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About Keizertimes. (Salem, Or.) 1979-current | View Entire Issue (May 5, 2017)
MAY 5, 2017, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A11 Fishing? How bad can luck get? by G.I. Wilson We have all heard the old wag, “If it wasn’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all.” Well, this winter steelhead season I gave a whole new meaning to bad luck. I brought bad luck to the pinnacle, the Rodney Dangerfi eld of bad luck. Each winter I join a small rag-tag group of plunkers to fi sh for steelhead. Basically, the same group gets together on the river bank to plunk. What is plunking? As one of my weird fi sh- ing buddies put it, “It’s not rocket psychiatry.” We cast out bait/lures, anchored to a heavy sinker, place the rod in a holder, attach a bell to the rod, and wait for an un- suspecting steelhead to swim past. We sit back in lawn chairs, on fi ve gallon buckets or coolers, and shoot the breeze, maybe even build a fi re. It be- comes a social affair. Now, I’ll admit, some of these guys seem to have bet- ter bait, pick better spots, choose better color combina- tions, or just have better luck. But, basically, we are all doing the same thing. A common practice in fi shing for steelhead or salm- on, is “handing off the rod.” The daily bag limit is two fi sh. A person lands a fi sh and tags it. He may have driven a long way and doesn’t want to quit fi shing. Hooks another fi sh, can le- gally hand off the rod and let that person land and tag the fi sh. It seems to work well. He continues to fi sh. Same thing happens boat fi shing. It is amazing how one OFF, continued from Page 10 The Titans added three runs in the sixth and four more in the seventh. Danner helped herself out at the plate in the bottom of the fi fth, knocking in Emma Kinler with a RBI double to tie the game 5-5 in the bottom of the fi fth but the Lady Celts couldn’t get anything going of- fensively in the sixth or seventh. Witt led McNary at the plate, going 2-for-2 with two walks and two runs scored. Eb- ner and Carr each also had two hits in the loss, which was just the Lady Celts second in league play. “It’s a tough one tonight but we’ll eat it,” Wise said. McNary outscored North Salem 36-0 in a double header on Friday, April 28, winning the fi rst game 14-0 in fi ve innings rod may be “the hot rod.” It can happen in a boat with a guide where the guide baits up all hooks the same way, yet one rod hooks most of the fi sh. Back to the 2016-17 sea- son. I am clumsy and have poor balance. I’m fortunate to have a strong, young friend to take care of me on plunk- ing trips. He is a good fi sher- man. If there is a current “hot spot” on the river, he’s there, catches his share of steelhead. He lands a fi sh. “Next one is yours,” he assures me. Now my odds double. I’m fi shing two rods. He hooks #2, calls for me, I risk a mud bath lum- bering through ankle-deep mud to land a big fi sh. It’s a wild fi sh, has to be released. This happens 2-3 times over the winter. Meanwhile, steelhead continue to swim past my offering, and guys on both sides of me hook them. Then comes the “coup de grace.” It has been a slow day. Four of us settle into a com- fortable area we like. We are basically the appropriate 15- 20 feet apart-waiting, sharing stories. Doug, sitting down river from me, has fi rst shot at fi sh heading upriver. Don is above me, and Mike above him. Doug lands a nice hatch- ery fi sh. “Get ready, you’re next, now you’re fi shing two rods,” he adds. Mike hooks up and lands a twin to Doug’s fi sh. “Ok. G.I, now you’re fi shing three rods.” Don hooks up and lands another. “Now you’re fi shing four,” he offers, followed by a hearty round of laughter. Two hours pass, and not a nibble. I begin to question it all. Can my luck get any worse? I begin to think about my situation. Pressure is mount- ing. I need to hook and land a fi sh. Is it becoming an ego thing? I have always had pride in my ability to catch fi sh. I usually manage to catch my share of steelhead. Never had a season like this. Not a fi sh on my tag. It’s not like I don’t know what I’m doing. I have even had a couple of plunking ar- ticles published. Of course, I may have casually mentioned, a time or two, that I have won the big steelhead derby of my fi shing club, four of the last