The Willapa 2
Posted: September 10, 2016 Filed under: Fishing, kids | Tags: Willapa Bay Salmon Derby, Willapa Bay Salmon Fishing Leave a comment
Well, it turned into a party. After a few hours at home to catch up on work, reload the bait box, unload some fish and generally hop around like a lunatic, Weston, Halo and I jumped in the car and picked up Skyla at volleyball practice. This meant hitting the road at 5:15pm on the Friday of a three-day weekend…which only a crazy person would do. But sometimes, apparently, craziness is rewarded: No traffic! None. Weston and Halo slept, Skyla played DJ, and we chatted and sang our way to the coast. We eventually had all five Sweeneys–including Grandma Janet–and their dog Fisher, Smarty and his dog Honey (Halo’s cousin), me, the kids and Halo at the cabin. People party, dog party, fishing party. Awesome.
Morning came fast. The kids and I jumped in with Smarty and four Sweeney’s took their boat in search of salmon. As an added bonus, we were joining the circus that is the annual Willapa Bay Salmon Derby, so nobody was getting lonely on the water. Pictured at top: the kids and Smarty with Weston’s king (which he couldn’t lift on his own) and Skyla’s silver. Just above, the Sweeneys with a nice silver.
Of course, Weston–the kid who sleeps most of the time while fishing and still manages to land the biggest trout in Montana and the 30-pound halibut on a steelhead rod in BC–won the kids’ division of the derby, earning him hearty applause from the crowd, $50 cash, and bragging rights. He was stoked! That’s him with Skyla and Sweeney, weighing in his fish.
Fishing remained tough, but we hit the water again for the afternoon tide, and again the next morning just scratching out a fish here and there. By Sunday afternoon, we were fished out. Smarty headed down the coast to scout geese with Honey, and the rest of us kicked back on the beach, which turned into an impromptu raft-building party. That’s the crew with all hands (and paws) on deck. What a time! Huge thanks to the Sweeneys and Smarty for being family to us, and for making such great memories. And on that note, it’s time to go pull the last load of fish out of the smoker now…Love this time of year.
