Everywhere you look, it seems the world is going to hell. The economy is in the tank, Republicans and Democrats bicker endlessly about who is to blame, and what to do about it, housing prices are in the toilet, and people are losing their jobs. And did I mention the endless wars and wild gyrations in the stock market? What is any sane person to do?
Why, go fishing, of course! Because out on the beautiful Puget Sound here in Washington, where the salmon are everywhere these days, when the bite is on—trust me, I do not think once about my steadily eroding retirement investments, or want to “re-live 9/11,” or worry about my dead-end job. Because THERE ARE FISH EVERYWHERE! And when you first feel that mighty tug of a great big king or coho or even pink salmon on your line, you’re thrilled to the core, and all of the world’s troubles just magically melt right off you.
This year I have been blessed with the generosity of friends Wendy and Mel, who have graciously invited me to go out on their “Wooly boat” to learn the ins and outs of salmon fishing on the Puget Sound. Wendy, Mel, and I, along with friend Lynny, have gone out numerous times, and we’ve all learned a lot together along the way. There is a definite learning curve with trolling with a downrigger for salmon—along with jigging and mooching—but we’ve finally got it down. And if we don’t always limit out, fish are at least being caught every day by someone on the boat (pictured above, me with coho and pinks, along with pal Wendy; and me “kissing” a pink, with co-captain Mel cheering me on).
A few things we’ve learned along the way: 1) you have to work well with your boat-mates on a small boat, especially with the downriggers, to avoid tangle ups, fish loss, and temper flare- ups. We’ve finally got it down so two people can troll with the downriggers on either side, a third person can troll in the center with a diver, and the fourth can mind the boat. 2) Don’t go zooming off with your downriggers down at 100’ to check your crab pots at 50’ without pulling up your downriggers (results: lost downrigger ball and tackle). 3) Don’t throw your crab pot and buoy overboard until you’re sure the line is untangled (results: one lost crab pot). 4) No matter how much you know, there’s always more you can learn—go to fishing seminars, read up on it, and try new techniques and areas.
We’ve been very successful lately catching cohos, pinks, and kings, though unfortunately my one “big” 8-10 pound king was caught after the king closure. We started out mooching and jigging with herring, but the sharks were a problem. Once we went to flashers and spoons and hoochies, we had no trouble catching salmon, and even the herring worked, if we trolled fast enough. We launch early at Shilshoe in Seattle, and have found fish off Richmond Beach, Jefferson Head, and numerous locations between Edmonds and Mukilteo. So far, we haven’t hooked any of the lunker wild cohos which are just coming in from the ocean, but stay tuned…because THERE ARE FISH EVERYWHERE!
