Our New Fishing/ World Ocean Cruising Boat

Great news! As our land yachting of the North American Continent winds down, a new opportunity has arisen. So before leaving Gold Beach on the rugged coast of Oregon, we decided to purchase our next toy: a ship large enough to be used for deep sea fishing, crab pot hauling and world class ocean cruising adventures. The deal was just toooooo good to pass up, so we decided to make the purchase after giving it much consideration. And the owner agreed to let us keep her in her current location so we didn't have to move it and pay for weatherization and winter storage rates. True, it will need a bit of TLC, but her structure appears to be fine and we are really excited to get going in the Spring.

Those of you who have fished and boated with us in the past, get ready for some fun in the sun on the high seas coming soon!!!  I think our virgin cruise will be the Alaskan Inside Passage.

Crazy Kelp!

As promised!

When we had a short stay here at Turtle Rock RV on the Oregon coast last year, we were both really "taken" with the art work of the owner hanging on the all in the registration office. The pieces looked like maybe leather, maybe birch bark, maybe something else. Wrong! They were made from dried pieces of kelp. they were beautiful. They were unusual. They were captivating. And we vowed we would come back here- especially if she would agree to show us how they were done. No problem- the artist/owner of the campground offers a class in this craft to anyone who requests it for the more-than-reasonable fee of ten bucks a piece. So this year we took that class and really had a wonderful learning experience and, just maybe, a "project" or hobby for life.

Within a week of taking her class, we had amassed large quantities of kelp (some fresh and wet- some old and dried)and began to prepare them for the creations that these material could become. What fun! People wondered what in the harry we were doing with all those goodies laid out all over our campsite, we showed then what we had done, and with that there were more and more people gathering on their own. And taking the class. An unexpected bounty from the sea. Boundless bounty from a boundless sea!

In our very first class, we both produced something we felt very proud to have created. Here, then, is a look at the collecting, the processing, the class, the process, the results- all with cations (in the slide show)....

Wind Surfer

A while back I mentioned that in the near future the International Wind Surfing Contest would be held just a few miles down the road (7 miles to be exact). Well, the day for the big event finally came, but the wind did not. And it didn't come the next day or the next day or the next day- and this in a place where the wind almost never stops blowing. We have tried to walk on this beach on days when our faces were sand-blasted really badly and we had to abandon the day's stroll. But finally, when all seemed lost, enough wind came up to get the surfers in the water, and the event was "back on..." I'd describe the wind on that day more like a whimper than a gang buster, so we didn't see the best competition that we might have otherwise, but it was still a good afternoon and we got some pretty decent pictures.

Looking back, I can tell you that Marilyn and I fell in love, with NO DOUBT, to the music of Roy Orbison. We have cd's of (I think) everything that Roy ever recorded, even dating back to the Traveling Wilburys. The Travelers, or the Wilburys, if you prefer, consisted of Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison .... I'm guessing you didn't know there was a Beatle and a Stone at the launch of Roy Orbison's career, but yes indeed! And why is this important to talk about on a post about Wind Surfing? Well that is the title of one of Roy's most popular numbers ever. And if I'm being honest, which I strive to always be, the real reason I was so excited for this event to get off the ground, was because I wanted to tie it in with Old Roy and a music video of this catchy tune that I have always liked.

So here we go: some stills, a slide show from a single heat of the competition, and a video clip of Wind Surfer by Roy Orbison. Enjoy!

 

 

Harvesting The Pacific

A lot of people are happy just to look out over the expanse of an ocean and listen to the sound of the waves on the coast. I like that too. But hunter/gatherer better describes how I like to appreciate the sea and its many and diversified resources.

Wind. You may not associate wind with the sea, but you should. The variation in temperature between the land and the sea creates a disturbance that creates a breeze- and some times a pretty darn good one. It makes opportunities for recreation like sailing, wind surfing, kite flying, kite surfing and other such activities possible. One of the top 5 places in the world to wind surf is at Pistol River, Oregon. That happens to be just a few miles down the beach from our Gold beach base. Not that I am going to wind surf, mind you- those days are pretty much long gone. But an international championship will be held there in just a matter of days and we plan, weather permitting, to attend the event and see what it's all about. Should be fun, and will make for something that I have never posted about before.

