Bottom fish colors for 4th of July :)

We made the decision to go to the ocean the last two days in a row. Even though Buoy 10 has been open for a week, the coho are just starting to enter the river and this crew needed to fill a freezer. Full boat limits of salmon came quickly on both days with the ocean being much less rough than forecast. The action on Sunday was nearly non-stop until we moved to try to find a few more Chinook, running one shy of the maximum on Chinook, but filling the slot with a nice Coho. Saturday turned up an even split with the maximum for Chinook and the rest of the boat limit filled out with Coho as well. To top it off, both the humpback and gray whales decided to take a visit and check us out. Between the good weather and great crews, this weekend was all I could ask for!

Some days the goal isn't limits. The goal is to just be flexible and have fun. Today was one of those days. We started out going for ling cod and rockfish and ended up playing with a sabiki rig to catch anchovies, because it was just too much fun. To make things cooler, we got to see a huge selection of sea birds, Wells, porpoises, seals and sea lions throughout the entire day. This crew came all the way from West Virginia, and this was a completely different experience for them. It was also one that they won't soon forget. I can't wait to see them on the boat again. I'm excited to see what happens the next time, we go out.

What a great, and fast day! 12 keeper salmon in 2 hours of having lines in the water with another 4 released. You can't hardly write the script any better. While Buoy 10 has opened up, the best action has remained in the ocean with plenty of salmon stacking up outside before making their way into the river. We left early to make the bar crossing before the tide started pulling too hard. Once out, we stayed close to the Cape Disappointment lighthouse and circled schools of Coho and Chinook Salmon with our longest wait for a bite staying at less than 20 minutes. The fish highlight was a beautiful upriver bright Chinook with spots so small that she could almost have been mistaken for a Coho. Not only was this big female the biggest fish of the day, the fillets had some of the best color you could ask for in a fall Chinook. We ended the day with full limits of Salmon including an even split of Chinook and Coho. These guys are going to have some amazing eating when they get back home and I can't wait to see them again