Finally...

 The Herring Are Here
 

Decipher the following poem to find out where:
 

Kirk is known to throw a net

In wind, in rain, he does not fret

Near the frothing seaward shore

Catching herring by the score

And when clupeids spawn in muck

Indeed he shows more skill than luck

Death he deals pallasi then

So much more than other men.

 

Anyone got a date for me on this thing?  I'm saying 1951.  Anyway, it still catches fish... righty or lefty.

Several of the more hardcore types have pointed out that I am holding my fishing rod like a novice (or maybe more like a monkey--afterall it is the Monkeyface News), in the "Down At The Fishing Hole" movie featured yesterday.  To which I would like to offer this explanation: I reel lefty.  In everything else in this world I am right handed.  But I learned to crank a reel with my left hand (this happens to lots of spin fishers).  It doesn't bother me so much when I am using a spinning reel, but when dealing with bait   
 casters I go nuts. Call me a social deviant if you must, but to comfortably operate a bait caster in the up position, I am forced to use a "lefty" rig.  When the Hon. Rev. Wupass bequeathed his Ocean City 1600 reel to me (see pic. above) I was deeply moved.  I also realized it was going to force me to look like a chump if I ever used it in public... which, (several of you were more than willing to point out), it evidently does.  Lest anyone think after perusing this blog that I am in some way an imposter or a neophyte posing as a seasoned fish-head, I just thought I'd  put this paragraph here.  Oh and by the way...

I've never spearfished actually.  

I've never dropped a purse sein.

I've never hauled a long line in.

I've never "offloaded" anything.

But I think its safe to say I've fished.

Logged my hours.

Often with absolutely no hope of success.

Wrong tide.

Winter approaching.

Bait that's been in the freezer too long.

Surrounded by idiots.

Wet feet.

Rank fingers.

Lost 4 rigs on a submerged shopping cart.

Don't even want the fish I'm going for. 

Misspent two hours catching the fucking worms in some terrible mudflats...

Aw nervermind...

So happy right now.

Who cares about all this other stuff...

The herring ran today!

The herring ran today!

And I have 50 pounds in my freezer to prove it.

 
      No reason for this, I just liked it.

 

Fishing In Drains, Part Two

Anyway... here's the missing footage from yesterday, shot by a passing pedestrian, named Tara (my camera batteries ran out and in desperation I accosted the poor girl and got her to come over to the drain and shoot this bizarre footage with her i-phone).  Okay... I will post details of the herring spawn tomorrow or the next day.  I don't want to start a mad rush.  Great god it was the biggest spawn I've seen.  The shore anglers took about 500 pounds of fish.  Sturgeon coming into the shallows. Yikes.  We could see them churning about, sucking up the eggs.  Unreal. (Believe me I tried for one of those "dinosaur catfish" but they were not interested... gee I wonder why?)

Anyway here's the latest Monkeyface Production:

  

From high above those milty waters of San Francisco Bay, where the great Pacific herring spawn is occuring right now... this is Lombard Of The Intertidal, signing out.  Good night.

Comments

[Mr Fisherman]

I guess you know where the Herring are? I would give you a tip, but you must not need it. BTW, it seems like there are more Herring coming, and likely more spawns to follow(bigger spawns too, hopefully). Send me an Email, and I'll exchange info with you. I'm guessing whoever shared the latest Spawn with you requested to keep the location under wraps, which is a good thing(unless you found them yourself - still a good thing).

[Scott P]

Any chance of a seminar on how to catch herring? I'll wear a blindofold or undergo a selective memory erasure so as not to be able to spot burn but mainly just want to see what it's like. I don't even need 50 lbs for my freezer. 5 or 10 would do :)

By the way, what's a "trot line" that you mentioned the rockfish was stuck on in the drain? I googled and saw that it strings across a channel of water, but... who would consider crawling down in the storm drains to set them?

Once again, have to give you kudos on your post. They just keep getting better and better.

[Erik Freeman]

Wow that was so fucking awesome Kirk. I laughed my ass off and stained my front. Thanks!

[Northern Boy]

All the best right-handed fisherfolk reel conventional reels lefty. I refer you to the picture accompanying the post "Fish Nerdism etc" for irrefutable evidence.

[Sparkeysf]

Oh man, if I knew how to catch some herring this winter it would make some of my Swedish relatives really happy. I don't need them for bait... I just want to make some homemade pickled herring :)

Do you have any tips? Can they be caught on Sabiki's?