I launched into the Sacramento River at Rio Vista on the Sacramento
River, then began a troll up river to the Old Sac, clear on up to
Locke, CA, about a half days troll. It was a breezy day, and I had my
hands full with keeping the boat on course, tending the lines, etc. In
fact I gave up trolling two lines as it was just too much work. But
one line worked fine, thanks.

Within half an hour of starting, about halfway between the Rio Vista
Bridge and the Old Sac, the reel screamed out that a salmon had taken
my green, double bladed Silvertron! I turned the boat into the river
and the fight was on! He wasn't a very big salmon, but he sure had
heart! He fought hard and strong, but within 10 minutes or so, he was
in my net! I weighed him in at eight pounds, and he measured 22
inches.

I continued upriver, glad to be in the somewhat protected by the
levees along the Old Sac and off the windy main ship channel.
Somewhere above the Isleton Bridge a ways, a DFG creel census crew
pulled along side and asked if I'd had any luck. For a change I was
able to say "YES!". I dropped anchor, reeled in and they pulled along
side to check out my fish. It weighed in at nine pounds on their
spring scale, so I trust my electronic's eight pounds. They also
checked for eggs and pronounced my fish a he. They asked the usual
"What's your zip code? How long have you been fishing?" and then they
were gone. I can tell you that DFG is hiring some mighty cute census
takers these days. If you doubt it, check my website!

I trolled clear up beyond Walnut Grove and Locke, then turned back in
time to anchor for the night across from the Boat House in Locke. It
was a breezy and cool night, but still another lovely night on the
river in the cozy cabin and V-berth of my C-Dory!

I was trolling at 0800 the next morning and it was uneventful 'til
waaaay back down river to about a quarter mile above the Isleton
Bridge. I thought my green Flatfish had collected some debris, and as
I grabbed the rod to reel in and clear it, a salmon was on!
bzzzzzzzzzzzzt! She must have been mouthing the lure somehow, and got
herself hooked! The fight was on! I turned the boat into the river and
began reeling her in. After about 10 minutes or so, she was along side
the boat and in the net. I measured her at 34 inches and weighed her
in at 16 pounds. And that was my limit!

After cleaning up the cockpit and stowing the gear, I headed for the
ramp and home. Man, did that feel great to have a limit - my first
salmon limit in over seven years!

En route home I called Bora, the guy who did the fine gel coat work on
my boat earlier this year, and offered him my catch. He was more than
happy to meet me and accept the fish. He would smoke them, he said,
and it would be time for a party!

And I'm already looking forward to my next salmon trip!

For lots of photos and story, check my homepage:
http://fishwisher.wordpress.com/2011...-salmon-limit/

Dale

On Fri, 28 Oct 2011 12:15:58 -0700 (PDT), Dale Gillespie wrote:

I launched into the Sacramento River at Rio Vista on the Sacramento
River, then began a troll up river to the Old Sac, clear on up to
Locke, CA, about a half days troll. It was a breezy day, and I had my
hands full with keeping the boat on course, tending the lines, etc. In
fact I gave up trolling two lines as it was just too much work. But
one line worked fine, thanks.

Within half an hour of starting, about halfway between the Rio Vista
Bridge and the Old Sac, the reel screamed out that a salmon had taken
my green, double bladed Silvertron! I turned the boat into the river
and the fight was on! He wasn't a very big salmon, but he sure had
heart! He fought hard and strong, but within 10 minutes or so, he was
in my net! I weighed him in at eight pounds, and he measured 22
inches.

I continued upriver, glad to be in the somewhat protected by the
levees along the Old Sac and off the windy main ship channel.
Somewhere above the Isleton Bridge a ways, a DFG creel census crew
pulled along side and asked if I'd had any luck. For a change I was
able to say "YES!". I dropped anchor, reeled in and they pulled along
side to check out my fish. It weighed in at nine pounds on their
spring scale, so I trust my electronic's eight pounds. They also
checked for eggs and pronounced my fish a he. They asked the usual
"What's your zip code? How long have you been fishing?" and then they
were gone. I can tell you that DFG is hiring some mighty cute census
takers these days. If you doubt it, check my website!

I trolled clear up beyond Walnut Grove and Locke, then turned back in
time to anchor for the night across from the Boat House in Locke. It
was a breezy and cool night, but still another lovely night on the
river in the cozy cabin and V-berth of my C-Dory!

