I fished with TommyTitan today. We launched at Pt Defiance and mooched from the claybanks to slag pile. We were using cut plug herring and I was using 2.5 oz lead and Tommy was using 3 oz. There were several boats using downriggers and those that we saw didn't have any luck either. The tide was coming in a little choppy towards the Narrows, but overall the water was decent. Tommy was the first to get a fish in, unfortunately it wasn't of the desired salmon species, but of the sculpin variety. He lipped the fish like a bass and released it unharmed. I decided to use some prawns leftover from my last steelhead trip to the Cowlitz last weekend and was met with a violent strike. I battled this fish for at least a good minute before I got it close to the boat. A flounder stared at me with its one eye when I pulled it onto my boat. It was a decent sized flounder. Tommy decided to bail with the herring and copied my technique and ended catching a clam shell. He released the shell back to the water unharmed and from the look on Tommy's face, silence was my best friend. I ended up catching 2 nice sized seastars and Tommy finally caught a couple of flounder also. I thoroughly enjoyed fishing today, I not only learned a few knots, some ways to rig herring, but gained a ton of experience backing up my trailer and my confidence is gaining steadily.. next time out, I plan on upgrading my boat with some downriggers, rod holders and a fish finder..and a cup holder also.

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