It promised to be a nice day, at least weather-wise, and I was looking forward to a day of fishing and good company. I met Gary on this site a while back, and after a few emails, he graciously invited me to join him for some Coho fishing. I had the pleasure of a fishing trip with him before, so I anticipated some good fishing luck and visit with a new friend.

For those who've had the pleasure of fishing with Gary, you know that he is an avid fisherman with a great deal of knowledge about all kinds of fishing, and especially our local salmon and trout fisheries. He has developed some solid fishing techniques. And how to operate a boat and gear in an efficient manner. Nothing can spoil a trip faster than running into trouble with either. That means keeping your deck clean and clear. To this end, Gary has developed routines to keep a tight ship, so to speak. There's nothing worse than to loose a fish because stuff got in the way, or you slipped stepping on some fish blood. Let alone stepping on and breaking that new rod you are so proud of.

Since I had fished with Gary before, I was familiar with his routines for launching, gear set up, downrigger controls, gear retrieval with a fish on, and working together to net and and bring the fish aboard. When these things are managed correctly, it adds to the fun. After all, we want to keep our fish, gear, and sanity. Anyone who has dealt with downriggers, poles, fish, and a second person on-board all at the same time, knows what I'm talking about.

We motor out to the sport where Gary had limited out the day before. Calm water, little breeze, and the promise of sunshine later in the morning. We hooked up Gary's mainstays of UV flashers and green hoochies with twinkle skirts and a herring strip (flashers, hoochies, skirts, strip – hmmmm). We started out with one downrigger set to 40 feet, and the other at 50.

We had settled in after getting our gear down and were catching up with each others' fishing luck since we had last fished together when the first fish struck. Since I am his guest, Gary insisted I land the first one. I manage to keep it on and get it in. I get the hooks out and take over the net to rinse and stow it. Gary bonks the fish and then threads it on a rope. He then puts the fish in the transom, slit the gills, then hung the fish off the back for a minute to let it bleed out before putting it on ice in the cooler. This keeps the fish better, and keeps the deck clean and clear of slippery fish blood.

He told me that others had told him that he was inviting a furbag to help itself to a meal, but had never had that happen to him, and since he didn't keep it in the water very long, not like it was on a stringer and left there. Gary lands 50 or more Coho each year, and always does this for each fish. Never had a problem and this routine kept his boat and the fish in good shape.

And that's when it happened. We hear a splash and looked – the Coho was gone! Nothing but the rope, ripples, and a few scales. We were both stunned for a moment. WTF just happened! A furbag just had breakfast on us! Then we started to laugh. It hurt to loose a fish, but to have something unusual happen like that, you might as well laugh it off, and accept it as a part of fishing. Gary was upset that it was my fish, and decided that it was time to learn the lesson and change how he bleeds his catch from now on. I didn't like losing the fish, but considered it a part of the adventure, and would have a story to share. After all, who doesn't like having a fishing story to swap with your buddies? And Gary? He is a big enough guy to let me share this with you. Thanks, Gary!

It was a running thread in our conversation for the rest of the day. We missed our limit by one, but had a great time. As a fisherman, you never want to stop learning about all aspects of pursuing our favorite sport. Keep your gear clean and stowed, use teamwork, and be ready to change things up when you learn something new.

kodacachers

10/2/2014 1:12:00 PM

Great report! I do the rope bleed too so maybe better think twice about it.

BARCHASER10

10/2/2014 6:05:00 PM

I've been hanging fish over the transom for fifty years. Picked up the habit from my Dad when we used to fish the Columbia and the Willy together in the 50's and 60's. But I wont do it again when there are furbags around. I'll just bleed 'em in the transom and poor some water to clean up. The furbags these days are just too numerous and aggressive. Sure was slow today, my friend Pat and I only got one Silver and trolled from daylight until 2PM. Should be one more nice run in the salt when we get a shot of rain. Since I have my boat moored at Everett I may just troll some plugs in the lower Sno. But when I did that last year we lost two fish to the furbagsI

kokanee1

10/2/2014 7:17:00 PM

Great story and write up. We were out in the shipwreck area of the 1st and only got one at daybreak. Couldn't catch any more even tho others were catching some. Funny you mention a seal stealing your fish. We had our VHF radio on and heard a guy saying he lost one that he just put on a stringer and cut the gills. There may be more of them buggers that are pretty brave. Maybe Gary was the one that reported on his radio. We watched a guy battle a sea lion for a long time. The sea lion grabbed his fish and got the hooks in him. After a while he broke off. Just wanted his flasher back.

Bank drifter

10/2/2014 8:20:00 PM

Funny, done it for hu pies in shallow, no issues, but I was up near you guys yesterday and saw a few sneaky fur bags around! We were 3/3, quit at 9:45, was not red hot and smallish fish, all under 9 lbs

BARCHASER10

10/3/2014 1:25:00 PM

Kok, that guy on VHF 68 with the furbag report was me. Couple weeks ago a guy on 68 reported a furbag that climbed up on his swim platform and put his front flippers up on the transom of his boat! Those kind of stories are common on the Columbia.

LastCast

10/5/2014 9:10:00 AM

Keep the boat moving when you are giving those coho a bath after bleeding them and you are a lot bit safer from the salmon stealers. I had a buddy lose a nice one at the dock doing that exact same thing..second dunk in the water and Sammy seal snatched it right outta his hand.

Leave a Comment:

Login

Flag

×

Why is this comment inappropriate?

Close Submit

Delete this comment? Provide reason.

No Yes

Edit

×

Cancel Save