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Headed for Fort Casey again... have really, really enjoyed this Whidbey Island fishery this month! Arrived at beach at 7:45, about 20 to 25 fishermen already there or arriving at same time as me. Started out with the tried and true... chartreuse Rotator with a bit of Smelly Jelly. About 15 minutes in, had a fish follow to the beach... a bit later a solid hit... it became apparent that the fish were responding to a fast retrieve. The tide was to be high at about 11:30, and about 8:30 some gnarly waves began to develop... at 8:45, about 12' in front of me, my Rotator stopped... a snag?... or a fish?... at that precise moment a wave of three or four feet broke in front of me... there, suspeded in the water (like looking into an aquarium) was a Coho with my Rotator in it's mouth! The wave continued through me and the fish headed west, fast! A couple of spectacular leaps and a couple of strong runs, a valiant fight, but in the end the fish was mine... a 6 1/2# hatchery hen. The rest of the morning was really dead... had a couple hits... saw one fish caught after mine.
Tide was high at 11:30ish... saw three fish beached at or just after high tide. At about 12:30 a large rip tide developed just off the beach... from out of nowhere, 7 or 8 boats appeared and began to fish in close to the shoreline. A very strong southward current began to run out in front... just what I had been waiting for! I ditched the Rotator, plug-cut a herring, tested for the correct spin, and began to cast my float into the current... just like fishing a river at that point. One cast... two casts... third cast and... a huge backlash! Took me five minutes to straighten out my line... the herring had been busted... new herring, spinning great... next cast... let the float ride the current about 150' below me, then slowly began the retrieve... maybe three cranks on the reel and Bam! fish on... strong fish, out of water five or six times... fighting the current made it feel like it was a 30#er... awesome fight, finally won by me! Beached a 7 1/2# wild hen... beautiful fish! I saw no other fish caught in the rip... saw no other beach fisherman casting herring... strange, because the fish were obviously going to be feeding in that rip! Anyway, left the beach at 1:00PM with my two fish limit... a great day for enjoying the sport I love so dearly. PTL!
Last photo is an inventory of the contents of the stomach of the second fish: 13 candlefish (plus 2 or 3 others that were too far digested to display), three herring, a two spined stickleback, and my plug-cut herring.

LiveAsYouWill

9/23/2012 1:12:00 AM

Wow! Making me reconsider spending the time/money to launch my boat if i could just shore-cast...!

jumpinjim

9/23/2012 2:26:00 AM

How the heck do you add so many photos??? I want to do that!!

Toni

9/23/2012 7:44:00 AM

Nice report...jumpingjim you pay and become a premium member.

Stansjoy

9/23/2012 7:49:00 AM

Hey, jumpinjim... not sure what I'm doing that you are not. Must be a premium member... which I suppose you are... I start at the "Submit Report" box at the top of page, then after I report all the "wheres", "hows", and "whens", I go to the "select files" at bottom of page... (I always download the pictures of the day before I begin the report)... highlight the pictures I want (one at a time) and hit "open" and the picture transfers to the report. As premium members, we are allowed up to six pictures per report. If you continue to have problems, contact Aaron Borg... he has been extremely helpful to me at times when my computer IQ is lacking... (most of the time!). Good luck.

Mike Carey

9/23/2012 2:40:00 PM

this would be a great subject for a video, too bad I have no time to do it. What's a rotator? Your herring under a float was exactly how we fished at the jetty for Buoy 10 fishing, Ft Canby State Park. jumpinjim, they are correct, that is a premium member benefit (one of several).

afk

9/23/2012 4:26:00 PM

Great report. I really like the pic of the stomach inventory! Thanks

Stansjoy

9/23/2012 8:01:00 PM

Mike... thanks for the comment... A Rotator, also called a "Wannabe" much like a Buzz Bomb, more rounded edges and has a devastating action on the retrieve... not so much "jerking" as with the Buzz Bomb, more tugging and release to let the lure flutter some, but much more "spoonlike" action on the retrieve.

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