Yikes, again

This time an otter actually touched the spoon, or the hook,and I felt it . It came straight out from under the dock and instead of turning and following, it swam straight, fast,  and touched it ,as I , in a start, tried to pull the spoon away. 

 If you've been following this blog , you know I often go down to the dock and mess around with spoons and plugs. I find this to be a soothing meditative activity , while tweaking lures and watching the swimming action. Over the last two years, I've had several otters follow spoons, and also one young seal, and caught one small lingcod on a plug. , 

This time I was trying out a few old discontinued commercial spoons I had found in Victoria when Shamra and I were there on our break. Today's spoon was a # 8 McMahon, which is a very flat ,boring design, and therefore is one of few that I like to fiddle with because they are easy to bend.  

 So, now I think I'd better put a bit of tubing on the hook to protect the point in case a mammal grabs on. 

 The upper spoon in this set is a Ghandi, a very old, and unusual, design from the Tyee rowboat tradition. This one is on loan from my friend Scott. I had been curious for years , and now had a good look to see how this thing swims.  It has a very wide slow sweep , and a lot of drag.  

When I'm pulling the big spoons, my imagination has me in the rowboat in late summer trying to trick a Tyee under the Tyee Club rules. That fishing is so intriguing for all the reasons that most people are not suited for it.  It is very hard to get a bite. Those very mature fish on the doorstep of their home river are not feeding anymore.  Most trips of a few hours don't produce a bite. If you get a bite, most are light and don't connect. If you get one on,  a larger portion throw off the hook. All the details have to be right because line breaks, and broken tackle are more common. And, I like to be the guide, I'm rowing, and someone else is handling the tackle and playing the fish. Sometimes the angler is a beginner, and is learning by my coaching, in the dark, before the sun rises.  The odds of all things going just right are, lets say, challenging. But when it all comes together, oh wow, what a fulfilling thrill, whatever the size of the fish. And I think about this far , far , more than I actually get to do it, because mostly I'm at my day job , guiding in the motor boat.  Crazy.