2007 Everett Coho Derby ... Human Powered Watercraft Division

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Who caught fish? I did! That’s right. Oregon wuz in the house!
I went. I saw, and I caught more than anyone and came home with a new (to me) boat! I even gave them extra time on the water by fishing one day of the Derby instead of both. I handed them their lunch! That’s right, I’m claiming! Out gunned them all! EVERY ONE! 12 fish to the boat! I am the FISHKILLA!!!

 Ok, so they were all Sole and Sand Dabs and I bought the boat from Pisco Sicko (who caught the only other Coho).  Jesse (Espiga) actually won the Trident and handed me my lunch (actually dinner and it was delicious!).  He was on the grill when I arrived at 5 pm Saturday and even told us where and what to fish with. But did we listen?     Dick Nites? Who'd of thunk it.
 You are the man! Congratulations!

 No Coho, but I had a great time meeting and fishing with yall. Thanks again Allen for your gracious hospitality. You might want to consider opening a B & B (Bed and Bait).     Okay, maybe not.
 But those little herring where beautiful (tough and bright) and should have been Coho killers (the Sole loved them). So I guess I really did go up and kicked a little butt (very little halibuts) <sorry>  The Silvers must have all been at Possession Pt.
Thanks again and I’ll post some pics later.

Soleman
(formerly know as fishesfromtupperware)

WTF?  I hate it when a plan falls apart.     Other than that, I enjoyed the weekend.   

Richard showed up at my house on Friday night and I was so hungry we walked to the local brewpub before he even entered the house.  Got to chat with Richard quite a bit over the course of a weekend.  He's all right.   

Woke up at 4AM on Saturday and went to the 10th street launch to set up the Ocean Kayak tent.  Then off the Langus.  Bryce had called already so he must have been antsy.  Launched from the crew dock and headed up river a bit then back down to hook up with Richard, who wasn't as fast as me getting ready (I went light).  Fishin-T was also there getting ready.  I only had a couple hours to fish before having to go back and work the booth.  Went back up river with Richard before hitting a shallow shelf then back down.  I briefly hooked up with something before the line parted.  Who tied those knots in the dark?     Off the work the booth.  However ... I was so tired I dozed in my car at the parking lot for an hour before actually working.   

Worked until 2 and then decided that I needed to be fishing.  Headed back to Langus and the guys were all packed up.  Eff-it, I launch and head upriver, over the shallow area and to the first confluence with a slough.  Saw a steady set of rollers there and fished it hard with wiggle warts and spinners.  No joy.  I thought I'd wait it out for freestone as the others had run into her, but I was getting H-U-N-G-R-Y so headed in.  Fried up some shark and Richard tossed some halibut and steaks on the BBQ.  Jesse showed up after fishing the upper Sno (but they had a electric motor on the driftboat).  Fishin-T and his friend and his friend's wife (sorry, forgot names) were there.  Bill showed up.  Bill showed up eventually as did FFTW (who somehow missed the crack of dawn launch and opted for crack of sunset).  freestone and her friend had worked their way upriver until almost Snohomish.  Waited around for them for a while but it started to get dark and we were beat so left (they got off the water ok).

As the fishing in the Snoho was slow for us, we switched tactics and decide to launch from Picnic Point the next day.  Jesse was going to join, but I got a call from him on the way home saying he was heading back out onto the river without motors this time.

FFTW was staying at my place to so we chatted a bit, but I was beat so we retired early.  Woke up and hit the water a Pic Point.  Got a good hit early, but missed it.  Lot's of nets waving until about 9 and then it slowed way down.  There were a MILLION boats on the water.  Pisco Sicko got a 6 pounders and I thought that might work, until I remembered Jesse was working it on the Snoho.  Called Jesse and he said they were already off the water with limits, biggest going 13-14.  I felt bad telling Bill that.

Anyway, Jesse hung in to win.  I'm more than sure you'll enjoy that new Trident.

We had a decent group show up a the ceremonies.  Freestone finally made an appearance ... good to see you.

-Allen

Jesse gets a mention in F&H News ... http://www.fhnews.com/articles/2007/09/24/washington/wa01.txt

Congrats again!

-Allen

Topic regarding hitting the Snoho this week split to here ... http://www.northwestkayakanglers.com/bb/index.php?topic=574.0

-Allen

Congratulations Jesse on the win.
Sounds like yet another fun event to put on my calendar for next year.

Brian

I'm still catching up since getting home at midnight Sunday,  , but a little update.

Janni and I delivered her goodies to the car and picked up more snacks, then stuck out the awards to the end. Not only did Janni get a prize, just for participating ( thanks to the Derby and Jerry's Surplus), but I ended up with a prize- for ~600th place! About the only things left were the tackle boxes with goodies. Prizes went to ~675 places!

The Derby raffle boat, a 17' Alumaweld, was given away 5 times- the first 4 winners weren't there- so the 5th was the real winner. Pretty funny hearing the crowd get loud and excited, as people realized they were going to get another chance to win!

Some pics-

Janni's picture of me and my catch.
The smug little sailor.
J helps Allen with his yak.



Thanks guys, for helping to keep it fun for Janni! She was proud to show her mom her new fishing rod.

I look forward to fishing the rivers using Dick Nites for the next while.

Speaking of Dick Nite, did you happen to see who just joined the forum?  Jesse, maybe you can trade him a kayak fishing trip for some chartreuse/nickel Dick Nites!!!   

-Allen

Awesome pics Bill! Janni is a great kid and destined to be a fantastic fisherwoman! Like Bill, I’m still getting caught up after the weekend. It was great to meet all of you and I think Allen deserves a big round of applause for setting this up! And of course hats off to Jesse for his big fish; sounds like there will be many more from that new Trident!

