C6
OUTSIDE
East Oregonian
Saturday, June 29, 2019
CAUGHT OVGARD
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Photo, File
Lingcod a sea creature worth the fight
By LUKE OVGARD
For the East Oregonian
BROOKINGS — It had started
the day before. My first time on
the ocean, I rode out in a small
Bayliner with a group of about
nine late in the afternoon. The
handful of students and three
chaperones who decided to brave
the afternoon waves thought it
would be worth it.
A 14-year-old me agreed.
The newness of the experience
alone would have made it worth
it to me, but after watching half
a dozen black rockfish find their
way into our boat, Perry Fields,
one of our chaperones, hooked
into something that seemed a lit-
tle bigger.
He battled the beast for a while.
Then his rod doubled over.
If it was fighting hard before,
it was now a creature possessed.
His rod bobbed and bounced, and
I asked if it would break. Every-
one had stopped fishing now. We
watched in awe as what could be
nothing other than a sea monster
slowly rose in the water column
and made its way closer to us.
In a moment frozen in time,
we saw it. Maybe 10 feet below
the boat in relatively clear water,
was a fish that looked positively
demonic. At first, I thought it
had two heads, or maybe a head
shaped like a hammerhead shark,
but it was just a large fish clamped
horizontally onto a smaller fish.
It was a lingcod. The lingcod.
The smaller fish was maybe
16-18 inches in length, but the fish
that had attempted to eat it was
easily twice that length, maybe
more.
As our teacher, Mr. Doug
Dean, went to gaff it, its jaws
released the poor, hapless smaller
fish, and this beast stuck momen-
tarily in the water column maybe
4 feet below the boat.
“Grab me,” Mr. Dean com-
manded, and he plunged the gaff
over the gunwale and bent impos-
sibly far over the boat. His body
flexed, and he arched backward,
the massive, writing beast hang-
ing from the end of the 3-foot
gaff.
Leviathan itself railed about
on the floor of the boat, actively
trying to bite any- and everything
it could like a cobra in its death
throes. It connected with the edge
of a boot, unable to sink its sinis-
ter teeth into the hard leather.
Acting quickly, someone cut
its gills, and the beast decided
not to go down without a fight.
It sprayed warm, frothy blood
all over as it writhed about on
the deck. My new jeans caught a
globule of the deathly-dark blood
and stained them, and I knew I’d
hear about that when I got home.
Oh well. It was worth it for this
experience.
When we got it back to shore,
we were saddened to find our-
selves without a scale large
enough to weigh it, but it mea-
sured some 45 inches in length.
As teenage boys do, we dared
each other to place our heads
inside its massive jaws. Mine fit
with room to spare.
I shuddered.
We filleted the beast out before
I remember getting any pictures.
The carcass was tossed into the
garbage, but I asked if I could cut
the cheeks out, since I’d read they
were quite good. They agreed.
My
grandfather’s
butch-
ery skills did not pass to me,
and as I awkwardly dug out the
almost-priceless meat with my
old Rapala fillet knife in jagged
strokes, the nerve endings in the
sea monsters face all firing off,
causing the head to shake in my
hand like something out of a hor-
ror movie.
Each cheek weighed about a
pound and a quarter, but my inex-
perience with a fillet knife proba-
bly left a quarter pound of meat in
each cheek.
Still, it was the most epic thing
I’d ever experienced, and I longed
for a chance to catch one myself.
The next day was uneventful
by comparison, but I did manage
to catch a lingcod. I had thought
I was snagging the bottom too
frequently, but I soon realized at
least a few were fish, so I tried
fighting them.
On light trout tackle with
8-pound mono, it was very much
an uphill battle, but I managed
to get one to the surface, where,
after several attempts, a classmate
netted it.
The minimum length was
24 inches back then, and, you
guessed it, it was just shy at
23¼ inches long. I was forced to
release my first sea monster, but
I’d added a new species and set a
lifelong quest in motion: catch a
sea monster the size of Mr. Fields’
someday.
———
Read more at caughtovgard.
com; Follow on Instagram and
Fishbrain @lukeovgard; Contact
luke.ovgard@gmail.com.
Women-only adventure trips becoming popular FISHINGBOOKER
REELS IN
ANGLING TIPS
By DAN BAIN
Associated Press
SEATTLE — Today’s con-
sumers are increasingly inter-
ested in the types of experiences
that adventure travel provides,
whether it’s exploring new cul-
tures or eco-tourism or taking a
trip to hike, cycle or go boating.
For female travelers, wom-
en-only adventure trips can be a
great option.
In fact, the Adventure Travel
Trade Association named wom-
en-only itineraries a top trend.
Although some women will
feel safer traveling in a group
— and certainly there’s safety
in numbers — the reasons for
choosing a women’s-only group
experience go beyond safety.
A women-only adventure trip
can be an empowering experi-
ence. In a small group, they’ll
have a chance to meet new peo-
ple and forge a deep bond with
their fellow travelers. They’ll
have companions who share their
interests and passions. They’ll
feel comfortable trying new
foods, experiences or learning
new skills, in a safe and support-
ive, female-centric environment.
