A long time ago my children quit giving me ties for Father's day. I am grateful. I haven't wore a tie in a decade. A card, a nice Thai dinner or even a home cooked T-bone steak on the barby works well for me. I don't want or expect much and I am grateful for being remembered by my son and daughter by a phone call or a simple card. Those that know me, know that I'm the least sentimental dude on the planet. I'd forget my own birthday if I could, but those around me won't let me. Bummer.
With all that said, this Father's Day was exceptional. My son called me up a couple weeks ago and asked me if I wanted to go salmon fishing with him on Father's day. He would reserve a hotel in downtown Forks so I could come and spend the night instead of driving 2 hours at zero dark thirty to be there at dawn.
Matt runs a fish guide business called Sensei Guide Service out of Forks, Washington and has been doing it for many years now. He can catch fish, period. His love for fishing started at a very young age, running up and down the Dungeness River here in Sequim. He could stand between 10 people fishing on the bank for the fall silver or coho run and take his two fish when no else could. He can sense them. Seriously. I've never seen anything like it.
I love to fish in the salt water and river fishing was never my thing. I've owned several boats over the years, but Matt was never interested in the open water. It could be because of getting seasick every time we went out. So he turned his attention to the river and (of course I'm his father and biased) became one of the west end's premiere fishing guides. But ask his clients. He works his butt off to give you a full day's fishing trip. And catches fish to boot.
I don't get out west as much as I should, and last week was the last week of the spring quarter at Peninsula College so it was a no brainer. Besides, I've been sitting behind a computer screen for months doing school work and I needed to get out of the house. And I'm very fond of fresh king salmon. I eat it for breakfast. Grilled salmon, eggs and hash browns can't be beat. Great way to start your day.
So last Saturday I headed out. Seeing my granddaughter Norah again is always a pleasure. She will be one year old next month. Norah looks a lot like Matt did when he was that old. Mandy my daughter-in-law cooked up a nice seafood chowder and fresh bread. Oh man! Hitting the old man right where it counts .... in the gut. So good. Wonderful start to my trip.
So we visited for a while and then it was off to the Forks Motel for a early bedtime.
Next day we were off and running. Matt launched his drift boat below the Sol Duc River Hatchery and Mandy, with Norah in her car seat took the truck and would pick us up later down river.
As we launched I looked upriver and saw a few fisherman gathering to take advantage of the Chinook salmon's return home.
Then we were off down the Sol Duc.
I live near Sequim, WA, where the Olympic Mountains rise to the south, but I'm surrounded by a prairie. Yep, that's right a prairie. It is in what is called the 'Rain Shadow' or the 'Blue Hole' of the Olympic Mountains. As the storms roll in from the west and hit the Olympic Mountains, the moisture laden clouds rise up and begin to cool, turn to rain, and pour that moisture on the forests below. That's why the Fork's area is called the 'wet' end. Some areas out west get up to 144 inches of rain or 12 FEET of rain a year. Amazing.
But in the Sequim area, because the of the blocking action of the mountains, we get only about 16 inches a year. About the same as Los Angeles. In fact, if it were not for the irrigation ditches that split off the Dungeness river the area would be more like a desert then the lush picture of Washington state you might have, for lack of moisture. (of course you wouldn't believe this at the moment because of all the rain we've had in the last few weeks!)
So when I see the dense vegetation, the spruce and fir trees coated with heavy moss, the near impenetrable undergrowth and that deep emerald green of the Sol Duc, I am awed at the natural beauty of the west end of the Olympic Peninsula. So with my camera at ready our trip begins.
We anchor down stream and start tossing our offerings to the salmon under a low hanging tree where the evidence of past anglers hang from branches like Christmas tree ornaments during the holidays. We would lose a few ourselves.
Bang! The first fish hits Matt's lure. He is all about his clients or in this case his dad, as he hands off the pole to me. Two shakes of his head and the first fish is gone. Bummer. I look at Matt sheepishly. Hey were just getting warmed up.
Bang! Another is on. I'm going to make sure he doesn't get away. Matt pulls the anchor and down stream we go. He's giving me instructions. 'Left Dad! Look out for the log he's trying to get to.' 'Watch the rock Dad!' I'm trying to keep my balance and as the fish decides it's time to go under the boat I slip and catch my bad knee on the edge of seat rail. Ouch! The pain is sharp, but I'm not letting this one get away. Finally, Matt nets it and the Chinook is in boat. My knee throbbing, I grin widely at the first fish of the day. Yeah!
Matt bleeds the fish and it goes into the fish box. He rows back to the spot. The day is beautiful. Slight overcast, nice and warm and we're catching fish! Awesome!
Bang! Matt looks like a reverse C as he tries setting the hook. Two seconds and the fish is gone. Darn!
Well it doesn't take long and he hooks up again. This time he gets the hook set and again hands it off to me. This one is bigger than the last and takes a few minutes to tire out. Of course Matt is directing me because of all the snags and rocks in the water. The salmon will run under a log or around a rock and break off the lure. Not this time though. We get him as well.