I’m sorry I didn’t make the BBQ (which reminds me I still haven’t unpacked the cooler, ick). I had planned on leaving work early on Friday with the car already loaded up for the roadtrip, but like all good plans…I ended-up working late instead and had no packing done so when I finally arrived in Everett Sat am I hadn’t even been to bed and barely stayed awake for the drive! I was fishing with a buddy David who had never kayak fished before. I had thought about floating from Snohomish to Langus arriving in time for the BBQ, but he didn’t have roof racks for the shuttle. We checked out several places on the salt and decided it was too windy so we opted for Langus. By the time we ran into Richard, Fishin-T and others they were headed back to the launch and the reports were discouraging to say the least. From the powerboats, we heard was that the fish were up near Snohomish so we kept paddling and fishing and ended up almost to Snohomish wishing we had simply launched htere to begin with. About the time we should have turned around for the BBQ, we started to see splashing fish so we had a tough call – a winning coho or BBQ? Sorry guys, but we couldn’t let all those powerboats hook ‘em all.

In hindsight, the BBQ would have been the surer bet as we never saw a boat hook a fish and there were plenty trolling around up there. We finally gave up and headed downstream fishing along the way hoping to still make the BBQ and be in before dark. One thing I learned never to do again was kayak with no sleep. As I paddled downstream in the late-afternoon sun, I couldn’t stay awake. I kept nodding out and would wake up as my paddle slapped the water. Luckily SOT’s are stable or I would have taken a swim for sure! I was desperate for some sleep and I considered crawling out onto the muddy bank to nap or asking a powerboat for a lift. I finally decided to stay awake by paddling as hard as I could paddling to the cadence of “99 Bottles of Beer”. By the time I got done with all 99 verses, I’d covered a mile or two and was finally awake but thirsty! It was almost dark by the time we got to Langus and I regretted missing the BBQ and all of you guys.

I crashed at a friend’s in Marysville that night and when I walked in totally exhausted, her husband said “You look like S*$% - go to bed!” Needless to say, I missed the early morning bite Sunday am. We decided to launch in Mukilteo and ride the outgoing tide down and the incoming back hopefully meeting up with the Picnic Point crowd. Needless to say, except for a few good hits and some flounder, it was a bust. I was happy to meet up with some of the other kayakers and hear about Jesse and Bill’s fish. On the way back, the day was salvaged by some big bait balls and a huge sea lion working them. Several times, he came a little close for comfort but it was spectacular watching him feasting on the small fish, launching himself almost out of the water as he went for another mouthful. I was glad to finally hook-up with everyone at the awards presentation and be able to cheer for our winners! Hopefully, we’ll have even more people converted to kayak fishing next year thanks to Allen and Jim’s efforts!

Hi All,
     Wow, the story sure could not be covered any better. You guys have some great threads.
Thanks Allen for the warm stay. And it was great meeting everyone from the great Northwest. Yes Zeelander, I'm going to tell everyone how awesome Seattle is. But from the amount of boats out there I think the word is out. As far as the fishing was concerned, let's just say it was a far from fishy around me. Trolled, drifted  and paddle the river with everything. Just not in the right place at the right time. And thanks Tom for offering the Dick Nites, that I foolishly did not accept. Amazing that little lure is the trick. Out in the salt still no love. And using the same lure set-up I hammered them with in Alaska. I think it was that little bead Allen gave me for the hoochie. Must have been sending some wrong signals in the water.
I have one question. At the beginning of the awards ceremony someone was talking about the resources and how limited they are and that if you want your children or even grandchildren to have fish to catch we need to do something now. Later that day we hear that this tournament has broken records with over 1100 fish caught. Are the resources deminishing or is the technology that much better?
Thanks to Ocean Kayak for the winners Trident, Jesse your really going to dig it. Good job. So have you taken the boys to the spot and showed them how it is done? Looking forward to fishing with you guys again. Dont forget there is alot of fishing the Idaho pandhandle and you guys are more than welcome. Let's drop a line.
Richard

Richard-

At the beginning of the awards ceremony someone was talking about the resources and how limited they are and that if you want your children or even grandchildren to have fish to catch we need to do something now.

The speaker you heard exhorting us was Gary Loomis, of G.Loomis Rods. He was encouraging us to join CCA- Coastal Conservation Association. http://www.joincca.org/ I've already joined, because I've lived in the NW for 34 years and I've seen a steep decline in our fisheries. CCA has a good history, in other parts of the country, in fish and recreational fishing advocacy.

Later that day we hear that this tournament has broken records with over 1100 fish caught. Are the resources deminishing or is the technology that much better?

Answer: Neither; just more anglers in an okay year, with decent timing. (Rains in the last couple of weeks brought fish in to the rivers.) In the past, I've seen much hotter fishing- as many as 12 fish in a few hours.

Yup.  CCA.  I joined this weekend as their booth was right across from ours.  I've been meaning to join for awhile ...

1100+ fish weighed by 2500+ anglers over 2 days does not seem like very many silvers to me.

So ... strike while the fire is hot ... where/when shall we have a derby next year, in addition to Moutcha of course?

-Allen

... where/when shall we have a derby next year, in addition to Moutcha of course?

Jacksonville! 




Oh, thats right. They already have thier own tournament(s). Which means yall need to come down and take all thier prizes. 

Can you imagine the day that we have a derby up here in the NW with over $50K in prizes?  They do that at JAchsonville Kayak Fishing Classic.

-Allen

I wonder if they have any sponsors for that tourney.......


Z