body, Silver Blade and Orange tip. Oh, I pulled out a snag that had three lures. And no BS, one of them was one that we lost some time ago. I know this because it was a Sharpie special that we made by coloring the blade and had my paticular swivel (no doubt whatsoever that it was ours). Crazy cool.
Now we can't decide if we want to go out today. The plan was to stay home and chill out but it's hard not to get out there when we have the time, especially since this is the first Sunday in a long time with no soccer games.
If your curious, water was up a few inches and a bit off color. He hammered a #4 Blue Fox with Michael Jackson body, Silver Blade and Orange tip. Oh, I pulled out a snag that had three lures. And no BS, one of them was one that we lost some time ago. I know this because it was a Sharpie special that we made by coloring the blade and had my paticular swivel (no doubt whatsoever that it was ours). Crazy cool.
Now we can't decide if we want to go out today. The plan was to stay home and chill out but it's hard not to get out there when we have the time, especially since this is the first Sunday in a long time with no soccer games.
R
rippin fish lips
Well-known member
alm21!! Great post and good job at keepin it going. I am hooked to this thread. I like the way you look at the fishes life (what the fish goes through) and the way you handle the fish you catch.
Fishing with confidence will help you reach your goals in fishing. Confidence is they key.
Fishing with confidence will help you reach your goals in fishing. Confidence is they key.
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Slick
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That's right. I wacked em on the Cowlitz this fall and used a $22.00 Berkley Cherrywood, one of my bass rods. Performed flawlessly and was just the ticket for using plugs on those hos.waco said:
C_Run
Well-known member
This is a great thread. Now you are going to expect to catch something every trip. Confidence is the main thing to have in the tackle box.
BTW , Those scars from the seal look like the ones on the wild fish I C&R'ed the other day. It's a tough life for those fish.
BTW , Those scars from the seal look like the ones on the wild fish I C&R'ed the other day. It's a tough life for those fish.
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alm21
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I hit the Sandy once last week when the water was up but no luck. Only saw a couple fish roll but they did look good. Confidence is back but I know I can't catch fish all the time. 
Decided to explore some coastal rivers yesterday in pursuit of some nookie which throws me out of my comfort zone but that's the only way we can grow in life but in fishing in particular (I have little to no experience with Chinooks and our coastal rivers). Confidence would have been shaky had I hooked something other than a jack because I'm not geared up for Chinook and used my Coho setup which is 12lb mainline on the spinning setup. Plus my float rig is much smaller than what people use - bobber envy. :redface:
Thanks RFL, I'm not a purist or an elitist but I do think it is very important to be mindful of our unique resources and appreciate our fragile ecosystem. I'm consistently humbled as I continue to learn about the relationsip between our sport and the environment.
That river is on my "To Do List". I totally believe is good performance with the lower cost rods. Just not sure about durability over the lifetime. Eventhough I bought a second Buzz Ramsey, my first is definitely showing some wear.
Haha, I know better than that but wouldn't it be nice! You should have seen the gashes on the other side (not shown)! I almost felt guilty taking the fish. Almost...
Decided to explore some coastal rivers yesterday in pursuit of some nookie which throws me out of my comfort zone but that's the only way we can grow in life but in fishing in particular (I have little to no experience with Chinooks and our coastal rivers). Confidence would have been shaky had I hooked something other than a jack because I'm not geared up for Chinook and used my Coho setup which is 12lb mainline on the spinning setup. Plus my float rig is much smaller than what people use - bobber envy. :redface:rippin fish lips said:
Thanks RFL, I'm not a purist or an elitist but I do think it is very important to be mindful of our unique resources and appreciate our fragile ecosystem. I'm consistently humbled as I continue to learn about the relationsip between our sport and the environment.
Slick said:
That river is on my "To Do List". I totally believe is good performance with the lower cost rods. Just not sure about durability over the lifetime. Eventhough I bought a second Buzz Ramsey, my first is definitely showing some wear.
C_Run said:
Haha, I know better than that but wouldn't it be nice! You should have seen the gashes on the other side (not shown)! I almost felt guilty taking the fish. Almost...
