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