Merwin kokanee video 18 February 2022

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Have you ever been in one of those fishing slumps. I mean spiraled to depths of despair that can't be fathomed by a non-angler. "Will I ever catch another fish" echoes in your brain constantly. Starting to be afraid to even try. I was there. I had made a couple of trips to Hagg, a sturgeon fishing trip and a trip to the Willie for smallmouth with nothing to show for it. I am talking 8+hour days each time without touching a fish. I was at the 8th level of he** - the one Dante was afraid to mention.

I mean I was looking for skunk images to update my avatar.

That was my mindset as I headed to Merwin on the 18th. The only reason I even went is because a buddy of mine who I have not seen for over a year said we could meet up. We got to the lake a little before the gate opened and got ready to launch. I am dreadfully slow getting my kayak set up so he launched and headed out while I dragged myself through the paces of getting my FF wired up.

I rolled over to the ramp and launched quickly and started pedaling out of Speelyai. I went to attach my second rod holder and plop, there goes the top of it. I have a quick release on it and I must not have seated it properly. I watched it sink in disbelief. Well, that did not raise my spirits.

I looked at my kayak for a minute and figured I could wedge the butt of the rod in a carabiner and have it run under my legs and propped against what Scotty mount. OK, at least I can fish two rods.

As I get out of the bay I radio my buddy and he already has one - which is not surprising since he is an awesome fisherman. I deployed my rods and started pedaling across the lake. I had not gone two far when I had a couple of drive-by bites that did not stick at all. "Here we go again" I thought as I could feel the black & white looming.

I was feeling pretty down (pretty busy berating myself for the loss of the rod holder) and I was talking to my buddy on the radio when my rod started bouncing. I was pure adrenalin as a I reeled that fish closer to the kayak when, as kokanee are wont to do, it pulled the hook and I was left with that sick feeling my my stomach.

I finished reeling it in to check the bait when my other rod went off. I lost that one as well. I went back to trolling, getting bites was at least way better than I done all year so I started to feel a glimmer of hope. A little further along, one rod goes off and I lose it on the way in and then the second rod goes off. I babied that fish all the way to the kayak and when I slipped the net under that fish a giant weight was lifted off my shoulders. Every skunking, every bad trip, every mistake was washed away by that one fish.

It is amazing how such a small thing can make such a big difference in your outlook on life!! Confidence surged through my veins. "I am back baby" I thought to myself and all felt right in the world again.

I won't go through the details of the rest of the day, you all can watch the video for that, but I will say I went from the lowest of lows to the highest of highs. I ended up catching my limit. The first 8 came pretty quickly and then there was a several hour lull before I caught my last two (as a double). I went from being skunked on my previous trips to landing three doubles (a triple double just like a basketball star). You know all your luck is back when you are landing doubles on kokanee out of the kayak.

I tried smoking the fish for the first time (my buddy gave me a brine recipe). I personally don't care for cooked salmon but my wife liked it and daughter's boyfriend thought it was the best smoked salmon he'd ever had so I guess it turned out pretty well.

Here is the result of getting that skunk off:
20220219_134329.jpg


I forgot to mention above but the rod holder I used (and the one I dropped in the lake) were new Scotty 289 R-5. They are so much smaller and lighter than the orcas and really release super easy. For the kayak I really love them. I never had a great angle for lifting out of the orcas and these are much easier.

Anyway, here is a video of the day. Thanks for reading!

 
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I know the skunk!

Watched the video yesterday (?) Knew that double up looked like fun!

I was curious as to why one of your rods was on extensions and other so close, just figured you were left handed or something lol
 
Thanks @NKlamerus

Nothing like self-inflicted wounds :) I was just glad I could figure out a way to jury rig something so that I could still use my 2nd rod (without having to hold it).

I have to say there are not many worse feelings than being in a slump and not many better feeling than breaking out of it!
 
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I make the decision to sell all my fishing gear and boats at least once a month.
 
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Smoked Kokes = CANDY!!!
 
troutdude said:
Smoked Kokes = CANDY!!!

I am not much of a fan of cooked salmon (I do love salmon sushi though). I thought the smoked kokanee were fine but my daughter's boyfriend (who loves salmon) said it was the best smoked salmon he'd ever had so I will take his word for it. My wife and daughter also liked it to so I consider it worth the effort.
 
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Can it. No smoke. Just put it in a jar with salt and oil. Pressure cook at 11lbs for 90 minutes. We mix with cream cheese for a delicious dip.
 
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jamisonace said:
Can it. No smoke. Just put it in a jar with salt and oil. Pressure cook at 11lbs for 90 minutes. We mix with cream cheese for a delicious dip.
YUM!
 
We used to can smoked sockeye and smoked pinks. Absolutely fantastic!

We would fill the freezer, then do them up in big batches to enjoy later.

It has been decades since I have been able to do that. But I still stock up on trout in the freezer until I have enough to warrant firing up the smoker.
 

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