Found on the beach. depending on where you are and what kind of shoreline you have, there are a whole host of goodies you can find on the beach, from shells to sea glass to drift wood and maybe even a message in a bottle. The beaches here do not have much in the way of shells at all. Plenty of driftwood that we collect because either it is just plain beautiful or it will fit in our camp fire ring very nicely. No sea glass at all. Some fine gold, though. And at the high water mark, pieces of dried kelp that we will use to make "baskets" and the like in a class coming up real soon. More on that later.

Musseling, crabbing, clamming, all fun and we go as often as tide and time will allow. Fishing? Same thing- mostly from the dock or the jetty or a spit as we have no boat here that can go in these rough waters. But this week I made a deep sea trip with Five Stars Charters out of Gold Beach. On their charter trips, you set crab traps on the way out, fish all day out at sea, then pull the crab pots on the way back into port. If we catch plenty of crab, all on board have their crabs cooked for them back at the dock while the fish are being cleaned. On this trip, the crabbing, as it has been for us so far, was pretty bad. The sea temps are just too cold for the crabs to be close to shore right now. The fishing for Ling Cod was pretty good. The sea swell (the feature of the sea that can make you sea sick) was also very active and for the second year in a row fishing deep sea here I spent much of the day fighting hurling my cookies over the side. Fortunately I did not do that and managed to keep fishing. And for that effort I was rewarded with a limit of two ling cod (both about 12 pound fish) and a limit of black and blue rockfish. I caught a few other species that the season was closed on and they were returned to the water unharmed. It was a day when the fog and drizzle did NOT roll in, so we had a clear view of the shoreline and the sea rocks and stacks around us at all times. I hasten to add that the smell of those rocks from the abundance of sea lions and birds made for a not so great odor; in fact, if you were not gonna get sick from the sea swell, you might just do it from the smell of the local wildlife.But still, plenty of fish for the freezer at the end of the day and enough crab to take home as a treat for Marilyn who never met a crab she didn't like.

One further note: I briefly had to battle a Stellar sea lion who decided (though it doesn't happen often) to grab a ling cod on my fishing line and make it a meal of his own. For a minute there I thought I had a whopper of a fish. Turned out to be a big bad bull sea lion who came up to the surface with the fish and lure in his mouth, looked right at the boat, gave out a mighty roar or two, shook his head and spit out the lure, setting him (and me) free, but keeping the fish secured in his jaws. I am quite sure he sustained no injury from the contact, BUT I am just as sure that he was pissed off! Pardon the French!

You should notice there are absolutely no pictures anywhere from the actual deep sea fishing part of the trip this week. That is because I knew I had two choices: one- look through a view finder and puke my guts out, OR two- forget about taking pictures, look at the beautiful scenery and keep on fishing. It was, after all, a fairly simple choice to make.

It was a good week for harvesting the Pacific.

Wind surfers near Gold Beach

Captain setting crab traps at sunrise

a dungeness crab

a red rock crab

Slide Show:


 
Video Clip: Big Red Crabbing machine coming down the dock!

About Bandon

Another windier than before day sent us on a drive north to see what we could see out and about up in Bandon, Oregon. Here, the Coquille River dumps into the Pacific and the layout of the delta is ripe for violent wind action and that is exactly what we got on our excursion. The weather created a truly inspired water-scape between the jetties and while the camera NEVER catches it the way the eye sees it you just might get the idea. The blue skies b-lie the effect but with the photos and the videos and the sounds of the wind- maybe!

The ocean was the main attraction to be sure. But the crab dock was pretty darn fancy, the town is just filled to the gills with taverns and places to grab a bite to eat and there are quite a few specialty shops that we poked in and out of. En route we stopped at a couple wood slab operations and a carver or two. Our friend Jude will be please to know that Bigfoot, alias Oregon Squatch can be found very easily in these here parts! And I took a couple infra red shots to prove it.

This post you get a few stills, a slide show and some video content...

