B2
OUTDOORS/SPORTS
East Oregonian
Saturday, October 23, 2021
Dory fi shing off Pacifi c City yields unusual species
MORE INFORMATION
This was a typical day for Pacifi c City’s
dory fl eet, which has operated in much the
same way for more than 120 years just south
of Cape Kiwanda. The fl at-bottomed sturdy
wooden boats are known for their safety
and stability, according to the Tillamook
County Department of Tourism.
Of all ports on the Oregon coast, Pacifi c
City was the only one of any size I’d never
visited. It’s tucked out of the way and
removed from Highway 101 just enough
that you have to be intentional about visit-
ing, but you won’t regret it. Windswept
dunes, salt marshes, pine fl ats and rugged
mountains will keep you busy when you’re
not fi shing.
There are numerous boats operating
out of Pacifi c City. Captain Josh is usually
booked solid, but you can try your luck by
calling 503-708-1141. Otherwise, just Google
“Pacifi c City dory fi shing,” and I guarantee
you’ll fi nd dory.
LUKE
OVGARD
CAUGHT OVGARD
PACIFIC CITY— The coff ee lost identity
in my nostrils amidst the pungent miasma of
ocean scents. All kingdoms were represented
in the damp air: animal, vegetable and mineral.
Gasoline fumes punctuated the otherwise
natural scentscape as my friend Dom Porcelli
and I met up with our captain, Josh Putman, in
the wan light of almost daybreak.
We loaded our gear into a wooden boat
painted a cherry red — presumably just for the
aesthetic value and high visibility. The vessel
was saddled with two large outboards and sat
resting its haunches on a trailer in the public
parking lot rather than idling at a slip in the
harbor like most charter boats on the Oregon
Coast. It was the fi rst signal of the unique fi sh-
ery we’d stepped into.
As gray light began brushing the black
sky into a textured gray watercolor, we towed
the boat down to the sandy beach. As we
descended the small dunes framing Pacifi c
City Beach and the coastline unfolded before
us, we saw half a dozen other trucks and SUVs
parked on the sand with empty trailers behind
them.
Captain Josh backed his trailer into the
pounding surf and a man in waders untied the
boat and began pulling. He slid it off the struts
and turned the bow out to the open ocean.
Once chest-deep in the roiling waves, the
captain boarded with impressive spryness,
took command of his ship and fi red up the
engines. We braced and charged into the surf.
Normally, Captain Josh is booked year-
round, but a last-minute cancellation enabled
Dom to get a trip in, and he generously invited
me along, presumably for my razor-sharp wit
and local knowledge.
Dom is on track to become the fourth
person in history to catch 1,000 species of fi sh
on hook and line, which should happen in the
next month or two if all goes as planned.
The two of us had done quite well the days
before, fi shing area jetties, tide pools, rivers
and streams from Corvallis to Barview, but
Luke Ovgard/Contributed Photo
Luke Ovgard shows a copper rockfi sh he caught off Pacifi c City.
he was hoping to fi nd two fi sh on that dory:
cabezon and China rockfi sh. I’d put him on
some small cabezon the night before in the sea
lettuce beds of my favorite intertidal zone, but
the appeal of the world’s largest sculpin is lost
with hand-sized fi sh, and we both knew that.
Due to a lack of traditional boat ramp or
harbor, relative isolation, small population size,
marine protected areas to the north and south
and distance from Highway 101, the Pacifi c
City fi shery is one of the healthiest bottom fi sh-
eries not only in Oregon but in the world.
As a result, you can fi sh shallower than you
would anywhere else from Astoria to Brook-
ings and still catch fi sh, but if you fi sh deeper,
each angler will catch a party boat’s worth of
large fi sh. Another advantage of the deeper,
colder water is a reduced parasite load and
fi rmer meat in the fi sh you’ll catch, so they
taste better, too.
