Buoy 10 Fish Camp 2013

Just as quickly as a tide can change from high to low, a great fishing trip can come to an end. And when the boat comes out of the water on the final day of an amazing trip like the one we had last week in the Columbia River estuary, it can be downright traumatic. My 3rd annual Buoy 10 fish camp is in the books with memories of great fishing, daily limits of Chinook salmon, and quality time spent with an “A team” crew… if only it didn't have to go by so fast.

I think I won big fish of the trip!!!

2013 was my 5th season as captain of a sport fishing vessel in the saltwater of the Buoy 10 area which is the fishery between red buoy 10 at the mouth of the Columbia River upriver past Astoria, OR to Tongue Point. Each year, salmon fishing the estuary makes it on the home calendar of events early in the year and with 2013’s projection of 677,900 Chinook/Kings and 501,100 Coho/Silvers (that’s well over 1 million fishing entering the river this fall), anticipation for fish camp 2013 has been red-lined all summer. Joining me for camp this year with high expectations were buoy 10 veterans Papa Dave and Tabasco Todhunter.

The first day brought my most favorable tide of the series and the statistics show for it. 14 fish hooked with 10 making it all the way to the boat before being bonked or released. We caught our keeper Chinook early and put some work in for Coho/Silvers to round out the salmon limit but couldn’t keep the nooks off the line… good problem to have I suppose. This year, I tried out a new herring method and was pleased that 13 of the 14 fish came on herring and only one on my go-to spinner. With so much action on herring, our first evening required a quick trip to the pub for dinner and beers before heading back to camp to tie up more leaders.

Dave couldn't lift it!!

The second day had a slightly later tide change but the game plan for the flood tide was a carbon copy of day 1. Early morning currents were a bit funky so twice I had to watch Dave and Todhunter untangle their lines. Once they quit messing around and we got settled, fishing picked up with 9 fish hooked on the day, keeping only our allowed Chinook limit. With spinners contributing more to the hooked fish on day 2, pressure on a herring presentation were reduced so we had time to hit the Rogue Brewery for dinner and bypass the need to tie more leaders.

Day three was hot… in the sense it took all our might to not bail on fishing and just jump in the river to cool off. With a later tide, it took a bit longer to get our fish but we caught our 3 Chinook and got out of dodge. The Coho/Silver reports we were getting indicated that it was just a bit too early in the month to find Coho in the river. We weren't prepared to cross the bar for a few Coho so Buoy 10 fish camp came to a close.

Overall, we hooked into 26 fish in 3 days, bringing limits of Chinook home each day. More important than the fish now frozen in my freezer is the quality time spent with great people.  I've fished with these two guys quite a bit over the years and the stories and the memories made never get old.  As wrap this post up, I am heading out the door to float the Deschutes River with a couple fly rods.... but all I can think about is Buoy 10 Fish Camp 2014 which is only 358 days away.  Better start tying leaders soon!

Boat-in Camping Adventures

Over the past few summers, we've deposited some amazing outdoor adventures into the old memory bank. One of my favorites has been boat-in camping to Albert Philippi Park near the mouth of the John Day River in Oregon. The challenges of planning and packing for boat-in camping have always been worth the reward of a beautiful, remote site no car can get to. Just launching at Le Page Park where the John Day enters the Columbia River, boating up river a few miles, and setting up camp was an adventure all in its own, let alone the small-mouth bass and yellow / channel cat fishing that would soon follow.

Boat weight limit?  What weight limit?

Garrett with a "big" rainbow... not quite old enough to wind in himself

John Day River camping had an early entry into the 2013 Google family calendar of events as was the case with the 3 other family’s we've been making the trip with. A day prior to this year’s trip which was once again scheduled for the 4th of July [see last year's post], one of the other dad’s made the 2 hour boat haul to the river and took his boat upriver to stake our claim at site and setup the group camp early. Much to our surprise, Albert Philippi Park had been shut down due to cuts in funding…. No Camping Allowed!!! Gulp… our 4th of July plans were a bust.