For example, on a cultural trip,
they can meet with female artists
and entrepreneurs and learn what
daily life is like for local women
whose life experience may be far
different from their own.
On an eco-tourism vacation,
women can explore the rainfor-
est of Central and South Amer-
ica and learn about efforts to
preserve plant and animal life.
Women don’t have to go abroad,
however. There are plenty of
opportunities for adventure travel
closer to home. It can be a white-
water rafting trip on the Colorado
River exploration of Alaska’s
Denali National Park on a back-
packing trip.
Some women also put together
their own group of traveling com-
panions — sorority sisters, cous-
ins or BFFs — who want to expe-
rience the joy of new places and
new pursuits in the company of
women with whom they already
enjoy a bond.
Whether as a solo traveler in
search of a group, or women ready
to embark on a vacation together,
a travel advisor can help one sort
through all the possibilities.
Here are some helpful tips
from Travel Leaders Network
advisors to consider when explor-
ing adventure travel options.
Decide what type of adven-
ture you want to have — one with
lots of physical activity or one
that focuses more on exploring
a new culture, or one that com-
bines both. Consider what you’re
able to physically handle, but be
open to trying something differ-
ent. Part of the personal growth
— and fun — of going on an
adventure involves getting out
of your comfort zone. Remem-
ber that it’ll also be a new expe-
rience for many of your travel
companions. Determine how full
you want your daily itinerary
to be. Are you the type of trav-
eler who likes to be on the go all
day, with activities preplanned,
or would you rather take things
more slowly, with some optional
activities and free time built in to
East Oregonian
AP File Photo
A woman hikes by herself with hiking poles in the Grand Canyon. Wom-
en-only adventure trips are becoming more popular for those who want
to explore new places and pursuits.
your day? Keep in mind the type
of accommodations, too. Are you
comfortable “roughing it” in the
outdoors, either camping or stay-
ing in a basic cabin? Or, would
you rather relax in more luxuri-
ous surroundings after a day of
activity?
Outdoor enthusiasts looking for
options of where to go for breath-
taking sights and good fishing
have a resource available through
Fishingbooker.com.
The online services has pro-
vided a complete guide to fish-
ing in Oregon, offering insight on
favorite freshwater lakes and riv-
ers. From rainbow trout and bass
to sturgeon, salmon and walleye,
Fishingbooker.com has you cov-
ered. Information about the most
popular catches that can be found
in local rivers and lakes and top
picks for the best fishing spots are
highlighted. In addition, it includes
general tips, such as which gear
to bring and how to get a fishing
license.
FishingBooker offers its ser-
vices across the United States,
including the availability to book
more than 100 charter trips in Ore-
gon alone. To check it out, visit
fishingbooker.com/destinations/
state/us/OR.
Also, recognizing that the state
has incredible fly fishing opportu-
nities, the team wrote a complete
guide to fly fishing in the Beaver
State. To view the comprehensive
information, visit fishingbooker.
com / blog /all-you-wanted-to -
know-about-oregon-fly-fishing.
For questions, contact Allison
Arthurs at allison@fishingbooker.
com or 1-888-676-2635.
BLM releases online maps for climbing sites all across the West
East Oregonian
Photo contributed by BLM
A climber in the Wild Rogue Wilderness. The Bureau of Land Management
recently released interactive online maps to provide information about
climbing sites in the western United States.
SPOKANE — Climbers look-
ing for sites across the western
United States, including Ore-
gon, can benefit from a series of
interactive online maps released
online.
In an effort to promote climb-
ing and other recreational oppor-
tunities on public lands, the U.S.
Department of the Interior’s
Bureau of Land Management are
making the maps available to cit-
izens. Developed in cooperation
with Access Fund and Mountain
Project, the maps allow people
to easily plan exciting climbing
experiences.
Climbers can pull informa-
tion about specific BLM-managed
climbing areas through a cen-
tralized online tool while on the
go. The maps include useful site
information, including photos,
season of use, area characteris-
tics and difficulty levels. Visitors
can also find nearby attractions for
each climbing site.
“We are committed to expand-
ing recreational opportunities on
public lands for all Americans,
and these interactive maps pro-
vide a great tool for folks to fur-
ther explore the great outdoors,”
said Casey Hammond, principal
deputy assistant secretary of the
interior.
U.S. Secretary of the Interior
David Bernhardt said the Trump
administration is committed to
expanding and promoting recre-
ational opportunities for Ameri-
cans to enjoy on public lands.
IF YOU GO
To view the climbing
area maps, visit www.
arcg.is/1SP18f
“We have some of the best rock
climbing sites in the world, and I
hope that this new map can help
to further highlight these loca-
tions and encourage more outdoor
enthusiasts to explore our great
outdoors,” Bernhardt said.
The BLM invites the public to
visit featured climbing destina-
tions in Oregon, Arizona, Cali-
fornia, Colorado, Nevada, New
Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. To
view the climbing area maps, visit
www.arcg.is/1SP18f.