Day six of my magnificent adventure.

[Bushman]

Thanks for the update MR I wished I was back out in the islands. I am pricing a 30' Ocean Sport what a great boat for creature comforts for the family and yet looks like it might be a decent fishing boat!

[mash rookie]

30' Ocean Sport is a nice boat. That is a balance act for a fisherman Bushman. Small enough boat to go fishing when you want and big enough for comfort. I had smaller boats most of my life and was a avid fisher. I guess now I am a boater with a fishing problem.
I saw a guy fishing in a small Zodiac yesterday. He was a fisherman with a boating problem.

The definition of a yacht club? A drinking club with a boating problem.

I have had my 38 Tolly for ten years now. Because of its size and the cost to run it I cant just take off and get to a decent fishing spot at ten miles an hour. Actual fishing trips are rare anymore. I have to fish when the opportunity presents itself.
No complaints though. I love my boat. All the comforts of home and more. They are a lot of work to keep up. A labor of love.

Although I havent fished much the last several years, I am proud that my skills seemed pretty sharp. I had forgotten how much there is to know to be a good fisher. Both of my friends are relative rookies so there was a lot to do and teach.
My Seattle buddy dialed in real quick on running downriggers and baiting with whole herring. My island buddy has been a professional skipper so I put him at the helm. Just for fun I even taught both to tie leaders in short order.
Teaching how to net a fish correctly and how to bring a fish to the net are practiced kills and they did pretty good. A high percentage of hits went into the fish box.

I did a good job at reading the water and conditions. I put us on the fish constantly.
We out fished the other boats both days. You know this when your net is out constantly, there’s are not and they start following you around.
Everybody got to play fish and had fun. Great team work, Great fun. Great day.

[Bushman]

Nice, maybe if one of my guys decides not to go back to Rivers Inlet I will keep you in mind for the trip. Enjoy the rest of your vacation!

[mash rookie]

Nice, maybe if one of my guys decides not to go back to Rivers Inlet I will keep you in mind for the trip. Enjoy the rest of your vacation!

Do you fly up or run your boat up? I have recently thought about flying into one of the fish camps so I can fish the head for big fish. Its about that time right now the big fish should be in. Mid to late August.
Fishing along the rock wall is worth it to me. You might not get a bite for days but when you do it’s a big fish. At least forty plus. I would love to fish it with down riggers.

When I caught my big fish there my buddy fished with leads. It was difficult to mix the to techniques without fouling gear. I had to work harder to get my presentation to what I wanted. I made up for it in different ways. Changing boat speed. Turns and stop start. We were trolling but more like motor mooching when I ran the boat. It is a pretty good technique for there. Fond memories.

This is one hell of a vacation. I am going to have a lot of work stacked up when I return plus a business trip to New Orleans. I probably will be chained to my shop for weeks when I return. Arggg...

[Kifi]

Sounds like a dream vacation!

A 'business' trip to New Orleans - yeah right. You been before?

When is someone going to design a sailboat with a distillation column for a mast? Then you could fish, sail and distill all at once....

[Odin]

Kifi,

If you design a dish washer in as well, I will be tempted to throw out the missus!

Odin.

[mash rookie]

Sounds like a dream vacation!

A 'business' trip to New Orleans - yeah right. You been before?

When is someone going to design a sailboat with a distillation column for a mast? Then you could fish, sail and distill all at once....

Yes I have been there Kifi. One hell of a party town. I new a guy that I called the prince of the quarter. He knew everybody and every place. It was wild. Unfortunately it will be a quick business trip this time, in and out in a couple of days. I will be staying in the French Quarter. I have an account there. I will at least have a few drinks and some good Cajun food.

I could distill on my boat pretty easily. I have propane on board and all the cooling water ever needed if I rigged up a 12V pump.
I would have to be anchored in a secluded quiet cove. The only place I have enough height is out in the open on the deck. I would have to secure it well and I would have to put up blinds or something. Might be a little risky……..

[Kifi]

Risky? No way. Just register your boat in New Zealand, and go 12 miles off the US coast before you start distilling. Then you're under Kiwi law. That's what I'm going to do! LOL

[Kifi]

I wonder if you could rent space on an oil rig for this hobby.....?

[Bushman]

Nice, maybe if one of my guys decides not to go back to Rivers Inlet I will keep you in mind for the trip. Enjoy the rest of your vacation!

Do you fly up or run your boat up? I have recently thought about flying into one of the fish camps so I can fish the head for big fish. Its about that time right now the big fish should be in. Mid to late August.
Fishing along the rock wall is worth it to me. You might not get a bite for days but when you do it’s a big fish. At least forty plus. I would love to fish it with down riggers.

