This is the first convention that I have attended for the Salty Dogs and I have to say that this thing was very well planned out. I'm impressed with what ocean put together for us and was pretty impressed that there was a good turn out. Don't know the numbers yet but I'm sure someone will share with the class.
I attended Steve Kaimmer's halibut presentation and here is a little input on this class for Ocean. It was way to short for my liking. Steve had a very interesting presentation and I would have like to seen it go another 1/2 hour at least. I think most of the attendees would agree with me on that. Thanks Steve and well done.
Another presentation I attended was the ODFW presentation on angling and the effects off Yelloweye rockfish Catch. While there was some good news on the blacks there was still some gloom and doom forecast on the orange guys. ODFW has a difficult task on setting a basis of historical stocks based on what we have now. I don't understand how all this works and the voodoo that goes into it but the doom and gloom for the next few years and halibut fishing pretty much stinks. Basically, we might have to go to Alaska to fish halibut IMHO. Good presentation but a bit depressing.
The last of the morning presentations I attended was about bar restrictions for T-bay and the CR. Folks, you missed this one and you probably should not have. Lots of new developments on the Tilly bar this winter that you need to know about. One, the south jetty lost approximately 100 feet off the end of it due to the December storms. Lots of submerged debris and you DO NOT WANT TO CUT AROUND THIS JETTY PERIOD. The presentation by the coast guard showed pictures of the jetty and let me tell ya, it has really changed. They were quick to point out that many of the large rocks are moved to the inside edge of the jetty now so you really want to take care over there, in essence, stay away from it. There is also some very new shoaling to the south of the jetty to be aware of that can really cause some breakwater. The CG said now that the middle grounds to the north side may be the new entry point providing more safety to enter these narrow jaws. They are also talking about once again moving the buoy that recently had been moved south being moved or even removed and changing the entrance buoy to simply one red green buoy. Might wanna make a note to be aware of those possible changes.
CR bar will see a few changes to. CG will close sections of the bar instead of restricting the whole deal this year as conditions warrent. One thing to keep in mind is the CG will have a new closure in effect most likely during the week when the firing range at Cape D is in use. The closure or restriction will be from the tip of the A Jetty to the tip of the North Jetty. So those of you that like to Set pots in that area will find the CG not letting you into this area until range activities cease. Make a note of that change if you will.
The general assembly sessions were very informative and I thought the panels did an excellent job in the presentation. I really appreciated John Holloway's part in this process. John is known here as Black Magic and most of us know John is a tireless advocate for all of us. Very informative and interesting to hear the different points of view.
I passed on the wave energy session and spent a little time in the trade-show area. Spent some money on a new swim bait casting rod and a new reel. Lots of trinkets to look at from England's. Looked at Hoggemin's Gucci gear setups and of course always fun to talk with Mike. I guess if I had to be really picky or negative about anything at all (which really was very hard to do) I would say it was a lack of trade-show vendors showing there gear or services. I understand some were sick or something else came up but that really was the only thing I think anyone could complain about and really, it certainly was NOTHING to complain about period.
Afternoon Session from the PFMC and ODFW was pretty interesting. It was amazing how many tuna were landed both in pounds and numbers of fish for the sport industry. 57,000 plus tuna were landed for a total around 1 million pounds! Folks, that's a lot of tuna! I think Pilar was and is still in disbelief over those staggering numbers that PFMC shared. Me too BTW John. I caught about 1/2 of the presentation before the sandman came over me
and I had to go get a pepsi so I could finish listening to the session. Hope Don Bodenmiller did not take it personally.
I did not see the last session presented by the CG and I wished I had stayed. Needed some fresh air and crawled around the Aman Marine Open Ocean once again to take a more leisurely look with out the boat show pressures rushing me through it. I concluded that tank will fish. Nice job boys and I hope you sell a bunch.
Dinner was excellent and Edsr's jokes were bad. Ed, you need to work on the comedy routine a bit more.
Ed did a fine job of MC that evening and I want to thank him for taking this portion for the program on. Thank you Steve Williams for your presentation and straight forward talks with us regarding this coming seasons salmon opportunity. Not looking very promising for us out there right now folks. Big problems with the nook numbers and the coho numbers will be half of what we fished on this past season. Most likely will implement a short season with days to fish restrictions coast-wide.
Okay, then there were the prizes for the raffle. Lot's of good stuff won by lots of people that were not even at the dinner. What's up with that? I had to conclude what most of us already know, Fishbait stinks ........at drawing numbers. There was one guy in particular that we need to know about and watch next year. I think he taped his number to the bottom of the bucket a more than a few times. CR Dog's name was drawn for four different prizes making him the big raffle winner for numbers of prizes. Then there was Hoggemin winning..........another fishing rod and reel combo. Just what that boy needed was another fishing rod. Some very spirited bidding for a couple of custom wrapped rods in the auction portion of the even. One ifisher maned up and bought his wife
a pink fishing rod. However we all know he will show no shame in grabbing it when tuna come calling.
I missed Sunday as my wife was sick but I understand it was an awesome event and I wish I had been there. Way cool stuff.
OCEAN, excellent job and I will be there next year. Thanks.
Thank you to the Salty Dog Convention Planners!
HugeDuckFan
Hope that all got something good from this, it sounds great!!!! As always, my hat is off to the women and men of the USCG for there heroism, patience, and dedication to safety...they are (to me) the single greatest service providers in the world! We are so lucky to have them on our side!!!!!
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