I was trolling at 0800 the next morning and it was uneventful 'til
waaaay back down river to about a quarter mile above the Isleton
Bridge. I thought my green Flatfish had collected some debris, and as
I grabbed the rod to reel in and clear it, a salmon was on!
bzzzzzzzzzzzzt! She must have been mouthing the lure somehow, and got
herself hooked! The fight was on! I turned the boat into the river and
began reeling her in. After about 10 minutes or so, she was along side
the boat and in the net. I measured her at 34 inches and weighed her
in at 16 pounds. And that was my limit!

After cleaning up the cockpit and stowing the gear, I headed for the
ramp and home. Man, did that feel great to have a limit - my first
salmon limit in over seven years!

En route home I called Bora, the guy who did the fine gel coat work on
my boat earlier this year, and offered him my catch. He was more than
happy to meet me and accept the fish. He would smoke them, he said,
and it would be time for a party!

And I'm already looking forward to my next salmon trip!

For lots of photos and story, check my homepage:
http://fishwisher.wordpress.com/2011...-salmon-limit/

Dale

Beautiful fish and great write-up, Dale. Wish I'd been there!

On Fri, 28 Oct 2011 12:15:58 -0700 (PDT), Dale Gillespie
wrote:

I launched into the Sacramento River at Rio Vista on the Sacramento
River, then began a troll up river to the Old Sac, clear on up to
Locke, CA, about a half days troll. It was a breezy day, and I had my
hands full with keeping the boat on course, tending the lines, etc. In
fact I gave up trolling two lines as it was just too much work. But
one line worked fine, thanks.


You should try an autopilot - great for low speed trolling.


Within half an hour of starting, about halfway between the Rio Vista
Bridge and the Old Sac, the reel screamed out that a salmon had taken
my green, double bladed Silvertron!

I love that sound!

I turned the boat into the river
and the fight was on! He wasn't a very big salmon, but he sure had
heart! He fought hard and strong, but within 10 minutes or so, he was
in my net! I weighed him in at eight pounds, and he measured 22
inches.

I continued upriver, glad to be in the somewhat protected by the
levees along the Old Sac and off the windy main ship channel.
Somewhere above the Isleton Bridge a ways, a DFG creel census crew
pulled along side and asked if I'd had any luck. For a change I was
able to say "YES!". I dropped anchor, reeled in and they pulled along
side to check out my fish. It weighed in at nine pounds on their
spring scale, so I trust my electronic's eight pounds. They also
checked for eggs and pronounced my fish a he. They asked the usual
"What's your zip code? How long have you been fishing?" and then they
were gone. I can tell you that DFG is hiring some mighty cute census
takers these days. If you doubt it, check my website!

I trolled clear up beyond Walnut Grove and Locke, then turned back in
time to anchor for the night across from the Boat House in Locke. It
was a breezy and cool night, but still another lovely night on the
river in the cozy cabin and V-berth of my C-Dory!

I was trolling at 0800 the next morning and it was uneventful 'til
waaaay back down river to about a quarter mile above the Isleton
Bridge. I thought my green Flatfish had collected some debris, and as
I grabbed the rod to reel in and clear it, a salmon was on!
bzzzzzzzzzzzzt! She must have been mouthing the lure somehow, and got
herself hooked! The fight was on! I turned the boat into the river and
began reeling her in. After about 10 minutes or so, she was along side
the boat and in the net. I measured her at 34 inches and weighed her
in at 16 pounds. And that was my limit!

Nice fish, thanks for sharing.


After cleaning up the cockpit and stowing the gear, I headed for the
ramp and home. Man, did that feel great to have a limit - my first
salmon limit in over seven years!

En route home I called Bora, the guy who did the fine gel coat work on
my boat earlier this year, and offered him my catch. He was more than
happy to meet me and accept the fish. He would smoke them, he said,
and it would be time for a party!

And I'm already looking forward to my next salmon trip!

For lots of photos and story, check my homepage:
http://fishwisher.wordpress.com/2011...-salmon-limit/

Dale

Thanks guys - it was a memorable trip.

Wayne - I have a Raymarine S1000 auto pilot. It's absolutely useless
for trolling at speeds under about 5 mph. It was a big disappointment
as that was the main reason I bought it. No mention made anywhere in
the ads about that issue, but clearly stated in the owners manual.
Bummer.

