Season Update: Crabbing & Surfing from a Sea Kayak, Spontaneous Beach Clean Up, Coastal Kayak Fishing at Lumpy Waters Symposium.

Summer time in the Pacific Northwest is truly one of the greatest things on Earth. Warm, sunny days at the beach with mild winds and mild swell lead to days you know you will remember forever. As we move into September, dungeness crab fishing pics up, and that has been my focus as of late.

I found several spots on the coast loaded with crab that receive little to no fishing pressure, and offer easy pickings for keeper crab. Sea kayak, handline, Crab Hawk, and a chicken leg, fished two hours before low tide is a simple but deadly combination for catching these tasty critters.

How to Catch Crab With a Sea Kayak & Handline:

1. Attach handline directly to the Crab Hawk.

2. Secure weight to corners of Crab Hawk. 1-4oz dependent on current at location.

3. Push needle in center of Crab Hawk through middle of unfrozen chicken drumstick and secure.

4. Paddle directly over sandy area and hold position.

5. Let out 15-20ft of rope off handline.

6. Open Crab Hawk and drop straight down into the water, let off line until the rope goes slack.

7. Keep a little tension on the rope with your hands but do not pull on the rope with any force.

8. Give a little test pull every 5 minutes or so. Does it feel heavier than before? Does it pull back?

9. Pull line in quick hand over hand until the Crab Hawk is within reach.

10. Pull Crab Hawk aboard and sort your keepers!

Surfing Sea Kayaks:

When we're not crabbing, we're surfing our sea kayaks. Here is a nice shot of Chris Bensch ripping it up in the Tiderace Xplore. I just got a new Tiderace Xcite and I must say it is spectacular. For a sea kayak, the Xcite is quite a surfy boat. I took hundreds of hi-res shots of Chris and Shay Bickley surfing recently. I'll have a few more b-roll shots for you in my next post.

Commitment to the Planet:

When we're not surfing or crabbing, we're honoring our commitment with Out of Sight, Out of Mind to remove trash and plastic debris from all waterways every time we kayak. We're running a global clean up contest there where you can submit photos of the removal and proper disposal of garbage from any waterway, using any human powered craft, and win prizes from our sponsors. September's winner will receive a $100 gift card from Alder Creek Kayak & Canoe. Join us in our mission to take action and leave the places we love better than we find them. We spent a couple of hours picking up all the trash off the beach after a day of surfing. There is a fine line between complaining and taking action to initiate change; Several people on the beach said thank you to us as we picked up trash, a few people joined in the picking and we were happy to see that. Mostly people just sat idle and watched as we cleaned the beach in front of them. Regardless of people's reaction, everyone on the beach that day was impacted by our actions. It's easy to complain, but it takes effort to actually do something about it. That's what Out of Sight, Out of Mind is all about. We're on a mission to inspire people to take action to clean up the planet. No matter how big or how small, every little effort helps.

                                                        Before:

                                          After:

                                          30lbs of trash removed:

Coastal Kayak Fishing at Lumpy Waters Symposium:

Lumpy Waters Symposium is quickly approaching and I'll be offering two classes this year. The first, Crabbing From a Kayak is designed for everyone of all skill levels and will be held in flat to mild water. We'll use handlines and Crab Hawks to fish for keeper dungeness. There's potential for a little salmon fishing as well. This class is great for anyone interested in catching crab just for fun or for sustenance on a mutli-day expedition in a coastal environment.

The second class is for advanced paddlers with ocean paddling & surf zone experience and is designed with sustenance fishing on a multi-day expedition in mind; Perfect for those planning an expedition in the Pacific Northwest or Alaska. We'll launch off the beach at Cape Kiwanda through the surf and head out to the reef & big rock off shore. We'll use our handlines to jig for bottom fish, including lingcod, rockfish, and greenling.

The goal of both of these classes is not to provide a day of guided kayak fishing, but instead to instill the skills and knowledge to safely fish the ocean and feed yourself with fresh seafood while touring this beautiful region.

As always, call 503-285-0464 if you have any questions or need additional information.

Until next time,

Jason

2011 Kayak Fishing Guide of the Year Nomination

I was lucky enough to be nominated for "Kayak Angler of the Year" and "Kayak Fishing Guide of the Year" at Kayak Fishing Radio.

Please take a second to click the link below & vote for me!

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/DVP99FL

Thank you,

Jason

Contest Announcement

I'm a little late posting this here, but I wanted to share this with you. We're running a global clean-up contest on our Facebook page for Out of Sight, Out of Mind, with monthly prizes from our sponsors. Rules below.

