For a minute there, I thought I was rereading "The Perfect Storm". This doesn't sound like the same Seiku we used to fish in a wooden kickerboat powered by a 5 hp Merc. With this boat/motor combo we fished the waters of Clallam Bay and west to The Hoko. We didn't have Loran C, GPS, or even a compass; we depended on visual contact with the shoreline, and when that failed, the sound of waves breaking on the beach, or the sound of our boat breaking up on the beach We did become more reliant on technology as time went on. On one of our last trips out of Seiku, the nationwide Loran C system went TU(not Trout Unlimited) during bow-obscuring fog. That day, we depended on a compass and a depth finder to get us back to port safely. Those two navigational aids have brought us home numerous times since, and I would consider them to be essential equipment for fishing "big water".

Dogfish, one successful fisherman I met in Seiku always added borax and powdered milk to his saltwater herring brine. His baits were firm, shiny, and fished as well as our fresh/frozen ones. Thanks for the detailed reports.

[ 08-21-2001: Message edited by: CedarR ]