A Choppy Little Monday

It started a bit choppy as we headed out the gate today, but we throttled back and eased our way up to Duxbury buoy to see if we could continue our string of success with the salmon. Only a few party boats and a handful of private boats toughed their way through the waves, and we all rocked and rolled, tangled lines, and tried to convince ourselves this was a good idea.

As it turned out (and isn't this the case with all fish stories?) it was well worth the effort. Luckily, we were holding an ace - this time in the form of Tom - the Western Sport Shop Operations Manager! Just as we were turning for another run, Tom hooked into a nice king salmon, which made four strong runs (in addition to sometimes seeming like he was above deck level, thanks to the waves). He played it expertly, and we boated our lone fish for the day. (Released a silver salmon boatside a bit later.)

The skies cleared and it was a beautiful day on the water - though as any salmon angler knows, when the skies turn blue, that usually means a bit more wind. This was actually in the more sheltered bits, as we took a long troll down past Slide Ranch.



Once we were safely inside the bay again, we slowed down so Tom could show off his fish. He caught this one on some of the gorgeous frozen tray anchovey we have been enjoying of late - rigged on a Krippled Anchovie rig, behind a small chartreuse flasher.



We also graphed a number of fish hanging off of California City at the top of the high tide, but didn't spend more than a few minutes dragging a line through them.