Capt. Jad Donaldson has been piced to be featured for Simms Fishing products for a national advertising campaing.  The belw advertisement is currently showing in Field & Stream magazine as well  as in the fly fishing industry newsletters.  All photography was done by Brian Grossenbacher/Simms in the summer of 2012 and took place on board the "Oppor-TUna-ty."  Looking forward to returning to Oregon and getting on the boat for tuna season!

A couple of late season (Oct) photos from the tuna season from Tj's camera...look at how smooth it was.  A couple of spectacular oceans to end the season on!

Got to fish 5 straight days on the pond asbout 2 weeks ago now.  I need to start hauling out my camera a bit more, but when you are in the minutes of action between hours of boredom.  It's really hard to pull out the camera when scales and fish slime are flying and there's 20 tuna boiling within 30 ft of the boat.  Here's a couple pics taken from John L's camera between melee's.

Patty with her 1st Albacore

TJ releasing a blue shark...

Had the pleasure of taking Mark Bachmann & Patty Barnes, owners of the Fly Fishing Shop in Welches, OR along with Larry K and TJD out for a spin last week.  Mark and Patty both caught there 1st Albacore on the fly.  They got to test out some of the GLoomis rods and give their trusty Abel and Nautilus Reels a whirl as well as some of the new Simms outerwear.  We had marginal conditions and a fair amount of wind, but mde the best of it.  Their report is found in their current newsletter at:

http://www.flyfishusa.com/newsletter/current/

My former life, "diesel mechanic"

So recently, I have been getting emails, texts, and other modern day digital marvels of communication saying things like, "hey, what have you been up to?" and "Haven't heard from you in a while?"  Or my latest favorite, "what's up with your BLOG?  I haven't had anything to look at while I am at work?

Well, the pic above says it all!

I posted my 1st tuna shot of the year back in June and since then, life has been a blur and not in a good way...

Shortly thereafter outdrive issues forced some major thinking and thanks to my partner, Larry K, we made a decision that took the boat out of the water for much of the summer, but leaves us with a 100% reliable solution going forward.  It's been a rough summer to say the least and with fall/winter closing in, I have taken every chance that I have to get the boat out on the Pacific for the last few weeks.  So here are a few picks of the project and the amount of time and money placed into it are astronomical.

Before

After

With Problematic Outdrives Removed

Holes being Fiberglassed in Courtesy of Glass Wizard, Gary Salmi

Aluminum Off-shore Bracket Installed and Desgined by J&H Boatworks...Astoria, OR...Installed and prepped for painting and motor install

Bracket painted & engine holes drilled

Helm being reworked and fitted with Suzuki Gauges and Triple Engine Binnacle

Triple Engine Binnacle and Suzuki Push Button Start Installation

USCG-approved Fuel Lines and Separate Racor Installed for each motor

New Battery Bank Installed...Again one for each motor and separate from the 2 "House" banks

And finally in the end, Boat in the water...

Pic taken from the bridge of Mike Colbach's 47' Viking, "Shake N Bake", outside of Baker Bay, WA

First Fish 2012 on the 'Oppor-tuna-ty'

May there be many more in our future!

Please contact me at info@opportunityflyfishing.com or 503-799-1498 for information regarding our tuna trips.

5/19/2012

Lyf learning to Speycast

So...this past Monday, I had the pleasure of finally getting out on the water with Lyf Gildersleeve (yes, that's his real name) and if you don't know him, you should!  We floated the Sandy, Lyf learned to speycast a bit, and I managed to tie into a steelhead on the swing.  No pic though as she came unpinned

at the beach.

Lyf, is a 2nd generation fish monger and owner of the Flying Fish Company, on SE Hawthorne at 23rd.  Located smack between the produce market and Grand Central Baking, he provides the freshest sustainable seafood available in Portland, Oregon.  Besides being an all-around great guy, Lyf knows his fish

and is sourcing the freshest fish as well as local meats and cheeses.   Lyf sells direct to the public as well as brokers some of the fish for PDX's restaurants and Sushi houses.  He has a great newsletter that is mailed out as fish arrives.  Sarah and I ate some of the spotted prawns that were in fresh on Monday and they were to die for.  Check it out...and perfect for those days that your partner says, "you didn't catch anything," just stop by Lyf's place and pick up some to bring home.  After figuring out the coast of the boat, fuel, truck,etc...I guarantee The Flying Fish Company is the cheaper way of going about it!

Lyf and his staff are planning on fishing with me for Albacore this summer.  I look forward to fishing with Lyf again.  You can contact Lyf and the Flying Fish Co at: oregonfreshfish@gmail.com

Lyf Gildersleeve

The Flying Fish Company Store

What's fresh at The Flying Fish this week?

