Port McNeill

We were up at O-dark-thirty to board Code 3 for our fishing charter. The sun is out and the seas are flat. We have no idea if that is good or not for fishing. What we do know is that we will be relatively warm and definitely dry. Merlin stayed aboard Aquila as our guard dog. We dressed warmly and brought our fishing poles that John gave us last year. Barry gave us quick orientation to this 26’ boat. The boat is great because it has heat inside and a stand up head. It was fascinating watching Barry showed us his gear and he explained why he used each gadget. He used salted herring as bait. He has two downriggers and rod holders all over the boat. He placed three lines in the water, each at a different depth. We just sat back and waited for a tug at a line. It wasn't too long before Fred caught our first fish. Unfortunately it was a small flounder that got thrown back. The second tug turned out to be a small rock fish…he went back in too. We waited…and waited and finally got a really good tug at a line. Fred reeled the fish in as Barry got the other lines out of the way. This was a beautiful wild Coho salmon. It is not allowed to keep a wild Coho in this area, only hatchery ones. This fish had a small dorsal fin which is cut off on hatchery salmon.