Kite Lines - Vol.1 No. 3 - KiteLife

When the editor of K ite Lines receivedmy article on kite fishing, she demandedphotog raphs of fish caught and thefishermen that caught them . I didn'thave any . I hadn't caught a fish, andwhen I tried to buy a fish large enoughto take a decent photograph, I foundthat I couldn't afford one . Have youever tried to rent a 30-pound salmonlong enough to take photographs?Anyway, the time to deadline wasrunning out . I couldn't wait for theproper conditions at the mouth of theColumbia River ; I had to find an idealkite fishing spot - fast .Of the several sites recommendedby the local fishermen to whom I talked,the most promising seemed to be FortCasey State Park on Whidbey Island,WA . The way veteran fisherman TommyGibbons described the place, tide ripsparalleled the beach about 200 yardsout, and the wind always blew gentlyfrom the beach straight out across therips . The beach itself was a narrow stripof log-covered sand immediately adjoininga campground . Salmon ofvarious species took turns feeding inthe tide rips throughout most of theyear. Best of all, Coupeville, a littletown about four miles from Fort Casey,consisted of about 90% antique shopsto keep a non-fishing, antique-collectingspouse (such as my wife Pat) happywhile the fisherman went after his fish .By dangling the antique angle infront of Pat as bait, the trip was arrangedand we took off, arriving inCoupeville about an hour before sunset. Finding lodging was a little difficult,since Whidbey Island seems to bethe resort area for most of Seattle andall of Canada . We finally found a roomat the Captain Whidbey Inn, a 70-yearoldpole-and-plank structure thatmakes up in character what it lacks incomfort. It is also filled with antiques,which nullified any reservations Patmight have had about the lodgings .With the night's lodging problem outof the way, we headed for Fort Caseyto get the lay of the beach for the nextday's fishing . On the way we passeda sign that said "Fresh Smelt," whichtook care of the bait problem . Then wedrove through Coupeville . At thebeach we found the tide rips and windsthat Tommy had promised me . Wouldthe winds still be favorable the nextmorning? I crossed my fingers, prayed,tried to remember if my Sioux Indianhunting buddy had ever done a winddance, took one last look and headedback for the inn .After a nice seafood dinner and aLiveFish cum Kite StoryOneON THE LINEBy Warren O . (Stormy) Weatherscouple of drinks, Pat said, "I'm tired .Wake me for breakfast about 10 :30 inthe morning ." If I got up early, I couldget some fishing done before I had totake Pat to breakfast .At 6 o'clock the next morning, I waspacing up and down the road by the"Fresh Smelt" sign, waiting for evidencethat someone in the place wasawake . Finally I walked down thedriveway, and just as I saw anothersign that said "Help yourself and leavemoney in the box," the owner appeared .I bought a package of smelt, gave theowner a copy of my article on kite fishingand headed for Fort Casey .A low bluff behind the beach causededdy currents that made it difficultto put up a two-foot Pelican fishingkite, so I snapped on a 30-inch job,which managed to catch the wind andrise into the steady breeze that had heldnicely from the night before . When Ihad let out the line to the snap swivelmarking the 150-foot point, I snappedon the 30-foot line that ended in thefish hooks . Carefully slipping a smeltonto the hooks in such a manner thatit would imitate a cripple when beingpulled through the water, I finishedthe job of rigging up .Things looked good from the start .The wind was just right, and aside froma little too much water in the jug, therigging looked good . I hauled in,dumped enough water out of the jugto a level where the kite could lift itout of the water once in a while (to correctfor drift caused by the tide), thenlet out enough line to position the baitin the tide rips . I found that by walkingalong the beach, I could troll the lengthof the tide rip ; by letting line out andtaking it in, I could troll back andforth through it . Boat fishing couldn'thave been a whit easier . (Continued)