The main entree for our coast trip was a Dory outing for bottom fish and crab with guide, Grant Rilete. Grant is a first class professional based on the few times I've fished with him. This was another successful trip with him.
Mary got her first rock bass right off the bat. OFF SciFly and I contributed a bunch of ling to the communal pot. We both had long tug-o-wars with multiple cabezon, which had to be released of course. I didn't count the rock bass there were so many, but the boat limited out.
Trip highlight was when a second grader trained to fish well by his angling parents hooked a Chinook while casting for rock fish. On a light rod and light tackle it was a thrilling battle to watch. After about 10 minutes the fish wore the kid out first, so he handed the rod to his dad. It took a while, but he landed that 30 pound Chinook on a medium heavy spinning rod with 15 pound leader. Wish I had a pic, but don't.
After limiting on bottom fish we trolled for salmon for an hour or so with 2 takedowns and 1 wild coho released. Crabbing had picked up a little bit by mid August. The haul was about 60 crab divided among 6 passengers. Mary and I took home around 40 pounds of crab, 10 pounds of Chinook, 10 pounds of ling, and 10 pounds of rock bass. I'm going to need another freezer.
For SRC the following day I was planning to launch kayaks on the lower Nestucca. However, the number of boats already on the water dissuaded me. We took our first trip on the Little Nestucca instead. It was a bust for SRC, but a win on solitude, exercise and natural beauty.
Like a culinary Pied Piper, on the way home SciFly persuaded us with tales of magical food to meet him at Gerry Frank's Konditorei in Salem for dinner. Dear god was that the right choice. Fun atmosphere, great food, and the most amazing cakes you've ever tasted. I'd never heard of "Black Forest Cherry Mousse Cake" before, but after eating it I'll never forget it.