Dark water and KIng Salmon fishing

Darkwater is not the name of the largest and most well financed mercenary army in the world. That is Blackwater and they are getting paid big bucks in Iraq. The guy in this photo from the stern of the Trek II is known as 'Wally' to the locals of Ft. Bragg CA He is 86 years old and was on Admiral Kimmel's staff in WWII. To win the WWII trivia test you must correctly identify who was Admiral Kimmel without googling or other help. If you know the answer let me know. I knew the answer and told Wally where he was when Pearl Harbor was attacked. Because of that and maybe for other reasons Wally and I struck up a friendship. Later in the war Wally was a driver on a naval vessel off Iwo Jima. Every day at 8:00 AM they buried the American dead. Early on in the Battle of Iwo, Wally said, they were burying four hundred GI's every day. WWII was the 'last good war' a number of observers have said.

Wally has done a lot of things in the world and has seen a lot in his day. He is a master of many things. When I grow up I would like to be like Wally. He knows about catching salmon too and what kind of lure to use on any day. Salmon like dark water the best and the temperature they like off the coast of Northern CA is 52°F. I saw Wally on two days. We went fishing with him on our Friday before Memorial weekend and visited with him prior to our leaving the second day. Wally gave us a salmon to land and take home. He told us what lures to use and where to stand in the boat. #1 daughter and I complied. We caught two fish though one escaped when it was close to the stern. The deck hand did not quite grab it well enough. Tequila Sunrise is a good lure to use when the water is clear. Also the King Salmon like purple lures when the water is clear. Green is a better color when it is dark.

Thank you Wally for being a patriot, for being generous, for caring and truly being an 'officer and a gentlemen'. I am glad you survived the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the entire Pacific campaign. It was a pleasure meeting you and knowing about your past. The salmon on the grill was superb too.