Well, this was a fun if small gathering and though I did a small amount of work getting the word out, I have to tip my hat (not so as to expose my hat hair) to TyBoo Mike, who has broken every known standard in terms of the scope of the host task.
Fishing advice, with exact detail and custom smelt threading tools, secret bait, GPS coordinates to his secret locations, set us up with the best sturgeon cleaners in the area at a "discount".
Pot luck and buoy #9, turns out the best local eatery offers great food and service by none other than one of Mike's daughters and then we are presented with enough oysters to feed 20 and two coolers of drinks. Not bad. Those who missed things this year should mark up their schedule for 2010.
Kathleen and I stayed an extra day and took in the Astoria Sunday market. The town is very nice and not as showy/ritzy as Cannon Beach or Seaside, though both are within 20 mins or so. This area really has much to offer for those who do not wish to go fishing and the drive from I-5 is easy crossing into Oregon in Longview prior to heading West to the mouth of the great Columbia.
Next year, we plan to pick a marina with a little more posh, for those who plan to spend more time in harbor. Not trashing where we were though. Just saying, it would be easy to offer a more hang around friendly environment.
Capital Sea fishing experience First let me say, the advice I received and followed was every bit as key as was the luck of having my bait selected by fish within the keeper range 3 or 4 times we got them to the boat. As it turns out, all four of the fish (three keepers) caught on Capital Sea were landed prior to eight AM and we could have been walking the beach or checking out the maritime museum the remainder of the day.
In terms of full disclosure, I should say that our first fish on Sunday swallowed the bait while I was clearing up a huge birds nest caused by a nice long and failed cast. It was four minutes before I could set the hook and when I did, the fun began. Just a few minutes later we landed our second fish and then the guide boats moved up along side and took a few. It was nice hearing them talk about "some guys near us just limited", but in truth we were in the right place at the right time and just trying to follow Mike's advice.
Eating the catch,Sunday night Kath and I cooked dinner for friends at their house in Astoria. Menu included fresh peas from the Sunday market, sturgeon steaks, with diced shallots, two cloves garlic, juice from two lemons, 1/2 stick butter, fresh basil chopped, salt, pepper and a dash of chefs choice cajun seasoning, a green salad and a bottle of fine Oregon wine.
Last night we had a couple neighbors over and BBQ'd up four more steaks and tonight we will do the same at another friends house. The remainder will be cut into a few steaks leaving 20 pounds or so that I will drop off at the smoker this afternoon.
Photos, I have lost the skill of how to post photos here of in my album. Any advice geared to the novice would be much appreciated.
Thank you again Mike. It was really nice to get to know you and your family a little better. Kath and I hope you find a place to set your beer while you fish the remaining summer.
We sure enjoyed our visit with you, your family, C-Dawg & Capital Sea. Wish we could have stayed for the entire weekend. 
