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All are still asleep as I am sipping on my hot brew.
The morning is bright and promising with uninterrupted sunny weather.
I will type for just a quiet moment while Roxie my Golden Retriever is looking on while busy cleaning her paws.
The moment in time was into the summer of 95.
The settings in the Pacific North West were in the Muchalat inlet.
http://www.seabc.com/friendlycove.htm
The point of Nootka named Friendly Cove and inhabited by my Native friends Ray and his wife Terry were the sight for the numerous fishing boats plying their art that summer.
The first lights were always somehow conducting to at least one good strike or two.
The mature Chinooks hanging very deep had their special way of getting shallow to taste and mingle with the scent and feel or the fresh waters and source of their births.
On any given day Camel Rock or Nasook could be the scene of several dozen crafts trolling in slow and patient fashions.
Cut Plugging was a favorite and so was downriging with Hot Spot flashers and anchovies.
While being attentive to the gear, my gaze was brought up to an arresting type of craft.
A craft that was fairly long and sitting low on the water.
The strangely banana shaped beauty was crowned by a sun shading type of Bimini blue top propped by slim poles keeping the contraption up.
The fair haired fisherman sitting at mid-ship seemed fairly young,slim and sporting a tee shirt with the red Whaler logo at back.
"A special boat with Merc outboard like that will most likely be owned by one of our cousin from the south" Were my plain thoughts.
Back to the job at hand,I didn't give it another thought.
Fishing was spotty and with short bites bringing some landings in the thirties and forties.
Attention to the gear was dire and foremost.
The next day brought in an unusually large amount of boaters making the passes and patterns to close quarters.
Hang ups and tangling were experienced. but everyone would be keeping their cool.
My set up length to the release would be adjusted to fifty feet in my hope to compensate to the larger number of crafts.
I do remember setting up an "Army Truck" hootchy and adjusting to 57' deep.
The grand boat that will be recognized as a Classic 21 Outrage trolling by and in the opposite direction got my terminal gear tangled with his.
The short haired and slim young man giving the wheel to his second stopped and kindly untangled my line from his cable and threw back the gear.
A big Thank You and a wave by both ended the impromptu meeting.
I do remember thinking.."I'm going to get myself a boat like that one of these days"
The story will go on as to prove that things are not always so peachy as on the same day and multiple passes later
The same craft and mine got entangled again and this time the Whaler, low, bright and Classy in it's shape did not stop and see the gear being snagged by his canon ball.
I did loose a bit of gear that day but the memory of this beautiful boat has remained with me for all these years.
I still do remember of the helpful fisherman and would recognize him today.
There is a very good possibility that this Whaler enthusiast may have belonged to this group and may have read this post today.
I think that I may know of who you are.
Thanks for being there on that day and to have given me the ambition of owning the classiest boat made in these time and ages.
The loss of a bit a gear was a great trade of and the story has remained one of my favorite ones.
Looks like the heat is getting to most of us these days.
Kind of hard to type while sweat is running down your back.
I will just read the story again
And very importantly now,will ad that while all these events were happening
A very cool and stiff breeze was blowing
The splash of the odd wave on the hull would spray you with an icy caress.
A quick dive in would revive you from slumber.
Two feet in the ice packed cooler would bring back the desire to stay out a bit longer.
