Author Topic: Salmon fishing is badass (Read 46630 times)

Exflyboy · « **on:** November 26, 2013, 10:53:44 AM »

So I have not been fishing since I was about 15 and I'm now 52.

I am planning to retire next April (and I really hope the stock market don't crash in the meantime). Stash is between 1.25 and 1.3 million. Wife will continue to work.

I have spent any spare time working, studying, building my little rental business, extending the house, built two airplanes etc etc. So on Saturday My wife bought me a guided fishing trip for Salmon as a birthday gift.

Way too expensive as the whole day was a little over $300.. But I had the time of my life. We caught three large salmon and kept two and ended up with 20lb of fish in the freezer.

Hmm, now this gets interesting.. Wild salmon runs about $12 per lb right now so we just caught $240 worth of fish! Now I had so much fun I am definately going to take it up again. I have most of the gear and am looking at pontoon boast to float the river on CL.

I have found two boats for between 200 and 275.. Both of which I can trailer with my Dodge Neon. As there is no way I can risk taking a Neon down a muddy boat ramp it means the boats will have to be light enough for me to manhandle the things in and out of the water by myself. One of the boats has a wheel you can drop drop down and push it like a wheel barrow!

So anyway, as I have most of the gear I'm thing with a new chest freezer and a boat I will be into it by about $500.. About 42lbs of fish.

So I should be at cost nuetral in 2 to 4 fishing trips in spring next year.. Did I mention we have a fantastic salmon river 45 minutes away and I already have a flatbed trailer for the Neon. I will use and old bike to ride 3 miles between the boat ramps and chain it up till I get back.

Yes I'm excited.. Almost free high quality protein and now I have a new hobby for retirement..:)

Frank

bigalsmith101 · « **Reply #1 on:** February 08, 2015, 12:45:45 PM »

I'm going to bring this back from the dredges.

My brother in law is not retired by any means, but with the little 12ft aluminum boat that my retired father bought for him (to support his son in law in his fishing hobby), that he pulls behind his 4cyl Audi, he catches serious quantities of fish. The salmon run up several rivers near where we live and often he's simply hitting up the river in his wading boots/coveralls and he's back with enough salmon to feed his family of 4 for months. He often catches too much of it, so he gives it away to his in-laws (my parents and I).

If you enjoy the hobby, are frugal about it, and live near a decent salmon run, fishing can be a relatively inexpensive hobby that can quickly pay off in the quantity of fish. Especially if you live near the coast of Oregon/WA/BC

nanu · « **Reply #2 on:** February 08, 2015, 12:56:35 PM »

This is just awesome! I love fresh salmon and would love to fish some for myself, but there isn't much salmon around these parts...

deborah · « **Reply #3 on:** February 08, 2015, 03:43:32 PM »

Since this thread is over a year old, I want to know how Frank has fared in his fishing.

Exflyboy · « **Reply #4 on:** February 08, 2015, 04:14:22 PM »

check this out...:)

deborah · « **Reply #5 on:** February 08, 2015, 04:59:39 PM »

Not a bad sized salmon! Great Frank!

Exflyboy · « **Reply #6 on:** February 08, 2015, 05:15:40 PM »

yes its a Coho which is smaller than the Chinook breed that frequent Oregon rivers.. so its a very good fish indeed.

What more we caught it while out paddling a canoe.. so that was exciting.. Wondering whether the fish would end up in the boat.. or we would end up in the river...:)

Jon_Snow · « **Reply #7 on:** February 08, 2015, 05:42:46 PM »

Nice coho Frank...lots of coho around here, but while I was working my fishing weekends were so brief that I preferred to spend my time going after bottomfish - so easy to catch you were pretty much guaranteed to catch a 20+ pounder - salmon can be ELUSIVE. And my family prefers the white fish meat as opposed to salmon. Here's a nice lingcod we caught last summer. Now that I'm retired I'm gonna be catching many more this Summer - and now that I have TIME, being ER'ed and all, I'd like to go after some coho.

Lingcod aren't as pretty as salmon, but do they taste AWESOME. Fish and chips anyone? That fish fed us for 2 weeks.

Bikesy · « **Reply #8 on:** February 08, 2015, 06:07:41 PM »

They call me the one upper :) Shot this cobia freedive spearfishing in Florida!

deborah · « **Reply #9 on:** February 08, 2015, 06:12:44 PM »

But Bikesy, JonSnow and Frank were both fishing near their home, so there was almost no expense - was this near your home?

