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About Keizertimes. (Salem, Or.) 1979-current | View Entire Issue (March 4, 2016)
MARCH 4, 2016, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A11 Submitted Donald Koskela and Mike Wilcox with the big sturgeon catch of a recent outing. Urgin’ for sturgeon? Four pairs of eyes are drawn to the rod tip. It be- gins a slow rhythmic bounce as it dips toward the surface of the Willamette River. “He’s there,” Donald whispers. “You’re up Rick. Wait until the rod loads up, want to make sure he has fully taken the bait.” Rick carefully eases the stout rod from the holder. “Now,” Donald hisses as the rod slams down. Rick comes back hard and is rewarded with a rod bouncing wildly. Sixty-fi ve pound test screams off the reel. “Fish on.” Welcome to Willamette River sturgeon fi shing in February. We are fi shing with Don- ald Koskela of Pastime Fish- ing, out of Silverton. Koskela has developed a reputation for knowing how to catch huge, oversize sturgeon. He has clients from as far away as Germany who come twice a year to catch-and-release sturgeon. Today, is a fun day for him. He likes to fi sh also. He has invited me and two other friends to get together and by G.I. Wilson have fun catching and releas- ing sturgeon on the Willa- mette. We drop anchor at one of his favorite spots out of the boat launch at Oregon City. We are in 40 feet of water above a deep hole. We will cast herring into the deep holding water. A large infl ated ball is at- tached to the anchor line. Hook a large sturgeon, toss the line and ball overboard and fl oat downriver to fi ght the fi sh. Our setting is some- what paradoxical for an- glers. Here we are anchored in one of the major fi shing rivers in the Pacifi c North- west. Thousands upon thou- sands of salmon have passed through these waters for de- cades. This particular area is spawning grounds for white sturgeon, a magnifi cent, pre- historic creature that has sur- vived for centuries. Canada Geese serenade us as they vie for nesting spots on the rug- ged shoreline. Yet we are a quarter mile from major freeways and bridges. From the bow of the boat we are looking at a beautiful bridge tower- ing above the river. From the bow we are looking at a spectacular waterfall at a half mile. The Willamette River is ideal spawning grounds for massive white sturgeon. Up- river passage is blocked by Willamette Falls. Sturgeon are not able to navigate the fi sh ladder at the falls. Sturgeon live in the Wil- lamette year-round. In the winter months the Colum- bia River becomes colder than the Willamette, so good numbers of Columbia stur- geon become “snow fi sh” and go south into the Wil- lamette. My boat mates for the day are; Rick Garner of Salem. Rick and Donald have been friends since high school. Mike Wilcox of Salem and Koskela have been friends through work for years. Although Garner has fi shed for years, he is now hooked up with his fi rst stur- geon. Now, Rick is big and strong, a guy I would pick fi rst for my tug-of-war team. He has a heavy action rod arched almost to the danger- ous level, 65-pound test line peeling off the reel, and he breaks into a sweat. A hand begins to cramp up and screams for a break. “I can’t believe how pow- erful this fi sh is. “Rick hisses through clinched teeth. “I can’t even slow him down.” “And that one is only go- ing to be about four feet,” Koskela chuckles. “Wait until you get a big one.” After a battle--that Mike and I enjoyed watching--Ko- skela deftly tails a fat, four- footer into the boat. Garner breathes a sigh of relief. He has his fi rst sturgeon. Quick photo op and the fi sh are gently returned to the river. Little did Rick know what was ahead for the day. Then it gets exciting. Mike’s turn, and it’s a thumb burner. He is in for a tough battle. Just as he thinks he is gaining back the line he had lost, the critter fi nds an un- derwater object that stops the retrieve. He and Koskela take turns working the rod in an attempt to work it free. They can feel the fi sh moving around and the line grinding against something. Eventu- ally the line snaps. “This part of the river is full of big boulders, and all kinds of heavy objects that have been dumped in the riv- er,” Koskela explains. “Years ago that’s the way people got rid of things. Throw it in the river.” Like with Rick, Mike has his work out ahead of him, far beyond his expectations. Koskela and I sit back and smile. We know. I’ve been through this drill before. When it comes my time, I’m going to pick up the rod, experience the excitement of the bite and set the hook. When that baby takes off like a 250-pound half back, I’m handing off to one of these fl at bellies with me. One of these 7-8 foot, 170-180 pounders can send you slinking back to the gym, tail tucked between your legs. Mike’s “Kodak moment” comes with a beautiful six- footer. We yell as one when the magnifi cent creature catapults in the air a few feet behind the boat. Easy to un- derstand why they are fondly referred to as ”freshwater marlin.” After another one of those epic battles, he and Ko- skela hoist a beauty into the boat for photos. Mike’s next hookup is ob- viously the heaviest fi sh of the day. We follow it down- river. Then we follow it back upriver. There is no turning, or slowing it down. Mike, Rick and Koskela take turns at the rod as we work our way past other boats at anchor. Eventually, Koskela takes over the rod. We watch as he doubles the rod all the way to the water. It could snap at any second. “Something’s wrong. No movement at all,” Koskela groans. “I’m just lifting dead weight.” When the 180-200 pounder is fi nally drug to the boat, we have our answer. The hook is snagged in a fi n. A short time later–stur- geon bedlam. A double. Two sturgeon in the 180-200 pound class at the same time. We can only hope they don’t decide to go in opposite di- rections. Things go pretty well for a while as they both power their way upstream. Things go well until the river cur- rent pushes us slowly down- stream directly across the an- chor rope of another boat. I am in awe at how Koske- la somehow keeps a 20-foot boat under control and man- ages to get rods--hooked to fi sh--under that anchor line. We fl oat closer to the oth- er boat, one fi sh decides to go back to the other side of that boat. Strong hands keep the boats from bumping as our rod is handed off to their crew, then back to us as we drift past. The battles continue an- other quarter mile before we release the two giants. A collective “no mas.” We head back to our anchor. Koskela fi res up the grill and we feast on fried rice with shrimp and Parmesan hali- but, capped off with a bottle of white wine. A lot of smiles on the drive home. Looks can be deceiving, You may have a… The moisture in your basement or crawlspace can cause more than just a nightmare. 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