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alm21
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Over the last couple weeks, my son and I have made some coastal trips primarily for recon to learn. We spend about half the time actually fishing. The last couple trips have been focused on the Wilson. With no school Friday, I got my son up at 5:00a and out the door we went. My son is expressing a lot of interest in entomology so we picked up some small containers and dipping nets so he could explore for specimens while on the banks. I won’t get into the details of where we went but we made numerous stops. In one of the slots, I was drifting some eggs that I cured from one of the hens pictured in this thread, and WHAMO, fish on! I hand the pole to Jamie and he brought in a really nice cutthroat. PICS and release.
The day went on without success and on our way home, I decided to pull into one more spot. I had been in this hole a couple weeks before when there were fish holding. On that trip, I threw everything I had them with no luck, well almost everything. This time, I thought of something I learned from this site and decided that I was going to give is a shot. I reached into my bag of tricks and tried something new. Well, about 10 mins into it, FISH ON! It was a pissed off Coho buck. Success, I think I found the secret weapon. It was a good day.
So, Saturday morning.... Sitting on the couch, planning on taking the day off, my son says “I want to do something and go somewhere.” That’s is all I needed to hear but as my wife was sitting with us, I had to play this one like a big fish on light tackle. I reply “What do you want to do?” My wife sarcastically jumps in “Go fishing?!” Keeping my mouth shut, watching for the queue, my son says “ Sure”. WHAMO FISH ON! I quickly realized that we’re going to get a hall pass from wife/mom so without hesitation, my son is off the couch and dressed, I got the rig loaded and you could hear the tires squealing down the street as my wife pours her second cup of coffee.
This time I wanted to hit spots on the river that we hadn’t been too before. However, I told Jamie we’d stop at the hole we caught the coho at and give is a shot. We carry three poles between the two of us all rigged up differently. Feeling like I knew the secret sauce to this hole, I told Jamie that we’re going to strike with surgical precision and take only one pole down, already rigged from the day before, and leave a bunch of other stuff in the rig. I figured we will know rather quickly if we would want to stay or leave. As we got to the hole, I realized we weren’t alone. A gentleman and his wife were there fishing too, tossing spinners with no luck. We chatted it up while I quickly started making some casts. It was probably less than 10 mins, fish on! I gave the pole to my son and let him fight the coho which tore up his arms. Back into the drink for the coho. A few casts later, FISH ON! Handing the pole to my son, he brings in a cutthroat – back it goes. My son decides to the car to get something and while he’s gone, I’m reeling in and as I am about to bring it out of the water, a coho comes shooting up and slamming my pole!!! This fish was PIISSSSED!!! Going airborne, tossing and turning, spitting fire, this fish was tearing it up. I netted the fish and while I was reviving it for release, my son came back. At least in time to see the fish. I had to do a hook change because this fish twisted my treble hook like a barber pole! Sorry no pics of these fish. This all happened within about 30-40mins. I could have gone home happy at this point but we worked the hole for a bit longer with no luck. I told my son that we should leave, let it settle down and maybe come back before going home.
The rain was coming down hard and I was digging the warmth and comfort of the car. We took the opportunity to eat lunch and drive around some roads and checking out spots along the river. After a while, I decided to take us to a spot that my buddy caught a steelhead at a while back. It wasn’t easy getting in and was a good moderate trail/rock climbing challenge for Jamie. However, once getting in, neither of us were feeling it. We floated some eggs but nada. It was getting late in the day so we decided to head out. On our way out, we made one last stop in the hole we began at. We hit it hard for about 20/30mins or so and we are both talking about packing it in for the day. The debris in the water was becoming a nuisance, the rain was coming down hard, it was cold and daylight was quickly fading. But WHY QUIT now? I start wondering if the fish would be moving to the top of the hole below the rapids? Regardless, this thought was about to change our day. I decided to go upriver to the top of the hole and perched myself on a rock pointing out. Just then we see a fish roll. I casted into that spot and began the retrieve. SLAM!!! “Fish on Jamie!” I yell. Cool, I’m down for catching another coho before heading out. However, that thought was abruptly interrupted with the realization that this fish is peeling line off the reel and it doesn’t look like it coming my way. This is not a small fish. Splash!! That’s a big a tail… Now it has become clear that I have