Coasting- North

Another clear day with gentle but cool breezes sent us off up the coast this time to see what we could see. The mission was as it was for Coasting South- poke into all the nooks and crannies along the Oregon coast- only this time in a roughly 30 mile stretch from Gold Beach north towards Bandon. We had as always, some marvelous discoveries along the way, and we may have hit another 20 or so miles and gone all the way to Bandon but by mid afternoon the gentle breeze had become gusts to 40 mph. That's a lot of wind along the shoreline and when I tried to step out of the car to take a picture at Cape Blanco Lighthouse, I actually had a hard time opening the car door and a harder time getting out and then had to lean way into the wind to avoid getting swept off the bluff. I thought about being a rugged explorer and continuing on but decided it would be better to wrap things up right there and get back to the coach and the awnings and the tent we have set up. So far so good although we are in Day 2 of a big blow. Strange: you hope and pray for a clear day and then you get it and with it comes the wind and then you ALMOST hope and pray for the fog and drizzle to come back. I said ALMOST!

Along the way we stopped at one spot to talk to some fishermen and found out that it was FREE FISHING WEEKEND in Oregon- meaning that folks can fish where-ever they wish without the necessity of having a fishing license. It seems like a good promotion to get folks, especially kids, interested in the sport of fishing. To that end, Oregon Fish and Wildlife was holding a FREE FISHING DAY for kids under 10 at the salmon/trout hatchery on Elk River in Port Orford. Fishing for trout, including some enormous rainbows in the cement pond of the hatchery! You gotta love those odds, and sure enough the kids were hauling in the goods with a limit of three each under the guidance and watchful guides from the department. It was a fun experience. I think from the reaction of the volunteers we were the only non-parents to make a contribution to the program but we had as much fun as the kids did, got some swell photos, and, truth be told, Marilyn did try to get me registered for some free fishing. The warden said I didn't look like I was 10. To which Marilyn said , "No, but he acts like it sometimes and doesn't that count?"  Later he and I each agreed that we WERE 10 - about 6 and half times that is....

As an indication of just how isolated and inaccessible parts of this rugged coast can be, please watch for the thought-to-be-extinct brontosaurus picture we captured in this post's slide show!

And when it comes time to take a look at the boatyard we visited (Port Orford), please note that this is strictly a "dolly" yard. One of only 6 in the world! All boats are resting on dollies which are rolled to a lift and placed and retrieved from hoists on the dock. NO boats are left in the water either at the dock or on moorings- it simply is too rough and too rocky for that. There are a few pleasure boats about, but not many, as this is a place for serious fishermen and their commercial boats. Having said that, this is also the spot where we had our most favorite meal of all last summer- a tiny little hole in the wall shanty dead center on the dock called Griffs. We had lunch there again this trip and were not disappointed- the meal was excellent again. The seafood is cooked pretty much literally while it is still dripping wet with salt water- that's how fresh the product is. I had four oysters and a two piece fish and chips and Marilyn got a scallop plate. Put your thumb and your first two fingers together and touch them to your lips and blow a kiss in Italian style to understand how delicious it was.

 

"Coasting" To The South

We've been driving both north and south from our Gold Beach base to do various activities and see specific things since first staying here a year ago, and in the three weeks we have been here so far this year. The Oregon coast is rugged and beautiful and you can easily enjoy it just driving up and down the coast. But we wanted very much for some some time now to go poking down every little side road off coastal 101 to see what there was to see away from the highway itself. We were given an absolutely amazing day over the Memorial Day weekend and we grabbed the opportunity to do the first of our discovery routes.

The mission: drive down each and every side road from Gold Beach south to Brookings- a stretch of coast about 30 miles long. From Turtle Rock to Whales Head. From Cape Sebastian to Harris Beach State Park. Check out every pull off with a small hiking trail. Check facilities of all state owned land in this stretch of which there are quite a few. In short- get to know the physical area really well. A fishing, clamming, musseling and beach combing scouting mission if you will, as well as a nature appreciation day.We spent the entire day at it. Most of the shots will be scenic in nature from distant vistas to close ups, although we did run into a festival of sorts when we got down to Brookings and there were a few activities there that seemed they needed a picture or two as well.

