It is one thing to have a great day of catching fish when you are on the river with a pro like Kevin Brock. But as I blogged, even then at times you have challenges such as those 5 lost fish. However, we did hook approximately 18 fish that day with all parties taking home limits. Yes that is the ultimate definition of “Sweet!”
However, we ventured back out on our own the following Sunday on our North River and tried to implement what we learned from Kevin. Alan found the right Owner hooks that Kevin uses and tied hooks and leaders with egg loops using, again using the same line and test. What Alan did not do was opt for was the pencil weights Kevin uses. We used the same size weights, but balls instead of those slender weights. It did make a difference in the feel of the bouncing off the bottom and I was convinced it ultimately made a difference in the bite.
However, that being said, we had a spectacular day with our son, Ryan, our granddaughter Maggy (age 7) and her great uncle, Rob Cowan. We hunted dove opener on Rob’s family ranch up in Shenandoah Valley on Thursday limiting out and returned the invite to tackle salmon with us. Rob had never landed a King Salmon. On the 2nd or 3rd drift Alan, hooked a nice fish and handed the rod over to Rob. Rob is an experienced fisherman having fished a lot for Dorado in Mexico and ling cod in the Pacific. It took about 15 minutes but in the end he tired that hen out and Alan netted her. She weighed in at 16 pounds. She was a wowzer!
Two more drifts, and Captain Alan hooked another strong fish and handed the rod over to Ryan. Again, the fish fought hard and made several attempts to dive under the boat. But Ryan handled his fish with similar expertise and Alan brought that 7 pound male in with superb netting.
After several empty drifts, we decided to move up stream following Kevin’s boat and on the 2nd drift up there, Ryan hooked a fish. This one was very lively, but our goal was to let Maggy bring it in. She grabbed the rod and the reel handle and started cranking. At my insistence, Ryan kept on hand on the rod to make sure the $300. investment didn’t go over-board. But Maggy kept total control of that reel and followed instructions on dipping the tip in the water when the fish dove under the boat. This one took longer that even the 16 pounder, but in the end, Mighty Maggy prevailed and Grandpa netted the fish. Way to go Maggy!
While we all felt that perhaps our noisy and bouncy ball weights made a difference in attracting more fish, we were thrilled with 3 fish taken on our own. We could not help but feel good when Kevin’s eyes lit up when he saw that big hen. (By the way, his boat of 6 anglers limited by 10:30 that morning, again! He is such a pro!) Then later that day the Fish and Game fish counters came by and took a scale samples and confirmed that hen was the biggest fish they had sampled all day. So we are still learning, but by fishing with Kevin, I truly feel we shortened that learning curve by years. In remembering back, it was one of our best days fishing for King Salmon on our own. So, I guess it is appropriate to say that catching them on our own is actually the real definition of Sweet!
In closing I want to remind you that if you have been thinking about buying a home or real estate investment, now is the time to revisit the opportunities. Between prices and interest rates, house payments are now lower than most rents for the same type of properties. Add to that the tax benefits, this just might be the right time to invest in your future wealth..
On the other side of the market, there are still a lot of our fellow fishermen who are facing tough times. Regardless, please keep in mind that there are two types of agents today…agents that understand the complexity of real estate transactions and short sales and those who don’t. With 42 years experience, we have not only survived but thrived in every market since 1969. We have specialized in short sales before most agents even heard of them.
Don’t think twice to ask me questions; I’m here to listen and provide facts!
Until then, Fish On!
# posted by
Viki Benbow @ 3:54 PM
Alan and I always look forward to fishing with Kevin Brock whether it is stripers in the spring, steelhead up on the Smith, but for our trip for Salmon on the Sac this past week, we were like two kids at Christmas. After all it has been years since that fishery was really open let alone promising. Following Kevin’s reports that he was bringing in limits everyday really elevated the anticipation!
We were not to be disappointed! What a day on the Sac! Not only did we all limit out, but we had a great group of people on board, plus Maggy the dog! What we did not anticipate was experiencing the infamous banana on board!
It was a cool, but not cold morning and the temperatures promised to be tolerable, only around 90, but the 20 minute run up river from the Irvine Finch River Access was nippy. Our first 5 or 6 drifts produced not even a bite. Kevin promised that just as soon as the sun hit the water, the action would heat up and it did. First Bob sitting next to me set the hook with great gusto. I could tell from the start, he had a good fish on. It turned out to be the biggest fish of the day. Next Gary set his hook and brought in a beauty and then Alan. Bob seemed to have the hot seat as he landed yet another nice fish and then Randy. Then the action in that hole seemed to stop just as fast as it fired up. Kevin announced we were going up to the next run. However, we all voiced the need for a potty break and so we headed for shore.
Upon returning to the boat I noticed that Gary had just finished eating a banana and was holding the peel. I said, throw that thing over board. He looked a little startled as he had never heard about the myth of no bananas on a fishing boat. Kevin said, he really didn’t take any stock in the myth and so Gary ignored my advice and threw the peel in the garbage sack on the boat.
We headed up stream and motored to the top of the run and our first drift. Right off the bat, I hooked a fish. However, that fish never made it in the boat. On the next 4 drifts, we hooked 4 more fish, none of which made it into the boat including a 2nd hooked and lost fish for me! I finally hooked not one, but two salmon and lost them both! Salmon have always but a challenging fish to hook but normally once I hook them I don’t lose many fish so I was totally frustrated! Kevin was going nuts and with each lost fish, he checked the hooks for sharpness dumbfounded as to why these fish were getting off as well. I finally said get that banana peel and throw it over board! Gary dug through the garbage sack and that yellow devil went into the water. No worries, they are biodegradable!
Now back to the business of catching and landing salmon. We had 7 to go to make it the 12th day in a row for Kevin’s boat to limit out. True to the previous 5 runs which hooked but lost 5 fish, we continued to hook fish on the next 6 runs, but this time they all came into the boat. Yes, I hooked two more and brought them in. Only one angler, Paul had a fish to catch to complete the day. Run # 7 produced no bites, but on #8, Paul hooked into a fish and, yes he landed it successfully. We all cheered and celebrated the turn in our luck and definitely decided that maybe there was something about those bananas on board a fishing boat.
All I can tell you is that there will never be any bananas allowed on “Too Much Fun” the Benbow North River! And, Kevin Brock said no bananas on his boat in the future either!
# posted by
Viki Benbow @ 3:20 PM