something big on the end of my 12lb line and I better figure out how to deal with it and there were a lot of rocks and nasty obstacles for me and the fish. Well, the fish decided it was going downriver and I better get on the move. This becomes difficult to describe but I now started maneuvering downriver towards the fish. At times, I had my arm hold the pole reaching for the clouds as I am traversing low parts on the bank while there were BIG rock outcroppings between me and the fish. It took all the focus and composure I could muster to keep my line from braising any rocks. After a monumental success of getting to a spot I thought I could bring the fish in, it became apparent that the fish had other plans. This is when I had the Oh Sh*t moment. Doubt began to kick in. I don’t know much time has passed but it felt like eternity and this fish just won’t come my way. I’m thinking there is no way my gear can sustain this battle and my only chance of landing the fish required a crevasse jump. Now I start to think about the danger. It’s not a big crevasse but there is only one chance to get it right. In addition, even if I get across, I will be in another low spot with yet another huge rock outcropping waiting to take a bite out of my line. But WHY QUIT now? I decided it’s go time, let’s do it. I direct Jamie down to the landing zone with the net. I slowly work myself into the spot getting ready for the hop. I adjust my drag quite loose to allow the fish to dance while I dance with the rocks. I make the leap and found myself on the other side but I’m not clear yet, no time to celebrate, I need to maneuver into position and quickly get up the rocks onto the high ground. Now, I am finally in position to land this fish as start working it towards some pocket water out of the current. In addition, I now have a good visual on the fish and this ain’t no Ho! I have my very first nook on the end of the line. The fish is close to the bank but were not out of the woods yet. My son is standing behind with the net and I prep with a countdown. I swing the head of the to the bank and OH NO! The net isn’t ready! I have a collapsing net and it was stuck but my son didn’t tell me and he couldn’t get the handle to slide out. I take the pole and stick it between my legs with a fighting nook while I fix the net as quickly as possible without panicking. With the net good to go, I give it back to Jamie and resume fighting the fish with my arms and not my legs. I gave him another countdown and then swung the fish in. First time, my son nails it and scoops the fish head first. However, this fish is bigger than what the net is intended for and my son could hardly lift it out the water! Well, out of the water it went and it finally hit us, we just caught OUR first Chinook ever! HIGH FIVES!!! Hey, I know this is no chrome and many wouldn’t tag it. But this was something special for us and we tagged this 37” buck. I told my son that I couldn’t I have more happy that we did this together. I don’t know the weight but I think it was easily 20lbs. What an epic battle on 12lb line with numerous obstacles and challenges. I LOVE THIS GAME!!
Slabs for the smoker!
The day went on without success and on our way home, I decided to pull into one more spot. I had been in this hole a couple weeks before when there were fish holding. On that trip, I threw everything I had them with no luck, well almost everything. This time, I thought of something I learned from this site and decided that I was going to give is a shot. I reached into my bag of tricks and tried something new. Well, about 10 mins into it, FISH ON! It was a pissed off Coho buck. Success, I think I found the secret weapon. It was a good day.
So, Saturday morning.... Sitting on the couch, planning on taking the day off, my son says “I want to do something and go somewhere.” That’s is all I needed to hear but as my wife was sitting with us, I had to play this one like a big fish on light tackle. I reply “What do you want to do?” My wife sarcastically jumps in “Go fishing?!” Keeping my mouth shut, watching for the queue, my son says “ Sure”. WHAMO FISH ON! I quickly realized that we’re going to get a hall pass from wife/mom so without hesitation, my son is off the couch and dressed, I got the rig loaded and you could hear the tires squealing down the street as my wife pours her second cup of coffee.
This time I wanted to hit spots on the river that we hadn’t been too before. However, I told Jamie we’d stop at the hole we caught the coho at and give is a shot. We carry three poles between the two of us all rigged up differently. Feeling like I knew the secret sauce to this hole, I told Jamie that we’re going to strike with surgical precision and take only one pole down, already rigged from the day before, and leave a bunch of other stuff in the rig. I figured we will know rather quickly if we would want to stay or leave. As we got to the hole, I realized we weren’t alone. A gentleman and his wife were there fishing too, tossing spinners with no luck. We chatted it up while I quickly started making some casts. It was probably less than 10 mins, fish on! I gave the pole to my son and let him fight the coho which tore up his arms.