Contest Announcement From Out of Sight, Out of Mind
To enter, simply "like" our Facebook page. To compete for monthly prizes, all you have to do is remove trash from any waterway using a human powered craft. Submit pictures to our FB wall of the removal and proper disposal of the garbage. The person/group with the most garbage removed at the end of each month will win prizes from our sponsors. July's winner will win free shoes from KEEN FOOTWEAR!

I hope to see you there!

Jason

TRIP REPORT: Kayak Fishing San Juan Islands, Wa. June 2-5/2011

 

We launched our kayaks out of Deer Harbor, at the SW corner of Orcas Island on June 2nd and paddled towards the Wasp Islands. Three to four foot wind waves, fifteen kt winds, and a bit of drizzle greeted us as we left the shelter of the harbor and made our way across the channel to Reef Island. When we reached the reef, we dropped our jigs and began fishing. 

Within fifteen minutes, one of my clients, Eric, hooked up with a fish. This was Eric's first time kayak fishing, and he elected to keep the rod and reel stowed and use a hand line. "Pull up faster!" I shouted as I made my way over to his boat to assist. Eric replied with a grunting, "I'm pulling as fast as I can!" Eric is not a small guy. If that was as fast as he could retrieve the line, then it must have been a nice lingcod. Eric had brought the fish to the surface a few seconds before I arrived next to his boat. The moment I arrived to assist, the fish bounced a bit and flopped off the hook. I got a good view of it before it swam away, and it looked to be 30-32 inches and quite healthy. Eric was stoked to have hooked his first fish with the hand line. I did not dwell on the loss, as it seemed to be a solid indicator of productive fishing to come and I was sure there would be another just like it in a few minutes.

Twenty minutes went by and Gary hooked up with, and released an undersized lingcod. We made our way over to McConnel Island to one of my most productive spots and worked it hard for two hours without a bite. Something was amiss.

If the Wasps weren't going to give me a fish every 15 minutes, I thought Steep Point on Orcas Island would. So we paddled back across the channel to the West side of Orcas. We fished Steep Point for an hour or so with no bites. I tried to deduce why the fishing was so slow, but couldn't see any big indicator. I decided to drop a line down to see if there were fish here or not. I immediately hooked up with a 22 inch lingcod, and decided we needed to focus more on technique the next day.

We woke early the next morning and launched out of Deer Harbor. Blue skies and sunshine, flat water, and 10kt winds were the rule of the day. We paddled across the channel to Jones Island and began jigging. In several hours of fishing, Eric boated a nice lingcod, and we caught and released a few copper rockfish. 

 

 

This was definitely much less productive fishing than what I have grown accustomed to in the San Juans, and I began to ask around to see how other guides were fairing. It turns out that we were actually doing better than every other group out fishing. All of the guides had cancelled the remainder of their trips for lingcod season because the fish just weren't biting. This was disappointing to hear, but it did make me feel pretty good about the lingcod we had caught.

On Saturday I decided to pull out all the stops. We tried new colors, lures, and techniques to no avail. At one point I hooked a flounder on a black jig 10 feet off the bottom over rocks. Things were just weird. We pounded it out for several hours with only a couple of rockfish and undersized lingcod to show. 

It's like the saying goes, "A bad day of kayak fishing is still a good day of kayaking." and the island's couldn't have produced more beautiful weather for us to enjoy.....although I'd have like to have caught more fish! The last day of the trip we decided to take it easy, have a nice breakfast, and catch the noon ferry back to the mainland. All in all it was a great trip, and I'm looking forward to next year. 

I'm headed out on a scouting trip in the Strait of Juan De Fuca/Olympic Peninsula in the next few weeks to look for possible locations for future trips. The lingcod season is longer in the Strait, and we wouldn't have to deal with the ferry coming back from Orcas on a Sunday. The conditions can be a little more challenging in the Strait, but the fishing might be better. I will keep you posted on those guided trip options and announce them here first.

Guided Kayak Fishing 2011

This year I've decided to run two 4 day kayak fishing trips in the San Juan Islands, WA, during lingcod season.

