Last Voyage (Salmon report) till Covid-19 clears?
Posted: Wed Mar 25, 2020 11:38 am
Hit Converse at 1st light with 5” of heavy snow cover to greet us... Lightandvariable was already down on the dock shoveling.... yes the long dock is installed!!!!! Dreamcatcher was in his rig staying warm ready to load the boat as I slipped in the white wonderland of a parking area....
We launched with no issues and headed to our 1st stop... trouble was we had a 12-16 out of the north and it was beating hard for the 1st 2 hrs of the morning.... to get th zone we needed we were in the trough.... so after a while of this a a few small salmon up to 19” we decided to troll to calmer waters.... long discussion with crew about picking up but with the rollers it wasn’t happening... besides... who knows what we will catch in way with all these stick baits runing???
Good time to spark up the grill and eat in peace... so hot dogs and pretzels came out and hit the barbby .. along with tellin stories...
Next thing we know Ken puts us with feet of a very special red can that seems to always have fish near by... the inside port rod fires and starts ripping line.... I jump on it and check the drag, as Ken yells bottom... I look up and see the tip throbbing... it’s a fish and it is BIG! We turn out to deeper water and the gear on both sides look to be headed right into an ice pack... ice all over us we are in a mine field...!!!! As our panic sets in the otter boards start cutting right thru what looksed like ice sheets... no.... it is only SLUSH!
Relieved we continue the fight with this big fish pulling down... hmmm long story short we finally net a
Very healthy northern who did not like being trolled up at 2.4mph at all
After trying Salmoneyes area with NO releases, we decided the move was NOT a good idea and we don’t need any more Northern. that lead to us picking and running to the hot spot, hoping it had calmed some... well it had and the bigger fish decided they wanted to play now. We preceded to get into a flurry of better salmon.
While cookin up some marinated steak tips, I looked out back and caught a big salmon come skyrocketing out of the lake, do a full pirrowet in the air and slide back into the lake. Last thing I saw was the big tail as it hit the water.. I looked over at Jeff, he was already looking at me with a grin from mouth to mouth... we both realized.... what rod! Ha! It was on my side.. lucky me...
After a great battle and a epic net job by Jeff, the fish was on board... nice 23” fatty...
After we got everything settled we sat and enjoyed the steak... funny how hot food taste so good on the lake after a battle with a salmon...
I want to thank Jeff and Ken for what may be my last trip for a while.. sounds like the GOV won’t agree with my crew gatherings... not sure... if it is even safe to go with wife or alone... sad days are here....But safety needs to take precidence .. so this may be my last report till April
Fish on!
We launched with no issues and headed to our 1st stop... trouble was we had a 12-16 out of the north and it was beating hard for the 1st 2 hrs of the morning.... to get th zone we needed we were in the trough.... so after a while of this a a few small salmon up to 19” we decided to troll to calmer waters.... long discussion with crew about picking up but with the rollers it wasn’t happening... besides... who knows what we will catch in way with all these stick baits runing???
Good time to spark up the grill and eat in peace... so hot dogs and pretzels came out and hit the barbby .. along with tellin stories...
Next thing we know Ken puts us with feet of a very special red can that seems to always have fish near by... the inside port rod fires and starts ripping line.... I jump on it and check the drag, as Ken yells bottom... I look up and see the tip throbbing... it’s a fish and it is BIG! We turn out to deeper water and the gear on both sides look to be headed right into an ice pack... ice all over us we are in a mine field...!!!! As our panic sets in the otter boards start cutting right thru what looksed like ice sheets... no.... it is only SLUSH!
Relieved we continue the fight with this big fish pulling down... hmmm long story short we finally net a
Very healthy northern who did not like being trolled up at 2.4mph at all
After trying Salmoneyes area with NO releases, we decided the move was NOT a good idea and we don’t need any more Northern. that lead to us picking and running to the hot spot, hoping it had calmed some... well it had and the bigger fish decided they wanted to play now. We preceded to get into a flurry of better salmon.
While cookin up some marinated steak tips, I looked out back and caught a big salmon come skyrocketing out of the lake, do a full pirrowet in the air and slide back into the lake. Last thing I saw was the big tail as it hit the water.. I looked over at Jeff, he was already looking at me with a grin from mouth to mouth... we both realized.... what rod! Ha! It was on my side.. lucky me...
After a great battle and a epic net job by Jeff, the fish was on board... nice 23” fatty...
After we got everything settled we sat and enjoyed the steak... funny how hot food taste so good on the lake after a battle with a salmon...
I want to thank Jeff and Ken for what may be my last trip for a while.. sounds like the GOV won’t agree with my crew gatherings... not sure... if it is even safe to go with wife or alone... sad days are here....But safety needs to take precidence .. so this may be my last report till April
Fish on!