Jon_Snow · « **Reply #10 on:** February 08, 2015, 06:23:06 PM »

Whoa Bikesy! There are some halibut in my waters that could compete with that behemoth, but I'd have to go buy a bigger boat!

Bikesy · « **Reply #11 on:** February 08, 2015, 06:37:32 PM »

Quote from: deborah on February 08, 2015, 06:12:44 PM

But Bikesy, JonSnow and Frank were both fishing near their home, so there was almost no expense - was this near your home?

Yea I grew up in Florida, also made my own speargun which I think is pretty mustachian!

Quote from: Jon_Snow on February 08, 2015, 06:23:06 PM

Whoa Bikesy! There are some halibut in my waters that could compete with that behemoth, but I'd have to go buy a bigger boat!

.

I love halibut! Best all around eating fish in my opinion. I've been very blessed when it comes to family locales and fishing. Born and raised in Florida with aunt, uncle, and cousins in Alaska!

Exflyboy · « **Reply #12 on:** February 08, 2015, 07:12:43 PM »

Heheh.. awesome fish.. sadly spearfishing is illegal in Oregon.

Jon.. I really want to go after some lingcod.. but I don't have a boat I would feel comfortable paddling out in the ocean.. Certainly NOT my pontoon boat..:)

Whats your set up, how do you go after them?

Frank

deborah · « **Reply #13 on:** February 08, 2015, 08:14:55 PM »

That is all so amazing, that you can do it with home made equipment, from near your home!

Thoughtful Mule · « **Reply #14 on:** February 09, 2015, 05:50:24 AM »

I once caught 300 bucks worth of tuna in the Florida keys. Sadly this does not make up for all the times I've been skunked.

Frank, have you been out lately?

Exflyboy · « **Reply #15 on:** February 09, 2015, 10:08:21 AM »

No last time was back in October when I caught that Coho.

The Steelhead should be running now but I had no luck last year.

Sadly fishing had to be curtailed a bit because I have been doing this little job.

Jon_Snow · « **Reply #16 on:** February 09, 2015, 10:47:24 AM »

Quote from: Exflyboy on February 08, 2015, 07:12:43 PM

Heheh.. awesome fish.. sadly spearfishing is illegal in Oregon.

Jon.. I really want to go after some lingcod.. but I don't have a boat I would feel comfortable paddling out in the ocean.. Certainly NOT my pontoon boat..:)

Whats your set up, how do you go after them?

Frank

Well, the reason we prefer to go after lingcod instead of salmon is the fact that quite literally we can row about 100m from beach to where there is a sharp drop off in ocean depth - the is an underwater cliff where the depth plummets from 30' to about 100' - this is where the big lings reside. They are voracious eaters and are not fussy in terms of what bait they will strike at - we use all sorts of lures with success, but try to find cheap ones on sale. Part of the challenge of bottom fishing is that since the fish quite literally "lie on the bottom" you must bounce your lure of the sea floor - this raises the likelihood you are going get stuck on the bottom - and you can lose a fair bit of gear, which sucks. Small price to pay when you eventually hook a 30 or 40 pounder. :)

We have a 16' boat with a 10hp outboard - I'd like to get something bigger that would allow us to fish a greater area, but it is enough to provide us with all the fish, crab, and prawns we can eat. Halibut fishing grounds are a bit far out to sea for us to feel totally comfortable in our current boat.

Now that I know of this thread you created Frank, I may post some fishing stories (with pictures or video) here this Summer. This being the first Summer of my ER, I am determined to really improve my fishing skills now that I have the TIME!

Exflyboy · « **Reply #17 on:** February 09, 2015, 11:00:11 AM »

Nice did you see the Oregon Field Guide story of the couple that fish for lingcod from their canoe?.. (its an NPR show). Literally they paddle to the other side of the rocks off Newport (about 30 yards out or so) and drop these plastic/feather type lures and they were hauling them in like there was no tomorrow!

Pretty cool.. I'd love to do it but it looked a bit risky to me.. no way I'd put the pontoon in the sea, especially near rocks.

Frank

bigalsmith101 · « **Reply #18 on:** February 09, 2015, 11:16:12 AM »

Quote from: Exflyboy on February 08, 2015, 07:12:43 PM

Heheh.. awesome fish.. sadly spearfishing is illegal in Oregon.
Frank

Hey Frank, spearfishing is not illegal in Oregon if you free dive, which is what Bikesy was doing. I'm not sure about scuba dive spearfishing in Oregon. But free diving is definitely allowed.