Gavin ready for the early bite as the rest of camp slept in!

Following many phone calls and text messages among the group, our back-up plan of Green Peter Lake, some 225 miles away from Le Page was established. The same guy who did the Philippi park scouting, hauled his boat directly to Green Peter and found the perfect boat-in group campsite. (he wins the save the summer award) Only difference was at Philippi Park campers have showers and restrooms whereas at Green Peter… well, you just go in the woods and jump in the lake.

What an amazing experience and great way to celebrate our country’s birthday. Even my 9 month old daughter had a blast and wins the best camping baby award sleeping in the tent w/ out complaint for 2 nights. Green Peter is well stocked with Kokanee and Rainbow Trout which I think are two of the best species to go for when fishing with children. We put several trout in the boat but with surface water temps at 70 degrees, the Koke’s were just too deep for me to reach without downriggers or proper jigging gear (it was only my second time fishing for Kokanee and first from my boat). Over the two day trip, I only logged a few hours of fishing time but most of that was with Garrett which provided for same precious one-on-one father/son time.

Gavin's 1st cliff jump... No fear from this 4.5 yr. old

In the end, aside from the bathroom situation, I think the back-up location ended up being a better experience. In addition to the standard activities of tubing, wakeboarding, and fishing, Green Peter provided the addition of cliff jumping and camp fires (no fires at Philippi Park in July).  I look forward to adding Green Peter to the list of family lakes… next time with downriggers so I can bonk a few Kokes with the kids.

Pan Fried Variety

There is something about walleye fishing that strikes the perfect balance of relaxation and intense fish hunting. Trolling around the lake or river with a bottom walker, worm harness, and a list of a few predefined locations on the map is something I could do all day every day, rain or shine. It’s a bonus that walleye is one of the better tasting fish in the lake and makes for amazing table fare.

Work/Life balance?

Over the past few years, June has been a transition month for me as I wash the salmon blood off the boat and get ready for a more family focused atmosphere with relaxing lake fishing, camping, family get together time on the water, etc… The 2013 spring salmon season was a bust for all with a low run return and my hitting the river only twice. Add to that the busiest work schedule in my career and moving to a new home, time on the water during the summer months and our annual trip up to Moses Lake, WA to visit family and friends couldn't arrive fast enough.

After a little work/life balance from my boat office, my day and a half of walleye hunting for 2013 was on. The first day brought great weather but just a handful of eyes, nothing of size and nothing worth wrapping up in a tortilla for fish tacos. The second half of the day was spent swimming and playing from the beach with the family at the south end of the lake.

Gavin and cousin Sierra

The second day of dragging worm harnesses around brought a lot more excitement with cold, raining weather that felt more like March, not mid-June. Along with the weather, a variety of fish species were on the bite as we brought trout, walleye, and some very healthy perch to the boat. The mix of walleye and perch paired with a new instant mash potato based batter made for a great family fish fry later that evening.

Spare Tire Works

For some reason when one buys an aluminum fishing boat, the boat trailer doesn't come with a spare tire. Maybe it's just the price range I buy boats in but it's something I've wondered about with both boats I've owned. In both boat purchases, buying a spare tire was a top priority and occurred prior to any local destination, let alone before the long hauls across state lines I frequently do. Given the variability in trailer rim hole patters, on long trips hauling the boat, I've been haunted by the thought "I wonder if my spare fits".... each time with a good intention of testing it out as soon as I return home. Odd topic to write about, I know, but check out the defect blowout of this tire.

Not just a flat tire!

With boat in tow heading east on I-84 Father's Day afternoon in 95 degree heat, I had the pleasure of changing a trailer tire for the first time. This was a solo job as I was in route up to Central/Eastern Washington to catch-up with my family who'd left several hours earlier in the day. At an impressive rate of 25 minutes, I had the spare changed in and was back on my way with confirmation that my trailer spare tire does actually fit... Cool!!