I quickly traded my medium spinning-jig-
ging setup for the even lighter rods on the boat,
and it paid dividends.
We plowed through large black, blue,
canary, copper, deacon, quillback and yellow-
tail rockfi sh fi shing 3- to 5-inch swimbaits on
remarkably light half- and one-ounce jigheads.
It felt like cheating, fi shing with such light gear,
but you could feel every take, the fi ght was
superior. I managed my largest-ever yellowtail
and copper rockfi sh — both topping 5 pounds.
Dom caught some huge black rockfi sh. We
added a few lingcod, Dom got his larger cabe-
zon, and I even caught a new species when we
drifted over a deeper reef: a yelloweye rock-
fi sh.
Like many deepwater fi sh, rockfi sh have
what is called a swim bladder. The large fl eshy
sac infl ates or defl ates accordingly to help a
fi sh’s body deal with varying pressures at
depth. When a fi sh is brought up rapidly, the
sac infl ates and prevents the fi sh from swim-
ming down.
Oregon angling regulations require the
use of a descending device for fi sh with baro-
trauma, which the protected yelloweye had.
While Captain Josh dug his out and prepared
it, Dom snapped a few quick pictures of me
and the vibrant orange fi sh with those striking
namesake yellow eyes.
When we called it a day, we surfed the
waves in. Captain Josh planted us squarely
on top of a big wave, killed and raised his
outboards in a fl uid motion, and let the momen-
tum of the surf plant us on the beach. Though I
had nothing to do with it, I felt proud by asso-
ciation.
We unloaded our gear and chased other
quarry while the captain cleaned our catch.
Dom was living in a motel and planned to
return to Florida in two days’ time, so he
graciously added his catch to my own, giving
me a solid portion of clean white fi llets to take
home.
Dom fi nished his trip to Oregon with more
than 15 new species, including those he found
on the dory.
———
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Eastern Oregon quarterback Kai Quinn drops back to pass during the Mountaineers’ 24-7
loss to the College of Idaho on Sept. 25, 2021. EOU is coming off a bye week and after losing
three games in a row looks to end that streak Saturday, Oct. 23, when it plays in Montana
against winless MSU-Northern.
EOU:
Continued from Page B1
Off ensively the Mountain-
eers have not scored 20 or
more points in a game since a
Week 2 victory over Montana
Western by a score of 35-28.
Eastern managed 17 points in
the fi rst half against Rocky
Mountain, but six turnovers
from quarterback Kai Quinn
proved detrimental.
“We did it to ourselves,
making mistakes that we
need to clean up,” Camp said.
“It’s up to us to make plays.”
The Mountaineers will
look to take advantage of a
MSU-Northern defense that
is allowing just under 35
points per contest this year.
The Lights are coming off a
42-14 loss to the College of
Idaho, which dropped them to
0-6 in conference play. Even
so, Camp and the Mountain-
eers are not overlooking the
team’s upcoming opponent
simply based on record.
“They have guys that can
make plays. I think it will be
a great Frontier Conference
matchup,” he said. “They’re
hungry for a win and so are
we.”
Eastern’s defense has
played admirably as a whole
this year, but had diffi culty
slowing down Rocky Moun-
tain quarterback Nathan Dick
in the team’s most recent loss.
Dick threw for four touch-
downs and 224 yards and ran
for an additional 123 yards on
the way to a 34-17 rout.
While Quinn did what
he could to spur the East-
ern offense, risks taken in
the pocket resulted in turn-
overs that killed momentum
throughout the loss. However,
he accumulated 201 yards
passing and 82 yards on the
ground.
If the redshirt-senior can
limit mistakes, his production
will be key to turning things
around for the Mountaineers’
off ense.
Eastern has won its last
seven head-to-head matchups
with the Lights, holding a 7-5
record in road games between
the two schools. Having won
nine out of the last 10 match-
ups, the Mountaineers will be
hoping for similar results to
end the team’s losing streak.
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