On Sun, 30 Oct 2011 17:08:03 -0700 (PDT), Dale Gillespie
wrote:

Thanks guys - it was a memorable trip.

Wayne - I have a Raymarine S1000 auto pilot. It's absolutely useless
for trolling at speeds under about 5 mph. It was a big disappointment
as that was the main reason I bought it. No mention made anywhere in
the ads about that issue, but clearly stated in the owners manual.
Bummer.

===

That's too bad. We have an old Robertson-Simrad AP35 that came with
our trawler and it doesn't care what speed we run at. The trawler
of course is a heavy boat with full keel and good directional
stability. That may make a difference.

I had a Raymarine Sportpilot on my old C-Dory. It came with its own
compass and took input from the compass and the GPS. This S1000 has no
compass and apparently the input from the GPS isn't updated fast
enough or something. We need an iPilot!

On Mon, 31 Oct 2011 12:43:48 -0700 (PDT), Dale Gillespie
wrote:

I had a Raymarine Sportpilot on my old C-Dory. It came with its own
compass and took input from the compass and the GPS. This S1000 has no
compass and apparently the input from the GPS isn't updated fast
enough or something. We need an iPilot!

====

I think you've hit the nail on the head: GPS does not update quickly
enough to maintain directional stability at slow speed. The only
thing that GPS knows is position. It computes direction from
adjacent points. If the points are too close together (slow speed
error jitter), then direction will be inaccurate.

Dale Gillespie wrote:

I launched into the Sacramento River at Rio Vista on the Sacramento
River, then began a troll up river to the Old Sac, clear on up to
Locke, CA, about a half days troll. It was a breezy day, and I had my
hands full with keeping the boat on course, tending the lines, etc. In
fact I gave up trolling two lines as it was just too much work. But
one line worked fine, thanks.

Within half an hour of starting, about halfway between the Rio Vista
Bridge and the Old Sac, the reel screamed out that a salmon had taken
my green, double bladed Silvertron! I turned the boat into the river
and the fight was on! He wasn't a very big salmon, but he sure had
heart! He fought hard and strong, but within 10 minutes or so, he was
in my net! I weighed him in at eight pounds, and he measured 22
inches.

I continued upriver, glad to be in the somewhat protected by the
levees along the Old Sac and off the windy main ship channel.
Somewhere above the Isleton Bridge a ways, a DFG creel census crew
pulled along side and asked if I'd had any luck. For a change I was
able to say "YES!". I dropped anchor, reeled in and they pulled along
side to check out my fish. It weighed in at nine pounds on their
spring scale, so I trust my electronic's eight pounds. They also
checked for eggs and pronounced my fish a he. They asked the usual
"What's your zip code? How long have you been fishing?" and then they
were gone. I can tell you that DFG is hiring some mighty cute census
takers these days. If you doubt it, check my website!

I trolled clear up beyond Walnut Grove and Locke, then turned back in
time to anchor for the night across from the Boat House in Locke. It
was a breezy and cool night, but still another lovely night on the
river in the cozy cabin and V-berth of my C-Dory!

I was trolling at 0800 the next morning and it was uneventful 'til
waaaay back down river to about a quarter mile above the Isleton
Bridge. I thought my green Flatfish had collected some debris, and as
I grabbed the rod to reel in and clear it, a salmon was on!
bzzzzzzzzzzzzt! She must have been mouthing the lure somehow, and got
herself hooked! The fight was on! I turned the boat into the river and
began reeling her in. After about 10 minutes or so, she was along side
the boat and in the net. I measured her at 34 inches and weighed her
in at 16 pounds. And that was my limit!

After cleaning up the cockpit and stowing the gear, I headed for the
ramp and home. Man, did that feel great to have a limit - my first
salmon limit in over seven years!

En route home I called Bora, the guy who did the fine gel coat work on
my boat earlier this year, and offered him my catch. He was more than
happy to meet me and accept the fish. He would smoke them, he said,
and it would be time for a party!

And I'm already looking forward to my next salmon trip!

For lots of photos and story, check my homepage:
http://fishwisher.wordpress.com/2011...-salmon-limit/

Dale

We were Steelhead fishing last weekend in Riggins, ID took a 22" and
two 28" hatchery fish. You can't keep wild fish here. We're off to
Hells Canyon this weekend coming up for Steelhead and fall Chinook. Jim

--