These trips are starting to run into one another and I only have this afternoon off, so a quick rundown is all I have time for...
On Wednesday afternoon I had a returning group whom on the last outing had a member that for whatever reason couldn`t get the fish to make it to the net to save his life. Well they decided to leave him home and we ended up filling the cooler to the point it was either another fish or the ice had to come out. They had relatives up from Colorado that weren`t used to catching salmon this big but they still managed to do a great job. The biggest problem I had was that there was a very strong current coming down the hill from Kenosha, I was just North of the line and the farther up I went the more intense it was, I found it to be close to 1 MPH at one point. Anyway I ran mostly spoons to have better speed control with the Black Fin Tuna leading the way down 55`, followed by the Kevorkian Stinger down 70`. I stayed between 85`-110` for the length of the trip. The temp break was down 60` where it dropped from 66° to 50° in about 10`. The only "Perfect" fisherman was the woman on board who didn`t loose a fish. It was hot, and besides having no more room, they decided to come in early to cool off and have dinner at the Tropics.
On Thursday Morning we had a serious case of the dropsies going 17 for at least 30, probably closer to 35 if you count all the light hits. It wasn`t hot and heavy out of the gate and I didn`t have a good early bite, but it was steady thru out the trip. The current seemed to die off and it was easier to run dodger/flies to which Smoke/Lil` boy Blue, and white/green did some damage on the #3 fireline dipseys 140`-160` back. Chrome/ white was good on a 45` rigger and the Hot Lobster was decent on a 10 color lead.
For the afternoon I had a father/ son and 4 of his friends ( all around 9-11 yrs.old), we found out quickly going 1 for 6 that these Kings were a bit much for the little guys to handle. It was their trip and after the initial hook up they did the reeling often changing out. The current had really kicked up and I pulled my dipseys to avoid at least a few tangles. The fish ran into the current and we lost a few as they tangled in the lead. The highlight came at the end as I was pulling rods. I popped a dipsey and after a few cranks of the handle it was slammed, and the fish jumped 100` behind the boat. We had on the biggest king I`ve seen in a few years. I tried to hand it off but I had a hard time just holding on. I fought the fish for a while, and was told to bring it in, as they didn`t want to loose this one. After a few more runs the fish appeared to have tangled itself up as I had all but locked the drag and line was still going out. We didn`t feel any head shakes and could then see it up near the surface 390` out according to the counter. To avoid being spooled I gave the rod to the dad and slowed the boat as best I could and started popping the other rods. We started gaining ground and with only the leads left out the fish was at the back of the boat. I barely got the fish to fit in the net when it had a second burst of energy, and with one of the hooks caught in the net managed to free itself and jump out. It was laying there belly up so I fired up the second engine, and despite the leads being out put the boat in reverse and had the dad net the fish. Then another burst of energy and it was out again! Now the fish is in front of the boat and I have to go back in forward to catch it. I can`t see the fish from the helm and it ends up under the boat coming up on the opposite side. I could barely reach the still belly up fish and it`s head was away from me, once again it was in the net but was so heavy I couldn`t lift it high enough and in a last ditch effort it jumped out for the third time and this time dove out of sight. The biggest King I`ve caught to date was 28#`s and this one wasn`t too far under that mark. So there is one out there for you guys to go after. Needless to say we all saw and had to laugh about the "One that got away"
I know I said I was going to be brief, but this was one I`ll never forget.
On Friday morning I once again ventured North of the line and set up on 60`. The night prior the water really cooled down with the strong current showing 44° down 40` it was now 64°. We did pick up a pair of Kings and they came in warm. There was still as strong current and I pointed it East a mile North. We found better action along with cooler water in the 120`-140` range with purple being the color of the day. Any spoon with purple, and Lil boy Blue flies were the ticket. The #3 dipseys back 140`-160` were best and `riggers down 51`-70`.
I never passed 140` and started in the 60` range on most trips. The patterns changed day by day. I kept the same baits of the rods from the prior trip and found out I had to change most out. For whatever reason there is a wicked current and there were a few times I had my dipseys in my `riggers. Which is why I only ran them on a #3 setting with fireline and not run the wire. The fish are probably moving around because of this current and with the calm weather conditions, it seems when the winds die so does the bite. The flies weren`t much of an issue and the only nuisance were the gnats on Thursday afternoon.
Give it your best shot as it appears the weather should be favorable this weekend and don`t be afraid to go out deeper in the mornings.
"Wet Nets"
Captain Jim
North Point 8/1-8/3 Current was an issue
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