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About Keizertimes. (Salem, Or.) 1979-current | View Entire Issue (June 24, 2016)
JUNE 24, 2016, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A13 Opening up the hog line Ben and Jerry have been fi shing buddies for years. Jer- ry invites Ben to join him and a co-worker for a day in a hog line on Oregon’s Willamette River. Ben had heard pretty wild stories about incidents related to those crowded lines of boaters, stricken with “springer fever.” This would be a new an- gling experience. In his wild- est dreams, Ben couldn’t have imagined what was ahead. Jerry assures Ben his buddy, Marv, is an experienced boat- er having logged numerous hours in said hog lines. Marv is in his late 60s, early 70s. A pleasant sort with those steely, blue, gunfi ghter eyes. His craft is a heavy, deep Vee- hull with a 200hp V6 power plant. He has years of experi- ence boating ocean and rivers. They are easing across the Willamette before fi rst light. Marv expertly drops the by G.I. Wilson heavy river anchor some 100 feet upriver from the dark forms of anchored boats in a line. Jerry feeds out anchor rope, Marv expertly backs the boat into a small opening between two boats. Jerry is impressed. Lines are set out and the threesome settle back to en- joy a cup of coffee, relax, and wait for a biter to come along. More boats arrive and squeeze into the line until 2/3 of the river is covered. “Catching” is slow as is typical of springer fi shing. Suddenly, Ben’s rod pumps wildly toward the river sur- face. “Fish ON.” Marv releases from the an- chor rope and fl oat. The cur- rent and powerful fi sh pull them downstream. After a lengthy battle, covering 200 yards or so, a mint-bright, 22-pounder comes to the net. They are off to a great start. They motor back upriver, to move into their spot, to fi nd a huge, burly guy–smoking a big cigar–in an old wooden boat, sitting in their spot. As they draw near, he stands up and yells, “Leave this hog line, you don’t get back in.” Those gunfi ghter eyes turned to ice in a matter of seconds. Marv moves the boat in close. He wants to make sure the guy understands him. “I’m going down there about 100 yards, and turn these 200 Submitted Friends Ben and Jerry recently went fi shing in a hog line on the Willamette River for the fi rst and last time. horses loose. Come back up here, you’re still in my spot, I’m going to cut that piece of crap you’re standing in, in half.” Marv drops back a few yards and gives her full throttle, sending a rooster tail of water 30 feet in the air. About 100 yards downstream he does a sharp U-turn and opens up the throttle. The bow of the big alu- minum craft slices the heavy river current like a surgeon’s scalpel. Ben and Jerry are fran- tically trying to climb into life jackets and brace for impact. Thirty yards from the hog line, and there is a spot wide enough to accommodate a small oceanliner. Ben hooks up to the fl oat and they settle back into the spot, lines are set again. River current bubbling past boats is the only sound in the air. An- glers on each side have con- veniently found maintenance that needs to be done on their gear. No one wants to engage the cold stare of those steel gray eyes. Ben never tried fi shing a hog line again. Seems he read an Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife report that anglers spend 99 hours fi sh- ing for each springer landed. Figures he spent at least 99 hours out there on that cold April day. VOLCANOES , Riley had two hits each. Hills- boro’s Billy Endris hit the only home run, a solo shot in the fi fth. Kendry Melo was the win- ning pitcher in relief. Rain de- layed the start of the game by about an hour and a half. June 19: Volcanoes 11, Hillsboro 2 Salem-Keizer bats stayed hot, giving the Volcanoes a series win in their fi rst home stand of the year. Hillsboro scored the fi rst run as a single by Marcus Wilson in the top of the third inning drove in Billy Endris, who had doubled. The Volcanoes tied the score in that inning as Ashford Fulmer, who had walked, came home on a throwing error by right fi elder Billy Embris. The Volcanoes’ big inning was the six-run fi fth. They had fi ve hits, including doubles by Kevin Rivera and Chase Compton. The Hops helped their hosts with two errors and two wild pitches. Cesar Yanez was the win- ning pitcher in relief of Raffi Vizcaino. June 20: Volcanoes 7, Boise 2 A Volcano victory in the fi rst road game of the season gave Salem-Keizer a three- game winning streak. The game was tied 1-1 un- til the eighth inning, when the Volcanoes scored six runs. Three one-out singles and a double by John Ri- ley brought Manuel Geraldo and Juan Rodriguez home. A wild pitch scored Zack Bow- ers, and Gustavo Cabrera was hit by a pitch. Riley scored as Ashton Fulmer reached fi rst base on an error. Kevin Rivera doubled Cabrera and Fulmer home. Starter Melvin Adon al- lowed only one run, which was unearned, in his six in- nings. Caleb Simpson pitched the next two innings to get the win. Rayan Hernandez pitched the ninth. June 21: Boise 4, Volcanoes 2 The host Hawks evened the series, letting Salem-Keizer catch up with for a 2-2 score in the middle of the third in- ning but scoring the remain- ing two runs of the game. The last score was a bases- empty home run by Boise’s Bobby Stahel in the eighth inning. Each club had eight hits, but the Hawks put theirs together better. continued from Page 12 After Hillsboro scored the fi rst run of the game in the second inning, the Volcanoes scored four runs in the third, two in the fourth, seven in the fi fth, and one in the sixth. They outhit their visitors 14- 8. Manuel Geraldo had three hits and a stolen base. He scored three runs and drove in two. Terammates Juan Ro- driguez, Leo Rojas, and John crossword