Heywood Bank with 'Puffin', 8/3

[Pilar]

Went out with big Jon Sunday to get some flat ones. We almost caved to the irrational impulse to run for Garibaldi and fish with IDPainter on his boat instead. We got the impulse while eating sushi at that great place in Seal Rock on Saturday night 'bout 21:00. After further consideration and an afternoon wind show forecast we decided to hang at Newport and do the inshore thing. Once that wind blows it rolls the water over and everything changes, sometimes overnight.

Sorry Chris. We'll get it done this week.

Anyhoo we slept in and crossed out about 0800 and headed SW towards Heywood bank. Jon is of the mind that the smart thing to do regarding crab gear is to let it soak. Fish now crab later as they aren't checking out of the motel anytime soon if your gear fishes right. I need a reminder of the basics now and then. And in the summer of afternoon wind shows any time spent dinking with crab gear burns some of the few windless hours of the day.

I'd never been to this spot before and we were all alone. We found it by poking at the chart with lit cigars and looking through the haze of Dominican smoke. Maybe some of you have been to a place like that. No other boats but a sled who was pretty far downwind of Newport with the anticipated blow still to come. We saw this shiny blue boat most out of the water while running upwind and wondered if they were happy getting their guts bashed out. We tried repeatedly to raise other dogs on the radio but no answer.

So we fished in a stiff breeze that built to 20 kts and stayed there. First backing down on 8 horse then 130. A long drift right off the chart and into the unknown. Don't bother hailing, the radio is off since there is no one to call out a hot bite. Tunes blasting and no bent rods.

Finally I nailed a decent fish at 41. We tagged it as the bite was slow. The only way to get bit in the square ocean at 4 to 5 foot occasional 6 foot at like 6 seconds was to drag the bottom and when you got action free spool and count to 30. If you got no more yankage then reel up and reset to skip along. We backed down to get 0.7 kts.

Finally as we discussed the fun and happy run back home 15 NM or more against the wind Jon got bit and got a big bend. 47" fish. We gladly quit and went back up for crab. That size fish while not huge was hard to get over the rail in the rocking boat.

24 crab and about 1/2 pre molt, barnacle, mossy, purple and about 1/2 molted and started to harden and fill slight purple and faded. Nice crabs. Killer trip with the man. That is one bulldozer of a boat and we rode home at 9 kts and jammed on the radio.

I love fishing with 'Puffin' he is like one of the basic elements in the periodic table, M for Elemental fishing, hunting, gathering Man, atomic weight 265 and a 1/2 life of like a zillion years. He tells you the story with no sugar coating. He has a lot to say about this community and has concerns about it but no one wants to hear it.

We ended the day in my garden pulling stuff out of the ground and just before dark in the blueberry patch down the hill from my place.

I have a story I want to tell all of you. It is simple as the best stories are and true although it happened a long time ago. I just have to figure out how to tell it in a way where the message and not concern over whether it is about any one individual gets through to the reader. It pretty much sums up the way I feel about boating on the ocean and what is happening as Ifish grows.

We'll be on Heywood bank, see you on the pond.

[Spindrifter]

Wish I could have been there instead of getting blown off a particular poison water lake for 6 days Thanks for the great report John

[wak'm&stak'm]

Geez, you guys earned those. I went to pull the pots in for the year about the time you were leaving.... and bumpy!
I think it took about 2 hours to get in the day before from there.

We did get 34, in the last pull from the ocean anyway.

I thought Puffin sugar coated everything.

[Jsail]

[quote=wak'm&stak'm;2117453]I thought Puffin sugar coated everything./quote]

Yea that'll be the day

Great post John

[Grizzly II]

Good friends, good boat, who cares about six and six. My turn this weekend.

[Pilar]

Arima Grizzly thanks for the use of your slip. Man they sure pack you guys in there. A little tough getting in that slip in the wind.