Fish in a barrel

As part of the wrap-up to Gavin's preschool year, the class headed to a trout farm to learn how to fish. Naturally, I was assigned parental duties on this field trip and was excited at that thought of making it all look easy. It's a trout farm, with a small pond... how hard could catching a few fish right away really be in this setting? Conditions were perfect!

I've debated the idea of telling a fish story here about Gavin and his buddies showing all the girls how to bait a hook and catch fish... not so. In fact Gavin, the most experienced fisherman in his class, got skunked and of all the boys in his class, only one fish was tagged and cleaned for the ice chest ride home. (even though Gavin was the only one of the boys willing to hold the fish)

It turns out, boys and girls are very different. 4 and half year old boys when hanging out together have the attention span of... well 4 year olds. Add to that staring at a fishing line and the ability to sit still goes from marginal to impossible. Now 4 and half year old girls on the other hand are extremely observant, paying attention to everything they're being taught and waiting patiently. So while all the boys were playing sword fights with sticks they broke from the trees and running circles around the pond, the girls were quickly and quietly catching their limit of trout. The day was truly an amazing experience for everyone, fish or no fish. Parenting and being in the outdoors, what a blessing.

Trophy Trout

After only a day trip earlier this month, I'm hooked on another type of fishing; Trophy German Brown Trout.

8lb Brown Trout (released after photo)

Over coffee in February, my friend BWild and I planned a spring fishing trip to a lake that both of us had wanted to check out but neither had ever dropped a line in. When the May Saturday rolled around, at 2am (yes, 2am) we hit the road with boat in tow for the 2.5 hour drive to target trophy size browns.

My 1st Brown and it was 5lbs

All fish were released

Following a crisp and clear morning of fishing, both our expectations were shattered as we caught 10 of the generally hard to get German Browns. After talking to two other boats (people BWild knew), each only catching 1 fish, we were pretty excited about our success. The three largest fish were 5lbs, 7lbs, and 8lbs.

7lbs

Lines are wet, 2013

After a long, non-fishing, yet mild winter, the lines are finally wet in 2013. Long gone are the pre-kid days of being able to fish for every specie imaginable 12 months out of the year. Nope... now fishing days are selective and often planned well in advance (for the most part). As a result, mid-march has become the "normal" starting line for my fishing and outdoor adventures each year.

Although I do miss an occasional winter steelhead and freezing my finger tips off chasing them, I've gladly traded the freedom to do what I please for being "dad" to 3 adventurous and amazing kids that I get to share the outdoors with. I often love being by myself in the outdoors and have no problem chasing salmon for 8 hours solo, but as I grow older I find myself taking more joy in sharing and introducing the outdoors to others.

As written here before, I've begun to learn that springer salmon fishing in March is a bit early, and based on personal experience it's easy to burn out (along with a lot of fuel and bait) before the fish even arrive. However, March is prime trout stocking for a large number of Oregon lakes, including kid only (17 and under) Canby Pond. With a grin from ear to ear, I am proud that the first fish of the year for this household wasn't a spring salmon, but a 12" rainbow trout my son Gavin landed.

With Canby pond scheduled to be stocked the week of March 11th, my buddy Brian and I had a strategic plan to take our oldest boys to the pond in the afternoon on Friday the 15th. Going in the afternoon on that Friday would ensure ODFW had dumped plenty of concrete raised pellet eaters for our boys to hook into. It was a good day for fishing and a great time outdoors with good people...

Like clockwork the next day (Saturday), both of my my boys were up at 6am ready to get the day started as as I drank coffee trying to remember what it was like to sleep in. Gavin had fishing on his mind and wanted to go again and to show his little brother Garrett how it's done. With the bait already in the bait box and the rods still in the truck, the boys hopped in and we were wetting lines at the pond by 7am, ready to do it all again.

Snack time!