Back into the drink for the coho. A few casts later, FISH ON! Handing the pole to my son, he brings in a cutthroat – back it goes. My son decides to the car to get something and while he’s gone, I’m reeling in and as I am about to bring it out of the water, a coho comes shooting up and slamming my pole!!! This fish was PIISSSSED!!! Going airborne, tossing and turning, spitting fire, this fish was tearing it up. I netted the fish and while I was reviving it for release, my son came back. At least in time to see the fish. I had to do a hook change because this fish twisted my treble hook like a barber pole! Sorry no pics of these fish. This all happened within about 30-40mins. I could have gone home happy at this point but we worked the hole for a bit longer with no luck. I told my son that we should leave, let it settle down and maybe come back before going home. The rain was coming down hard and I was digging the warmth and comfort of the car. We took the opportunity to eat lunch and drive around some roads and checking out spots along the river. After a while, I decided to take us to a spot that my buddy caught a steelhead at a while back. It wasn’t easy getting in and was a good moderate trail/rock climbing challenge for Jamie. However, once getting in, neither of us were feeling it. We floated some eggs but nada. It was getting late in the day so we decided to head out. On our way out, we made one last stop in the hole we began at. We hit it hard for about 20/30mins or so and we are both talking about packing it in for the day. The debris in the water was becoming a nuisance, the rain was coming down hard, it was cold and daylight was quickly fading. But WHY QUIT now? I start wondering if the fish would be moving to the top of the hole below the rapids? Regardless, this thought was about to change our day. I decided to go upriver to the top of the hole and perched myself on a rock pointing out. Just then we see a fish roll. I casted into that spot and began the retrieve. SLAM!!! “Fish on Jamie!” I yell. Cool, I’m down for catching another coho before heading out. However, that thought was abruptly interrupted with the realization that this fish is peeling line off the reel and it doesn’t look like it coming my way. This is not a small fish. Splash!! That’s a big a tail… Now it has become clear that I have something big on the end of my 12lb line and I better figure out how to deal with it and there were a lot of rocks and nasty obstacles for me and the fish. Well, the fish decided it was going downriver and I better get on the move. This becomes difficult to describe but I now started maneuvering downriver towards the fish. At times, I had my arm hold the pole reaching for the clouds as I am traversing low parts on the bank while there were BIG rock outcroppings between me and the fish. It took all the focus and composure I could muster to keep my line from braising any rocks. After a monumental success of getting to a spot I thought I could bring the fish in, it became apparent that the fish had other plans. This is when I had the Oh Sh*t moment. Doubt began to kick in. I don’t know much time has passed but it felt like eternity and this fish just won’t come my way. I’m thinking there is no way my gear can sustain this battle and my only chance of landing the fish required a crevasse jump. Now I start to think about the danger. It’s not a big crevasse but there is only one chance to get it right. In addition, even if I get across, I will be in another low spot with yet another huge rock outcropping waiting to take a bite out of my line. But WHY QUIT now? I decided it’s go time, let’s do it. I direct Jamie down to the landing zone with the net. I slowly work myself into the spot getting ready for the hop. I adjust my drag quite loose to allow the fish to dance while I dance with the rocks. I make the leap and found myself on the other side but I’m not clear yet, no time to celebrate, I need to maneuver into position and quickly get up the rocks onto the high ground. Now, I am finally in position to land this fish as start working it towards some pocket water out of the current. In addition, I now have a good visual on the fish and this ain’t no Ho! I have my very first nook on the end of the line. The fish is close to the bank but were not out of the woods yet. My son is standing behind with the net and I prep with a countdown. I swing the head of the to the bank and OH NO! The net isn’t ready! I have a collapsing net and it was stuck but my son didn’t tell me and he couldn’t get the handle to slide out. I take the pole and stick it between my legs with a fighting nook while I fix the net as quickly as possible without panicking. With the net good to go, I give it back to Jamie and resume fighting the fish with my arms and not my legs.
I gave him another countdown and then swung the fish in. First time, my son nails it and scoops the fish head first. However, this fish is bigger than what the net is intended for and my son could hardly lift it out the water! Well, out of the water it went and it finally hit us, we just caught OUR first Chinook ever! HIGH FIVES!!! Hey, I know this is no chrome and many wouldn’t tag it. But this was something special for us and we tagged this 37” buck. I told my son that I couldn’t I have more happy that we did this together. I don’t know the weight but I think it was easily 20lbs. What an epic battle on 12lb line with numerous obstacles and challenges. I LOVE THIS GAME!! Slabs for the smoker!
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eugene1
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Moderator
Awesome story and rings true!!!
alm21 said:
