Comments on: Beyond a Final Scratch: Clawing Our Way to the Season’s End

By: Tele

Tele — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 20:23:51 +0000

Have you REALLY only been trolling for two seasons, Holly? Your comment is pure veteran fisherman, vacillation and all!

How was your season? I heard your skipper was thinking of retirement… What are you thinking for next summer? What are your off-season plans?

And thanks for being such a long-time, true-blue friend to Hooked, Holly. Don’t fret, there’s nothing to miss. I’m not going anywhere… I get as much, if not more, from our exchanges as you do.

By: Karolee Joel

Karolee Joel — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 05:05:22 +0000

Geeze Tele, I’m in Newport fishing the last king openings. Tuna went belly in late August, but I’ve just recently arrived down here. High pressure is holding, the days are still sunny and sort of warm; nights cooling down like it is fall or something. These fish are just feeders, only 10 pound average they are paying $5.25 straight. Weather has been exceptionally nice, but there are disturbances heading this way. Forecast from the European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting says later next week it goes back to really nice, in the mean time sort of lumpy and windy and maybe a little bit not fishable.

The trolling down here is not that different. The biggest challenge is lose crab gear. Think human planted pinnacles that might move during the day. So the big radio network supplies pot sighting reports more than fish reports. Cooperation is the ethical standard down here, on fish and pots and weather. That is sort of different from AK – it seems that it takes long time to learn from people where the uncharted rocks are.

This will all change by the end of October when the fishery is finally over. Getting up the coast to the Straights might be a challenge. It is 36 hours to Cape Flattery, dodging crab bouys, and ships. Not the struggle to get down from AK, but you king of need 36 good hours. You might hop from Newport to Astoria to Westport to Neah Bay, but you really hope to get home this time of year, right?

See you this winter.

By: patriciasands

patriciasands — Sun, 23 Sep 2012 18:17:43 +0000

“The fourth Thursday of November’s got nothin’ on mid-September, when we gather to give thanks for a safe season, beautiful wild salmon, and the beloved friends we share this life with.” – You truly state the meaning of Thanksgiving no matter when or where you are. Wishing you a safe and productive last run for the year!

By: pierrmorgan

pierrmorgan — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 13:39:13 +0000

Just take really good care of yourselves. Visualizing a calm ride for your coho harvest.

By: Claire 'Word by Word'

Claire 'Word by Word' — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 07:50:07 +0000

Weariness drips from the words but the act of writing them perhaps provides its own sustenance for you to keep going – and a land visit for Bear. Pushing the boundaries allows you to explore beyond, making it slightly different perhaps to last year, the fisherman’s equivalent of change perhaps?

The reward awaits and will be appreciated all the more for the sacrifice made I am sure.