Gig Harbor Gathering

D

DaveS

New member
Larry S. was requesting information about Arabella's Landing in Gig Harbor. Does anyone have any pictures that they can post of our "gathering" at Arabella's. If we could locate the photo album of that gathering in the archives somewhere, they would be a nice addition to this site. (Plus another trip down memory lane). The posting in their entirety would be super.
Thanks,
Dave S.
 
Good thinking, there, Dave old boy! I made an album titled simply Gig Harbor and put it with the Cruises and Events albums.

I found seven pictures on the old CB site that I believe are all from the Gig gig. (I couldn't get off work for that one last year.) Those seven pics are in the new album.

Here's a sample:

C_Dstring.jpg
 
Wow! A Gig Harbor thread, thanks Dave. I hope we aren't working Bill & Mike to hard on this one. I didn't realize that there was already a get-together at Arebella's, obviously before my time.
Anyhow, this gathering was spawned on the "Fishing" board under "Blackmouth". BC Ken and I are planning on meeting up with Lyle for some blackmouth fishing in the Gig Harbor area between the 7th and 12th of December. (or parts thereof). Weather permitting we will hopefully be fishing (and catching) during the day. Anybody else interested?
I dunno, this could possibly spill over into the the December 14th cruise. Yeah, that might be a nice way to end a fishing trip. :thup
 
I'm game for a trip to Arabellas and some fishing, don't forget T.S. Tim keeping an eye on this......wish I had a Wallas
 
Thanks Mike for posting those Gig Harbor Gathering Pictures. Hopefully someone else still has some of those that they can add to the album.

Larry S.
Picture #7 of that album is of Carolyn, Brock, Fred and Robbin. That is on the deck that I mentioned where we had our BBQ. If the camera had pointed a bit more to the right you would see that fantastic view of Mt. Rainier, behind more of those beautiful flowers. A very picturesque site.
At that gathering we did some extensive South Puget Sound cruising.

Since, I'm at work now and my "ship's log" is at home, I'll try to remember to look up the date of that particular gathering tomarrow.
Dave S.
 
Thanks Dave. If I hadn't fished the Gig Harbor/Dalco area 20 years ago in December, I probably wouldn't be so gung-ho to go up there and fish in winter. But I had a blast back then. We'd start the day by stumbling up the walk-way to a little resturaunt and ate breakfast. Then we walked across the parking lot and bought our bait (herring) then back to the boat. Within 10 minutes of casting off we were fishing on glassy smooth water. Throw out our plug cut herring and let it spin it's way slowly towards the bottom as we drifted along with the tide and our engines off. We could feel the fish bump our bait and we'd reel up the slack and then set the hook. Sharp hooks made the difference. We were always busy casting, drifting and reeling in. The day went by quickly and we topped it off with some really fine dinners. Went to some waterside resturaunts, docked and ate meals fit for kings. There was a big grocery store at Gig Harbor just up from the dock where we bought some great steaks and had a boatside bbq... all in the dead of winter. Seen other boats out there that were fishing, they had television up in the bow of their boat and were watching football games while fishing. You guys have it pretty tough up there on the Sound. :D
 
O.k., clue me in.
How far is this place and what does it cost to launch and dock with shore power for the night?

What does an out of state license cost?

My wife's birthday is on the 13th, are there any jewlery stores up that way?

Man if I go to Washington I just know I'll comeback with something shiney and new and I'll be too poor to be able to fish.

But maybe it will be worth it. Mike sure has had a great big smile in the last few pics I've seen him in.
 
Ray, would love to see you join us. It's about 3 hours North of Portland. The nightly mooring fee is $15 and includes shore power. I'll try and locate the fee for out of state license and get back to you. I know that Washington seems to appreciate out of state fishermen more than Oregon, they're out of state license's are cheaper. In the future you might think about getting a yearly Washington license. If memory serves me it's about the same as a resident Oregon license. Runs April to April. More later.
 
Ray,Larry;
Larry on page 10 of the Sport fishing rules it looks like out of stae people can buy a 2 days consecutive licenes for $6.57 and a catch record card for free. I am loading my boat for a short try in a few minutes.. Going to see if any fish are in by Johnson point. will let you know how it goes.
 
Ray, here's the cost breakdown for the Gig Harbor trip;
2 day non res fishing license......$ 7.00
morrage................................. 15.00 per night
fuel ...................................... 40.00
launch fees ........................... 10.00
new dodge............................ 30,000

look on wifes face when you show up with new dodge...priceless

freezing buns off and catching a fish with a pack of C-Nuts...priceless

I'm wagering that it'll be a foggy dog so I may be trying out the Gig harbor ramp.....druther not have to motor far in the fog
 
Ray

Yearly non resident salt water fishing licesnse is $39.42. A two day non resident fish/shellfish combination is only $6.57. You can find more info and order licensse online at this link http://www.greatlodge.com/wa-fishhunt/licenses/state_fishgame_front.cgi?st=WA&sinfo=FishFees

I'll call the marina Monday and get more info on parking....

