Catch of the Day!

This was the first! I got myself a license, and some new equipment and took advantage of what Whidbey Island has to offer. What I'm holding there is a "humpie," or a Pink Salmon. I also caught another larger humpie, and a Coho Salmon that was the biggest. Yummy!

I haven't fished in almost ten years, and I've lived here on Whidbey for five of those years. The fishing here is highly regulated. it isn't like you buy the license (a small piece of paper) which you pop into your wallet, some equipment, and hit a lake until such and such a date. Oh no. Here you get several pages of what seems like cash register receipt paper, and on it you need to record what kind of fish you caught, in what zone you caught it, and whether or not it was a wild or hatchery fish. If perchance the game warden came by and your shore count didn't match your records, the fine is more than the equipment, license and value of the fish combined a couple times over.

Anyway, this co-worker of my wife is quite avid at fishing, and quite good. He's been offering for a long time, so I had some extra moola from a project I was doing, and dropped some on a license and new rod, line, and the salmon's favorite bait: Buzz Bombs.

There are at least six species of salmon out here: Coho(aka Silver), Pink(aka Humpie), Chinook(aka King), Sockeye, Steelhead(actually a trout), and Chum(aka Dog). Apparently they all have their favorite Buzz Bomb. The Pink strike the pink Buzz Bomb. The Orange and Yellow Buzz is the favorite of the Silver, and they hit it hard and fast. Then there is a Buzz that is white and green as I recall, and the guy next to me, who was a local homeowner who's yard we were in, caught and released two King's on it. He was the only person using one, and the only person who hooked Kings. All the other catches followed the "rules" above almost as if they were rules.

So I learned what stuff to buy, besides the Buzz Bombs, how to rig a line, how fast to reel the particular lure in, how to identify the different species (thanks Bob!), how to kill a catch without crushing it's skull, and how to later filet it efficiently. Turns out my walleye filet knife was a tad too small for the Silver I caught. I need to upgrade. But my freshwater stringer proved handy.

Here's the days haul actually. The bigger one is the Silver. This is just prior to the cleaning.

It's actually a great time. Salt water fishing is a bit different, but you get to get outside and experience the world around you. Mind you, I'm looking at the Olympic Mountains, the Puget Sound, the vast bird life that exists around here, and the seals that use these same hunting grounds. So even if you don't catch anything, you get to be out and learn how the water is moving while absorbing the view. And, the anticipation of a hit on your line is a bit of a rush.

There is a lot to be said about the quiet of being in a boat in the middle of a quiet lake though. The Puget Sound isn't quiet. We were on the shipping channel side, so we had a couple container vessels go by, and being that the fog was still hanging in the middle of the channel, the sounds of their foghorns. We also have the Victoria Clipper boats that cruise between Seattle and Victoria Island, Canada. They use a water propulsion system which allows for higher speeds and a lot more noise. And then of course, after a ship goes by, the wake comes ashore, and is no gentle wave. Bit it's still fresh air, and the wonder of all that goes on here; the shipping, the seals fishing, the birds doing their thing, the different water currents and their contents, and us fishing. Just a couple guys learning a little more of their world around them in the hopes of hooking part of it for a meal they can share with their friends and families.

So I'm pumped now. There are a couple lakes around here that we'll hit for the fall trout, we'll go back for more humpies and silvers, and then there is a steelhead run in the fall, and a chum run. That might set me in fish for the year. But I look at it this way. For the investment of money in the equipment and license, it's worth it. I spent roughly $100 this go around. I caught about 12 to 15 lbs. of salmon. Go price that out and you'll see that the cost is almost saved in my first trip. Plus I have the experience of learning , and spending the time to prepare my own meal. I think everyone should do that just for the sake of doing it. It gets you to realize a couple things.

First, what it was like for those without refrigerators and volume farming. Every day was an expenditure of time to take care of soil and crops and animals, or being in the hunt for them, to put food on the table. It brings to mind the advantages of our type of culture, and the disadvantages. Second, it teaches you how to exist on your own. I am now capable, by the sweat of my own brow, of putting food on the table and heat in the fire place. Meaning of course, I use wood to heat by. There is a certain sense of satisfaction knowing I can do that, whether I choose to do that or not. If I had to, I could.

And last but not least, I have a friend with whom I can go out and just spend time throwing a small piece of lead into the salt water. Maybe next time the odds won't be in my favor. Or the moon will be out of Jupiter and into Moorlock, and my biofeedback chart states I'm off balance, or my chi will be all jazzballed. Who cares. I get a little bit of both cultures, in that I can spend time with a friend enjoying the outdoors, and if I catch nothing than I can have spaghetti for dinner.

Either way, it's a great time.