OCTOBER 7, 2016, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A11
Head for “The Buoy”
Want to get in on the chase
after 1,000,000 tasty chinook
salmon; fi sh “the best chinook
river in the world;” hook into
one of those prized upriver
brights? It all begins at the
fabled Buoy 10 fi shery on
the Columbia River, the fi rst
week of August, and continues
into October.
The Oregon Department
of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW)
has predicted a run of over
900,000 chinook salmon will
pass through the Buoy 10 fi sh-
ery this summer/fall.
Several outdoor writers,
and other “experts” have la-
beled the Columbia “the best
chinook river in the world.”
Now, if you decide to go,
you defi nitely won’t be alone.
As one ODFW biologist put
it, “on some days you can ex-
pect up to 100,000 lines in the
water.”
At times it seems most of
them are hooking fi sh. It is
quite an experience to be sur-
rounded by a hundred or so
boats and most of them fi ght-
ing fi sh.
One Saturday, while gath-
ering data for a magazine arti-
cle on the fi shery, I visited two
of the popular boat launches
in the area, Hammond and
Warrenton.
By 10 a.m., Hammond had
launched 505 boats, and that’s
not counting all those that
were already moored there.
One fellow told me he sat
in line, in the dark, for almost
an hour waiting to launch.
Some boat trailers have to park
so far away that savvy boaters
bring a bicycle to make the
trek back to the launch.
A few miles upriver at
Warrenton, 312 boats had
been launched, and they have
a larger number moored there.
This is only two of the
launches in the area. There are
two more a few miles upriver.
Then there are the launches
on the Washington side. One
can assume that at least a like
number of boats are launched
from that side of the river.
Figure an average of four
anglers per boat, means a spi-
der web of lines in the water.
The boat launching rush
can be amusing/entertaining
if you are just watching. Or,
quite stressful if you are in-
volved in the launching. Best
if women and young children
are kept at a distance.
No wonder the locals call it
“Zooey 10.”
Hiring a river guide is a
good way to learn the fi shery.
Let him deal with the crowd-
ed conditions. Usually, their
boat will be moored at one of
the marinas. Meeting time is
set, you show up, walk down
and climb aboard.
We have learned several
key things; the guide is fi sh-
ing almost every day. He or
she (there are several women
guides) knows where the fi sh
are, when and how to fi sh for
them.
They do the grunt work,
even clean and bag your catch.
There are over 200 river
guides available in the area,
some from as far away as Hells
Canyon.
I am not in the business
of drumming up business for
guides.
There are many skilled
salmon anglers that fi sh Buoy
10 in private boats. I know of
several here in Keizer. There
are also more than a few that
don’t have a clue about river
etiquette and salmon fi shing.
We are taking our guided
trip this year with Jim Ste-
phenson, of Jim Stephenson’s
Guide Service, out of West
Salem.
We fi shed Buoy 10 with
him last year and had two
great days.
My companions are Bob
George and Jeff Kennedy of
Salem. We will fi sh two days.
On our drive to Seaside,
Stephenson texts a message
confi rming all the reports we
have heard, fi shing has been
painfully slow. He has been
averaging one fi sh per day.
We meet Stephenson at
his boat--in Warrenton--at
fi rst light. He informs us that
a modest bite had taken place
on the Washington side yes-
terday.
We soon join an armada of
boats around the bridge on
the Washington side. We see a
couple of boats battling fi sh.
We drop four lines into
MCNARY,
continued from Page 10
passed to Van Voorhis for the
fi nal touchdown of the game,
and Johnk kicked the extra
point for a 24-0 score with
8:28 left in the third quarter.
“We had more trouble than
we would have liked,” Mc-
Nary coach Jeff Auvinen said.
“But it happens. We didn’t play
very well offensively, but the
kids played their hearts out. We
need to clean things up.”
Gilbert rushed for 135
yards and passed for 127.
“This week, our strategy
was just to take care of our-
selves,” Gilbert said. “We have
to improve our offense for our
game against McMinnville.”
McNary’s defense got its
fi rst shutout of the season,
holding Forest Grove to 141
yards on the ground and just
four in the air along with four
interceptions.
The Celtics play at Mc-
Minnville Friday, Oct. 7.
The 4-1 Grizzlies are
coming off a 24-12 win over
South Salem.
by G.I. Wilson
second quarter. McNary had a
17-0 halftime lead.
On their fi rst drive of the
second half, the Celts had
fourth and one on their 36,
and a Gilbert keeper moved
the ball to the Forest Grove 28.
