You might be a "highliner" when....

[Salty]

Fellow fishermen,
The success of the You know you are a lowliner when... thread has prompted me to launch this thread. Granted, most true highliners I have known in the troll fleet over the years are quite modest and keep their success relatively quiet. So, the purpose of this thread is not to brag, but to bring out some of the excellence in attitude, performance, and contribution to the fleet, the industry, our product, our resource, and the earth that characterize many in the troll fishery.

So, you might be a highliner when the Governor of your state calls you and asks you to participate in a salmon quality task force.

On the other end, you might be a highliner when the retiring ice man thanks you for the courtesy and respect you paid him all those years, particularly all the fresh baked pastries your wife sent up to him.

[akfish1]

You might be a Highliner when you dont know how to post anything in this section!

[Drew]

Is it too pessimistic to say you might be a highliner when you get into a different fishery?

[joeman79]

I was gonna write "You know your a Low Liner when You retreat to Katz Bay on the King Opener to avoid 4-5 ft Seas!! But we round the Point and there is the F/V I GOTTA Trolling. So guess I was wrong!!

[Crawfish]

You are a "highliner" when....

You take a ten year old boy fishing who does nothing but ask questions, never stop talking,drop leaders in the water, accidently set's off the epirb which goes unnoticed until there is a coast guard helicopter overhead circling and pull the hooks out of the mouth of fish behind the boat ,falls asleep in the pit when shorties have loaded the gear, run line snaps through the shives. Teach him everything you know. Have the fortitude to deal with the know it all attitude with him as a teenager. Help him work on his first troller to get it ready for the season in his late teens.

Attend his wedding in the middle of the season when they are biting" we both almost bailed on my wedding when we heard they had 100-150 fish that day". Help get his second troller ready for the season in his 20's.Keep him motivated to keep going when things are at their toughest. Show him how to read springs ,rips, boat maintenance , bottom paint , zincs, splash zone, currents, tides, radar,charts,Loran C ,then GPS ...... and so much more with patience and love.

He would say 10% catch 90%. He was one of the 10% and I didn't realize at the time what an education I received. He made fish appear when there were none. I remember getting my first boat and I was going to out catch him or so I thought. Well it didn't quite work out that way. He was a much better fisherman than I.

He has been gone for about nine years now.I can still here his lessons in my head. Man I wish he was still here but here is my shout out to the best all around Highliner I "EVER" knew. He made such a vast improvement to my life I will be forever grateful.

[joeman79]

Awesome Post Crawfish!!

[Salty]

Awesome Post Crawfish!!
joeman79

I agree, what this thread was hoping to bring out. Thanks!

[Salty]

I had the opportunity to interview several "highliners" when I was doing a show, "Fin & Feather, on Raven Radio. Among the common ground they shared was a passion for the fishery, a love for their boats, and a rare sense of curiosity about the environment, the ecosystem in which they thrived.
What is interesting to me is that sometimes being a great fisherman, a highliner, coincides with great production, but not always.

[akfish1]

Crawfish , if there was a "best posts" category that would be at the top of the list.

[SilverT]

Thanks Crawfish. I enjoyed that so much I read it again this morning.

Lane

[fveureka]

Excellent post Crawfish and a honorable ode to your mentor. I lost mine 15 years ago, but still can see his smile especially at evening change of light with the springs on both sides rattling, encouraging me to get my own boat and permits and seeing his grandson stepping up and learning our work. Thanks for posting. Dan

[Crawfish]

I appreciate all of your kind responses.
I hope to be able to pay it forward some day to keep the fishing way of life going.

[carojae]

Yeah me too Crawfish. Appreciated that post. It really blends well with "why we do this"..

[kjwelder]

You might be a highliner if you have a "Salty" Dad!
Thanks for everything big guy.
Kj

[curmudgeon]

KJ. Agreed! Been reading Marilyn's book and it's clear there are generations of thanks required for lots of us!

You might (eventually have a chance to) become a highliner by reading the fine advice offered on this Forum!

[entropy1]

If you have a wife with a job with benefits and retirement.

[Salty]

I qualified, but then she retired.

[Salty]

You might be a troll highliner if you resisted the temptation to catch last years chums in Icy Strait.

[Salty]

You might be a highliner when you triple your dad when he had a good trip.

[Salty]

Another case of validating my Lowliner credentials zatoan.
You might be a highliner when you are still trolling coho on sept. 28.