We're not too smart Wak but we're sure persistant. The smart guy would have ditched the forecast and not went out with the wind already blowing at 0800 instead of 1200. One thing about the 'Puffin' you get there, maybe a little slow in the slop but she just chugs along pretty much unconcerned about the washing machine. You have to remember that when Puffin says on the radio ..

" ahh it's not too bad an ocean"

[Pete]

Glad to hear about the exploratory ... there's nothing better than developing a theory and then putting it to the test. So much more fun than following a dotted line and fleet of boats!

[CATCH AND EAT]

Originally Posted by Pilar

We saw this shiny blue boat most out of the water while running upwind and wondered if they were happy getting their guts bashed out. We tried repeatedly to raise other dogs on the radio but no answer.

So we fished in a stiff breeze that built to 20 kts and stayed there. First backing down on 8 horse then 130. A long drift right off the chart and into the unknown. Don't bother hailing, the radio is off since there is no one to call out a hot bite. Tunes blasting and no bent rods.

We tagged it as the bite was slow. The only way to get bit in the square ocean at 4 to 5 foot occasional 6 foot at like 6 seconds was to drag the bottom and when you got action free spool and count to 30. If you got no more yankage then reel up and reset to skip along. We backed down to get 0.7 kts.

Finally as we discussed the fun and happy run back home 15 NM or more against the wind Jon got bit and got a big bend. 47" fish. We gladly quit and went back up for crab. That size fish while not huge was hard to get over the rail in the rocking boat.

That is one bulldozer of a boat and we rode home at 9 kts and jammed on the radio.

I have a story I want to tell all of you. It is simple as the best stories are and true although it happened a long time ago. I just have to figure out how to tell it in a way where the message and not concern over whether it is about any one individual gets through to the reader. It pretty much sums up the way I feel about boating on the ocean and what is happening as Ifish grows.

With respect where respect is due to both you and Puffin as salty dogs. I write this after watching the events over the past week here on ifish and I am feeling a bit uneasy addressing this post above. We have seen the "know your skipper" thread pop back up which is really a tireless beacon for all of us to refresh ourselves with. We've seen old dogs take a newspaper to the young salty pups that have a hunger to learn but were whacked just because. We've seen old dogs criticize the OTC because of their own beliefs of what the Salty Dog board and Klan should be instead of embracing changes as you would embracing the ever changing seas that we travel. We saw the "state of the Dogs" address that frankly had some good points and not so good points.

Then I see this report from two guys that are alpha dogs in 6 foot seas at six seconds hanging over the rail challenging crab gear. (hope PFD's were used). This type of action and lead by example is not what I consider teaching my friends. You did exactly what you warned pups not to do. Yes, you are experienced. But did you wonder why no one else was out there on the radio? Yep, you taught them well. They used their heads and stayed in. Took Zero chances. Pup's behaving correctly. They paid attention gentlemen and they should be commended for it. Live to fish another day right?

I don't want a war on the Salty Dog board but I would like to see consistency. Practice what you preach type of deal. I know you boys can take much more than the typical trailer sailor or even a morage guy like myself and that is way cool. You boys are as tough as they come and your love of the sea unequaled. But as a comparatively new salty dog myself with 8+ seasons under my belt I do sit back and question the validity of your warning posts the last week and a half after this particular post. Believe me I am happy you got fish and crabs but what if it were someone like myself or 5-cents or hugeduckfan that had pulled this stunt and put this report up? I think the chastisement would have been merciless.

You two are of tremendous value to this board and I am aware that I most likely will receive ugly pm's for what is written here. Probably ugly phone calls and even emails too because of your stature here. That is fine. And I will apologize to those offended ahead of time but this is something I and I alone needed to say right or wrong. I just see a double standard developing and a division that is not necessary among the dogs. Perhaps my post will further divide the dogs. sorry if that happens. If need and requested I'll leave and let the board be.

Thanks for listening to a middle aged Dog that has a lot to learn.