I like this fishing. I haven't hooked one yet, but brought two in. This is fun. Let's do it again.
Matt rows back to the spot and we start over. My problem is that I don't know what the fish feels like when they hit. When I'm jigging in the Strait or in the ocean I know when a fish hits the lure. There is no doubt about it. But when I'm river fishing, the rocks and snags all feel like a fish to me and I miss them time and again. Very frustrating. It might be obvious to you that I'm not a very good river fisherman. I admit it. But that is why I'm with Matt. My son the guide. And he knows his stuff.
Back to work. The next two hook-ups are quite quick. The fish are gone. Bummer again.
Bang. Again Matt leans back to try and set the hook before the king can spit it out. This time it sticks. Matt hands me the pole. Another nice Chinook. He's feisty though and it takes about ten minutes to get him on board. He's our largest fish. About 18 pounds. We take a break and anchor on a gravel bar and Matt bleeds him out. A lot of folks don't take the time to do that. But I've found that it helps not only to preserve the fish, but I think it tastes better as well. Yeah, it's bloody, but it's worth doing.
About this time another drift boat appears. It is Gary, Matt's brother-in-law, along with Bob a friend of his. They pull up and we take turns tossing our gear into the spot. Bob nails one and it is huge. He fights it awhile and it breaks off under that darn log! We go back to fishing.
Bang! Matt's pole is bent over again. Yeah, he hands it to me again and we chase it down river and get it in the boat within 5 minutes. Except for the 18 pounder, the other three are cookie cutters. That means they are all about the same size and weight. They are between 12-14 pounds. Very nice!
Meanwhile, Bob nails another and the fight is on. They drift past us and out of sight. Eventually Gary brings the boat back up, while we prepare for our trip to the take out. Bob catches a very nice 25 king salmon, with three other lures in his mouth including the one that Bob broke off before. That was one powerful fish!
While we drift away from Gary's boat, Bob and Gary get ready to go after the other three they need. Bet they get them.
I ponder the beauty of the river. The dark emerald green of the river as you go into deeper water and then a lighter green and yellow as we shallow up and hit our first of several rapids. We hit bottom a couple of times and one that really tightened my backside. Matt quipped, 'Lot of bones in this rivers.' Indeed. A couple more bumps on them bones and I'll be leaving mine here too. But the scenery more than made up for the few bumps we encountered. What an awe inspiring place. Except for the rapids, the river is pretty quiet .. at least on this trip.
There is a peacefulness that pervades the place. I love being here with my son. He has really made for me the best Father's day ever. I'm just lost in the beauty of it all.
I ask Matt what the log that had orange plastic marking tape on it is for? He tells me that is where the fish biologists mark the Redd's or nests of the summer run steel head. He starts pointing at the water and is telling me to look at all the fish. Some were steel head. I saw one fish. He sees dozens. My eyes are not what they used to be. Too much time spent behind a computer. Not good.
Were getting close to the take out. Mandy and Norah will be waiting for us. It's been a perfect day. The weather was great. I spent some quality time with my son. As you get older you begin to realize that you are closer to the end than you are the beginning. And time is something that you can't buy back. Once it's gone ... it's gone for good. So I'll count today as something special and will remember it for a long time. Oh yeah, and limiting out by noon has to rate right up there with family time! And when you can combine them both you get a perfect day.
The take out is in sight and Norah is sitting on her mommy's lap as she sits on the trailer tongue with the trailer in the water ready for the boat. Man that is a good woman! Mandy is a hunter as well as a fisherman .. ah ... woman. Her dad Jack taught her how to hunt when she was very young. He also guides on the river with Gary and Matt.
Mandy waves to us. Norah just started to walk and Mandy puts her down and after seeing daddy coming down the river in his boat she gets all excited. Mommy takes her down to the edge of the river and she walks calmly to the very edge of the river in her little black rubber boots and waves to us.We wave back. Matt asks Mandy to hand her to him and we go back out on the river a few feet so Norah can help Matt row. She is about as cute as it gets. She is my granddaughter.
The day is done. Back to Matt's house we go. Unpack his boat. Clean and ice the fish down for the trip back to Carlsborg. It's been one of the most enjoyable trips I've had in a while. Sure catching fish is an absolute gas! I love fishing and crabbing. I don't do enough of it these days. So when I get a chance like this it is pure joy. But spending time with my son on this Father's day was even better. He is a great father and husband. And he is also a great son. I will remember this day for a long time.
I'll be back this fall with both my brothers. We started a family tradition a few years back where the three brothers go fishing with Matt during the fall king run. The spring king's in my opinion are some of the finest eating fish on the planet. The Chinook's are full of oil and do they cook well. They also smoke well. Some of these are destined for the smoker. Yumm. The fall Chinook's or King's are bigger, but don't lack in taste either. Great fish.
Time to go. I say my goodbyes to all. The Coleman is full of iced salmon. I got some good photographs and more importantly I got to spend a moment of time with my son, my daughter-in-law and a very precious granddaughter. This has been the best Father's Day ever! Thanks Matt.
No comments:
Post a Comment