Slide Show: Coasting

River Park RV- Commentary

I'm not in the business of rating RV parks. Some are nice, some are OK, some are neither. But every once in a while you find something special and that's what we did this time around. We are backed right up to the Rogue River in Grants Pass, Oregon at River Park RV. The campground is small by many standards, but it is clean, quiet, nicely appointed with some unusual sculpture, and has an immediate intimacy upon arrival. The host was and is exceptional at accommodating whatever you need. We will be here only a total of three nights and I don't know whether or not we will have the occasion to be here again, but if we do, or if you are passing this way, you certainly will be happy with things here. Swim at the sand beach. Fish for salmon right behind your rig. Pet owners have a washer and dryer for pet blankets, etc. Who else has that? Sit under the giant shade trees and read a book by the river or just stroll the grounds like an outdoor art gallery.

And speaking of art....this piece is called "Obama and Biden." I will restrain myself from going all political on you and therefore I will not comment on this piece excepting to say if you look closely you will get a sense of how the local bird life feels about the dynamic duo. And who doesn't love birds?

And here, for you viewing edification, is a slide show from the campground:

Jet-Boating Hellgate Canyon On The Rogue River

We are back in Oregon after a safe and fun but otherwise uneventful trip up from Arizona. Thanks be for that! Rather than going directly to the coast, this time we are taking a few days in Grants Pass in order to see more of this area and to ride the famous jet boats on the Rogue River from here down into Hellgate Canyon. Last year we rode the jet mail boats up stream from Gold Beach. This is a different run altogether. Much of the wildlife is the same, but the vegetation along the banks and the character of the river are quite different as you will see. We made this run on a Saturday, so lots of folks were out enjoying the gorgeous May weather that is rather unexpected it seems but much appreciated. What you won't see in this post are the spins and general soakings that the captain sees fit to do to keep you wide awake during the trip...because the camera had to go into hiding every time he got "cute" with the boat. But the scenery was very nice and I think there is a fair representation of that.

Captain Donnie was a real character. He had tons of one liners and even though some of the folks just nodded their heads like they were hanging on his every word, he in fact stated at the outset that he never allowed the truth to get in the way of a good story, so, for example, when he told us the turtles we stopped to see didn't like the cold weather in the winter and therefore migrated to Mexico before returning on May first, a lot of people just put on their "oh, really?" faces. Duh! But the laughter on  board was every bit as wonderful as the scenery, and the champagne brunch, included in the cost of the ride, and held at a tremendous cabin facility just above the canyon walls was off the charts delicious. I don't think anyone on board was anticipating such a classy meal in the wilderness. What fun! Let's get started.

Video clip- click the arrow to begin....

The launch dock:

Bald Eagles all along the river:

Running part of the lower canyon:

Fine dining in the wilderness: a gigantic tropical fruit plate, followed by biscuits and gravy (maybe the best I ever had), followed by scrambled eggs with bacon and sausage links- all served with fresh squeezed orange juice and a delightful bottle of champagne.

 
We started the post with a video clip of the jet boat coming to the dock. Lets end it with a clip of the running of the lower canyon.

Video clip....click arrow to "launch"

                                        

And here is a link to the rest of the photos from the trip if you'd like to see them. Despite my best efforts and those of my friends at Geeks ON Tour, the slide shows are still remaining elusive.
Hellgate Canyon album:

AH HAH! Think I figured out the puzzle with a little help (actually lots of help) from my friends. I'll leave the link up, but let's try the slide show again......Cross your fingers!!!

Tillamook County Fair

So far the only real advantage I can figure out to being in the "senior" range of life is that I get a discount on entertainment- like at the movies and the county fair. Here in Oregon our senior status earned us a 6 dollar ticket to the big show instead of of a 10 dollar ticket. Since I've not yet been able to settle on any other advantages to this stage of life...I'll take it, thank you very much!

So in today's slide show you will see much in the way of what makes county fairs county fairs: carnival, midway, good but not good for you eats, animals, tractors, horse races. But Tillamook throws in a specialty- The Great Pigs N Fords Race! This is a variation of the little pigs that run around a tiny track much to the delight of everyone- well, me anyhow. I love pig races! In this race, there is a "barn" full of 20 pound pigs beside the race track. The big race track. And there are 5 or more stripped down old Model T Fords which hand crank start only. Each driver must grab a pig from the barn, tuck it under one arm, then crank his engine, hop in and race around the track one time, whereupon he returns to the barn, exchanges pigs, restarts his model-t, and goes around again. Two heats a day. Finale on Saturday. Well, this race has been going on since 1925 and its popularity is demonstrated by the fact that the bleacher stands fill up more than an hour before the race. With the start of a gun, the race is off to the roar of the crowd....and squeal of the pigs. What a riot!

