Set out tonight (Monday) with low expectations not knowing if the SW wind would lay down or it would be an evening of bump and grind and pull lines early. Planed out to 180 FOW but I had
to admire the guy in the 16’ boat behind me trying to get out deep as well. He worked for every foot of water he put under the boat. Dropped two downriggers with 15’ balls at 90’ and 100’ where there was 46 degree water and nothing else. Followed the current in east to take a break from the pounding and hooked up with two small kings up to 150 FOW on a killer yellow Stinger 90’ down on a rigger and got a nice 12 lb-ish king at 135 FOW on a killer blue Stinger SW-rig total of 100’ down. Then it got quite for at least an hour. I kept with the Keating program of fish deep,
less is more and kept the two riggers pinned low in the water. I decided to follow the cold bottom water in shallow and hit a 14 lb king on the SW set up in about 110 FOW, released that and hit another immediately a little shallower about the same size on the same rigger. Put a dark blue J on the opposite rigger and it took about a 8 lb king quickly. SW fired again in 95 FOW about 5’ off the bottom with a laker that was promptly released. As soon as SW was put down in 91 FOW it roared to life with a slow tip down followed by a 10 pass run, a pause and then another pair of 4-6 pass runs, a stalemate in the water and then the excitement ended with the dreaded tip up and fish no more. Figures the best run of the night never made it to the back of the boat. For the evening, went 7 for 8 with two rods. All fish were released successfully except one, which felt really bad about. I did a bad job of dropping it back in the water. I have a program going where if you can get the fish in quickly, you can either unhook it at the back of the boat or if I have to net the fish, I get the hook out quickly and the drop back into the water is the key step. If you can achieve a gentle nose down plunge into the water, these fish can make it. I have let a half dozen 14 lb fish go like this and they take off to fight another day. The smaller fish have no problem at all.
Capt. Dick, Corner Office
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