This is a video of a guy spearing the hell out of Black Rockfish off the coast of Oregon.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/_zfi0ge-UuY

Jon_Snow · « **Reply #19 on:** February 09, 2015, 11:19:47 AM »

Nope, fishing from a canoe or kayak doesn't interest me...I prefer the stability/safety of a real boat just in case you hook a MONSTER.

I sea kayak to relax, get exercise, and soak in the scenery. I find the whole canoe/kayak fishing movement to be a bit of a head scratcher to be honest.

Cookie78 · « **Reply #20 on:** February 09, 2015, 11:22:58 AM »

Heh. I felt the same way when I went Halibut fishing a couple years ago, even though I had to fly out to the coast. I ate mostly Halibut for a year after that trip! I should do that again this spring now that my venison is running out.

Gone Fishing · « **Reply #21 on:** February 09, 2015, 12:01:37 PM »

I spent $500 on a 6 man Tuna trip a few years ago, (including lodging, transportation, and food), we filled the fishbox with blackfins and a few yellow fins. Most of the other guys didn't care to take any home (still can't figure that one out) so I ended up with around 50 lbs of Tuna fillets. We ate on it for over a year and probably still exceeded our recommended mercury intake. The trip was fun, and per pound it certainly wasn't a bad deal, but I have talked to a lot of people since then that paid their money and got skunked so I probably won't do it again anytime soon.

Quote from: Jon_Snow on February 09, 2015, 11:19:47 AM

I find the whole canoe/kayak fishing movement to be a bit of a head scratcher to be honest.

We do quite a bit of fishing from a canoe and while we have never landed anything over 20lbs or so (freshwater) it is quite a thrill being so up close and personal when a fish comes into view. Landing a 100 lb halibut would certainly be a challenge, though!

Cwadda · « **Reply #22 on:** February 09, 2015, 12:07:05 PM »

I fish Lake Ontario with my dad and brother every year. We've gotten up to 28 lb salmon over the years. Chartering a boat costs upwards of $600 per day. Instead we bring my dad's little boat and camp near the launch. Always a great time.

deborah · « **Reply #23 on:** February 09, 2015, 12:25:33 PM »

Is getting skunked a fishing term? I looked it up, but the results I got made no sense in this context, and it has now been used twice about fishing in this thread.

Thoughtful Mule · « **Reply #24 on:** February 09, 2015, 01:36:07 PM »

skunked = catching exactly 0 fish

NeuroPlastic · « **Reply #25 on:** February 09, 2015, 01:48:17 PM »

Quote from: nanu on February 08, 2015, 12:56:35 PM

This is just awesome! I love fresh salmon and would love to fish some for myself, but there isn't much salmon around these parts...

You can find a lot of big carp in the Charles or the Merrimack, but I sure wouldn't eat it.

Exflyboy · « **Reply #26 on:** February 09, 2015, 03:48:00 PM »

I bet it was..:)

That coho turned our quite day paddling on the river into a level of excitement neither my Wife or I were expecting..:)

Jon_Snow · « **Reply #27 on:** February 09, 2015, 04:29:04 PM »

Quote from: BNgarden on February 09, 2015, 03:28:45 PM

Quote from: Jon_Snow on February 09, 2015, 11:19:47 AM
Nope, fishing from a canoe or kayak doesn't interest me...I prefer the stability/safety of a real boat just in case you hook a MONSTER.

DH and his good friend used a canoe said friend repaired (found on shore at Pt Bob) and paddled out during a coho run off Pt Bob (into the Fraser--the fish, not the canoe). Surrounded by said stable boats with fish finders they were pretty much the only ones who caught coho. Many luxury craft boaters were looking not too kindly upon them...;=}

Their success in catching salmon certainly had more to do with their fishing skills (or luck) than the characteristics of their boat. Salmon could care less what kind of boat the bait descends from. Cool story though! ;)

Bikesy · « **Reply #28 on:** February 10, 2015, 02:57:50 AM »

I must say, it really warms my heart to finally see a fishing thread on MMM! Catching/shooting fish is how I want to spend my days after FI. I used to have a small flats boat (shallow water sport fishing) that was relatively cheap to operate and it was very no frills making it cheap to maintain too. I plan to include a small boat in my retirement plan. I'm really looking forward to taking my father out often, as he will hopefully be retiring around the same time as me! No greater feeling then heading to the boat ramp at 6a on a Tuesday while everyone else is off to work again!

