Under normal circumstances I wouldn't be submitting a report at all... fishing was, to put it mildly, DISMAL! Met Pete at Lake B. at about 5:30 AM, fishing by 5:45. Temp at outset was 48 degrees and getting warmer by the hour. We were alone for first couple hours, then other fishermen began to arrive. Saw a total of 10 to 12 boats launch while we were on the pier. Water temp was a warm 60 degrees at 10'. Strong breeze from the north blew all morning long. Tried fishing a worm under a float, several different colors of Power Eggs and Power Bait, and several spoons and spinners while spin-casting. As Pete says, "not even a nibble"! Somewhere around 9:00 ish, a fellow fisherman named Joe joined us on the pier... have seen him a couple of times in the past. After casting his PB rig out and letting it set for a while, he picked up a second pole and began to spin-cast a small spinner... made a couple of casts, then out of the corner of my eye I saw a pole flying through the air... turned just in time to observe the rod, reel, hook, line and sinker plunge into the lake. Joe looked like he had been struck by lightning... a few choice words followed... he was terribly upset. (Aside: always keep two hands on your rod when casting!!!). Shortly after, Joe reeled in his other line, closed his tackle box, and left the pier. About ten minutes later, he returned to the lake, clad only in his shorts, he swam out to the end of the pier and attempted to dive for his rig. The water was very chilly (human-wise), and after a couple of attempted dives, he gave up and shivered his way to shore and drove off.
I was really upset for poor Joe, and wished that I could have done something to help (beside diving into the chilly lake!). After giving it some considerable thought, I tied the largest weight I had (2oz) onto a spool of 10" test line that I carry with me and tied the largest treble hook I had with me to a 3" piece of the same 10#. I tossed this make-shift grappling hook into the lake near where I saw Joe's rod hit the drink... then I slowly jerked the weight along the bottom. The first ten tosses netted me 15 miles of mono and braided lines of all weights and lengths, along with an entire tackle box full of snap swivels, weights and hooks in varying degrees of corrosion and disintegration. About the twelfth toss, I felt something heavier coming up on the hook, and lo and behold, I pulled up Joe's rod and reel.
If anyone knows how to contact Joe (a big, young man with wavy black hair... was excited about going to Neah Bay this week to do some Ling fishing)... let him know that I have his rig. I'll keep it in my truck until I see him again.
As for the fishing, it has been really poor of late. Don't know what the answer is, guess we'll just have to wait a bit! Did talk to several boaters returning, several with no luck, one lone fisherman with two (said the fish were lightly hitting his lure behind a flasher), another boat with three fishermen had three, caught behind gang trolls. Saw at least two dozen fishermen on the pier or the shoreline, but saw no fish caught. Left the lake at noon.

The Quadfather

5/6/2013 10:53:00 PM

Nice work Stan! A gentleman and a scholar.

HULI_ISDA

5/7/2013 1:10:00 PM

Good job Stan..

MotoBoat

5/9/2013 3:48:00 PM

Any luck returning the rod Stan?

Leave a Comment:

Login

Flag

×

Why is this comment inappropriate?

Close Submit

Delete this comment? Provide reason.

No Yes

Edit

×

Cancel Save