Wow! What an extraordinary day! Caught the 6:00 AM ferry out of Mukilteo and headed for one of my favorite places on planet earth... the beach at Fort Casey. Arrived a little bit before 7:00, on the beach and fishing by 7:20. Cloudy and a bit chilly... temp at outset was 54 degrees. Heavy surf... low tide was at 4:30 so we fished the in-coming all morning. Began casting a chartreuse Rotator with a pink hootchie and silver flash. What bothered me most at the outset, was the presence of large masses of bull-kelp stationed about 50 yards off shore, all along the beach. Had to make accurate casts to get the lure between the masses of kelp, to avoid snagging and losing everything. Third cast, had a hit, but didn't stick. Ten casts later... Wham... fish on!!! The Rotator hadn't been in the water for more than three seconds and the fish almost yanked the rod from my hand. If you've never had a coho hit a Rotator or Buzz Bomb, you can't possibly know the arm wrenching power that a fish can deliver! Four, five, six leaps out of the water, several bulldog runs with headshakes, and finally negotiated the fish through the kelp maze and onto the beach... another problem... the fish's teeth had sawed the leader through, and as soon as it hit the beach the line parted and the fish was flopping it's way back to the water. Made an old man scramble to catch it up in my arms just as it was about to enter the water. First fish on the beach by 7:45. A beautiful hatchery hen of 5# 2oz on my digital scale, bled and de-gilled. Next couple of hours, the surf grew even heavier, pounding the shoreline. Had a couple more hits but nothing stuck. At 10:30, I caught my "miracle fish"!
Don't mean to offend anyone, but need to tell my story. I am involved in a church ministry to young men who are fighting an addiction issue. Presently there are five great young men in residence at New Heart Place. We have a limited budget, so donated food is greatly appreciated. Tuesday evening is the church prayer meeting... while there, I was praying and I told God that if He blessed me with two fish today, I would give the larger to the home.
Back to the beach... the kelp was still a huge concern out front... I made another cast, and again, the Rotator was not in the water more than three seconds before there was a explosion on the surface eighty yards out and again, my arm was nearly pulled from it's socket. This was definitely a bigger fish... it ran straight out to sea... peeling line off the reel... finally got it turned and gaining ground. As the fish came closer to the shore, it made a run to the south (my left) and ran directly into a huge mass of kelp. I was helpless, my line was under the kelp and wrapped around it. The fish was doing cartwheels on the other side of the kelp mass... I could feel it pulling out line, but when I reeled, I was pulling the huge mass of kelp into the pounding surf. I was sure the fish was gone a dozen times, but I kept reeling, the fish thrashing on the surface and a huge mass of kelp heading my way. Finally, somehow the line came free of the kelp and it was me and the fish, "mano a mano". It was no less that fifteen minutes before I got the fish to shore... I was beat... a beautiful wild hen of 7# 8oz (bled and de-gilled). As promised, that fish will go to New Heart Place!
Saw perhaps a dozen other fishermen and women, but saw no other fish caught while I was on the beach. A simply awesome day for me, left the beach by 11:00 with my limit. PTL!

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