fi ve years. Am I losing sight of “fi sh- ing is supposed to be fun?” I have tried everything. I even resort to our old “Snickers Bar” luck theory. On a slow day, no fi sh, break out the old Snickers bar, hook a fi sh. It has worked for us on trips from the Columbia to a lodge in British Columbia. Hell, I gained 10 pounds on Snickers over the season, and no fi sh. “Let’s go at 5 a.m. to secure a good spot,” Doug suggests. “How about 4:30?” I re- spond. We get there an hour be- fore fi shing light. April 30, most plunkers have given up, only three of us on the river. I have given in and joined Doug in an area ankle-deep in mud. But, our bait will be the fi rst that fi sh see as they head upriver. Suddenly, my bell fl ies through the air, rod slams down, as a powerful fi sh rips off line, headed downriver. My heart is pounding. “Please fi sh Gods, let it be a hatchery fi sh.” An epic battle ensues that could have been entertain- ing to watch. Doug needs me to ease down a small muddy slope so he can net the fi sh. But, he’s afraid I could slip into the river. Scotty, has joined us, and comes up with a plan. He takes a fi rm grip on me from behind, and holds on until the 10 pound hatchery fi sh is landed. I sit down in my lawn chair, catch my breath. First thing comes to mind, I remember what an old fi shing buddy once said, after he had landed his fi rst fi sh in multiple trips; “By gum, even an old blind sow will fi nd an acorn now and then.” Relief, pressure off, I have fi nally found my acorn. and then the second 22-0 in four innings. Witt was 6-for-7 with fi ve runs and three RBIs between the two games. Carr was 5-for- 7 with seven RBIs and four runs. Ebner added four hits, six runs and four RBIs. Danner pitched eight shut- out innings, allowing just one hit while striking out eight. Carr got the fi nal three outs of the second game to complete the series shutout. “These guys played really well on Friday,” Wise said. “The defense was there. Faith did a really good job pitching. We hit the ball well. It was just good solid wins. Everybody did a great job. Friday was fun.” McNary needed 11 innings to sweep the series with South Salem as the Lady Celts won 5-4 on Wednesday, April 26. McNary tied the game 3-3 in the bottom of the fi fth as Eb- ner doubled to score Witt. But neither team was able to score in the sixth or seventh, sending the game into extra innings. Even beginning the eighth and ninth innings with a run- ner at second base, neither team was able to cash in and the game remained tied 3-3 head- ing to the 10th. South Salem scored in the top of the inning but the Lady Celts were able to answer as Ebner doubled on a line drive to left fi eld, scoring Kendyl Jennings. Duran then scored the win- ning run in the bottom of the 11th when Bingenheimer put the ball in play and South Sa- lem made an error at fi rst base. Danner pitched all 11 in- nings to earn the win. “In my coaching career, 15- 16 years, I don’t ever remember going 11 innings,” Wise said. LESTER, continued from Page 10 Lester’s volunteer work in- cludes the OSAA foundation, which provides athletes in need with clothes, shoes and equipment. The foundation gets lists from different schools, goes shopping at DICK’S Sport- ing Goods and then boxes the items up at the OSAA offi ce in Wilsonville. “That’s one of my favorite things to do because then I feel like I can help athletes all over Oregon,” said Lester, who also volunteers at different championship events—foot- ball, volleyball, wrestling and track and fi eld. Her main job is social me- dia. “I love sports and I just love helping out,” Lester said. “There’s a lot of amazing super talented athletes that will be at that event,” Lester said. “Never in a million years would I of thought that I could be there. Even if I don’t win, I still can’t thank them enough for this opportunity. I can’t thank my coaches and OSAA for giving me the op- portunity to help people. Even if I don’t win, the scholarship is going to someone who helped people, too, so I can’t be upset about that.” Lester wants to be a nurse and would be the fi rst in her family to go to college. crossword 2,899 Installed $ MITSUBISHI GL – 12,000 BTU NOW THROUGH MAY 31, 2017 Additional charge for over 15 feet. Customer supplies electrical. 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