, r. '
The fishin’ is fine where river meets ocean
It’s called jetty fishin’ — not
fishing or just fishin’, but jetty
fishin’.
Among avid fishermen, the
kind that rise before dawn to
brave the wind and rain in the
bleak, dark morning, the
distinction of an adjective
preceding the word fishin’ is
important indeed.
When an angler gets skunked
— returns from a fishing trip*
empty-handed, without even so
much as a tall tale to offer — he
tells everyone “Oh, I was just
fishin’.” No adjective.
He usually says it matter-of
factly, like he was really saying,
“Oh, I was just messin’
around.”
The real fishermen under
stand this. It’s like some private
code among them; when there’s
an adjective in front of fishin’,
their ears perk up.
When a rod that’s pulling
several pounds of chrome
bright flashers and a gored her
ring suddenly doubles over and
a 25-pound Chinook salmon
defies gravity and seems to
dance across the water on its tail
,, . well, that’s salmon fishin’.
And when a fisherman’s arm
starts to ache from hours of
cranking up three feathered
hooks connected to a thick
nylon line from more than 300
feet off the bottom of the ocean,
usually carrying a sea bass,
snapper, cod or sometimes all
three, that’s bottom fishin’.
An adjective is paramount in
the fisherman’s code. One
word, preceding fishin’, sets off
& myriad of images in the hard
core fisherman’s mind. An ad
jective places its respective
form of fishin’ in a category all
its own.
The beauty of jetty fishin’ is
it’s just as available and just as
appealing to the casual fisher
man as it is to the avid one.
Anyone who wants to clamber
over huge rocks the size of a
Volkswagen bug to get to the
edge of the water can enjoy jetty
fishin’.
A jetty is an intrusion into the
ocean, a giant, long, narrow
pile of rocks placed by man that
extends the land- Jetties dot the
Oregon coast, virtually at every
hole in the beach. Wherever a
river or bay dumps into the
Pacific, a person is likely.to find
a jetty.
Jetties extend beyond the
ocean’s breakers, out where the
sea is a bit calmer. When a jetty
is built, the mouth of the river
or bay becomes tamer and more
appealing to boats seeking the
open sea.
And when a jetty is built, it
provides the world with a new
fishing hole. A spot in the
ocean, teeming with God-only
knows-what kind of sea life,
becomes accessible to hook and
line.
The closest jetty to Eugene is
about 60 miles due west at the
mouth of the Siuslaw River in
Florence. All it takes is an
Oregon fishing license, an
hour’s drive from Eugene, and
the effort to climb across the
Jetty fishin ’ is a fine sport for the stout o ’ heart and steady o ’ feet. A prime spot can be found
where the Siuslaw River meets the sea near Florence.
rocks, and anyone can ex
perience jetty fishin’.
The fisherman’s code
translates jetty into unpredic
tability. A person might catch
anything fishing from a jetty.
The avid fisherman might say
he’s fishin’ with shrimp
because the perch are running,
or he’s using night crawlers
because the sea trout are in. But
he’s not really surprised if he
catches a bass instead. And he’s
not surprised if he catches a cod
or salmon or crab or some God
awful-looking thing off the bot
tom or, heaven forbid, he hooks
a seal.
He’s not even surprised if he
doesn’t catch anything. Who
can predict? It's one of the few
times a hardcore fisherman uses
an adjective when he gets
skunked. He still says, "Oh, 1
went jetty fishing.”
A person interested in doing
some jetty fishin’ should
remember to travel light; the
climb over the rocks is not easy,
especially with a lot of baggage.
Besides, there are always roads
right to the edge of jetties, so
any extra refreshments or clut
ter need not be packed to the
water’s edge but can be left a
few feet away in the car.
In Florence, jetty-seekers can
turn west on Rhododendron
Drive off Highway 101 and
drive directly to North Jetty
Road, which, obviously, leads
to the jetty.
Remember, too, to take a
windbreaker and perhaps some
rain gear — this is Oregon. And
take a variety of bait to offer the
sea life if serious about hooking
something.
Kelp worms, shrimp, night
crawlers, eggs and herring all
have, at some time or another,
baited creatures off a jetty. After
all, it is jetty fishin’.
Story and photo
by Jim Moore
A
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