There were five or six bank anglers on the beach where I launched. While I trolled in their vicinity, I heard a few bells ring, sounding the alarm that something had been hooked, but I never saw them fight or land any fish. It's still very early in the spring salmon season to expect much action, but there are a few fish moving through. The odds are low right now, and every angler out here knows it. It doesn't really matter how high the odds are stacked against us. I think everyone in Portland is chomping at the bit in anticipation of spring. It has been a tough winter around here.
After trolling for an hour or so, I pulled out and had lunch on the beach as the front rolled in. Just as I was about to give up on him, I hear my buddy Jeff whistle from on top of the levy. He had come to try out a plethora of new gear, including a P&H Quest LV, Kokatat Gore-Tex Expedition Dry Suit, and fiber glass Werner Coryvrekyn paddle.
I hopped out of my kayak and scrambled over the levy to check out Jeff's new boat. As he was getting his suit on, I offered to hump his boat down to the beach. It was the least I could do seeing as I was going to take it for a spin before he could get dressed.
I have to say his boat felt more nimble than mine. I have felt at times like the NDK Explorer HV is a bit of a battle ship, but I do think the Explorer has a faster top speed.
We floated down river, trolling spinners, toward warrior rock for about an hour with no strikes. As we were floating down, my gaze was fixed on my rod tip wobbling, indicating good action of the spinner. I looked over toward the island and got quite a reminder that this area is a "nude beach"; I saw a middle aged man walking up the beach with nothing on but a ski jacket! That scene needed to leave my mind, so I quickly paddled on.
Monday, 3/2/09
I spent a few hours trolling the Columbia at the usual spot on Sauvie Island today. Even though the big push of salmon is still two weeks away, I am still trying. I am glad to have had the chance to try some new things and get my gear dialed in. I mounted my camera on the deck, and have been playing around with video....It makes time spent not catching fish a little more interesting. Temperatures were warm today; Around 55, squalls and wind with gusts to 15 mph were often interrupted by beaming blue skies.
While trolling between two wing dams, a sea lion popped it's head out of the water about twenty feet off my bow. I managed to get a little video of him checking me out:
You can just make him out by the tip of my bow.
This guy seemed a bit brazen to me. I think he has spent a little too much time around humans. For a second I thought he was going to "play" with me, and I half expected to feel a thump or a nudge from below; not my idea of fun. However, he dipped down below the waters surface never to be seen again.
I did notice the sea lion was headed down river. Apparently he was a bit eager as well, or maybe he felt lucky like I did when I woke up this morning. In either case we were both kidding ourselves. I guess we were both practicing for the big show in mid March, just hoping to get lucky.
I floated down river another few miles before the wind picked up. I wasn't sure how nasty it was going to get, so I thought I would make my way back up river close to where I launched, just in case I needed to bail quickly:
I proceeded to troll in the rain for another half hour before pulling out on the beach and packing up:
As I hauled my kayak over the levy, a couple riding bikes stopped and asked if I wanted help carrying my boat the rest of the way to my truck. He asked me; "What are you going to do when you hook a 35 pound king salmon?"
"I'm going to kill it and eat it my friend. Kill it, and eat it." (only if it is a hatchery fish)
I have paid my dues learning the ways of the Columbia over the last month, and I am fully due a big fat spring salmon. I'm headed to New Orleans this coming weekend. When I get back the spring salmon run should be happening in full force. I look forward to settling the score then.
Until next week,
Jason
No comments:
Post a Comment