A Fish Story
Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2013 9:40 pm
So here is a no shit honest to god fish story.
This morning I woke up looked out the window raining buckets as it can only do in Ketchikan and blowing the rain sideways as is usually the case in a Ketchikan winter. It has been a lean winter I didn't catch my normal allotment of coho and didn't find any Kings in the August opening, then the coop second advance comes and low and behold there is no money there either the bills are stacked up and I have only caught 4 kings since the last day of Jan. I was needless to say in a very foul mood as I watched the rain come down. I have moved around to avariety of spots in the last 7 days and been skunked a few times and never getting more than one fish a day. As I have ran up and down Tongass Narrows I have noticed feed, years ago I used to watch guys fish in the Narrows and was always envious as I was driving an oil truck. In all my winter fishing I have always discounted fishing in the Narrows as I thought it would only produce 1 fish and it would be small so I never fished there. Anyway back to this morning I finally untied the boat and left the dock as I come out of the breakwater it is raining, blowing, basically shitty but the meter lights up with feed so I put my poles down and then I think what the hell I go back to the pit and lower one line no bait just hootchies and a couple spoons, I don't want to lower any more lines as there is a wreck in the middle of the channel and I want to be able to manuver so I stay in the pit in full rain gear troll past the fuel docks and on down past the Coast Guard Base raising and lowering my line as I go over high spots and then as I get down in front of Saxman the line starts jerking and hanging back I look at the meter yeah I am crowding the bottom so I raise the line it is still pulling back and shaking no shit I got a fish it is 16 pounds on one my favorite winter hootchies, well I will be damned so I continue on past the two buoys barely fitting thru the wind is stronger as I get past Pennock. Well I might as well turn around and go back thru so I troll up to the Coast Guard base and turn around the channel is loaded with feed so I troll back towards where I caught. I go past the spot nothing but just as I pass between the buoys the line takes off again this time I know I got one cause it is shaking good and the top leader which was 2 marks down has a 25 pounder I start laughing and forget the wind and rain and all the magic that I experienced as a young boy landing my first fish comes back. Two hours before I was totally bummed and now I have made over $400 and haven't burned hardly any diesel, very cool. And once again it proves my golden rule if you keep dragging sooner or later something good will happen.
Keep your Hand on It
Tom
This morning I woke up looked out the window raining buckets as it can only do in Ketchikan and blowing the rain sideways as is usually the case in a Ketchikan winter. It has been a lean winter I didn't catch my normal allotment of coho and didn't find any Kings in the August opening, then the coop second advance comes and low and behold there is no money there either the bills are stacked up and I have only caught 4 kings since the last day of Jan. I was needless to say in a very foul mood as I watched the rain come down. I have moved around to avariety of spots in the last 7 days and been skunked a few times and never getting more than one fish a day. As I have ran up and down Tongass Narrows I have noticed feed, years ago I used to watch guys fish in the Narrows and was always envious as I was driving an oil truck. In all my winter fishing I have always discounted fishing in the Narrows as I thought it would only produce 1 fish and it would be small so I never fished there. Anyway back to this morning I finally untied the boat and left the dock as I come out of the breakwater it is raining, blowing, basically shitty but the meter lights up with feed so I put my poles down and then I think what the hell I go back to the pit and lower one line no bait just hootchies and a couple spoons, I don't want to lower any more lines as there is a wreck in the middle of the channel and I want to be able to manuver so I stay in the pit in full rain gear troll past the fuel docks and on down past the Coast Guard Base raising and lowering my line as I go over high spots and then as I get down in front of Saxman the line starts jerking and hanging back I look at the meter yeah I am crowding the bottom so I raise the line it is still pulling back and shaking no shit I got a fish it is 16 pounds on one my favorite winter hootchies, well I will be damned so I continue on past the two buoys barely fitting thru the wind is stronger as I get past Pennock. Well I might as well turn around and go back thru so I troll up to the Coast Guard base and turn around the channel is loaded with feed so I troll back towards where I caught. I go past the spot nothing but just as I pass between the buoys the line takes off again this time I know I got one cause it is shaking good and the top leader which was 2 marks down has a 25 pounder I start laughing and forget the wind and rain and all the magic that I experienced as a young boy landing my first fish comes back. Two hours before I was totally bummed and now I have made over $400 and haven't burned hardly any diesel, very cool. And once again it proves my golden rule if you keep dragging sooner or later something good will happen.
Keep your Hand on It
Tom