Sorry for the delay in this report! My wife, Boni and I went to Reedsport, Oregon to visit our daughter, Vicki, in late April. I had called ahead to make reservations aboard the Betty Kay, out of Charleston, for a day of bottom fishing for Black Rockfish. Arrived in Charleston about 6:00 AM, checked in at the office and went across the street for a quick bite of breakfast. Boarded the boat at 7:00, with a full contingent of 20 fishermen/women. The morning was bright and sunny, with a strong NW breeze blowing off the ocean. The bar crossing was as rough as I've ever seen (many at Westport, LaPush, Nehalem Bay, Tillamook Bay, et.al....)... found out later that the skipper had nearly canceled the trip. Most of the people on board were experiencing some degree of seasickness by the time we reached the fishing grounds, about an hour's drive south along the coast. The seas remained rough all day long. I landed the first fish almost immediately upon stopping at the first spot... thought, "this is going to be a piece of cake!" Wrong! After another three and a half hours we hand only a handful of fish on board. The strong winds were making it impossible to maintain an appropriate drift. Finally, the skipper told us to "reel 'em up" and we headed north. After driving north against the strong winds for an hour or so, the skipper had us try one more spot... Bingo! My first drop to the bottom yielded a double (one fish on the lead jig, one on the dropper fly). Within 45 minutes we had the boat limit (5 fish per fisherman, for a total of one hundred fish). I managed to land fourteen through the day.
For me, a great day on the ocean... not so much for the majority who were sick all day. I have never experienced seasickness, and for that, I feel very, very blessed. I love the salt spray, the smell and feel of the ocean... it's power and it's vastness.
The five fish limit of Rockfish is down from the seven of previous years. Concerned about a diminished resource. Saw several nice Vermillion caught, a couple of other legal species and only three small Lingcod caught this day. Ended up with 10 generous fillets for my wife and I to enjoy as well as a boatload of memories. Back in port by 1:30, fish filleted by professionals and back to the motel by 4:00. PTL!