When I caught my big fish there my buddy fished with leads. It was difficult to mix the to techniques without fouling gear. I had to work harder to get my presentation to what I wanted. I made up for it in different ways. Changing boat speed. Turns and stop start. We were trolling but more like motor mooching when I ran the boat. It is a pretty good technique for there. Fond memories.

This is one hell of a vacation. I am going to have a lot of work stacked up when I return plus a business trip to New Orleans. I probably will be chained to my shop for weeks when I return. Arggg...

I've run the boat up but the last few years with fuel cost we trailer to Port Hardy and then run across. The wall is a good place to fish but we caught most of our really large fish inside by Waddems or further in the river. We very seldom use downriggers. My partner has been going up there for almost 30 years and we just use a cut plug and a slip weight, no downriggers and no flashers. When it is the two of us we fish 4 poles two in the bow and two in the stern with heavier weights in the bow.

[mash rookie]

Yes, that’s how it is done there. slip weights, large cut plug and slow troll. (and how I caught my fish)
I would rather not have the weight if possible. I would say that just because that is how they fish there that it is not the only way to catch a fish. I caught my fish on a whole herring, my solid tie leader and 7.o hooks. I learned how to use whole herring 30 years ago fishing Westport. I have taught many people how to fish a whole herring. I know that if I return and fish at a resort I will have to use a slip weight system. Again, even with downriggers on my friends boat we all fished weight to avoid fouling gear.

Sure would like to try fishing down riggers there. Either way, fishing well depends on many factors. Some we can control, some we cant. The difference is how many more fish do the top guys catch? Every fishery fishes a little different to. Damn.

My friend that I used to fish with had on one of the largest fish he had ever seen at Waldrens Island. (Its Waldrens isn’t it?) Poor memory and no charts any more. He swore it was 100 lbs. after playing it two hours he had it up only to have it turn its head and break him off like he had two pound test. He swore it was as long as his boat was wide. A man not given to exaggeration, I am sure it was a monster fish. They are there.

Woo Hoo MR

[OlympicMtDoo]

Sounds like the Magnificent adventure is going pretty darn good there MR. I'm jellous but I'm still havin fun down here on the Canal, had to move a little north to stay in good crab but I did and it worked great. I used to keep a boat out at West Port but sold the big one, I am going to have to start fishin the inside I guess. Hey have fun and cheers!!!!!!

[mash rookie]

Thanks OMD, Still up in the Juans. My Girlfriend flys in today. I am finnaly loading up some pictures. Full fish box of pink's and some pretty good whale pictures. Once I have them resized, I will post a few.
MR

[OlympicMtDoo]

Sounds good MR looking forward to some pics.

[mash rookie]

Here are some pictures guys. Roche Harbor, A full fish box, Kiler whales close by while fishing.

[OlympicMtDoo]

Wow! Very nice MR looks fun to me.

[Bushman]

I love Roche Harbor, great place to be on the 4th of July. At one point in my life I was looking for property on Henry Island!

[mash rookie]

The last week of vacation. My girlfriend flew in yesterday. Fishing poles and crab pots are put away. One more night in Roche Harbor and we will Head to Friday harbor for a couple of days. It can be fun there. After that we will start working our way south. It is going to suck having to go back to work next week. I brought all my scuba gear but never got a dive in. Soaked a lot of sun, drank a lot of booze. Refreshing break from the real world.

[Odin]

Enjoy your last week, MR!

I just started working again a week and a half ago. Took some time to get back in!

Odin.

[mash rookie]

Beautiful boat ride today. I am now in Friday harbor for a few days. I discovered a Micro distillery yesterday. I took some cell phone pictures and will do a post on it later. Cool!!

This is a cell phone pic from my bridge on the ride in today. Beautiful weather.

[mash rookie]

Last few days of vacation. Going to do a little fishing this morning as we head south. We will cross the Juan De Fuca Straights and spend to night in Port Townsend. It is a beautiful small town. We should be able to make it home tomorrow after a long run.

MR

[OlympicMtDoo]

Thanks for shareing your vacation MR, I am trying to convince my girl friend to do about 6 months on a sail boat some summer when we retire in a few years. She is from Vancover Island, we could do the whole inside passage, I think it would be great.

[Bushman]

Thanks for shareing your vacation MR, I am trying to convince my girl friend to do about 6 months on a sail boat some summer when we retire in a few years. She is from Vancover Island, we could do the whole inside passage, I think it would be great.

I love the inside passage especially Johnstone Straits, it is well worth the trip!

[mash rookie]

Home and slept in my own bed last night. Vacation over and done. We got up yesterday to clouds and drizzle in Port Townsend and decided to call it finished.

It was a beautiful ride back to Seattle. We made good time running with the flood tide. A short wait to get through the Locks before returning to our slip on Lake Union.

I am refreshed. One hell of a vacation!

Mash Rookie, Over and out.