The first trip is set for Thursday May 26th through Sunday May 29th, and is for those wanting to fish from sea kayaks. We'll focus on fishing for lingcod with hand lines while multi-day touring. We'll establish base camp on Jones Island, off the SW corner of Orcas Island and learn the skills necessary to do a multi-day sea kayak fishing trip of your own. We'll cover more miles and be a bit more exposed to conditions than the resort based trip in June. Your guides, meals, camp fees, tackle, and hand lines are included in the price. Kayaks & paddling gear can be provided at no additional cost to you if necessary. You will need to supply your own camping gear, toiletries, personal items, and purchase a Washington fishing license.

The second trip is scheduled the following week; Thursday June 2nd through Sunday, June 5th, and is for those wanting to fish from sit-on-top kayaks. For this trip we'll establish base camp at West Beach Resort on the NW side of Orcas Island. On this trip fishing is the main pursuit and will occupy the vast majority of our time in the San Juans. Camping at West Beach offers amenities such as hot showers, running water, flush toilets, and a small store on sight with latte's & ice cream....less rustic than the May trip and perfect for those more interested in catching fish than back country camping. Camping at West Beach allows us to have vehicles, which allow us to find places to fish even when the wind is blowing hard & currents are uncooperative. We'll use them to get to different fishing locations so we spend more time fishing and less time paddling to where we need to be to catch fish.  Your guides, meals, camp fees, tackle, and hand lines are included in the price. Kayaks & paddling gear can be provided at no additional cost to you if necessary. You will need to supply your own rod & reel, camping gear, toiletries, personal items, and purchase a Washington fishing license. Wall tents with queen size beds and cabins are available through West Beach Resort for an additional fee.

Cost for both trips is $650/person. Basic kayaking skills are required. One of the great things about fishing saltwater in the San Juans is there is no/very limited swell. There is current and potential for wind however, and your trip will be more enjoyable if you have a some previous kayaking experience. If you don't, it's no problem, we can arrange a lesson for you prior to the trip.

I love kayak fishing the San Juans and I look forward to sharing the good times with you!

Please feel free to contact me should you have any questions or need additional information.

Jason Self
Alder Creek Kayak & Canoe
503-285-0464
jason@aldercreek.com

Adventure With Purpose Summit 3/18/2011

I'll be giving a presentation on the subject of sponsorships and talking about my current film project "Out of Sight, Out of Mind" at the Adventures with Purpose Summit Friday, March 18th from 1:30-2:30pm PST. Should be a pretty cool event. If you're in the area, stop by and check it out. Details below:

ADVENTURE WITH PURPOSE 

To go…not simply “because it is there” but “to inspire change.”

Panel presentations from industry experts on:
• Building Online Communities
• Sponsorship
• Building Purpose in Outdoor Programs
• Marketing and Outreach
• Effective Fundraising

Summit will also include:
Adventure with Purpose Expo: Visit tables with information on the next season’s events, adventures, expeditions and gear.
Dates/Times: March 18, 2011
Summit: Friday 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Expo: Friday, noon – 2 p.m.
Location: Mt. Hood Community College
26000 SE Stark St. Gresham, OR 97030

Registration for Summit and Expo:
Pre-registration required
For more information:
Visit: mhcc.edu/AWP
Call: 503-491-7235
E-mail: Workforce.training@mhcc.edu

Adventure – To go, not simply “because it is there” but “to inspire change.”
The Pacific Northwest offers some of the most spectacular mountains, trails, rivers and coastline in North America. This unique environment has created leading athletes and organizations in the outdoor industry. Today’s athletes and organizations are going beyond reaching summits, descending rivers, traversing continents and setting records. They are using events, adventures and expeditions to inspire change and raise support for charitable organizations, that influence positive change in a range of issues including health, the environment and human rights. Mt. Hood Community College presents the first summit exploring the community, collaboration and best practices for the emerging culture of adventures with purpose.

Who should attend:
• Social-, Environmental- and Health-related non-profit organizations
• Outdoor gear and clothing manufacturers
• Outdoor adventure guides, instructors and students
• Outdoor event planning agencies
• Print/Broadcast/Web Media
FUNDRAISING | AWARENESS | ADVOCACY | CHANGE

A Free One-Day Summit on Successful Outdoor Events, Adventures & Expeditions Supporting Charitable Organizations

ADVENTURE WITH PURPOSE FILM FESTIVAL
In cooperation with McMenamins Edgefield and Team River Runner, Mt. Hood Community College
presents the ADVENTURE WITH PURPOSE FILM FESTIVAL
LOCATION:
McMenamins, Edgefield
DATE/TIME:
Friday, March 18 from 7 to 9 p.m

I hope to see you there!

-Jason