Jewelry stores? The Seattle-Tacoma area is much larger than Portland. They probably have a million of em'. Check the Google search engine.

Hope you can go.
 
B~C
Your cost breakdown may be 5 - 8K light for the new Dodge & you forgot the cost of the 25 footer... Oh, and the jewelry.
:twisted:
 
Larry
It's great to hear of your memories of a trip twenty years ago. Most of that will still work. Suzanne's deli is right next to Arabella's, for a pastry sort of breakfast, and it's not too much of a walk to Kelly's for a huge omelette. Just a block or so beyond Kelly's is the old local Uddenberg Thriftway. It just got lassoed into the QFC chain, but certainly has anything you might need for dinner.
The biggest change - there isn't any fresh herring available in Gig Harbor anymore, since the Russell Foundation built beside the herring pens and sort of swallowed them up. To my knowledge, the Narrows Marina on the Tacoma side is the closest place. Same goes for fuel - both fuel docks recently closed. Although, if you arrive with full tanks, you can go back and forth to Pts Dalco or Defiance all week without putting much of a dent in your supply.
Arabella's has a web site at http://www.arabellaslanding.com , but it sounds like you've got most of the information already. This time of year, there is usually street parking available as well, if anyone drives in and doesn't want to pay the fee.
Some friends of mine own Arabella's and let me keep my 22 Angler at their dock across the harbor. (But I just took it home a couple of weeks ago.) They just bought a Fleming 55, and I've been trying to talk them into getting the 14' Angler for sale on the C-Dog site for their dinghy!
And lastly - does anybody have any room for one more fisherman? I'd love to go with someone who knows more about salmon fishing than I do!
David S
 
David S

We've got room for you in our boat. Glad to have you along. Now, as far as someone who knows more about salmon fishing... you'll have to talk to Lyle about that. :mrgreen: I'll make no such claims. The only thing I'm really certain of with salmon fishing is that sharp hooks = more fish.

We'll work out more of the details as the week progresses. I'm looking forward to meeting you and having a good time fishing.
 
Have the dates been firmed up yet?
I am thinking about running this by the wife....

Lyle, how is the fishing? The odds are better if I have a hope of bringing back fish....

Maybe I can bring up some of my "special ice" ;)
 
Thanks Larry
Should be fun! Are you good at sharpening hooks, or do you have a brand you've found to be best?
Mr. Fisherman, here are a couple of links to local fishing reports, along with the most recent posting:
http://www.salmonuniversity.com/or_fishing_reports.html
"Only two or three boats have been out each day this week but still some fish are being found. Although there's been a couple fishless days in the last week, a fair of amount of the time these few hardy fishermen are finding some nice winter blackmouth at the slagpile and claybanks. Fish are running from just-legal to around six pounds.
For more info, call Tim at the Pt. Defiance Boathouse, 253-591-5325"

Then the Tacoma paper. The fishing report comes out on Wednesday, so this is a week old:
http://www.tribnet.com/sports/outdoors
"Tacoma - When boats have been out, anglers have been having luck around the slag pile or the clay banks area, said staff at Point Defiance Boathouse and Marina. The weather has kept fishing pressure light, but mooching or trolling near the bottom has been productive for those on the water."

David S (not to be confused with Dave S)
 
Mr. Fisherman, Colvosview, & all

I'm planning on meeting up with Lyle for fishing on Monday morning Dec. 8th. I'll go earlier if anyone else is going to be there earlier. (Also depends on the weather).

Regarding hook sharpening: An old timer showed me how to sharpen hooks a long time ago. I'll gladly show and tell if you're interested. All hooks can be made sharper than they came from the factory, even the "Laser Sharp" hooks. It only takes a few strokes with the file and you'll only have to watch me sharpen one or two to know how to do it. Then with just a little practice you can make some nasty sharp hooks. Luhr-Jensen thinks it's important enough that they have a whole tech bulletin about it. It more than doubled my catch to loss ratio. :thup
 
Count me in for the 8th & 9th (weather permitting)..Lary speaks the truth about sharp hooks. Last August the kid and I would spend the evening sharping & snelling hooks. After every fish or two we would change hooks, found that if you left the hooks on for more than two fish, the odds of bringing the next hookup to the boat went way down.
 
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