[Pilar]

Ah Bernie you weren't there now were ya laddie? It was rough at the fishing spot. I looked at 46050 once we got in to see what the bouy said some 8 or 9 NM from where we fished. You can see it too 8/3/8 at 1050.

1.8 meters @ 6 seconds, 19 knots gusting to 21 and a few went by that were bigger for sure. The data is metric but it is not hard to convert it. As you may know 46050 is NW of the pile and we were south of it. I would estimate 4 to 5 feet at 6 or 7 seconds, where we were. I'm not going to defend our trip. I can see your point though. Maybe someone will think what we did was a good idea and try it. I can tell you that as a rule the pile is the roughest patch out there on any given day. It sure was on Sunday. As we went north it got steadily worse than where we were fishing. 330 degrees or NW winds and we were running at about 30 degrees. At the crab gear it was more like 3 to 4 @ 7 seconds and 15 kts of wind, gusting to 20 kts. Not ideal to say the least. And then the boat sped up to 15 kts as the water got better inshore. We talked about leaving our gear a week in the drink and agreed to check it out and decide on the scene. Near the beach it was good compared to the pile.

So .. lessons learned or relearned? The wind blows in the afternoon. On hot valley days it blows alot. Puffin says 'done by one in Newport'. I don't like to run downwind to fish. It is much better to run into it going out and with it coming in. Or in your comfort zone from what you posted to not go at all. In another boat I might have skipped it. In that Ed Wing with that guy driving I felt pretty safe.

Good points Bernie. Now think of this. How many went out, got beat up and never said a word? There were other boats fishing out there, none of them answered on 78. We did not get beat up. We went slow and got home. I told you what happened, good or bad.

It is interesting to me that conditions are not mentioned in at least some fishing reports. Wonder why that is? I try to include them as they are an important part of the trip. I can look back later and remember what I saw vs. what the bouy saw.

Have you ever fought the afternoon wind Catch and Eat? Did you feel unsafe or just impatient at a long ride home?

[flapbreaker]

Originally Posted by Pilar

Don't bother hailing, the radio is off since there is no one to call out a hot bite.

Just an observation for any newbies. I'm not making any judgements as there may of been a backup VHF turned on but you really should monitor channel 16 so you could help in an emergency. Or should stuff hit the fan you don't want to fumble around trying to turn on your VHF radio. Maybe I read the original post incorrectly.

[Silver Eagle]

Well boys went to Rock Pile on Sunday and to say the least it was not a fun trip got two and left them biting but my crew was not well, picked up pots and had 34 Crabs, glad we got our Six on Sat......Glad you guys did well on inside good choice........Ray

[Dan9113]

Good read John..

There is a big difference in experience tackling a situation with eyes wide open and someone with a new boat looking to make the maiden voyage 50 miles off shore.

Be safe, know what you are up against. Know your limitations.


Dan

[CATCH AND EAT]

Originally Posted by Pilar

Good points Bernie. Now think of this. How many went out, got beat up and never said a word? There were other boats fishing out there, none of them answered on 78. We did not get beat up. We went slow and got home. I told you what happened, good or bad.

It is interesting to me that conditions are not mentioned in at least some fishing reports. Wonder why that is? I try to include them as they are an important part of the trip. I can look back later and remember what I saw vs. what the bouy saw.

Have you ever fought the afternoon wind Catch and Eat? Did you feel unsafe or just impatient at a long ride home?

There are always those that will give it a go and take a look. There are those that take a look and go but should have known better.

My Sunday ride off the CR was as expected. Lumpy, a few steep hills here and there but never unsafe. We fought the lump to the 124:30 line. Almost turned around early but realized the lump was from the river, and my boat is a little different than Puffin's (no disrespect intended). Never felt unsafe, just cautious of the surroundings and knew that as I got outside the ocean was better from reports I recieved on the radio. Folks were talking up here.