What makes life even better is when you have a spouse who loves to cook and eat the catch after! Now if I can just get her to fillet!

Retire-Canada · « **Reply #29 on:** February 13, 2015, 04:50:10 PM »

Salmon fishing is not only good as a food source, but it's low cost healthy recreation once you get some gear. The gear last a long time if you maintain it.

A bunch of the salmon fly fishing we do is catch and release. Both are fun.

-- Vik

Exflyboy · « **Reply #30 on:** February 13, 2015, 05:37:49 PM »

nice fish... I assume you don't keep the brown ones?

Retire-Canada · « **Reply #31 on:** February 14, 2015, 12:50:37 PM »

Quote from: Exflyboy on February 13, 2015, 05:37:49 PM

nice fish... I assume you don't keep the brown ones?

Nope. That was from a river near home that's fly fishing catch and release only.

They spawn and die not that far upstream. No good for eating at this point even if you could keep 'em.

-- Vik

totoro · « **Reply #32 on:** February 14, 2015, 04:04:45 PM »

We like jigging for bottom fish too - easy and rewarding except for the rate of lure loss. And if we are trading fish pics here is one from a few months ago.

bigalsmith101 · « **Reply #33 on:** February 15, 2015, 10:16:25 AM »

This is probably the reason my dad, since retired, genuinely supports my brother-in-laws fishing hobby.

BIL on a river nearby

Jon_Snow · « **Reply #34 on:** February 18, 2015, 09:47:49 AM »

Another reason bottom fishing in the PNW is awesome...you never quite know what you will bring up from the depths. Sea cucumber anyone? Apparently, this is a delicacy to the Japanese. We throw it back - after posing for a photo of course. ;)

Exflyboy · « **Reply #35 on:** February 18, 2015, 11:27:47 AM »

Hah.. yes I'd love to do some bottom fishing.. Have no idea how to do it effectively with no boat however..:(

Frank

bigalsmith101 · « **Reply #36 on:** March 21, 2015, 05:29:56 PM »

This isn't salmon, but Trout and Kokanee. The Salmon will come later in the year. I've been fishing 3 times in the past 2 weeks with my brother in law. Twice for trout, once for Kokanee. Caught the limit the first time (2 trout each for that lake), caught 2 the second (trout), and caught 5 Kokanee yesterday. Going for Kokanee again tomorrow. We use a 14ft aluminum boat with electric motor, pulled behind my grand marquis to the dock 7 miles away. Total cost each time we fish is less than $3. (As long as we don't lose a lure. So far so good!)

Trout fishing.

YES!

My nephew Spencer was with us. He will be 4 in a couple months.

These are three of the 5 Kokanee from yesterday

And this was lunch today.

Exflyboy · « **Reply #37 on:** March 21, 2015, 08:34:51 PM »

Big gal.. your making me wonder why I'm working again..:)

Jon_Snow · « **Reply #38 on:** March 21, 2015, 10:42:56 PM »

Cannot wait to flood this thread with my fishing exploits this summer.

Nice work there Big Al....

bigalsmith101 · « **Reply #39 on:** March 22, 2015, 03:46:25 PM »

Quote from: Exflyboy on March 21, 2015, 08:34:51 PM

Big Al.. your making me wonder why I'm working again..:)

We all wonder why you're working again... Time to figure that out! Say it with me. O...M...Y...

Quote from: Jon_Snow on March 21, 2015, 10:42:56 PM

Cannot wait to flood this thread with my fishing exploits this summer.
Nice work there Big Al....

I intend to do the same. I've recently become fishing partner in crime #1 to my brother in law. And since we live in the same building, it's quite easy for us to fish as much as we want (around his family time).

We went fishing this morning, and had Kokanee jumping all over the place, immediately around us, and couldn't catch a single damned one for them. Oh well, it's part of the game!

Exflyboy · « **Reply #40 on:** March 22, 2015, 04:18:35 PM »

Not OMY for me... I did retire but they keep throwing money at me.. Its not my fault...:)

bigalsmith101 · « **Reply #41 on:** March 22, 2015, 07:32:39 PM »

Quote from: Exflyboy on February 08, 2015, 07:12:43 PM

Jon.. I really want to go after some lingcod.. but I don't have a boat I would feel comfortable paddling out in the ocean.. Certainly NOT my pontoon boat..:)
Whats your set up, how do you go after them?
Frank

Mr. Frank, with the kind of money they are throwing at you (from posts I've read), how will you decide to invest it in your retirement? Maybe a boat to catch those lingcod?

