I think every father that loves the outdoors dreams of one day sharing that love with their kids. For me that dream became a reality Saturday when I was able to take my twin daughters Kristina and Jessica offshore for the La Push Halibut opener.

Taking children fishing has its challenges and with daughters it is a little different because I didn’t want to put any pressure on them to be tom-boyish or tough just to impress me. Beyond that Kristina is diabetic so that raised challenges of it’s own.

On the drive up to La Push we talked about safety issues, diabetes issues and how things were going to work. We stopped at Fat Smitty’s because everyone should experience that at least once. I also got to share with my children some of the most beautiful scenery in the State of Washington if not the country. When we got to Lake Crescent they were awestruck. And they loved the Olympic National Forest. But nothing could prepare them for the drive into La Push. When you come around the corner and see Smith Island with the sun setting behind it. Even Kristina was rendered speechless, and that is no small feat.

We took a sampling of all of our diabetic supplies. Being six to eight hours away from a hospital means we had to be prepared for any contingency. Thankfully, the only issue we had was when her Blood sugar got a little low and her tummy was a little upset so she couldn’t eat. she was able to choke down a little juice to bring the blood sugar up and later, after she caught the first fish on the trip, the queasiness went away and she was able to eat.

We chose to have both kids wear the scopalamine patch. This was their first ocean trip and we wanted to do everything we could to make it as pleasant as possible. When we left La Push the kids were very excited by the first few waves and seemed to really enjoy the ride out. After sitting at the corner for a few minutes both kids got a little queasy, Jessica got a little upset about this which made it worse. Once she settled down and was able to eat a little and take a nap she felt better. Toward the end of the day we were able to have a nice talk on the bow, sitting in the sun and giggling a bit.

Kristina caught the first fish, She said it was easier than arm wrestling Tristan. I don’t know who Tristan is but he must be pretty strong. Jessica caught the last after she got over a little bout of seasickness. Patti, my terrific wife, caught one about 40 pounds and hooked up two others. The weather was perfect and the ocean conditions were as good as they could be. It was sunny and 70 degrees. Patti caught the big one in a bikini (I Win).

I had the best crew on the planet. My friends Kevin and Jeff agreed before we went that this day was about  the kids and they both made sacrifices and were very helpful to them. Jeff pulled up several lings and was getting a little frustrated by the end that he couldn’t hook a halibut. It was funny to watch him cuss about catching a 20 pound ling.

We got all our halibut. We decided not to go out to our ling hole as this would be harder on the kids but we did catch a few in the halibut spot. The kids each got to real in a few and Patti was a halibut machine. we even caught about a 15 pound Chinook Salmon that we successfully revived and released.

Final count was 6 Halibut, 8 Ling Cod, 1 Chinook Salmon, a pipe jig, a spreader rig and about 800 feet of spectra line we snagged off the bottom. Oh, and a sea cucumber, I think. 2 kids completely worn out, 1 happy wife and the proudest father ever.

MY FAMILY ROCK!!!!!!!!!

Good Fishin' To Ya'

Kerry W Allen

Good Fishin' To Ya'

Kerry W Allen

I took a trip up recently to fish lings and rockfish just to get back out on the big ocean. It was a great day. Got our lings and a couple seabass, had great ocean conditions and even saw some transient Orca whales. I am including the video link, even though it is crappy, because these big guys were running and you don’t see that all the time.

I spent the winter upgrading the boat, pics to follow, and taking classes for my OUPV (captain) license. Exams were successful and I am now officially Captain Kerry W Allen. I am a Navy veteran, I have worked for the federal government for 25 years and I finally have a marketable skill. The jury is still out as to whether I will start chartering this year or next. Oh, and no I can’t marry people.

The new regs are out. Area 11 will be closed for Salmon during May but Lings will be open May 1st through June 15th. 26 to 36 inches.

We are planning several Ocean trips this year for Halibut, Tuna and maybe even a Salmon trip or two out of Westport. I will start sending the newsletter again soon to keep everyone up to date on what’s Happening.

Good Fishin' To Ya'

Kerry W Allen

WDFW sent me a note today with this years Halibut Openers. For LaPush, where I usually fish, it will be just as we suspected. May 10, 12, 17 and 19th these are Thursday, Saturday. If there is quota left there will be an open on May 31 or June 2. If there is still Quota left after that there will be periodic openers Thursdays and/or Saturdays till the quota is filled.

For the rest of the coastal Marine areas and the Puget Sound you can check the press release here.

Good Fishin' To Ya'

Kerry W Allen

We installed a new satellite ready am/fm radio and speakers, a new Garmin 400c fish finder for the cockpit (this will use the existing p66 transducer from the old Furuno), a through hull (B60) transducer with a 12 degree tilt. This last required me to drill a 2 3/8 inch hole in the bottom of my boat. SCARRY!!! The big brain behind all this is a Garmin 740S touch screen GPS/Fishfinder combo unit. All this stuff is ready t plug in turn on and go. I am still awaiting a fuel flow sensor and an adapter for the 400c so it will talk to the transducer.

As soon as the fiberglass patch on the top is complete (outer layer on the bottom) we can mount the 10 hole rocket launcher and the led deck light. Patch should be done Tuesday and the rocket launcher will go on this weekend. Then it’s wash and wax and let go fishing!!!!!!!

Good Fishin' To Ya'

Kerry W Allen

Check the press release here.

Good Fishin' To Ya'

Kerry W Allen

Woo Hoo!!!!!!!!

