A Father’s Day report, yup I/we went fishing on Father’s Day. Before I get going apologies are in order. This will be an abbreviated report and will it only include a couple fish pictures. That said, read on.

This was not just a fishing trip; it was also an opportunity for the NWFR TV team to shoot some film. I had mentioned to Mike that I was planning on fishing the Tulalip Terminal Area or commonly known as “The Bubble”. Mike asked if the team could film the adventure and I said great idea.

I told Mike 3:00 am sharp at the 10th Street Launch just down the road from Scuttlebutt Brewery. My good friend Andy was joining us and he agreed to a 2:00 am pickup. A quick stop for fuel at Holiday for fuel, Andy onboard and everybody was punctual so we were underway shortly after 3:00 am.

The run to the bubble was a cautious one. I think that the tribal crab season was open so I had to keep a sharp eye for crab pot buoys. On station by about 4:00 we got to business, both filming and fishing. Shortly after we went gear down and cleared a shaker or 2 the port rigger gets slammed and Andy is up to bat. The fish had some serious shoulders and made a number of line smoking runs before Andy got control of it. Control yes, but not out of surprises. Even with the boat in gear the fish managed to wrap a downrigger cable. Quick thinking and a lucky shot I netted the fish before it realized that it had an escape route. High-fives all around and Mike got some great film footage.

Unfortunately, that was our only fish for the box. After our early am excitement, we lost a fish and released a number of shakers but that was it for us. We were running 11” flashers followed by 3.5” Kingfisher Lite spoons with White Lightning and The Holiday Market Special being the hot ticket. Our trolling speed varied between 2.4 and 3 MPH. Early on we were targeting suspended meter marks at 40-50’ and then as the morning progressed, we went deeper and were fishing at 50-90’.

Normally I chase Meter marks but the area has an infestation of Lions Mane jellyfish. Unfortunately, a jellyfish looks just like a chinook on the meter so my meter mark plan was a no plan. Most of our action was early at 40-50’ Running my standard setup; line back 20’ from release clip to an 11” flasher, 42” of 30# leader to a spoon that is slathered up with anchovy or herring goo.

With hopes of seeing one of the local gray whales (Sounders) we took the long way back and were not disappointed. We were fortunate and got to spend time with one. It spent a lot of time with it before we pulled the plug and headed back to the ramp.

A fantastic Father’ Day with the gang, I beautiful nookie and whale watching. It doesn’t get better!

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