Now there was a cultural aspect to this fair as well. We learned lots more about local vegetation, methods and identifiers for clamming and fishing and farming techniques. But let's be honest here- in the end, it really is all about the pigs.

Here is a video clip of the beginning of the second heat of the race. You'll get the idea!

Sea-food And Eat It

A day after the Great American Chinook Adventure with Bill and Kay, we headed out early with our other neighbors at Paradise Cove on Nehalem Bay, Joe and Diane, to do a training run with Joe who was anxious to try his hand at clamming. We all limited out on our clams, got dirty and wet, and had a blast. We found both softshell steamer clams and Purple Varnish clams. By the time we got home, the caviar I had started the day before was ready and so we gave it a try. Excellento! Then we prepared some salmon fillet trimmings, collars and salmon belly for the smoker while we soaked the clams in cold water to get some of the grit out. When the salmon bits came out of the smoker about an hour and a half later we all got together and sampled them and they were, in my humble opinion, superb! We are having absolutely the best of times here and the company we are sharing the activities with is a grand part of all the fun.

King For A Day- Nehalem, Oregon

Mother always said, "Good things come to those who wait." And while the show from the 50's may have been Father Knows Best- we all know that should have been Mother Knows Best all along. And so it came to pass that a guy (that would be me) who has been trying to score a King Salmon since his first trip to Alaska in 2007 and who had gone zero for whatever in the attempts to capture the gold (it IS after all an Olympic year) finally "broke the skunk" with a little help (make that a lot of help) from his friends on the Nehalem River In Oregon on this very day. Halleluiah! Can I get an Amen?

Good neighbors. It's sorta what RV-ing is all about. Common interests, common experiences, good people trying to do pretty much what YOU are trying to do. We met such folks withing seconds, literally, of pulling into Paradise Cove on the Nehalem Bay. Yes, they were instantly good people. Who just happened to have a son-in-law, Russ Morrow at www.fishwithruss.com who guides on the Nehalem River for salmon, sturgeon, and a few other things. Not only did we get to hook up with Russ, but Bill and Kay Schantin came along for the day's outing and hooked several of the fish that the rest of got to "tag team" on for the victory of the day. Remember "It takes a village"? Apparently that is not only true, but it is true for what it takes for me to catch my first (and second) king salmon. Chinook, if you prefer. Either way, they fight hard, they look good, they have a black mouth, and they taste as good as it gets in the world of fish. The boat had four fish on the day: a 25 pounder, a 15 pounder, a 10 pounder, and another one a bit smaller than the 10. Works for me!

On today's slide show, you'll get a look at the surrounding area where we found excellent fishing, clamming, crabbing opportunities. Some good eats. Some spectacular scenery. And a whole lot more- but that will just be the overview leading up the the day on the water and if you don't mind the capital letters (with caveats)--- MY FISH . If there could have been a more perfect day- I have no idea how it could have come to pass. Mother was right again. She always (well, make that almost always), is.....

Don't you just love captions like this : The author, with his first two king salmon, 15 and 10 pounds respectively....

One more note- at the end of the slide show, you will see the roe from my two "hen" kings in a dish. That roe is, as you read this, soaking in a salt brine to become......do do do dooooooooo...caviar! Amen!

Pssst! Did you notice the shameless promotion of including the logo for Chicken Gold Camp, Alaska on my hat in the final shot of the slide show???

See More Aquarium

Another day at an aquarium- this time at the Oregon Aquarium at Newport, Oregon. This aquarium has a small tropical section but is primarily dedicated to species of the North West. And the first and only aquarium where we have seen and been able to touch live abalone- worth the price of admission all by itself! Very nice day! Here are some images from the day.....

