This morning was just an outstanding morning of fishing. I was blessed with the oppritunity to fish for Baker Lake Sockeye which happened to be my first time ever. My intial plan was to wake up at 3 am so I could be at the lake around 5am coming from Lynnwood. Little did I know my alarm was not turned on so I ended up leaving the house around 6:30. I finally got to Shannon Creek campground and launched my pontoon around 8:30am. This is where the story begins..

I see the flock of boats piled on the opposite side of the launch so I tried my best to stay clear. The middle of the lake was wide open for me which was perfect so I could get some practice in. I had been watching the youtube video Gary posted from Shatsta Tackle and saw his success with the wiggle hoochie so I threw on my hot pink one and tipped the top hook with a sandshrimp tail. I was using the 8 inch Luhr Jensen dodger to go with it. I also added krill scent to my hoochie skirt. I dont have electronics so I just figured because I got a late start I would troll deep starting at 35 feet. 5 mins into my troll my rod dances and I am way to excited and yanked to hard and missed the fish. I rebait and set my line back down and this time it took 2 mins and my first Sockeye was hooked and boated! Adrenaline rushing I rebait again, punch my card, and back at it. I lose 2 more fish in a 20 min window. I re-evaluated what was going on and I figured I would wait longer for the fish to take the bait and hook itself. That did the trick!

I get another hard strike and this time let the fish take it. I noticed it was fighting harder than the first one so I played it till it came belly first to the surface and netted a nice buck. In 1 hour of fishing I am 2/5 and catching a limit looks promising. Once more I rebait the line set it down to 35 and BAM the biggest strike of the day. As I am reeling in this fish I feel my line go slack and suddenly it goes air born and takes a massive run and then......... SNAP. Instantly I remember what Mike was talking about in his report about checking your knots... should have known that 12lb test wouldnt hold up after 2 fish. Oh well. I had one other 8 Inch dodger that I brout along but it was a hammered chrome one. I set that up with another wiggle hoochie and guess what? I get snagged and lost that dodger too. Time to pack it up and head out and I am actually glad I did as the winds picked up and started to create some small whitecaps which doesnt pair well with my pontoon.

An absolutely amazing first day of Sockeye fishing and I am truly thankful that we have such prestine nature here in the PNW. Met a few new anglers out there that were very nice. Shared some stories and good laughs. I will definately be back out there soon! Tight Lines to you all and safe travels!

-Dj

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