It's gonna be Viscious Fishious on 4/13/02, Sid. Tons of springers and fun. The planned 3:00 afternoon party on Sand Island (just a short hop across from St. Helen's) will be accessed by all the event participants with their boats. It's an island with docks and a picnic park and a little beach too. So you will be launching a big boat like yours at the St. Helen's Marina cement ramp; or a number of other nearby launches that the organizers will post during the week before this Flotilla IV. As for gear ...

I forgot to look if you are from Washington (a Wassie) or Oregon (an Oreo). If you are a Wassie, you will fit right into this thing with others from your state if you use your downriggers to drag anchovies right on the bottom; especially in sandy areas. jk - Actually, that would probably work. If you are an Oreo, you would fit right in by anchoring in a 'hog line', with guys that look like they know what they are doing, and plunk fish the outgoing tide with K-13 or 14 Kwikfish (wrapped with a small herring/smelt/sardine filet, and a small bit of Prep H rubbed on it's redish tail - really). Or use a rolling plugcut green pack herring or whole redpack or even the small yellowpack herring; or some pink cured prawns with a plastic leader clevis'd small rainbow spinner blade above it. Use about a 50" leader and 30" lead dropper. After you let out your rig and the lead stabilizes in a light tap to bounce bottom, reel in 2 or 3 cranks to get the diving Kwikfish a couple feet or so up off the bottom. This spring with higher, colder, and a bit murkier water than last year I figure on doing better fishing a little closer to shore in shallower this year - but keep an eye out to get dialed into what's working. On a stronger incoming tide it's often best to troll around, where you see boats working a good area that way. You can use the same rig ups as mentioned for anchor fishing.

Those are just some of the basics that should get you into some fish. Good luck out there. Gonna be a lot of fun, regardless of the fishing.

RT