Marilyn's Birthday 2012

Whoa! What a busy day we planned for Marilyn's birthday yesterday. Got up early and ventured out onto the clamming mud flats of the Siuslaw River and got us a mess of softshells, called Bay Clams here or Mud Clams. We did pretty well and had the flats to ourselves because this is a tough row to hoe! Walking on the flats is hard enough but if you stop moving you sink even further and become stuck big time. It only took us an hour to get our clams but we were physically drained after that. So we brought the clams home and cleaned them up and steamed them for chowder. Rested just a bit then, headed off for the crabbing dock. I made a stop at the Sportsman tackle shop on the way and picked up a big package I had secretly arranged for a day earlier. I carried it out much to Marilyn's shock and awe and she played let-me-guess until we reached the dock where she opened it up. Marilyn-sized crab traps- three of them- the number each person is permitted to use. She loves crabs and she loves crabbing but the three larger ring traps we throw are too heavy for her especially on the retrieve, so this remedied that issue. And to show me how it's done, she promptly caught 5 keepers in the next couple hours before the tide started running too hard to fish. How many did I catch in the same time period??? Ah, that would be zero! Tons of crabs, but not a one keeper for me. That's my girl!  Now home again to do up the crabs, then off again to town to the Waterfront Deport for dinner. The Depot is a very small riverside restaurant- very nice, and very excellent food at very reasonable prices. Fine dining at value prices on the water- an excellent combination. Derek and Karin had first suggested it and then plenty of locals we met on the docks all said to be sure to eat there before leaving town. Good suggestions all!

Florence Oregon Overview

Another busy day!  A stroll downtown. Some shopping (for bait!)  Crabbing on the dunes pier where the crabs were running big today. Followed up by some "hot-dogging" on the dunes with the atv and a long ride seaside where, among other things, we collected some kelp for "seaweed projects."

Scouting and Sea Lions

The scouting mission for our new venue in the Florence area of the Oregon coast is off to a good start. We took a short drive on the vast dunes that are available for atv riding, we found a super crabbing dock and a pier to fish from even for rockfish, checked in at the visitor's center and the sporting goods store (for local knowledge), and went up the bay to look for a good spot for clamming when the tides are right. We also bumped up the coast a few miles and stopped in at the Cave of the Sea Lions, which we entered instead of just scouted because the live feed in the cave which you can see from the gift shop showed lots of the Stellar Sea Lions in the cave including some bulls- a situation not generally expected this time of year. It was a day of dense fog, and the cave is dark to begin with. Since flash photography is not allowed, the combination of low light, pounding waves, rapidly moving sea lions, and the foggy clarity of the air in and out of the cave made for some less than ideal photos, but that's what I wound up with. This time of year, the sea lions are usually all outside the cave on the rocks and the bulls are offshore more, so this was a great opportunity.

If you come here to see this, the largest sea cave in America, be prepared for a 200 foot down elevator ride into the cave which smells very strongly of processed fish. Not processed fish as in fish sticks; I'm talking processed as in sea lion poop. How indelicate. But very real. It is also very loud in the cave- from the pounding waves and the roaring of the sea lions which is very loud when there are a lot of them in the cave.

Today is a damp and rainy and chilly day on the coast so I don't think we will come out of the shoots gangbusters today, but hopefully things will improve in the next day or two and we can get to our planned outdoor activities.

Here's some more from the visit to the Sea Lion Cave:

Looking For Chinook

A nine hour day on the bay with a guide and another guy that I got paired up with to fish for the day produced only one salmon bite and as luck would have it, it was not my turn on the rod. We fished three rods on troll and alternated hours for "bite" and when it came at 2:30 in the afternoon, it was the other guy's turn. That bite produced a 34 pound, wild, male Chinook (King Salmon). It was an epic battle and took a chase through a field of other boats who were scrambling to get out of the way fast enough. I don't think that fish ever would have been landed without the chase- just too strong! It was a thing of beauty in the net, on the deck and in the cooler, which by the way wasn't quite big enough to lay it in there flat (and this was a big cooler). I've been trying to catch my first Chinook since 2007 and for the time being that mission goes unfulfilled. But I felt particularly fortunate to be on about the only boat that landed a fish on this day, and for my partner, who was on his first ever salmon trip- it was sooooo exciting and I enjoyed the experience immensely. Can't help wishing there could have been one more good bite- but maybe next time!

