We had to be at the dock in Hood River Oregon well before dawn. We were out and fishing when the sun camp up to the east. It was a glorious morning on the river and I was sooo excited!!!
This is what some call beginners luck - but I don't! Tramp 1 and I each had our lines put in the water by the guide and then he went on to bait the poles for the other two guys fishing with us. I had a strike and a fish on before the guide even got his fingers on the bait. Wow - what a thrill to reel in that big King/Chinook salmon. I could hardly believe I was doing this! That first fish was 36" long.
We got the fish into the boat, threw my line back out and got the others fishing, too. And then - bam - I had another fish on! I was really getting into this!
Tramp 1 finally got a hit on his line and reeled in a nice fish, too. But the other guys weren't catching anything. I felt kind of bad - but not that bad!! We all visited and enjoyed the early morning views. And then I had another strike - into the boat came my third big fish!
Even though I had reached my limit, I could still have my line in - I just had to give my pole to someone else if I got a hit. And, of course, I did - twice - and I gave my pole up each time to the other two fellows in the boat. They got a nice King/Chinook and a bright Coho.
Tramp 1 did catch one more fish but on the advice of the guide, he released it. It was possibly going to be soft as it was close to spawning. So he gave it up, figuring he would catch another - but he didn't.
So I was the lucky one in the boat, having met my limit by 9:20 AM. It was a wonderful time and I think I am hooked!!
One to share with the other fellows on the boat.
A crazy Coho - they tend to wrap themselves in the line.
We enjoyed watching the river traffic. This is a National Geographic Expedition cruise ship that travels the beautiful Columbia river gorge.
Barge traffic is a daily occurrence, going up and down the river.
We drove home over the Cascades past Mt. Hood. Notice the square of snow on the left side? That is where the National team and winter Olympic hopefuls train in ski racing and snowboarding in the summer. The snow field tops out at 8000 feet.
When we arrived back home, we cut all the fillets into smaller sizes and sealed them with our vacuum sealer. Four big salmon make for a whole lot of fillets! So wonderful that we can have this kind of adventure just a few hours drive from our home - we are most fortunate!
This winter when the snow flakes are sliding sideways, dancing in an icy wind, we will be by the fire enjoying a bountiful feast of wild caught salmon, remembering that idyllic October day on the mighty Columbia river.
4 comments:
Looks like you had fun and profited from the experience as well. We crossed over the Columbia on our way from Seattle to Pullman to go to a football game. That river sure gets big in a short stretch on the way to the sea. - Margy
That looks like a ton of fun. And I am extremely jealous of the fabulous looking fish.
Those fillets are gorgeous! Congratulations on your success at catching fish - and thank you for sharing this wonderful day.
We've had fishing trips like that. One time 2 years ago my son caught everything on the boat except for a handful of small throwbacks that my father in law and I caught. Great looking catch!
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