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Hello everyone, 

 

I hope everybody had a great Thanksgiving! I’ll try to make this letter a little shorter than usual, hopefully.

 

I was able to finish up the 2024 season as best as I could considering the knee injury I sustained in early June which laid me up on crutches for seven weeks. My comeback to the lake went as well as expected; it was a steady ramp up and not surprisingly, I was usually tired and sore at the end of each day. By the time I began fishing again in mid-August, the salmon had just about vacated our waters, committing to seasonal migration patterns, and we switched up and focused on the offshore reefs for lake trout. The lake trout catching was about as phenomenal as we’ve ever seen with limit after limit of 7-20+lb lake trout every single trip out. There wasn’t one time we fished from mid-August to the end of the season, where a limit was not reached. There were some trips where we were also able to locate and catch some or a lot of immature, but not small, king salmon. Which could portend well for upcoming seasons as catches of king salmon continue on an upward trajectory, which I have written about at length in recent years. There were other times where we targeted shallower water brown trout after we caught our lake trout limit. And while we didn’t have the setup I specifically like, to do well on the browns, we still caught some. And I continue to add strategies and experiences, and success, to my brown trout game. For a species that we have the least amount of knowledge and experience with as we target them far less than the other species. Simply because of the abundance of other species over the course of the season. Still, targeting and catching browns is one of my favorite early season (in April) pursuits. As well is in summer when specific winds set up. And I look forward to targeting them more in September and October in the upcoming seasons.

 

Before my injury, we again saw some of the best spring coho salmon fishing we have ever experienced. And while I was laid up, the other captains continued to see spectacular coho salmon fishing into late June and throughout July. With limits being caught even during afternoon sessions in the summer. It was nothing short of a legendary season for coho salmon while catches of king salmon were pretty good too and should only trend similar or even better for the 2025 season and beyond. Peering back before the coho arrived en masse to our waters towards third week of April, we saw excellent catches of brown trout in the shallows as well.

 

That’s the 2024 Season in a nutshell and I am happy to tell everyone that I am largely, mostly recovered from the knee injury. But I still feel some discomfort in both my knee (and elbow) from time to time. The good folks in PT at IBJ helped me get back to fishing as well as ready to hike in Mt Rainier Natl Park for about a week in October. I toured in the car for the first two days as my body recovered from a spider bite on my leg that quickly turned into an infection, which also probably triggered an autoimmune flare in my foot. Some bad luck there, huh? But as usual, that’s my body and prednisone thankfully, got me over, up and going, and I logged nearly 40 miles on trails in five straight days. Rollerblading, which caused the accident, is no longer in my future unfortunately however, but I used the hiking to springboard me into a more comprehensive, offseason fitness regimen that includes me running a little, for the first time in probably 15 years. And the knee is taking it pretty well. And it should all hold for another ski trip on tap to Jackson, WY again this winter.

 

The last six seasons have been interesting to say the least with five of them getting interrupted for one reason or another; busted up props/shaft after running over a huge submerged log, covid, new engines, neck surgery, and then the knee injury this season. Which was by far the longest interruption. But like the others, lessons were learned, pivots were made, and good things came out of the lay up this past season; I developed a big interest in puzzles which helped me get through the lay up. As well as being home in the summer, albeit highly limited, but not having to wake up at 2.45 nearly every morning to fish, for the first time in 17 years. It made me resolve to take another day off or two each week, adjusting my season schedules and expectations going forward. As my seven year old daughter will only be these ages once. As will my wife and I. It translates into slightly more time off the water each season, while still being plenty busy. Just not as busy. But I also plan to fish into the end of October in 2025, something I have not attempted since 2018. The reason why I haven’t comes from convenience as well as some of the higher winds and waves we experience in October. But that’s also where some of my aim is to potentially target brown trout in mid-to-later October, if possible. I’ll try it next season and see how it goes.

 

No significant investments or improvements are in the works for this offseason or upcoming season, at the moment. But I have my mind on a couple items potentially for 2026 or 2027. But as most of you know, I have kept the Independence up to date, well invested in, and well maintained over the past 17 years.

 

Wrapping up, I am again running the promo for all April charters for 2025 where you get a 6-hour charter for the price of a 5-hour (a $100 value). And if you already have an April charter booked, you will get the promo as well. Again, what’s going on in April? It’s the excitement of beginning to unpack another fresh season, shallow water fishing with the sights on the shoreline, some of the best brown trout fishing you can experience, as well as the hardest fighting lake trout you will ever tangle with, and typically some coho salmon to go with them, before it eventually turns to all coho usually in later April. It’s one of my favorite fisheries as a new season begins.

 

Reservations are being made for 2025 along seasonal trends; right after Thanksgiving and through Christmas and the new year. If you’re thinking about it and have a date in mind, it’s time to begin that process. Reply here or better yet, text or call me at 773-791-7990.

 

I’ll drop another line to everyone later this winter or so. But in the meantime, I hope you all have a great, happy, and healthy holiday season and winter. 

 

Thanks for reading!

Yours truly and your cap,

Capt Rick