(Of course, accumulating more things sucks, so maybe a few fishing excursions instead of a boat?)

Exflyboy · « **Reply #42 on:** March 22, 2015, 08:59:15 PM »

Quote from: bigalsmith101 on March 22, 2015, 07:32:39 PM

Quote from: Exflyboy on February 08, 2015, 07:12:43 PM
Jon.. I really want to go after some lingcod.. but I don't have a boat I would feel comfortable paddling out in the ocean.. Certainly NOT my pontoon boat..:)
Whats your set up, how do you go after them?
Frank

Mr. Frank, with the kind of money they are throwing at you (from posts I've read), how will you decide to invest it in your retirement? Maybe a boat to catch those lingcod?

(Of course, accumulating more things sucks, so maybe a few fishing excursions instead of a boat?)

Haha.. well I may not have OMY syndrome but I definitely have OMD (one more dollar) syndrome...:)

In other words, no I really don't have enough.. to retire yet.. of course I do but a few more bucks can't hurt..:)

Yeah the excess of stuff is something I'm questioning.. I did sell my airplane so that helped.. but boy, I have a shop full of tools, welding gear, tractor etc etc.

Do I need a boat as well????

Jon_Snow · « **Reply #43 on:** March 22, 2015, 09:29:39 PM »

My problem is that I need a BIGGER boat if I want to go after some halibut or snapper in some deep, offshore waters...maybe when my oil stocks recover. :)

Bikesy · « **Reply #44 on:** March 23, 2015, 07:37:07 AM »

This thread is really making me miss my hometown in FL! Keep the pictures coming!

Retire-Canada · « **Reply #45 on:** March 23, 2015, 08:35:51 AM »

My two fishing boats.

Kayak is for the ocean and inflatable is for rivers and smaller lakes.

They cost ~$1K each and should last ~15yrs each with a little bit of care. So that's $67/yr per boat cost.

Raft inflates in under 5mins, weighs 4lbs and packs up smaller than a gym bag for easy transport in a MMM approved compact car or for flying to fishing destinations.

-- Vik

Exflyboy · « **Reply #46 on:** March 23, 2015, 10:45:08 AM »

Nice job Vik!

I must admit I am very interested in using a kyak to fish for ling Cod (I live 50 miles inland and I really don't want a real boat with its trailer and not be able to pull it with a Dodge Neon) but to be honest, the thought of a kyak next to the rocks in the ocean is a little scary.

I also know very little about kyaks... Any thoughts on how to approach my dilemma?

Frank

Jon_Snow · « **Reply #47 on:** March 23, 2015, 11:45:31 AM »

Eh, I have a little fleet of 18' touring kayaks...I have been paddling the PNW waters for about 25 years...and I can tell you that I would not want to hook into monster ling while in my kayak. ;)

To be fair, Vik's kayak looks a bit stubbier and stable than mine (and open deck, where mine are all closed deck)...but still.

Years ago I was bringing up a small rockfish when I noticed a dark shape following it up from the depths...it was a 50 pound monster ling attracted to the struggling movements of the rockfish. Standing up in our aluminum boat (try THAT in a kayak) and with a rather athletic lunge I was able to net the big bastard as he was about to take a bite out of the smaller fish. That's how we got our biggest lingcod...that's why I don't foresee kayak fishing in my future...I would try it in a lake, but not in the ocean where true monsters can lurk. ;)

Another thing, sometimes a lingcod will actually jam itself into a crevice when hooked...many times thinking my lure was stuck to the bottom I would actually jam my legs under the side of the boat and pull on the line with all my strength, a last ditch effort to release the lure. Lo and behold, not only did the lure come free, but a good size ling would come up with it! You are simply NOT going to be able to get this kind of bodily leverage sitting in a kayak.

I will definitely be sharing some pics (maybe even video) of some lingcod fishing this Summer! Stay tuned!

Bikesy · « **Reply #48 on:** March 23, 2015, 12:42:03 PM »

Alaska trip with my parents and siblings summer of '14. Biggest halibut was 120lbs. The other 3 big ones ranged from 80-90lbs. I've been up there 6 or 7 times and this was by far our best day of halibut fishing! Needless to say we're still eating halibut in the Bikesy household!

Exflyboy · « **Reply #49 on:** March 23, 2015, 12:54:45 PM »

Dayum!...:)

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Author Topic: Salmon fishing is badass (Read 46630 times)