After a couple nights of recovery, finally filing the report
Overall the
Chumly Show was once again a serious amount of
FUN! More than enough fish to go around this year (why I believe even RoeBags might have caught them if he had showed ) and even with the usual high-grading that goes along with Derby
Daze, our crew eneded up dragging home possession limits of absolute chrome all round
Friday, SteelHeader and I wandered up-Island dragging his
Hunting Machine that was destined to be our
Home for the next 3 days. Things were kinda quiet when we arrived early, with the exception of
My Escape already considering leading the next charge [^]
Out on The Pond for a brief survey... aYup!
They're Here!! In something a little less than an hour, we had landed five (releasing a few) and fought seven. Then it was time to run back to the marina, and pick up the balance of our crew. Milo & Tad were in fine spirits, and eager to test the water themselves. So with no further delay, we did just that. The Ladz proved themselves up to the challenge, and indeed managed to land everything that was hooked for the balance of the afternoon. Hunger pains finally began to gnaw at our bellies, so back to the berth. There, we did manage to shake hands with a few old Buddies, and meet one or two new ones, before sneaking off to chow down. Although the intent was to return to the site and join in the ongoing festivities, the 4:00 am jump start had most of us right bagged, so we decided to leave the play to those already at it, and enjoyed a very early eve (what???). aYup, down for the count by 10:30 [xx(]
The next day began early, down to the boat with the first glimmer of light, and very shortly we joined with the many sets of lights streaking to the grounds. Saturday was a brilliant day, weather-wise, fish-wise and Fun-Wise! Barely even a ripple on the water, and the threatening rains actually gave way to sunshine from time to time through the day! Not at all what we all recall from Chumly Daze years past! And the fish were more than cooperative! Only a few doubles or more for us, but the very active single hits kept us not only dancing, but as they seemed to prefer attacking one at a time, most were skillfully led boatside, then either released or joined their silver buddies in the hold. On the water, we saw and chatted with many many buddies, all openly wondeering "
what happened to you guys last night?" Playing safe (perhaps amongst a first for me) was the right choice! Clear heads, and focused effort paid off! No Worries Folks, we
WILL be there tonight!!! And of course the fish were cooperating for the vast majority
in the know. We witnessed many many
Fire Drills on neighboring rigs, and the gales of laughter rang out loudly nearly non-stop all day!
Sweet!
All to soon, we had landed our fair share, and so ran back to the weigh-in. No contenders for us, all though we did have a decent aggregate or two. Largest that day ran 19 1/4 pounds, and for a moment, I thought it likely I had the smallest at 6 1/2 pounds...
Then we decided to make the rounds, and visit with those we had so sadly neglected the eve before. Apparently the festivities of the night before were far to much for most, for dispite casting about for the
Usual Suspects for an hour or two, alas, none were to be found (sleeping already you
Wimps??) Only a little dissapointed in our failed efforts, we wandered back up to the luxurious cabin SteelHeader had arranged, and enjoyed another fine evening sipping the
Good Stuff around a roaring fire.[^]
Overnight the rains came back with a vengeance! Twice I awoke to the roar of sky-water pounding off the shingled roof, and I feared the coming morning's impending soaking...
But, it broke somewhat and held off until we had wandered through the chop and out to the grounds. Even let us tag a fish or two before the skies parted, and down she came in sheets so thick we wondered openly whether we could evolve gills fast enough to survive! Now,
THIS</u> is much more reminicent of what we all recall for Chumly Weather! Guess it simply wouldn't be the same without it! Dispite the 300% humidity and choppy seas, we did manage to dredge up more than a handfull of fish! SteelHeader's sneaky new terminal outfished all of the old reliables at the start, and indeed gave us quite the jumpstart on the day! Then, just as they slowed off, the oldies kicked into gear, and once again we shortly realized our holds were overflowing. That morn I decided to give the right to fight chiefly to our crew, while I safely huddled under the canopy of our fine rig. Twasn't til the very end when a triple went off that I chose to rise and give battle. Super powerfull runs greeted me to the fray, four runs so strong I swore it was the Lost Spring! Now, I can count on one hand the number of fish I've LL released this year, so perhaps overconfidence was running a tad too strong through my viens. We did get a couple of decent looks at this brute, and all of us realized we finally had our Contender! But alas it was not to be. Less than 20 feet from the boat, fish now tired and tamed and simply sliding in on it's side, the hook simply let go. WTF? No movement on the part of the fish, simply there one moment, and the next hanging just outside of our reach while he recouperated for a few minutes. Oh well, there's always next year!!
At the weigh-in and following cerimonies, we made up some lost time and chatted with many we hadn't had the opportunity to as yet. Then, one by one our Buddies wandered off, leaving us to haul the boat, and slowly set off towards home. Just outside of Brown's Bay, a deer decided to attack SteelHeader's truck, a large heavy duty four by four. Needless to say, the deer lost it's battle with truck and trailer, but thankfully did little in the way of damage while doing so. The balance of the trip was uneventfull, at least as far as I could determine through slumbering eyes... LOL!
So, all in all, another Very Fine Show! Total landed weight was over 9,000 pounds of chumlies weighed in! Wow! Now THAT's a switch from last year!! Didn't recognize the first and second place winners, but our buddy AltaKen did indeed take third (Congrats Buddy!), and many of our folks tagged hidden weights and draw prizes. Sweet!
The new owners are making some positive changes: the ramp is undergoing some badly needed revitalization for next year, the beer gardens were a fine idea, albiet a tad cool for the weather. All in all, a First Rate Performance from these new Folks! And now they know what they're in for next year, betcha it gets even better!!
Final Notes:
- To the Fellow who attempted to snitch the new decal I gave Milo and Tad off their ride: Shoddy Lad![B)]
- To myself for bringing the camera... sans batteries (still in the charger at home): Sometimers is getting more like Most-Of-The-Timers - now try to remember</u> that! [)]
- To my most excellent crew & skipper: Kudos Gentz! You surely did make the experience One to Remember! Couldn't have asked for a better bunch, nor a better time!
- To those that hid from us Saturday eve: Next year! It's Coming!!!
- To the organizers of this fine event: More Kudos! The FUN was certainly well appreciated!
- To those that attended and enjoyed: Excellent Time had by All! Certainly great you all could make it, and make the show as fine as it was!
- To those that didn't make it: Better start planning for next year! Sell Out Crowd FOR A REASON!! Likely to be so again next fall, so get your tickets early!
- To My Escape: Excellent job leading the charge Buddy!
- Finally to myself: Don't worry about losing the biggest one of the Derby! It's why they call it fishing (little consolation there). But I have decided to stick with this show until I do manage to place in the top three... and then to return the following year!!!
So now, all those chromers are being turned into a mountain of Salmoneroni!! As for me, a few more nights of decent sleep, and maybe, just MAYBE I'll feel somewhat "normal" again...
Cheers,
Nog
PS: Some decent pix on this post from Milo: http://fishbcforum.com/index.php?showtopic=47656