Far as fighting the afternoon wind John that is a silly question. Of course I have. I have battled with beam seas, head seas and rollers on my tail on the bar that made one of my crew curl up in the fetal position and suck his thumb. Secret is to not let the thrill of the hunt overtake your ability to access the conditions. Nor let our heads get to big about what our abilities are. So yes, I have dealt with difficult decisions while out there. Have I ever had to come in at 8 kts? Only on the bar or while being towed. So far I have had the information and smarts to avoid such days of misery and advance seamanship. I'm sure that will happen at some point and when it does I know how to handle it.

It's a big ocean out there, still a lot of room for folks both young salts and old. The young can learn from the old as long as the old are not condesending toward them.

[Puffin]

For those who dont know. John likes to tell a story. The radio was not turned off just no one to talk to. My boat is my third ocean boat and is used almost strictly in the ocean. It is a tank built by a builder who specializes in commercial fishing boats that cross the Columbia bar to make a living. Furthermore I have over 1800 hrs at the helm of this boat and thousands of hrs on the ocean. Many hundreds in this sort of water. Safety was our concern and we stayed fairly near shore 15mi or less. 3000-5000+ hrs of combined wheel time and over 35 yrs exp in the ocean. Two competant skippers out 4 some fishing no excess crew. Nothing unsafe about it. Not reccomended 4 newbs.

[CATCH AND EAT]

Thank you for the clarification John. Many here may not have understood what that trip was all about and made a mistake as a pup.

[Puffin]

Always a better thing if you have all the info. Conditions were checked and appropriate decisions were made. We went into this fully informed and aware of current and predicted weather and conditions. Not much different than a usual May hali day. Which by the way I usually boycot as I have been tossed around in may far too many times. We knew it would probably b 10kts all the way home and it was until near shore conditions were better.

[CATCH AND EAT]

Again, all about knowing what you are getting into.

On the CR we know that we will pound to about the 15 or 20 line on a lot of days trying to get to the canyon. Pretty normal stuff. Sunday was different and it was the 30 line before things improved. Like you I wanted my boat inside by 2pm. Left at 12:30pm and the ride in was not bad. Lots of sheep but able to do 23mph all the way. Inside was way worse than outside as the CR area was getting tall on the northside. We went south side which was not bad but you could see that the prediction was developing. I called the CG for a bar report and it was flat. We trolled for the barn but kept getting interrupted by fish.

Strange ocean there by the CR. We fished this slick that stayed strangly flat on a current break/scum line. Each side of that break the water was not friendly. At 330 I pulled the plug and we ran in a 23mph once more in the chop. flat bar as testified by the CG. Harbor wind blowing 20kts plus by that time.

I realize that you boys practice safe boating and have a real concern for others out there. That's cool and concern is absolutly fine.

[Flounder Dave]

Puffin is not one to take unsafe risks...he values his life and the fun of the hunt too much. His crew will always be safer than he is...

[Blackjack]

Originally Posted by Pilar

We saw this shiny blue boat most out of the water while running upwind and wondered if they were happy getting their guts bashed out. We tried repeatedly to raise other dogs on the radio but no answer.

That shiny blue boat was probably me. Definitely not happy getting slapped around in that slop. I was monitoring ch 16 and 22 to keep track of bar conditions so I was more focused on that than fishing reports. The bite was good and, 3 fish in the boat with 2 sent back for upgrades (note to self: don't turn loose reasonable sized fish looking for upgrades when you know the fishing day is going to be cut short). I lost a monster fish due to the pitching boat and drag set too tight.

Every run north to re-drift got a little worse and finally pulled the plug around 11:00am. I expected afternoon wind but 6' seas at 6 seconds got to be too much. Sporty to say the least. The forecast on wetsand looked better than actual conditions and I should have realized the empty parking lot was an indication I missed something. I was thinking everyone was probably still on the Thurs-Sat all depth days and Sunday got overlooked.

After we got back inside, we jigged up some fresh herring and shot back outside to troll for a couple of hours. Didn't go too far out so we probably weren't in the best water but got a nice chinook right off the bat, turned him loose and had a few takedowns after that but nothing stuck.