Good Fishin' To Ya'

Kerry W Allen

While I was down yesterday laying out some stuff and cleaning out my wiring area my friend Ringo (Bob) was down to help me. Ringo is an old gill netter from back in the day and we were swapping stories, I was mostly listening. When I finally poked my head out of the cabin I saw what Ringo had been working on. He made this beautiful series of knots on my starboard grab rail and started on the port one as well. These are beautiful but I told him when people ask me at the dock if I did that myself I was going to have to tell them I did. He just laughed. I also learned that he had never been halibut fishing off the coast here. So Ringo has promised to do more of his magic to my boat and I am going to make it a priority to get Ringo Halibut fishing this year. It’s a win win. I get more cool stuff for the boat, and I get to go fishing with Ringo. It kicks ass being me.

Good Fishin' To Ya'

Kerry W Allen

I went back on Monday to go to Tod Schwartz seminar on Tuna Fishing. I learned quite a bit and got fired up all over again. I can’t wait to get back out on the ocean. While I was there I ordered a Garmin 740S with a bronze through-hull tilted element transducer from my friends at J&G Marine. I also talked to them about a temperature gauge and some led lights that I will probably be ordering also.

Went by LFS marine said hi to John Beath the halibut guru and bought some Mustang auto inflate life jackets and a throw bag for the boat.  One of the things I will be changing this year is I will be making everyone wear life jackets at all times. If someone falls overboard it can be difficult to find them in the swell. The life jacket can save lives in this case.

My favorite boats at the show, in no particular order, were:

again the TJ Offshore, which is unique in that it doesn’t have the extruded piece of aluminum along the bottom. It is cut in two pieces and the side is folded over the bottom creating a reverse chine. The problem with extruded aluminum is it is a different grade from the side material. This creates a galvanic reaction (if not much of one). This is a beautiful well appointed rig. But I still like the Wooldridge better.

The new Defiance San Juan 25 was probably the thing I was looking forward to seeing the most. And I was not disappointed. This rig has all the comforts inside that the wife likes and all the fishing amenities that Bo and the guys at Defiance have become famous for. A large cockpit, huge fishboxes and enough fuel capacity to chase anything the Northwest has to offer. I love the pilot house style with the forward slanting windows. This creates a lot more room and makes the cabin feel less like a 25 and more like a 28. The Defiance 25 is a home run.

There is a boat I couldn’t remember seeing before built by one of the guys that made Glacier Bay Boats what they are. The Aspen power cat is a unique idea in that the hulls are not the same. And there is only one engine. The hulls on this rig are designed to offset the torquing on the single engine making the boat track straight. Because it only has one engine and is a catamaran style boat it gets fuel burn rates around 4 to 4.5 GPH at 18 to 20 kts. I’m no math guy but I think that’s a little better than 4 miles to the gallon. It is a very impressive Puget Sound cruiser but I would like to see how it handles a following sea with ten footers eight seconds apart. Just sayin’.

There was a lot of hype about Boston Whaler unveiling their new Pilot House 28. They had champagne and this big celebration but the boat was sort of a swing and a miss as far as I am concerned. I love BW boats. they have a great history of building powerful inovative fishing boats. This one looks like they are trying to capture the Sea Ray market of pleasure cruisers. The upper part of the cabin is too small for four people to ride in comfortably and while it has plenty of space below, anyone that has tried to put their head down at sea can tell you that is not really usable for transit to and from fishing grounds.

There was one Parker boat at the show. I guess Jacobsen’s still sells them. If you missed it it was hidden behind a bunch of Grady Whites.

Good Fishin' To Ya'

Kerry W Allen

I need to get back out on the water so bad I can taste it.

So I left work early, called a buddy of mine and off we went to the show.

We stopped to look at the chainsaw carvings on the way in. This guy does some great work. We watched some dock dog practice and got some info for the wife for next year. Patti plans to enter Grace in the competition next year.

We finally entered from the boat side and worked our way through. There were the Defiance boats first then some bass boats and drift boats. Outside the tent area we found the River Hawk Boats. These are the big Aluminum boats you see at Cabelas. These are good boats made in Medford, Oregon.

Next we checked out the camp cooking tent. It smelled yummy but since we were so early there was nothing going on yet.

We entered the main hall and walked through the myriad of outfitters, guides and lodges. Spoke to a few. Spent a little extra time at the Women in Waders booth.

We came to the Wooldridge section and could see the big offshore they had there. Next to that was the something I had till now thought was impossible. The new Wooldridge 20′ Sport Pilot House. Not a typo, a 20′ Pilot house boat. I include a link to the video but this little rig ROCKS!!!

After that we went buy to see what was happening at the Stealhead pond and watched Tom Nelson catch and release a couple stealhead. Walked by the archery area as some kids were learning to shoot. and back out into the maelstrom.

We went by some RivTech drift boats and picked up some “Wiked Lures”. I’ll let you know how the Wiked Lures work out but they look killer for Blackmouth. Stopped at the XRodz booth and chatted up Jim Mercier. He had some great deals on some beautiful rods. Not only do these rods not suck, each one is a work of art.

And lastly we went by the Sportco booth to see what was happening there. They had some great deals on gear including this one on Lamiglass Rods.

I learned some new things about Lamiglass production that we will be discussing later. Overall it was a good show. I spent too much money but enjoyed some great people, made some new friends and learned a few things.

Good Fishin' To Ya'

Kerry W Allen