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About Keizertimes. (Salem, Or.) 1979-current | View Entire Issue (March 26, 2021)
Steelheaders can be DEAD SERIOUS By G.I. WILSON It is a cold December day on the Nestucca River. Twenty to 25 driftfi sher- men, in cold weather gear and insulated hip boots, line the gravel bar below the mouth of Three Rivers. Skilled drifters cast and retrieve with a synchronized ebb and fl ow that would make a Broadway dance choreographer glow. Cast and retrieve in unison and few tangles occur. Cast out of sequence a few times and it would be a good idea to quietly slink away to a safer place to fi sh. Could be a little intimidating hearing your ancestors described in colorful language not to be heard by women or children. Winter steelhead are returning in record numbers. This is the peak of the hatchery run. Millions of smoldts are being released yearly. The Nestucca has been the top river for steelhead production for several years in a row. State hatcheries are adequately funded and running at capacity. This is long before anti-hatchery groups begin a program to convince state leaders fi sh hatcheries are far worse than coal burn- ing plants and pipelines. A river guide arrives in a wooden drift- boat after a half day fl oat. He has to come ashore on this gravel bar. He has to bring the craft in and interrupt the casting cycle. Two reluctant anglers grudgingly wave him in, grab the heavy boat, and slide it partially onto the gravel, and promptly return to casting. A passenger, feeling somewhat uncom- fortable for the interruption, smiles weekly and off ers greetings. She notices a beauti- ful 7-8 pound steelhead on the bank. “What a beauty. Who got that one?” she gushes. “Guy landed that fi sh, dropped dead in his tracks.” A big, bearded guy mutters. “Hauled ‘em away in the ambulance.” “Who gets the fi sh?” the stunned boater asks timidly. “Guess the guy he came with,” a second angler off ers, jumping into the conversa- tion. “Tall skinny guy down there with a fur hat. He ain’t leaving till he gets his limit.” “We are dead serious about these winter steelhead,” giggles a heavy guy as he fi n- ished his second Blitz. “Had my limit before 8:00. Got to wait for my buddy to get his limit now.” Guide Jim Johnson has one client on another December trip down the Nestucca River. Today he decides to fl oat from Bridge One to Cloverdale. They fl oat past the usual crowd at Three Rivers. About a quarter mile downriver the client suddenly has an urgent “call from Mother Nature.” Johnson rows to shore and the guy makes a dash to the bushes. He comes back to the boat, steps one foot into the boat and drops dead. Obviously, Johnson is not only badly shaken, but has a major problem on his hands. It is over an hour fl oat to Cloverdale and a quarter-mile hike back to the Three Rivers parking lot. Since Al Gore hasn’t invented the cell phone yet, Johnson has to leave the body and make the hike, fl ag down a vehicle, and drive to the nearest telephone. “My client just stepped one foot in the boat and just checked out,” a shaken Johnson blurted. “I mean, he was stone dead.” Firemen and paramedics return to carry the corpse back to the parking lot. This is the big news of the day at the local “watering hole.” All the locals are eager to hear the details and have some fun at Johnson’s expense. “Old boy just checked out right there in mid-step,” Johnson stammers. “Dropped stone dead.” “Was it a full day, or half day trip?” a gig- gling barmaid asks. “Had he paid you?” comes from another local, struggling not to laugh. “I can just see the headlines ‘Local Guide Deadly on Steelhead.’” Keizer’s newest Rotarians Inducted March 18, 2021 Karma Krause Karma is a life-long Keizer resident. She attended Clear Lake Elementary, Whiteaker Middle and McNary High schools, and earned a B.A. from OSU.She currently works for Salem- Keizer Public Schools in the Community Relations and Communications Department. —Sponsored by Joe Egli MARCH 26, 2021, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A23 Mavericks League announces 2021 schedule The inaugural season of the Mavericks Independent Baseball League will begin on Thursday, May 13, when the Portland Mavericks play the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes. The Campesinos de Salem-Keizer will face the Salem Senators on Friday, May 14, as all four league teams jump into action. E a c h team will play 48 games during the regular sea- son which will conclude on Sunday, August 29. A postseason will follow as the winner of the fi rst half of the season will play the winner of the sea- son’s second half, in a best-of-three series, for the fi rst ever Mavericks League Championship. All-Star Festivities will occur July 6-7 after the fi rst half of play con- cludes with two games scheduled on July 4th, a 1 pm contest between the Volcanoes and Senators and a 6:35pm nightcap between the Mavericks and Campesinos. The schedule features 32 matinee games, played every Saturday and Sunday afternoon, beginning at 1 pm. The 64 night games will all be played on Thursday, F r i d a y , Saturday and Sunday evening. All league games will be played at Vo l c a n o e s Stadium. Open tryouts for interested players will be held at Volcanoes Stadium on Saturday, April 3 at 9 a.m. – registration is required. Ticket pack- ages and local and small business marketing packages are currently on sale by calling Volcanoes Stadium at 503-390-2225 or by emailing maver- icksleague2021@gmail.com. In addi- tion, host family opportunities are available – email lisa@mavsleague. com for details. 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