Going Rogue

Don't worry! This isn't the story of Sarah Palin by the same name: Going Rogue. Not at all. This is about history. This is about a river runs through it. This is about a natural water park. This is about jet boating on the mighty Rogue River. We've been here for more than a week already- musseling, fishing, crabbing and sight-seeing. This added a whole new dimension to our local tour.

Originally, the mail boats were rowed by oar, towed by horse and man for the intent purpose of getting mail from the coast to the village of Agnes. Later they tried outboard engines but the swiftness of the river and the shallowness at times of the year made the run difficult at best. Eventually a jet pump was put into service, then a double, and now triple jet engines (with about 1500 horse power) are in service and function not only as mail boats but a wild ride on the Rogue complete with rapid running, 360 degree spins and "break checks" that drench the paying customers on the ride. All in the name of good fun, which it certainly is. Again, though, don't worry! The mail is in a "dry bag" as were my cameras (most of the time).

The boats can do 50 mph and it doesn't matter whether that is upstream or down in the calm or in the rapids. Those boats have big power! They only need 6 inches of water even fully loaded to travel the river. They navigate the waterway much like an air boat would buzz through the Everglades.

We saw wildlife: ospreys, eagles, otters, fish, deer (no bears on this run). Scenery is outstanding. No water park offers more thrills. And we got all this on the ONLY sunny day we have had since we are here. Big time fun.

Here Fishy Fishy

I've been deep sea fishing and boating for more than 50 years now and I have, no matter the conditions, never gotten sea sick. The record is still intact but it darn near ended today. Went out with Five Star Charters out of Gold Beach, Oregon. They are a wonderful family operated charter company! The six o'clock departure left the dock in a heavy fog. Very heavy. That's been how every day here has started so far so it wasn't anything out of the ordinary. The port seas were dead calm. But the minute we left the safety of the harbor and passed the end of the rock jetties that protect it, it was obvious conditions on the outside were quite different. It wasn't windy there but there was a large and building swell that I will call "confused."  You never knew where it was rolling into the boat from or how high the swell would be. I felt fine for about 20 minutes on the way out to the fishing ground, and maybe I would have been fine all day, no telling, but when the guy fishing next to me began his full day of hurling, it got harder and harder for me to keep from wolfing my own cookies, if you get my drift. At one point I felt sooo bad I handed my pole to the captain and dropped to my knees to hang the head over the rail. But fortunately the feeling passed and I got back to fishing. It pretty much came and went all day, but everything stayed down. Oh yea!

I took my limit in Ling Cod with the largest one of the day, and my seven fish limit of Rockfish (a mixed aggregate of colorful varieties). I was the only one of the six on board that got both limits for the day. I caught a few species that because there was no bag limit at this time had to be released and a few of them were ginormous; that's a word, right?. That's the way it goes. Now when the slide show comes your way, the astute observer will note pictures at the dock.....and then more pictures back at the dock. Because looking through a view finder while out there riding the swell up and down would have been a critical and record ending error on my part and I just didn't do it.

Elsewhere in this post- a picture or two from the spit where I have been surf fishing for perch (I got a 3 1/2 pounder the other night which is huge for that species. Camera was back at the rig.

And we have a few shots from Myers Beach (which always makes me think of Myers Fork, Chickenites). We go there pretty much daily at low tide for musseling, then bring home our limit and put them in the smoker and finish them with homemade chili oil and vacuum packing. Some good!

Crabs-R-Us

 It was one heck of a day on the crab dock! Because the crabbing was poor here in Oregon and the males were offshore (they are the only crabs you can keep here) we decided to drive the 55 miles back down to Crescent City in California and fish from the public crab dock there, where both female and male legal size crabs may be taken. It was low tide- not the usual tide for crabbing, but we went down EARLY and had the pier to ourselves. It was a good move. The slack tide in the heavy fog was a real producer and crabs were coming up 5 or 6 to a haul. We limited out on Dungeness crabs at 20 (that ain't easy) and caught two reds to go with them. 100 dollars worth of crab from the boats, 200 from the wholesalers and 300 from the seafood markets. Satisfying! And tasty! We estimate we threw back 60 some crabs that were just barely undersized. What a fun day! Crab in the freezer!