JF is a great fishing coach. He helped us get our gear situated, taught us how to troll and jig from our kayaks, gave us lots of guidance about where and how to fish. And importantly taught us how to hook and slowly bring in our fish!
I was very happy that I'd brought my Romany for this trip. It provided such a stable and maneuverable platform for fishing. And I know it so well.
I was surprised how much drag the trolling gear put on our boats. It was like work to paddle fast enough to keep our lures moving as the needed to.
I didn't take a lot of pictures while fishing. I was either paddling or holding a fishing pole or catching fish!
That said, here are a few pictures of us fishing. Most were taken by JF.
To start, here's one of an appr. 25 lb Chinook salmon I caught. This was one of the highlights of the trip for me. Once I hooked her I could feel that she was big. JF was nearby and asked if I needed any help. I said yes and he came over. Firstly, this fish was big enough to both pull my boat around and pull me over. JF rafted up to my boat to prevent both of these from happening. He then coached me through the technique to land such a big salmon to a kayak. First she went deep. JF coached me to just keep the fishing pole up and keep tension in the line. I slowly got her to the surface. As soon as she saw our boats she headed away fast! JF said to just let her run. That she was a big fish and it would take time for her to tire. That we were in no hurry. This is what we were here for. That fish ran and dived several more times. Each time she came to the surface she'd see the boats and run again. Finally, after about four runs I got her to the boat. JF netted her and plopped her on the deck in front of me. She was a great fish! He took care of killing her and we stowed her in a drybag in the cockpit of my kayak with me.
The biggest fish I've ever caught.
And now more fishing pictures:
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