Day 3...

High winds greet us at the EMB... too much for Team Achewter to venture forth across the estuary in their little Bayrunner.... so Team eyeFISH picks up two more to round out the crew as Achewter and Achewter Sr climb aboard to join Little Miss Achewter, Twitch, f4b, LMWS and myself in the black barge.

We catch the last of the incoming tide as we arrive on the WA side and drop 'em right above the bridge to start an uphill troll. With seven rods at our disposal, the team lays out an entire smorgasboard of whole baits, cut baits, spinner bait combos, and nekkid hangback hoochie spinners. LMWS announces that she does not want to battle anymore BIG kings only to lose 'em to a hungry sea lion before she has a fighting chance to reel 'em in. So she opts to deploy a small hangback Colorado hoochie spinner she named the Dream-sicle to specifically target small coho.

We're in the water about 5 minutes when my rod takes a massive dive and line starts melting rapidly from the spool of the Calcutta TE 700.... before we can get the rest of the gear cleared, the reel is DEEP into the backing! Yeah baby, Cyclops spinner bait strikes again! It scored the nice platinum buck for Achewter Jr the day before, but this BIG slab was more than twice the size.... a perfect fish for the old man, and boy did it kick Achewter's butt! Damn hangbacks!

Not sure why I don't have more pics of the fight, but this shot of the ultra-chrome Youngs Bay Rogue bright clearly shows the mechanics of the hangback hookup.



HAPPINESS defined.....





And remember folks....

All hatchery fish MUST die!



We get 'em back down after the glory shots and not 10 minutes later, LMWS's Dream-sicle is getting rattled. WAIT WAIT WAIT... patiently pausing in anticipation of her coho finally burying the rod.... and DOWN for the count she finally goes!

YEE HAW!!!!

But wait... that sucker's staying pinned down.... WAY DOWN... and by something a bit more substantial than your typical Buoy 10 coho.

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BTW that's Achewter's king still standing nose down in the bleeder bucket.



Porky platinum URB! And the biggest fish of the season to hit the box! Way to go LMWS!





Here's a proud dad and triumphant daughter revealing the details of her now infamous Dream-sicle spinner! Another great hangback hookup! So much for that blade being her ultimate coho killer.



So how many 11 yr old girls you figure can heft up a slab like this solo?



(I know of at least ONE other... and she was right on board patiently waiting her turn! )

Ever notice how some guys never get a break. Here's LMWS pokin' fun at Achewter's "dink".... "Ha! Mines bigger!"



And dear old Dad scolding him... "Quit pickin' yer nose, DAMMITT!!"



"OK I've had enough, DAMMITT! Leave me alone, or they're goin' overboard!"




f4b had a couple of non-commital herring hits and Twitch had a couple smack one of his Ricarded rigs, but no sticky! This day would continue to be OWNED by our lovely young ladies. Check out this next exciting daddy-daughter sequence we captured just a little ways upriver.











It didn't take long for Little Miss Achewter to subdue another beautiful Youngs Bay Rogue bright for the box. As I like to say...


ALL hatchery fish MUST die!

Hangback spinners were definitely kickin' some serious ass! I wouldn't mess with this gal if I were you 'cause I think she could, too!



Can't catch a king reelin' like a little girl? Says who?

FYI... HAPPINESS re-defined...




Family, friends, and fishin'... ain't nothin' better.