I still have pictures to post from Oregon but I thought I’d put up a few words about this morning’s papio fishing.  A nice low tide in the morning and a small south swell looked like prime conditions for getting out in the surf.  Of course it wasn’t as easy as all that.  The wind advisory from yesterday may have ended but someone forgot to tell the wind about it.  The east swell was also making an appearance by wrapping around and frothing up my favorite spots.

I waded out to “Barracuda’s” first, the most accessible spot in the area and had one bite in between turtle sightings.  Once the tide dropped a bit I slogged back to “Monster Rock,” so named not for the size of the fish I’ve caught there but rather for the large chunk of reef that juts from the water like a gnarled table.  I fished for about 30 minutes, had some bites and follows, and hooked one tiny fish.  Then I made my way to “Titan’s Corner.”

Titan’s Corner is named for the size of the fish I have hooked there.  The first time I ever fished the spot I lost all of my tackle to a monster that swam away like it didn’t even know it was hooked.  Today I lost my path through the pits and pinnacles of the reef and some how ended up not in the corner but more in the armpit.  Balancing on a small, slippery knob surrounded by chest deep water I made a long cast and felt a fish as soon as I cranked the reel.  My hook set coincided with a wave that knocked me backwards from my perch.  Still fighting the fish I struggled back onto the rock but just as I regained my footing the fish came free.  Dripping and slipping I reeled in quickly, intending another long cast to try again for the same fish, but with my lure no more than 20 feet away I had another fish on!  I fought to stay on the rock and was rewarded with bites on almost every cast.  I hooked six and landed five papio in no more than ten minutes before the action died.  None of the fish were big but two of them were big enough to put up a good fight.