He then carried the ball to the
18 and passed to Jose Solorio
for fi rst and goal on the 7. He
crossword
Submitted
G.I. Wilson, Bob George and Jeff Kennedy show off their Buoy 10 catch on August 17.
the water, and to our surprise,
Bob’s rod slams down to the
surface. Fish on! We have been
fi shing less than a minute.
After an exciting battle,
Stephenson slides the net un-
der a fat 22-23 pound chi-
nook. What a start. High fi ves
are in order.
Back to fi shing. We see nets
fl ying in different directions.
Stephenson says this is the
most action he has seen this
season. Maybe the run has ar-
rived.
By the time our day is over,
Jeff has landed a mint-bright
20-pounder and a 7-8 pound
hatchery coho. My fi sh is
the runt of the day, a meager
10-pounder. We release a small
jack and a tulie.
But, it has been a great day.
Our limits of chinook and a
bonus coho. The best day Ste-
phenson has had this season.
We meet Stephenson the
next morning 30 minutes ear-
lier. We are pumped up on caf-
feine and adrenaline.
Heavy fog has settled in. We
have to use the GPS to navi-
gate crossing the river. Visibili-
ty is no more than 25-30 yards
at times.
Crossing the Columbia in
the area of the bridge can be
dangerous. Boats frequently
run aground on Desdemona
Sands.
When we arrive on the
Washington side, and the fog
begins to lift, we are in awe at
the number of boats. Word has
spread. Fishing was hot yester-
day. Minutes drag into hours.
Not a bite. Out of that mass
of boats, maybe 4-5 nets out.
It is dead.
Stephenson makes calls to
guide friends in different areas.
Same bad news. Where are the
fi sh?
Bob texts friends fi shing
the Oregon side. Same story.
No fi sh.
We spend the rest of the
day trying to locate fi sh. One
weak bite that missed the
hook.
So, in 48 hours we go from
Stephenson’s best day to his
worst.
As we always hear at these
times, “That’s fi shing.”
When good numbers of
salmon leave the Astoria area
anglers follow. Hot spots be-
come the Longview/Rainier
area. Then Troutdale, and be-
low Bonneville Dam.
These fi sh are headed for
the upper reaches of the Co-
lumbia and its tributaries with
anglers trying to ambush them
all the way. But, no other area
gets the hype and pressure like
Buoy 10.
WMS,
continued from Page 10
Eric Sorenson, Griffi n Hub-
bard, Coleman Young and tight
end Brady Jackson.
“This game will be a huge
confi dence builder for our line
because with good technique
and effort our O-line more
than held its own against kids
who were bigger than us, well
coached, and really tough play-
ers,” he said.
Whiteaker’s defense settled
down in the second half.
“Straub’s primary running
back was really an amazing
player and had us on our heels
in the fi rst half and their QB
could really run too,” Larimer
said. “Our kids responded re-
ally well after halftime.”
Young led the defense with
10 tackles, including three for
loss, and Noah Unwin, in his
fi rst varsity action after a call up
from the JV, had eight tackles.
Claggett Creek got its fi rst
win, defeating Stephens 30-16
on Wednesday, Sept. 28.
Ethan Martin had a 99-yard
touchdown run and caught
two touchdown passes. Dyami
Rios had a 60-yard touchdown
run. Jack McCarty threw for
two touchdowns and Elijah
Devoursney had fi ve catches in
the game.
“Our starting defense led
by Jose Delgado made a great
stand on fourth and goal from
the half yard line,” Claggett
Creek head coach Aaron Carr
said. “Overall we played a really
good football game and had
zero penalties.”
Windy conditions lim-
ited both teams’ passing, and
the only touchdown pass for
either team came on White-
aker’s fi rst score, when Canini
hit Camenisch for a 43-yard
strike. Whiteaker’s secondary of
Ethan Schurr, Cameron Parks
and Camenish held Straub’s
passing game in check.
Larimer also heaped praise
on his offensive line of Noah
Cervantes, Matthew Mehlhoff,
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2016 Training Sessions
begin on Saturday,
Oct. 15
9 a.m.-4 p.m.
Keizer Fire District
661 Chemawa Rd NE
Take part in this 2-weekend* class
Saturday-Sunday, Oct. 15-16, Nov. 5-6
Register on our Facebook page
(Facebook.com/Keize-Cert-public-page)
or Contact Linda Pantalone
at 503-551-2648
lindapantalone@comcast.net
*Must attend all FOUR days