Th e
season salmon
Catch them
while you can!
of
Oregon and Washing-
ton’s 2015 recreational
salmon fi shing season is
already underway. The fol-
lowing restrictions apply,
and are subject to change
as quotas are met. Keep
checking www.dfw.state.
or.us (Oregon) and www.
wdfw.wa.gov (Washington)
for regular updates.
Columbia-Pacifi c sport-fi shers say hello to summer
Story and photos by LYNETTE RAE McADAMS
“I have lived! The American Continent may
now sink under the sea, for I have taken the
best that it yields, and the best was neither
dollars, love, nor real estate. …I was up the
bank lying full length on the sweet-scented
grass and gasping in company with my fi rst
salmon caught…. My hands were cut and
bleeding, I was dripping with sweat, spangled
like a harlequin with scales, wet from the waist
down, nose peeled by the sun, but utterly,
supremely, and consummately happy.”
—-Rudyard Kipling, nobel laureate, upon catching his fi rst
salmon on a tributary of the Columbia River, 1891
I
It’s good to know that some things never
change.
Ask Kenndra Lispie, age 10, about the best
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be hard-pressed to offer you an answer: “The
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was worried about getting seasick, and it didn’t
happen, so that made everything even better. And
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Booking space on a charter boat is a hassle-free way to go fi shing. If you’ve enough people in your party, you can even rent the
whole boat, like this family did during the early days of 2015’s salmon season.
Submitted photo courtesy of the Columbia Pacifi c Heritage Museum
Members of the charter fl eet line the marina during the opening days of summer salmon fi shing at the Port of Ilwaco, Washington.
10 | June 25, 2015 | coastweekend.com
This historic photo shows Lauretta Hughes, “lady winner”
of the 1949 Chinook salmon derby, standing with her prize
catch; the salmon is estimated to weigh about 45 pounds.
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region’s most famous resident. Whether or not
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Long Beach, Washington, there’s one thing for
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days a week on the water during peak season,
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down. I can remember watching it dance out
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for making more happy memories. “Things
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and far above average, even better than 2014,
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recent history.
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come in.
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By the time he turned 7 he was steering his
OCEAN
May 30 – June 12: Hatch-
ery Chinook only,
2 per day.
June 13 – Sept. 30: Chi-
nook and hatchery coho, 2
per day (only one
can be a Chinook)
Daniel Burt, a deckhand with Pacifi c Salmon Charters, carries
a client’s fresh catch. Deckhands are the backbone of service in
the charter fi shing world; they bait your hook, net your fi sh, do
all the cleaning, and work hard to keep you (and the captain)
happy. Here’s a tip: Tip them!
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who’ve been coming out with me for 20 years
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‘I’ve got customers who’ve
been coming out with me
for 20 years and more.
I have to say, we’ve made a lot
of real friendships.’
COLUMBIA RIVER
(Tongue Point to Buoy 10)
Aug. 1 – Sept. 7: Chinook
and hatchery coho, 2 per
day (only one
can be a Chinook)
Sept. 8 – 30: hatchery
coho, 2 per day (all Chi-
nook must be released)
Oct. 1 – Dec. 31: Chinook
and hatchery coho, 2 per
day, any combination.
Rob Gudgell, owner and captain, stands aboard the Katie Ma-
rie, one of eight charter fi shing boats operated by Pacifi c Salm-
on Charters in Ilwaco, Washington.
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been doing just outstanding on the kings so
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and the worst thing you can do is show up
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Beyond that, his best tips are the most
basic:
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coast, and show up without even a sweatshirt.
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A trio of freshly caught Chinook (or King) salmon.
one’s kind of new, but it’s becoming more
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ence. “I don’t just want it to be good, I want
it to be a great event for them. I want them to
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out there for everybody. It’s gonna be good,
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Submitted photo courtesy of the Columbia Pacifi c Heritage Museum
Sportsmen of the late 1940s stand with their fi sh beside a store in Derbyville, Washington. The
“town” consisted mainly of campgrounds and bait and tackle shops, and operated only sea-
sonally; it was located just west of the present-day Astoria-Megler bridge near Fort Columbia
State Park.
June 25, 2015 | coastweekend.com | 11