Columbia River Chinook Salmon
The King of salmon

Hawaii Bigeye Ahi

Tuna
Sushi quality

Hawaii Walu/ Escolar
4 oz per person max. Buttery rich flavor

Hawaii Opah/ Moonfish
Tender white flakes, slightly sweet

Jumbo Sea Scallops
Chemical free/ Dry pack Wild USA

Oregon Ling Cod

Special treat, large white flakes

Oregon Troll Chinook Salmon
Sushi quality- Local

Washington Steelhead
Melts in your mo

uth. Sustainably raised

Oregon Rockfish fillets- Pacific Snapper 
Nice flavor, flaky white fish

Oregon Bay Shrimp

Fresh never frozen- cooked, shelled, & ready to eat

Oregon Black cod/ Sablefish
Sustainable alternative to Chilean Sea Bass

Manila Clams
Washington

Penn Cove Mussels
Washington

Petite Pacific Oysters
Nisqually Washington

Kumumoto Oysters
The fancy easy oyster!

X-Small Shucked Oysters

Willapa Bay, WA

Pickled Herring
Made in Washington

Local Farm Eggs- Chicken, Duck, & Goose Eggs
Local pasture raised   
 
Fresh Pork
Pasture raised, boneless pork chops

5/15/2012

With tuna season coming quickly...

ODFW is accepting public input to allow the ability to remove the heads of albacore while in the ocean.  This is a good move as it allows the sportsfishing boats to carry fish with smaller space considerations and most likely get their fish cooled faster with less ice on board, thus resulting in better meat quality.  If anyone is interested in writing a letter to ODFW, please do so as the time for input and deliberation is upon us!

Jad

Proposal reference is: 102 P and 131 P “Partial Cleaning of Albacore at Sea”

Please refer to this ODFW page http://www.dfw.state.or.us/resources/fishing/fishing_regs_public_process.asp
3rd bullet down, “May Public Meeting Packet” is this document: http://www.dfw.state.or.us/resources/fishing/public_process/docs/2012_May_Meeting%20_Public_Process_Packet_4-18-2012_dt.pdf
You can read about the process in the first 6 pages. For the tuna cleaning proposal, go to the very last page of the document:

Pro. No. Category Marine Zone Proposals
102P and 131P
Fishery
Page 100 – Processing of Fish at Sea

Enhancement
 Allow partial cleaning “Carking” tuna at sea
 Existing Rule:  It is unlawful: for anglers fishing from a boat to mutilate fish so that size or species cannot be determined prior to landing…… This does not apply to herring, anchovy, smelt and sardine.
 Proposed Rule:  Marine Zone, regulation # 10. It is unlawful: for anglers fishing from a boat to mutilate fish so the size or species cannot be determined prior to landing; Except that albacore may be partially cleaned at sea. Partial cleaning means only the head and entrails may be removed; the clavicle (collar) must stay intact and the tail must stay intact.


When writing a letter, be sure to reference the two proposal numbers: 102 P and 131 P “Partial Cleaning of Albacore at Sea” (the two are essentially identical).


from page 13/14:
How to Participate in the Public Process
Write a Letter:
If you would like to share your thoughts with the Department on a certain proposal, please write a letter. All letters will be forwarded to the Fish and Wildlife Commission as part of the public record.

Letters should be addressed to:

Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Angling Regulations, 3406 Cherry Avenue NE, Salem, OR 97303.

Attend a Public Meeting:
There will be eleven public meetings held throughout the state in May. The locations are listed in this document in Table 1 (above) and on page 13 of the 2012 Oregon Sport Fishing Regulations pamphlet. Specific meeting locations will be published in your local newspaper the week before the meeting date or call your local ODFW office for public meeting locations. In addition to the eleven scheduled meetings, an additional meeting was held in Ontario on April 19th.

Testify at a Commission Meeting:
The Commission meetings will be held on August 3rd at the Salem ODFW Headquarters and on
September 7th in Hermiston OR. The Commission places great value on information received from the
public.


Meetings which specifically have the marine regulations on the agenda (All at 7 pm):


May 15, Coos Bay. North Bend Library, 1800 Sherman Avenue, North Bend, OR 97459.

May 16, Newport. Hallmark Resort, 744 SW Elizabeth Street, Newport OR, 97365. Northwest;
Marine; (Central Oregon Coast basins) & Statewide
May 17, Tillamook. Oregon Dept. of Forestry, 5005 Third Street, Tillamook, OR 97141.

I have been receiving a fair amount of calls and emails from guys that want to fish for tuna in the Summer of 2012.  I do understand that not everyone has the ability to put together a group big enough to "rent the entire" boat at a moments notice.  That being said, I would like to build a "revised" list of names, phone #'s, and emails of those guys that are interested in fishing this summer.  Basically a "HOTLIST" of folks that want to go when the fishing is prime.

Please reply to: tuna@opportunityflyfishing.com

Put Tuna Hotlist as the subject

And include name, phone #, and valid email

Thanks...Captain Jad Donaldson